New Olympic RMB10 Note Issued
China's Central Bank will issue six million RMB10 notes to commemorate
the Beijing Olympics, state media reports. The new note will feature
the "Bird's Nest" Olympic Stadium and the emblem of the Beijing
Olympics. The back shows a statue of a "Greek discus-thrower and the
year 2008 written in Arabic script," AP reports. The Central Bank will
start issuing the first batch of the new notes today.
China's Trade Surplus Down 20 Per Cent
China's trade surplus officially dropped 20.6 per cent year on year, to
USD21.35 bn in June, the General Administration of Customs said on
Thursday. This is the third consecutive decrease this year. The total
surplus for the first six months of 2008 stood at USD99.03 bn, a 11.8
per cent cut compared to the same period in 2007. Exports for June
totalled to USD121.53 bn, and imports stood at USD100.18 bn.
U.S. Sets Duties on Chinese Off-Road Tires
The United States Commerce Department will set anti-dumping duties on
Chinese-made off-road tires for trucks, commercial and industrial
vehicles, Reuters reports. The duties of as high as 210 per cent will
be put in place after the government found that the imported tires were
being sold at "unfairly low prices". The U.S. also charges that
off-road tire companies in China receive government subsidies. The
measures include ountervailing duties of 14 per cent. At the same time,
Japan's Bridgestone announced it will raise prices of tires sold in
China by up to 10 per cent; as a result of higher raw material costs.
Hong Kong Could Post HKD17.5 bn Surplus
Hong Kong may record a HKD17.5 bn surplus for the financial year ending
in March 2009, ratings agency Fitch announced in a statement. The
report said Hong Kong's growth rate for the current year will hit 5.3
per cent, down from 6.4 per cent in 2007. In contrast, the government
of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) predicts that the fiscal
year will see a HKD7.5 bn deficit, due to "one-off tax concessions" that hurt tax revenues, Reuters reports.
Shanghainese "Not Satisfied With Salaries"
A new survey of city workers by the Shanghai University of Finance and
Economics showed that 62.6 per cent of all respondents believe that now
is not the right time to buy property, and 55.7 per cent said they
would not buy a car this year, Xinhua news agency reports. 13.3 per
cent said their real income decreased in the last 12 months, as
inflation starts to bite harder.
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