Chinese economy overtakes Japan

China has almost certainly overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-biggest economy after state officials dramatically upgraded their estimates for the country’s growth last year.

[On track: China's output will surpass that of Japan's in 2010, according to the World Bank. Photo: Getty Images]

The fast-growing emerging economy had been expected to surpass Japan next year, but the transition looks to have happened in 2009, based on China’s new growth estimates. Its statistics bureau said that China grew by 9.6pc – rather than 9pc – in 2008, meaning its economic output was 31.405 trillion yuan, or $4.6 trillion (£2.9 trillion), last year.

According to the World Bank, Japan’s annual output was the equivalent of $4.9 trillion last year, but it is expected to shrink by 6.6pc this year. Meanwhile, Chinese officials project that its economy will grow by more than 8pc this year. It means it is likely that China became a larger economy than Japan some time in the second half of this year.

Statisticians said the bigger-than-expected expansion last year was fuelled largely by strong growth from the services sector, something which was only uncovered after a detailed census into economic activity during the year. The revisions continue a recent trend of officials upgrading their estimates for previous years’ economic growth.

In 2005, its statisticians dramatically upgraded their estimates of the size of the economy, catapulting it over Britain to become, at the time, the world’s fifth biggest economy.

Peng Zhilong, the head of the bureau’s national economy calculation department, said that the main difference was in the overall size of the economy, rather than its growth rate, adding that China would expand by more than 8pc this year.

David Cohen, of Action Economics in Singapore, said: “The big underlying factor propelling China’s growth is the migration of people from the agricultural sector to the more modern economy – industry and services. There’s no stopping China.”

But although China’s breakneck expansion looks likely to continue for some time yet, there are concerns over the country’s path.

Some economists compare China’s position – with the authorities combining low interest rates with high government investment and rising asset prices – to Japan in the late-1980s, warning that it, too, could fall victim to a crash.

Some worry about the country’s demography. The one-child policy means that in the coming years its population is likely to age extremely quickly, increasing the pressure on its public finances and dampening its long-term growth prospects.

Nevertheless, the news about the country’s strong growth will add to hopes that it will help support the wider world economy out of recession next year. Whereas 2009 was the year that brought the first worldwide economic contraction since the Second World War, the opening quarter of 2010 is expected to see the major economies back in growth again.

Although Britain contracted by 0.2pc in the third quarter of 2009, according to the latest official statistics, it is expected to move back towards growth in the final quarter of the year.

However, economists said the first quarter of 2010 would be marked by increasing tension over the fiscal position of various countries. Having had to borrow unprecedented amounts in order to prevent a deeper recession, a number of countries have generated large deficits, which may scare off international investors.

bron: www.telegraph.co.uk [26-12-2009]

Volvo To Go Chinese?

While the future of Saab remains in question (it depends on whether Dutch sportscar manufacturer Spyker can come to an agreement with General Motors) that of Sweden’s other major car brand, Volvo, seems a little more secure.

Chinese company Geely has announced that it “has settled all substantive commercial terms” with Volvo’s current owner Ford relating to a future acquisition. Geely has also had meetings with Volvo’s management and workers, and with Government officials in both Sweden and Belgium, where most of Volvo’s manufacturing takes place.

A definitive agreement is expected to be signed in the first three months of 2010. If this does lead to an acquisition, it will mean that all the parts of what used to be Ford’s Premier Automotive Group have been sold to business in countries which perhaps might have come as a surprise a few years ago: Jaguar and Land Rover are now owned by Indian company Tata, while much of the money required to buy Aston Martin came from the Middle East.

bron: www.carkeys.co.uk [24-12-2009]

Kenya woos Chinese investors

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 14 – Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has urged more Chinese to take advantage of investment and tourism opportunities existing in Kenya.

Mr Musyoka said the country boasts of excellent opportunities in the two sectors, and noted that by participating in them, China would be strengthening the ties between the two countries and help boost Kenya’ s economy.

“One percent of Chinese population visiting in a year will translate in a 10 million increase in the number of visitors who come to Kenya,” he said and added that the benefits accruing will be felt both in the country and the entire Comesa region.
The Vice President was speaking on Monday when he received a Chinese delegation from the Xinhua News Agency at his Jogoo House office, Nairobi. It was led by the Agency’s Vice President Wei Lu.

Mr Musyoka lauded the government of China for their continuous support to Kenya and urged the country to continue investing in the country to strengthen the existing ties.

The Vice President also lauded the cordial relations existing between Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communications and the Xinhua News Agency which he said has benefited journalists in the two countries through exchange programmes.

Vice President of Xinhua Wei Lu commended the partnership existing between the two countries and called for mutual understanding and trust.

“Cooperation must be built on the basis of equality and trust for the two countries to strengthen their business ties,” he said. He said the Chinese government will encourage its citizens to promote tourism and invest in Kenya.

Present at the function included the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Deng Hongbo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Dr Ludeki Chweya and the Director of Information Ezekiel Mutua.

bron: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke [15-12-2009]

The brutalization of business

A BBC documentary showed in the most graphic and vivid terms how a people renowned for gentleness and refinement like the Japanese could produce some of the most brutal soldiers during the occupation of China and the Second World War. The massacre of some 300,000 Chinese in Nanking was an example of human cruelty in its worst form. The military dictatorship that took over the command of the Government during that period deliberately dehumanized the soldiers. As depicted in the documentary, the young military trainees were commanded to slap the persons next to them in turn from left to right. Then the procedure was reversed so that the people slapped in the first round would now have revenge on those who slapped them and, therefore, would have an urge to slap even harder. This was only one way of brutalizing the individual, taking away from him through a process of brainwashing the love for neighbor that is inherent in human nature. Every human being is an image of God, who is Love. By nature, then, every human being – no matter how much evil he has done in his life – has the capacity to love.

In a more subtle way, some forms of capitalism today have been instrumental for brutalizing businessmen. Through an ideology that can be summarized in the words of Gordon Gekko of the film Wall Street, “Greed is good,” people in business were brainwashed into thinking that in the world of business, there is no room for the love of benevolence, that is the ability to seek the good of others without expecting anything in return. These businessmen knew the love of attraction, that is the love for money and power. They were also able to love with the love of friendship, that is, they could be motivated to work for their relatives and their friends. But they were told that there was no room for gratuitousness in business.

For the complete article: www.mb.com.ph

A 150.000 Euro offer for a pigeon

Marc de Cock, a man from Belgium, has turned down a 150.000 euro for his pigeon Eagle Eye.

A man from China offered him that amount after De Cock bought the competition-pigeon for 132.000 euro. “He can make about 50 younglings. And those I can sell for about a 1000 Euro each, and that is a much better deal”, according to De Cock.

bron: www.nos.nl [9-12-2009]

Garlic beats gold as China’s hot new asset

Shao Mingqing was a jobless young man from Shandong province with only a junior high school diploma when his luck turned around a few months ago with the skyrocketing price of garlic.

The 22-year-old Shao now drives an 180,000-yuan Toyota he bought with the money he made on the garlic market.

Shao Mingqing stands before the Toyota car he bought
with the money he made on the garlic market. [China Daily]

Shao’s face was lit up with joy when he talked about his recent success. “I borrowed some money and decided to buy 100 tons of garlic at the price of 3.2 yuan per kilogram (kg) in September,” Shao said. “I made a profit of 400,000 yuan from selling it at the price of 7.2 yuan a month later.”

Shao isn’t the only one who has made a tidy fortune out of garlic, which has exceeded gold and stocks as the country’s best performing asset this year.

Packaged garlic is delivered to the wholesale market. [China Daily]

Garlic trading has created a handful of new millionaires overnight in Jinxiang county, Shandong province, China’s largest garlic producing area.

“What we made was just some petty profits. There are people who made hundreds of millions of yuan from it,” said Han Yunzhe, a garlic trader who bought a 300 sq m house with his earnings from garlic trading.

Garlic prices in Jinxiang county have skyrocketed more than 50 times since last October, when the wholesale market price hit a low of 0.15 yuan per kg. Now garlic is traded for more than 8 yuan per kg on the market.

The soaring garlic prices are creating a frenzied mood among market speculators as they seek new opportunities to buy and store as much garlic as possible, betting the price will surge to a new high in coming days.

Rich coal mine bosses, according to some media reports, have also joined the garlic market, hoping to reap huge profits.

Some real estate speculators, who have earned big money in China’s overheated property market, also are gambling on garlic, according to media reports.

Price drivers

Experts said one trigger of the sharp rise in garlic prices might stem from the idea that garlic can help prevent infection by the H1N1 virus, although there is no scientific evidence to support the idea.

But the root factor is the extremely low price of garlic last year, which resulted in a sharp reduction in garlic production, others said.

Garlic farmers in Shandong province retreated from garlic planting as the selling price of garlic dropped to 0.08 yuan per kg last year.

“The reduction in garlic production plus public panic over the H1N1 flu have caused garlic prices to shoot up,” said Nie Binghua, director of the Shandong Economic Management Institute.

But Nie noted that the high price is unlikely to affect the overall economy, because garlic is not a crop that will affect food security.

Production of garlic in Shandong province dropped by 40 percent this year. And in 2008, the country reduced total garlic planting areas by 50 percent, giving speculators a reason to believe that there might be a sharp shortage of garlic in the near future.

“The fact that supply can’t keep up with demand caused soaring garlic prices,” said Liu Zhangjian, governor of Jinxiang county.

Liu said he worries that surging prices will persuade too many farmers to plant the crop at the same time, which might cause excess supply and a nosedive in prices next year that would eventually hurt the interests of farmers.

“As the main garlic production area, the local government does not want the price to be volatile,” Liu said.

Farmers in Jinxiang county, Shandong province, select garlic for packaging. [China Daily]

China is the world’s largest garlic exporter, followed by Argentina and Spain, and is meeting three-fourths of the world’s garlic demand. China now has more than 1,200 storage houses and 700 garlic processing and export companies.

China exported 1.52 million tons of garlic last year, 70 percent of which was produced in Jinxiang. Garlic has been a pillar industry in Jinxiang, which once produced 1 million tons of garlic a year.

Less for farmers

But unlike market speculators who have pocketed huge profits in recent months, the benefits to garlic farmers from surging prices are much smaller.

Zhang Yuanjin, a garlic farmer in Jinxiang county, sold his crops at the price of only 0.6 yuan per kg in July this year, because Zhang, like many farmers, could not obtain sufficient market information. Unlike some garlic traders, he also did not own big storage houses.

“The price jumped to 1.4 yuan immediately after I sold mine,” he said. Zhang made only 9,000 yuan this year by selling the garlic he grew last year. Still, his earnings were three times more than last year, he said.

He said he would not grow more garlic next year because of the rising cost of garlic seeds and fear of a price nosedive in the market next year.

Most garlic brokers, however, said they believe the price will stay high for the next two years. They base their optimism on speculative market expectations among garlic traders and rising demand from abroad, they said.

Shandong province exported $88.6 million worth of garlic in September, a 109 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Shandong Provincial Commerce Department. The export price jumped to $1,000 per ton from last year’s price of $200 to $300 per ton.

Industry insiders estimated that the garlic price will hit a new high by the end of this year.

Brokers bargin at the wholesale market in Jinxiang county, Shandong province. [China Daily]

Insiders said demand from home and abroad will be boosted during the upcoming Christmas and Chinese New Year holidays, since garlic is a popular seasoning and important raw material for processing many foods.

But experts cautioned against over-reacting to the surging price of garlic.

“The garlic market is cyclical. Price rises are short-term, and they will fall again before long,” Yi Xianrong, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Experts estimated that garlic price volatility is likely to be a three-year cycle, and that the future price of garlic will fall back to the normal level at between 1.4 yuan to 2 yuan per kg.

Other experts said the speculation driving skyrocketing prices cannot be sustained.

Jerry Lou, a Morgan Stanley China strategist, said that speculators, financed by abundant liquidity sloshing around the country, had moved into the relatively small garlic market and manipulated prices.

Lou described the tools of the trade used by garlic speculators.

“You need a warehouse, a lot of cash and a few trucks. That’s how it works,” Lou was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.

“Basically, what you do is try to arrest as much supply as possible. Then you bid up the price. Moving garlic from one warehouse to the other, you make millions of dollars,” Lou said.

bron: www.chinadaily.com.cn [30-11-2009]

2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women Finished Successfully

On Nov. 21, the two-day 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women has finished successfully on a cruise in the Bund, Shanghai, China.

By focus on business leaders, female entrepreneurs and female senior managers, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women has been considered as the largest event in Asia with its highest quality and widest influence. This event is totally organized by Wingo PR, the China’s leading government-enterprise public relations agency and hosted jointly by CCTV International, Manager Magazine, Shanghai Daily, South Weekly, Chinadaily.com and many other authoritative Medias.

As the Asia’s most influential business women’s event, the first Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women received wide support from different sectors of the communities. There are:

Wang Minthe Director of Comprehensive Department of the State Council Research Office; Xie SizhongThe Chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council; Fan GangFamous Chinese economist; Secretary General of China Reform Foundation; Zhang LiliThe Chairman of Shanghai Women’s Federation; Rupert HoogewerfFounder of HURUN REPORT; Brenda Lei FosterPresident of American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai; Annick de BentzmannPresident of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (China) & General Manager of BNP Paribas Shanghai Branch; Zhao SujuanThe Chairman of BenQ Guru; Chen XiaofengChairman of Guang Dong Shining House Int’l Jewelry Limited; Zhuge HongyunThe Founder & CEO of Blue Ocean Network (BON); Li YuThe CEO of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited; Zhang LanThe Chairman of South Beauty Group; the representative of Yang LanThe Chairman of the Board of Sun Culture Foundation; the representative of Yang HuiyanCEO of Country Garden Holdings Company Limited

Besides 300 Chinese outstanding entrepreneurs from all part of China, including Hong Kong, Thailand and Macao, there are about 29 general consulate and embassy in China, 22 trade associations and business organizations will lead 100 transnational entrepreneurs (The most is enterprises of the world top 500) to attend this summit.

2010 Trend Analysis of China’s economic investment strategy

On Now.20, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women and Ping An Insurance(Group)2010 China business investment forum was inaugurated at Concert Hall of Grand Hyatt Shanghai Hotel.

Fan Gang, Famous Chinese economist, carried on a thorough analysis of the root causes of the outbreak of the international financial crisis. He thinks that China’s economy can be restored to normal in 2010 and Chinese property market can probably be the first to break away with the low period.

Fan Gang predicted, although in 2010 the effect of government policy which is to support economic growth will be a recession, 3 areas of investment, corporate investment, property investment and import and export trade will still be restored and get the sustained growth. After more government investment and corporate investment, China’s economy will be restored to normal in 2010 and the normal growth rate is between 8% and 9%. Professor Fan Gang’s speech makes the presence of women entrepreneurs be reassured and confirmed their investment and financial strategy in next year.

The Insights of Business Women between Crisis & Challenge

At 9:30 on Nov.21,2009, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women formally opened.

Mr. Xie Sizhong, the Chairman of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, indicated in his opening speech that: in the two sessions of this year, more than 100 CPPCC committeeman jointly made a proposal on advocating the spirit of women, coping with the economic crisis and exploiting women’s social advantages to the full. With its great significance, this meeting inevitably brings about more and more attention by the business world and even the whole society.

Ms Zhang Lili, The Chairman of Shanghai Women’s Federation mentioned that the two mainly themes, “Expo Business Opportunities bring Investment Chances to New Shanghai” and “Soft Words Win Hard HeartsThe Insights of Business Women between Crisis & Challenge”, are of bright times nature. Not only to focus on coping with the economic crisis, but also to prospect Expo opportunities, these themes are sensitive to and quickly come to grip with the continuous growing trend of the women’s power. President Ms. Zhang also invited all businesswomen to participate the Expo Women’s Forum which will be held in Shanghai in October next year.

Brenda Lei Foster, the president of American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, explain the female leadership under the financial crisis in her speech. She considered that women has been the most influential part of the world. Not everyone is a born leader, but made up of his actions and entire targets. “We must not shrink from difficulties, instead, we should get the clearer aim and the stronger belief to come through this financial crisis.”

Rupert Hoogewerf, Founder of HURUN REPORT, analyzed his list of Richest Women in China and gave high praise to Chinese women’s business intelligence in his speech. “Hoogewerf emphasize that six out of 10 richest self-made women in the world are Chinese.

Besides, many other outstanding representatives of business women made their excellent speech on the event, including Annick de BentzmannPresident of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (China) & General Manager of BNP Paribas Shanghai Branch; Zhao SujuanThe Chairman of BenQ Guru; Chen XiaofengChairman of Guang Dong Shining House Int’l Jewelry Limited; Zhuge HongyunThe Founder & CEO of Blue Ocean Network (BON); Li YuThe CEO of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited; Zhang LanThe Chairman of South Beauty Group.

On Nov.20 2009, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women was held at Grand Hyatt Shanghai Hotel. At the meeting, the list of “The Honor Roll of China Elite Business Women” was solemnly announced.

The list of “The Honor Roll of China Elite Business Women” is issued jointly by Wingo PR, South Weekend, CCTV.com, Manager Magazine, Shanghai Daily, Chinadaily.com, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Business Week and more than 100 authoritative Medias. Meanwhile, this list also gets the recommendation by Pathways, China CEO Union and many other business administration & research organizations. This award evaluates from the value about the corporate philanthropy, social responsibility, public influence; the commercial value and the Rose Value so comprehensively that to build the honorary model for businesswomen.

After several months’ vote, three main lists have been elected out by global Medias and the public. Ms Sun Chao, Chief Editor of Almanac of China’s Economy China Economic Report & Development Research Center of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, announced these lists. Wang Min, the Director of Comprehensive Department of the State Council Research Office, delivered the awards to the recipients, and encouraged them to bear the social responsibility in mind, respond to the crisis actively and make more meaningful contributions to the community. The winners are:

The Honor Roll of Foreign Elite Business Women in China
Brenda Foster
Annick de Bentzmann
Tatjana
Brenda Lei FosterPresident of American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai
Annick de BentzmannPresident of French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (China)& General Manager of BNP Paribas Shanghai Branch
Tatjana Mujovic PiscevicThe Vice President of Expatriate Professional Women’s Society (EPWS)

The Honor Roll of New China Elite Business Women
Lu BingbingPresident of B-Doing Communications Co.Ltd Gong HaiyanCEO of jiayuan.com
Grace HeeCEO of Shanghai TX Group
The Honor Roll of China Elite Business Women
Yue-Sai KanThe founder of cosmetics brand of “Yue-Sai” (Lifetime Achievement Award)
Zhang LanThe Chairman of South Beauty Group
Chen XiaofengChairman of Guang Dong Shining House Int’l Jewelry Limited
Li YuThe CEO of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited
Zhuge HongyunThe Founder & CEO of Blue Ocean Network (BON)
Yang LanThe Chairman of the Board of Sun Culture Foundation
Yang HuiyanCEO of Country Garden Holdings Company Limited
Zhai MeiQnPresident, Heung Kong Group
Yan CheungThe chairman of Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited
Dong MingzhuCEO of Gree Electric Appliances,Inc.

Brand Show

This event has been created to the great event which is the combination of business and fashion. Keynote Addresses, Honored Guests’ Speeches, Round Table Interactivities and Award Ceremony. Brand Night, PuJiang Nocturnal Words made the business affairs easier to entrepreneuses.

On the evening of 20th, Welcome Dinner and Brand Show bring a luxury fashion feast, 2009 New Diamond Jewelry Show of ShiningHouse, to all distinguished guests. ShiningHouse is a design, development, processing, sale and service of the diamond and bare diamond multinational conglomerates. There are over hundred outlets in more than 30 provinces around the country.

ShiningHouse advocates romantic and is in pursuit of perfection. It’s highly respected and loved by the people all over of the world. ShiningHouse showed 8 series of new products: “Fly across galaxy”, “Love tango”, “Chopin Waltzes”, “”,,”Phoenix feather cape”, “Fluting and singing”, “Auspicious & wishful “, “Mimocrys”. Almost 100 representatives of important organizations and major Medias attended this evening dinner.

On the evening of 21th, the closing reception was held on the luxury cruise.On this cozy and relaxed Reception, business elites got the rare moment to be free from the noisy town centre and communicate with each other. Afterwards, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women concluded successfully on Huangpu River.

Chen Youyu, the Chairman-in-Office of Organizing Committee & CEO of Wingo PR, said that, 2009 Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women is a spectacular event with its clear theme and substantial content. This event is the Asia’s most influential business women event which is supported by government organization, organized by Wingo PR and jointly held by authoritative Medias and organizations. This event is not only the platform to share the wisdom between entrepreneurs and managers, but also the splendid stage for famous brands. During the 2010 World Expo, 2010 the second Elite Summit of Chinese Business Women will still be held in Shanghai, China. At that time, more famous persons, more wonderful parts and more substantial content will be presented in front of business elites.

bron: www.pr-inside.com [4-12-2009]

Four Chinese detained after clash in Bucharest, Romania

Four Chinese storeowners in the capital of Romania were detained yesterday after a fight broke out between authorities and the storeowners over an alleged misunderstanding, according to a consular with the Chinese embassy in Romania.

The tussle began when taxation authorities on Nov 24 suspended business for 221 stores in two neighboring markets in northeastern Bucharest for apparently lacking certificates stating where their merchandise came from. Authorities also claim that the storeowners were evading tax claims.

A Chinese consular surnamed Li, who would not provide his full name, said over half of the stores in the Niro and Red Dragon markets are owned by Zhejiang Chinese selling small goods, such as clothes and electronic appliances.

Nearly 20,000 Chinese have migrated to Romania seeking business opportunities since the 1990s, most of whom are from Zhejiang, the eastern Chinese coastal province prosperous in small commodities and trade.

The Chinese embassy in Bucharest stepped in to mediate after Nov 24, Li said, and tax authorities sent staff members to the market yesterday to reopen some of the stores. He said many of the owners provided certificates to the authorities within the past few days.

But as tax authorities approached the market, some Chinese storeowners believed that they were coming to close more stores and began to throw boards of wood, sticks and plastic bottles at them. Police arrived to quell the violence and detained four.

Injuries were suffered on both sides but Li did not provide details as to how many were injured.

Li said the problem dates to a conflict that began in early November when the Niro Group, the owner of the Niro and Red Dragon markets, announced that it would charge parking fees for all vehicles, including those of the storeowners.

A protest by the storeowners was staged on Nov 17 and seven days later, the group cut off water and power to the markets.

Further exacerbating the brewing issue between Chinese storeowners and the Niro Group was a decision by the market manager to tear down the Niro Market and move its shopowners to the newer, neighboring Red Dragon Market, said Li Guosheng, who is also from Zhejiang province and has been the head of the Romanian United Chinese Association for over 10 years.

When the Niro Market was initially established, Li Guosheng said, the stores were sold at $7,000 to $8,000 each with permanent ownership, “which was fairly cheap at that time.”

“But the market manager refused to compensate shopowners and instead asked them to pay for the new stores at the Red Dragon market,” he said.

It is not rare to see disputes between Chinese and people in other countries that they are doing business with, said Zhang Shengjun, deputy dean of Institute of Political Science and International Studies of the Beijing Normal University.

“The most important reason is Chinese businessmen are too benefit-oriented,” said Zhang. “We should learn to respect local customs and shoulder corresponding social responsibilities.”

bron: www.chinadaily.com [3-12-2009]

Brussels seeks extended tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese shoes

The European Union should extend its anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese leather shoes to give European producers more time to adjust to international competition, the bloc’s executive said Wednesday.

“In spite of duties imposed, Chinese- and Vietnamese-made leather shoes continue to be dumped in the European market,” the European Commission said in a statement. The EU first imposed the tariffs, of 16.5 per cent of import price on Chinese shoes and 10 per cent on Vietnamese ones, in 2006, arguing that they were sold at unfair prices.

While the EU’s shoe makers have since managed to make their own production more efficient, the problem still exists, the commission said. “The removal of measures at this stage would lead to increased dumping and injury, and potentially halt the adjustment process of an industry which employs over 260,000 workers in the EU,” the statement explained.

However, since European business is now close to being able to compete in the globalized market, the commission decided to propose a 15-month extension rather than the five years allowed by EU rules. “The investigation has shown that the industry’s adjustment process is well on track. A 15-month period therefore appears reasonable to allow the industry to adjust, while minimising any effects on other stakeholders,” the statement said.

It is now up to EU member states to agree on action.

bron: www.earthtimes.org [2-12-2009]

New MG6 to be built at Longbridge site in Birmingham

The first new MG for 14 years has gone on show in China – and by the end of next year the new car will be built on a production line at Longbridge.

Based on the Chinese-made Roewe 550 – which itself is based on a shortened version of the old Rover 75 – it will be called the MG6 when production starts in Birmingham.

The new model will be produced in saloon and hatchback form and will complement the two-seater MGTF being built at Longbridge.

Early production models have been revealed at the Guangzhou Auto Show which opened yesterday.

The launch in China, the world’s largest automotive market, begins the international roll out of sales of the MG6 which includes the UK. Sales in China will begin in January and plans for the UK and other markets will be released during 2010.

A spokesman for MG Motor UK Ltd said: “This new model marks the start of one of the most exciting periods in the 85 year history of the iconic MG brand, as it prepares to expand globally, starting with the world’s largest automotive market in China.”

Guy Jones, sales and marketing director for MG Motor UK, said: “This is a milestone day for the iconic MG brand and for the UK automotive industry.

“MG has begun the international launch of an all-new model that has been designed and engineered here in the UK, for the global automotive market.

“Currently we only build and sell the mid-engined TF sports car here in the UK, but we can now look forward to expanding the range of MG products.”

It was also announced at the Guangzhou show that production of the MG6 for the China market will begin at the brand new state of the art factory in Lingang, China in December 2009. It is planned to commence production of the MG6 at the Birmingham plant in the UK before the end of 2010.

bron: www.birminghampost.net