China's largest bank, ICBC has forecast in its latest financial report that China's consumer price index for the first quarter of 2008 will hit 8 per cent. This is almost twice as much as the 4.8 per cent the government set as its yearly target at the 11th National People's Congress last month. China has repeatedly said it wants to manage inflation by freezing energy prices and subsidising food costs, which are spiralling out of control in many parts of urban China. Many analysts argue that even the 8 per cent figure is grossly understated.
China Media Sales Given Upward Target
A new report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences predicts that the country's media industry will grow in aggregate revenue value to RMB554 bn this year, an increase of 13.1 per cent on 2007. Book publications comprise one-fifth of sales, totalling RMB110 bn, with mobile and new media sales fast catching up, at a value of RMB105.3 bn last year. The report projects that the mobile media market will grow to RMB124.9 bn this year, though no statistics were provided to underpin this prediction.
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