RMB Appreciation Could Top 15 Per Cent
China's government will allow its currency to further appreciate
against the U.S. dollar this year. State media today reports quotes
from Frank Gong, Head of China Research at JPMorgan Chase, who predicts
a currency gain of between 10 an 15 per cent in the coming months. The
RMB has increased 16 per cent in value since the July 2005, when
Beijing unpegged its currency from the U.S. dollar, but China remains
under pressure from the United States and the European Union to allow a
freer flotation against global currencies.
Talent Shortage a Major Concern for Foreign Companies
A survey by three American Chambers of Commerce in China showed "a
continued worsening of human-resource challenges as companies expand,"
the Wall Street Journal quotes J. Norwell Coquillard, Chairman of the
American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Some 37 per cent of the 324
companies that responded to the survey ranked "difficulty in finding,
training and retaining managers" as their top operational problem.
Other major problems for multinational companies include regulatory
hurdles, bureaucracy and piracy.
Sinotruk Plans Overseas Investment
Sinotruk, China's largest truck maker, is looking for a major
acquisition overseas and is in "very early" talks with a foreign
company, the Financial Times reports. The company's Chairman Ma Chunji
did not reveal the name of the potential partner, but the company plans
to finalise a cooperation agreement by the end of this year. Currently,
Sinotruk's sales outside of China account for less than 20 per cent of
its total sales.
China Coal Acquires Shanxi Dongpo
China Coal Energy, China's second-largest coal producer, has said it
will pay RMB1.3 bn to buy Shanxi Dongpo Coal, a subsidiary of its own
parent company China National Coal Group. The purchase of Shanxi Dongpo
will help increase the coal reserves and production capacities in the
mainland, the company said in a statement. The production capacity of
Dongpo Coal is 1.5 million tonnes per year.
Last update : Sunday, 04 May 2008
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