PRESS DIGEST - China - Aug 13
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Chinese newspapers available in Beijing and Shanghai carried the following stories on Wednesday. Reuters has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
PEOPLE'S DAILY
-- A commentary warned that the country was facing the most severe year this year in its economic development amid natural disasters and a slowdown of the world economy. It urged efforts in addressing inflation and continuity and stability of macro-economic policies.
-- Reconstruction of quake-hit Wenchuan in Sichuan province will cost an estimated 1.0 trillion yuan ($146 billion), according to a draft government reconstruction plan.
FINANCIAL NEWS
-- China's July CPI growth eased to 6.3 percent but possible government relaxation of controls on energy prices will bring uncertainty for the index in future.
-- Property sales prices in 70 major cities rose 7.0 percent year-on-year, but growth was down by 1.2 percentage points from June, according to a survey by the National Development and Reform Commission.
CHINA DAILY (www.chinadaily.com.cn)
-- All tourist attractions in Beijing are required to beef up security checks in the wake of Saturday's attack on two American tourists. The Summer Palace became the first to check suspicious people and baggage with hand-held scanners.
-- Experts urged the government to cut the 17 percent value-added tax to help enterprises. The call came after the government's fiscal revenue grew 33.3 percent year-on-year to 3.48 trillion yuan in the first half of the year.
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
-- The Chinese currency's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar could fluctuate both upward and downward over the long term after three years of continuous appreciation, a front-page commentary said.
-- Earnings in Chinese listed companies are expected to recover in the fourth quarter of this year, analysts said, because of a seasonal pick-up in demand and declines in production costs.
-- Gome Electrical Appliances Holding (0493.HK), China's top electronics retailer, is considering a listing on a mainland exchange via a reverse takeover of Sanlian Commerce Co (600898.SS) or Beijing Centergate Technologies 000931.SZ, the company's president said.
SHANGHAI SECURITIES NEWS
-- Binhai New Area in the northern port city of Tianjin is studying offshore financial business to develop its special trade zone, a Binhai New Area executive said.
-- The coking industry associations of Shanxi and Shandong provinces, two major production areas, suggested that coking plants in the two provinces cut production, as oversupply, weak demand from steel mills and rising prices of coking coal were hurting their earnings.
-- Chinese government departments are considering re-introducing a value-added tax on gold, but the proposal is opposed by the country's central bank and top economic planning body, sources familiar with the situation said.
SECURITIES TIMES
-- Hunan Valin Steel Tube & Wire Co (000932.SZ), in which ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) holds a minority stake, has taken an 11.4 percent stake in Perth-based iron ore miner Golden West Resources (GWR.AX) via a share placement worth A$26.6 million. Valin has also agreed to purchase up to 4.5 million tonnes of ore annually for 15 years.
CHINA BUSINESS NEWS
-- Blackstone Group (BX.N) may soon buy a shopping mall in Shanghai for about 4.5 billion yuan ($655.5 million), sources said. ($1=6.865 Yuan) (Compiled by Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
