Icbccss&p500usd Discussion Threads

[azalea] 13/7/2005 06:40

AFX- Singapore
Morgan Stanley's chief Asian economist Andy Wie (based in Hong Kong) described this year's surge that took oil to record highs last week as a speculative bubble. "I have never seen people buying something on what I believe is so much misinformation". Asian economies and thus the regions demand for oil were decelerating, at some point the market will abandon the fiction of endless Asian and Chinese demand. some speculators could run, which could in my view trigger a stampede.

[knowing] 11/7/2005 10:47

China H1 exports up 32.7 pct yr-on-yr; imports up 14 pct - UPDATE

(Updating to add export details by sector, trading partners)
BEIJING (AFX) - China's exports during the first half of this year rose 32.7
pct year-on-year to a total of 342.34 bln usd, while imports were up 14 pct at
302.69 bln usd, the Customs General Administration said in a statement on its
website.
It said mainland China booked a trade surplus of 39.65 bln usd for the
six-month period, compared with a trade deficit of 6.82 bln a year earlier.
For the month of June, exports rose 30.6 pct year-on-year to 65.96 bln usd,
while imports were up 15.1 pct from a year earlier at 56.28 bln usd, resulting
in a trade surplus of 9.68 bln, a reversal of a trade deficit of 1.37 bln in the
same month of last year.
Comparative figures in May show China recorded 30.3 pct year-on-year growth
in exports and a 15 pct rise in imports.
The Customs administration said that during the first six months, the EU
remained China's top trading partner, with bilateral trade up 23.6 pct
year-on-year at 100.05 bln usd.
US ranked second, with bilateral trade up 25.1 pct from a year earlier at
96.26 bln usd, followed by Japan with a bilateral trade of 86.54 bln usd, up
10.2 pct from the same period last year.
Customs also gave the following first-half data:
High-tech products exports rose 32.4 pct year-on-year to 93.52 bln usd and
machinery exports were up 29.7 pct at 68.68 bln.
Clothes exports rose 19.8 pct to 31.1 bln usd and shoe exports were up 23.5
pct at 8.76 bln usd.
Coal imports jumped 56.1 pct year-on-year to 12.09 mln tons.
Iron ore imports were up 34.3 pct from a year earlier at 130 mln tons.
Soybean imports rose 33.6 pct from a year earlier to 12.01 mln tons.
Auto imports fell 33.6 pct year-on-year to 64,000 units and steel products
imports were down 26.5 pct at 13.22 mln tons.
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[mcbeanburger] 03/7/2005 13:12

Bid for Unocal a test for US
Chinese firms in takeover mode

By Jehangir S. Pocha, Globe Correspondent | June 30,
2005
005

BEIJING -- The US reaction to the China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s unsolicited bid to buy energy giant Unocal will send a strong message about whether Washington is more interested in its commitment to free trade or in containing the growing might of China, government officials and business specialists here say.

''Right now CNOOC is only following the rules of free trade," said Han Xiaoping, senior vice president of Falcon Pioneer Technology Company Ltd., an energy research firm in Beijing.

CNOOC's all-cash offer of $18.5 billion for Unocal, which ups a $16.6 billion stock bid for the company from Chevron Corp., comes shortly after Chinese computer maker Lenovo's $1.75 billion purchase of IBM's PC unit and is expected to be followed by Chinese appliance maker Haier's $2.25 billion offer for Maytag Corp. Together, the deals reveal the determination with which Chinese companies, backed up by their government, are following what they call a ''go out" strategy -- a plan to use China's $650 billion in foreign exchange reserves to acquire leading companies and brands in several key industries.

That is proving ''unsettling and disruptive" for many US leaders and corporations, said James Brock, an independent adviser to the energy industry in Beijing.


Until recently, Chinese firms were seen merely as cheap manufacturers, and the Chinese government invested most of its cash in low-yielding US government treasury securities. But now the best Chinese firms are proving as adept as their Japanese and Korean counterparts did in the 1970s and 1980s at moving rapidly up the value chain, and local state-owned banks are eschewing the 4.2 percent return they earn on a 30-year US Treasury bill to bankroll their dreams of global expansion.

''Buying oil reserves is much better than buying T-bills, and CNOOC is one of the best companies," said Han. ''It's much better for a Chinese bank to lend money to a Chinese company like this than to the US government."

Jing Huang, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said CNOOC's bid for Unocal ''is part of China's strategy to integrate itself into the world."

But Brock said the Chinese government, which owns 70.6 percent of CNOOC, had endorsed the ambitious bid for larger strategic interests, such as Beijing's desire to acquire energy fields at a time of uncertain energy supplies and diminishing energy stocks. Beijing's desire ''to wrest control of as many energy fields as it can" from other major energy consumers such as the United States and India is driven by China's spiraling energy consumption, Brock said.

China is now the second-largest energy consumer in the world, behind the United States, burning the equivalent of 1.5 billion tons of oil this year. Even conservative estimates expect this figure to double over the next decade. Over the next year alone, China will bring online new power plants that are expected to produce about 80 gigawatts of electricity, more than the entire power capacity of the United Kingdom.


*
That's why Chinese firms such as CNOOC are desperately trying ''to replace the energy supplies they've used up with reliable sources of new reserves," Brock said.
''They feel that by owning their own reserves, they can add some stability to their energy supply."

CNOOC executives estimate that merging with Unocal would more than double CNOOC's current oil and gas production and increase its reserves by nearly 80 per cent, or 4 billion barrels of standard oil. With about 70 percent of these combined reserves located in China and nearby Asian countries such as Indonesia, the merger makes sense on a strictly commercial basis.

''I don't think the color of their money should be an issue in OK'ing the deal," Brock said. ''Energy is almost always sold to the nearest consumer, so this deal makes sense for both companies."

But the battle for the control of energy resources also has significant political dimensions, and most countries guard their energy industry from foreign or unwanted buyers. China itself does not allow foreign investors to own more than 50 percent of most oil and natural gas-related companies, though it does allow foreign firms full ownership of energy exploration ventures. In fact, the reason it is paying for Unocal in cash instead of stock is because the Chinese government does not want to dilute its own holding in CNOOC.

William Overholt, director of the Center for Asia Pacific Policy at Rand Corp., said such thinking is misplaced.

''Buying oil wells does nothing to enhance China's energy security," Overholt said. ''Oil is an internationally traded commodity and, in a time of squeeze, whoever has enough money will get the oil."
China's purchases, he said, do nothing for China except deplete its reserves. ''If the Chinese want to pay over the top for US assets, then the sensible response for us Americans is to gleefully celebrate the resultant windfalls," he said.

That's not in line with the current mood in Washington, where voices have already been raised against allowing a state-owned Chinese entity to control Unocal. The company owns several strategic assets, including energy fields in Mexico; the rights to cutting-edge deep water drilling technology, and interests in strategically important pipelines in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

''The US should be shoring up our reserves, not divesting them to global competitors seeking to fuel their own tremendous economic growth," said US Representative Richard Pombo, California Republican, who is chairman of the House Resources Committee and is demanding an investigation into the proposed deal.

To soften such critics, CNOOC's savvy US-educated chief executive, Fu Chengyu, has said that the company will retain its entire US staff and that all the existing oil and gas Unocal sells in the United States will continue to be sold there and not be diverted to China. The company has also stated that if necessary, it would be willing to consider divesting Unocal's North American assets and consider ''special management arrangements" for its pipelines.

Brock said it was understandable that the US public and some in Congress are having difficulty understanding the complex issues raised by CNOOC's bid.

[energyi] 23/6/2005 08:17

CHINA COOLING...?

A new collapse in the steel price has further undermined the market's faith in the China bubble and the China proxies. Over the last several weeks the hot rolled steel price in the U.S. has fallen by $70 a ton. This price has now declined from a peak of $800 a ton last fall to less than $500 a ton currently.

There is inventory everywhere. The European steel producers have now embarked on another round of production cuts in an attempt to support prices.

Though industrial commodities like steel that are not traded in futures markets have seriously declined, the base metals remain an exception. Aluminum has come off significantly. But nickel and lead are near their highs and copper has gone to a new high. I have warned that, even without a hard landing in China, all these metals have moved into surplus.

I realize I am taking issue with the consensus supply/demand statistics, but the accumulation of off-warrant metal stocks by manipulating merchants and hedge funds has injected an important component of error into the official data.

@:

[mcbeanburger] 14/6/2005 20:27

6/14/2005 - Prices for soybeans, used to make edible oils and meat alternatives, are still vulnerable with fresh figures showing China will increase its pull on global stocks.

China is expected to import a record 24.5 million tonnes of soybeans in the 2004-05, a massive 45 per cent higher than the 16.9 million tonnes imported in 2003-04, according to the China National Grain and Oils Information Center (CNOGIC).

Domestic edible oil demand, due at around 18 million tonnes in the 2004-05 marketing year, is estimated to outstrip local supply by around 4 million to 5 million tonnes, which will be largely filled by crushing imported soybeans, CNOGIC said.

China's increasingly affluent consumers are transforming China's food sector, both domestically and in foreign trade: pushing up demand for food commodities and food products from around the world.

According to new figures from market research body IGD, China will become the world's second largest food retail market by 2020, behind the US.

In 2003 the Chinese food market was 35 per cent of the size of the US market; by 2020 this will figure will rise to a considerable 82 per cent.

The country's 1.3 billion consumers have the power to sway global market prices. And the latest CNOGIC data certainly implies soybeans are still vulnerable.

While stocks are just starting to pick up for soybeans and consequently a slight relief in prices, over the past four years inventories for this increasingly popular commodity fell to 30 year lows: prices are therefore still exposed to an upside risk.

Figures released this week from the American Soybean Association show that July bean futures closed up $2.11 finishing at $247.37; August was $2.39 higher, closing at $248.48 and September gained $2.02 ending at $249.03.

July oil closed $3.31 higher to finish at $509.92; August increased $3.53, closing at $512.35; and September gained $3.53, ending at $514.77.

[biswell] 30/5/2005 05:53

China is in for a hard landing....a stronger Yuan amongst other things which I will illucidate you with most probably will start the rot later this year.

But let us see what is going to happen to the Euro first as some idiots were talking of it being a challenge to the dollar last year.

Euro falls as markets assess size of rejection
By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt and David Pilling in Tokyo
Published: May 30 2005 00:25 | Last updated: May 30 2005 03:34

The euro fell in early trading in Asia after the French referendum, amid worries about the effect on European Union economic policy of France's decision.

Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the 12-nation group of eurozone finance ministers, said after the result: "There is no reason to consider that the French 'No' will produce a too huge impact on the European economy."

But in early trading in New Zealand Monday morning, the euro fell to $1.2523, from $1.2574 in New York late on Friday. The euro has been under downward pressure in recent weeks, at least in part due to worries about the French poll. Sunday night's results suggested that financial markets had underestimated the scale of the No vote.

In early trading in Tokyo, the euro fell fractionally to $1.2528 from $1.2585. A senior trader at a North American bank said he thought markets had fully priced in a "No" vote during trading last week, selling euros and buying dollars.

With markets in the UK and the US closed, traders were much more focused on Friday's US non-farm payroll numbers than digesting last night's news, he said.

The Nikkei stock average opened up, concentrating on good industrial production figures for April, rather than on any fallout from the French referendum.

A survey by Barclays Capital last week showed that of 112 global institutional investors polled, two-thirds believed markets had factored a rejection into valuations only marginally or not at all.

Financial market worries about the French vote have centred on fears that a No vote would repre sent a backlash against structural economic reform in the EU.

The decisive No vote is embarrassing for Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, who throughout the campaign always said he was assuming a "Yes" vote in France. The ECB holds its next rate-set ting meeting on Thursday.

[gedy] 30/5/2005 05:44

China seeks to defend it's textile exports:-

[hectorp] 24/5/2005 18:54

Now Snow demands that China revalue the Yuan by at least TEN percent.
If I were China I'd be very annoyed at this interference in the internal market and sovereignty of China. I'd be inclined to be 'Bolshie' about it.

[knowing] 18/5/2005 15:16

Wednesday May 18, 04:09 PM
Chinese premier says China can maintain fast, stable growth

Click to enlarge photo

BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his nation's economy would be able to maintain fast and stable growth and that global corporations should expect to make "reasonable profits" in China for the forseeable future.

Speaking to a group of Fortune 500 business leaders headed by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX - news) 's senior vice president Peter Wolff, Wen said China would earnestly carry out the reform of its foreign exchange regime and tackle sticky issues like intellectual property rights (IPR) protection.

"China's economy can still develop in a fast, stable and sustainable way," Wen told the business leaders at the close of the Fortune Global Forum.

"China can provide stable and convenient conditions for foreign investment and foreign investors can make reasonable profits in China," he said Wednesday.

The reasons China could maintain stable growth was due to its huge market of 1.3 billion people, quality but inexpensive labor, a good investment environment, a stable social and political environment, and the nation's commitment to peaceful development, he said.

He refused to elaborate on the reform of China's foreign exchange system, its trade surplus with the United States or other issues, but vowed that his government would make efforts to resolve such issues.

"China will handle these issues with all seriousness so that China's economic development will be in full compliance with the rules governing market economic and international trade," Wen said.

"China's economic development will not only serve the interests of the Chinese people, but also benefit business leaders around the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit."

The Fortune Global Forum just completed its third annual meeting in China since 1999.

A topic at this year's event was how much longer China was expected to maintain fast economic growth that has clocked in at around nine percent per year over the last 20 years

[mcbeanburger] 18/5/2005 13:23

China's Industrial Output Rises 16%, Beats Forecasts



May 18 (Bloomberg) -- China's industrial output rose 16 percent in April, faster than the highest forecast by economists, as companies including Quanta Computer Inc. and Royal Philips Electronics NV move production to the nation.

The gain followed a 15.1 percent increase from a year earlier in March and exceeded the median 14.6 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of eight economists. Production of computers jumped 69 percent and laptop output doubled, the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its Web site.

Overseas manufacturers are expanding in China to tap rising demand and take advantage of wages that the Asian Development Bank estimates are 4 percent those in the U.S. The report increased concern that Premier Wen Jiabao will tighten lending controls to slow an economy that is the world's largest consumer of steel and second-largest user of oil, economists including Tim Condon said.

The pickup in production reflects ``the structural story of China integrating into the global supply chain,'' said Condon, head of Asian Financial Markets Research at ING Bank NV in Singapore. ``When you overlay that with the domestic boom, you have an unsustainably strong investment story.''

China's pickup in production growth may also exacerbate tensions with the U.S. and Europe, which are trying to protect their manufacturers from Chinese competition. The U.S., which reported a record $162 billion trade deficit with the Asian nation for 2004, says the yuan's decade-old peg to the dollar gives Chinese exporters an unfair advantage.

Interest Rate Outlook

Stocks in China ended mixed amid concern the government will act to cool the economy. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks 38 mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, was 0.1 percent lower at 4561.10 at the close of trade.

Condon said a fixed-asset investment report due tomorrow will indicate whether monetary policy needs to be tightened. He is forecasting a 24.5 percent gain in April after 26 percent expansion in March. Condon's 15 percent production growth forecast was the highest in the survey along with DBS Group.

Pressure on the People's Bank of China, which on Oct. 29 raised its benchmark one-year lending rate to 5.58 percent, has eased as inflation slowed. A May 16 report showed the inflation rate fell in April to an 18-month low of 1.8 percent.

``We expect a further 30 basis-point increase, not for inflationary reasons, as inflation seems to be in check, but in order to cool down industrial production,'' said Giuseppe Maraffino, a Milan-based economist covering Asia at UniCredit Banca Mobiliare SpA.

Steel, Cement

China's industrial production reached a record 564.7 billion yuan ($68 billion) last month, with output of raw steel climbing 25 percent and that of cement gaining 9.6 percent. Steel and cement are among the industries targeted by the government's credit controls.

China's economy expanded 9.5 percent in the first quarter, exceeding the government's prediction of a maximum 9 percent and the official 8 percent target. That pace of growth may be sustained this year, the Institute of International Finance said May 5, because foreign investment is foiling government efforts to rein in industrial expansion.

Quanta Computer, the world's biggest notebook computer maker, said May 4 it will move mass production of the products to China and cut 800 manufacturing jobs in Taiwan to reduce costs.

``Moving production to China is the only way for Taiwan manufacturers to stay competitive,'' Chief Financial Officer Tim Li said at the time.

Europe, U.S.

Amsterdam-based Philips, Europe's biggest consumer- electronics maker, said April 20 its Chinese factories last year increased sales 20 percent to $9 billion, of which 60 percent came from exports. Chief Executive Gerard Kleisterlee, who has fired 50,000 workers since taking office in 2001, says the company will continue expanding and hiring in China, where it has invested $3.4 billion.

The company's sales in China grew by an annual average of 7 percent in the past two years, according to Bloomberg data. That compares with a 10 percent annual decline in the Netherlands, a 9 percent decrease in the U.K. and a 13 percent drop in the U.S. during the same period.

Industrial output in the U.S., the world's biggest economy, had the biggest drop in eight months in April, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday. Production in Germany, the U.K., France and Italy -- Europe's four largest economies -- fell in March, official figures show.

American lawmakers yesterday warned China it may be declared a manipulator of its currency unless it allows the yuan to appreciate against the dollar. The European Union has said it may introduce curbs to contain Chinese textile imports after a 29 percent surge in the first quarter.

Car Exports

The threat of a stronger yuan is doing little to deter manufacturers from moving to China. Foreign investment in China rose 2.2 percent to $17.5 billion in the first four months and contracted investment, that which has been pledged but not yet used, increased 8 percent to $50.2 billion.

DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest vehicle maker, last month said it plans to build Chrysler compact cars in China to export to the U.S. to take advantage of lower costs. Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. already manufacture for export in China, contributing to the nation's 6.8 percent increase in auto production last month.

As production of cars, computers and other goods increases, China's power supplies are being strained. Power cuts affected 24 of the nation's 27 provinces last year and shortages are the government predicts more shortages this year.

China's electricity generation increased 13 percent in April and coal output rose 5.4 percent, lagging growth in overall production.

[knowing] 13/5/2005 10:22

China Jan-April high-tech exports up 32.6 pct yr-on-yr, imports up 20.4 pct

BEIJING (AFX) - China's high-technology product exports for the first four
months of the year were 60.51 bln usd, up 32.6 pct from the same period last
year, Xinhua news agency reported.
Citing customs figures, the agency said imports were up 20.4 pct to 56.56
bln usd from a year earlier.
The report said high-tech exports made up 27.8 pct of the country's total
exports for the January-April period, implying that China's exports for the
first four months hit 217.66 bln usd, up 33.75 pct from a year ago.
It did not give overall export or import figures for April or the first four
months.
Of the 3.95 bln usd trade surplus in the first four months, 550 mln usd was
accrued in April.
Exports of integrated circuits, color TVs and handsets rose 34.6 pct from a
year earlier to 35.38 bln usd for the four month period, Xinhua said.
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[mcbeanburger] 12/5/2005 09:58

Good piece:

Commentary: Waiting, and waiting, for a rise in the yuan
By William Pesek Jr. Bloomberg News

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005
Watch what they do, not what they say. It's the first commandment when observing economic policy makers. Yet China, which has a knack for testing the rules of economics, is breaking this one, too. There, it's equally important to follow what's said as well as what's done.

Here is what Li Yong, China's deputy finance minister, had to say last week to currency traders pressuring China to let the yuan rise: "I urge them not to do such speculation - they need patience."

Anyone seeking confirmation that China won't alter the yuan's peg to the dollar might find it in that comment, which Li made in Istanbul.

Currency markets are a world of winks, nods and secret handshakes. Key policy makers rarely, if ever, say exactly what's on their mind. Yet Li's comments are a reminder that any chance China might re-peg the yuan at a higher level is being dashed by the very people pushing for it: traders and leaders of governments in the United States, Japan and Europe.

The more foreigners try to bully China, the more investment banks churn out reports predicting a yuan shift and the more speculators react to them, the longer the process may play out. All this could leave investors with the equivalent of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot."

In that play, "nothing happens, twice" as the characters Vladimir and Estragon stand around, waiting. It's an existentialist story about hope, or waiting for hope to arrive. A situation that calls to mind the currency traders and governments waiting for China to loosen the yuan.

Here are five reasons to think that nothing will happen in the near term.


First, China is far less moved by outside pressure than many seem to appreciate. It may move only when there's a pressing domestic need to do so. China's largest state-run banks are shackled with hundreds of billions of dollars of bad loans and the economy doesn't have much of a bond market to speak of.

"China has made it very clear that it sees no reason to change the value of its currency," says Carl Weinberg, chief global economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York.


Second, it's important that China gets it right. While China should reduce its currency advantage to restore a bit of equilibrium in global trade trends - and placate the United States, Japan and Europe - it would be in no one's interest to see China act haphazardly, threatening global stability. The last thing China wants is currency instability.


Third, there's the matter of saving face. For China to be seen as bowing to the demands of the United States or Japan would not play well with Chinese citizens.


Fourth, China may actually benefit from expectations of a shift more than from the reality of one. A significant currency appreciation at a time when China is rolling out initial public offerings of major banks could complicate efforts to reduce bad loans and make bank shares less attractive to overseas investors, says Andy Xie, Hong Kong-based chief Asia economist at Morgan Stanley.

And revaluation expectations may actually help China cool inflation and asset imbalances. Many analysts argue that China's property market has risen to bubble proportions. That it has experienced some "turbulence" of late, Xie says, isn't such a bad thing.

"The revaluation expectation is keeping many speculators from selling," Xie says. "When the prices are down, these people will be stuck, which should help China achieve a soft landing in this important sector."


Fifth, China might set a precedent for speculators. If China does give into pressure and raises the yuan 3 percent or 5 percent, markets would immediately start pushing for more. So would lawmakers in the United States who have been threatening trade sanctions. Having set a precedent, Chinese officials would be distracted from vital economic reforms.

Which brings us back to "Waiting for Godot." Beckett wrote it in part to challenge audiences expecting a conventional story with a beginning and climax that unfold in a logical manner. China's transition from a fixed currency regime could pose a similar conundrum.

As the Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs often says, China faces the greatest development challenge in history. Yes, its economy is growing at a 9 percent pace, yet restructuring efforts mean that the government has to create hundreds of millions of jobs to maintain social stability. It is a big enough feat without having to worry about currency traders attacking you.

Revaluing the yuan also could hurt foreign retailers like Wal-Mart Stores in adding jobs to the world's most dynamic economy, at least in the short run. It's not about Wal-Mart; it's about employing more Chinese.

The dollar peg is the second Great Wall. The first one was built in the third century B.C. to keep out invading tribes. The second one, the currency regime, was put up a decade ago to keep out speculators and protect the economy. Moving it will be a major undertaking that is as much about politics as economics.

As a result, China may very well keep those betting on a currency move waiting. And waiting.

[ariane] 23/4/2005 10:26

China to buy satellite from Alcatel

www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-21 20:06:11



    BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhuanet) -- The China Satellite Communications Corporation signed a 100-million-euro deal here Thursday with French company Alcatel Space to buy a powerful communications and live radio and TV broadcast satellite from the French firm.

    Pascale Sourisse, chairwoman of the board of the French firm, said the satellite, known as "ChinaSat 9" Direct Broadcast Satellite, will be fitted with 22 Ku band transponder, allowing easy reception of television programs across China.

    Zhang Hainan, president of the Chinese firm, said the satellitewill be used for the live TV broadcast of sports programs during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

    The signals beamed from the satellite will cover the whole of China, which means remote areas in China where people still cannotreceive TV signals will be able to watch television programs afterits scheduled launch in mid-2007 atop a Chinese-made rocket, said Zhang.

    With a satellite dish of 0.45 meters to 0.6 meters in diameter,the satellite will be capable of relaying 150 to 200 different programs with standard and high definition resolution, said the Chinese firm.

    According to the contract signed by Zhang and Pascale Sourisse,the satellite will be 4,500 kg in weight at the time of launch scheduled for around July of 2007 with a power capacity of 11,000 watts and a life span of 15 years.

    Alcatel will also be responsible for making the satellite compatible with the Chinese rocket, orbital positioning and in-orbit testing as well as offering its Chinese partner a satellite simulator, according to the deal.

    Sourisse said the latest deal, together with the successful launch of Alcatel-made APstar VI on April 12 by a Long March 3B rocket from China, indicates the cooperation between Alcatel and China in the field of satellites is entering a more prosperous stage.

    Alcatel began its cooperation in 1984 by providing parts for a Chinese satellite, and it sold a whole satellite, SINOSAT 1 satellite, in 1998 to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST),which was launched in July 1998 and is still in service.

    Investment by Alcatel in China has now totaled about 1 billion US dollars, involving telecommunications, space, and urban transport automation.

    Alcatel Space, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel, is the world's third largest satellite manufacturer and the largest in Europe. Enditem

[waldron] 16/4/2005 18:26

i love happy endings

[mad4it] 16/4/2005 16:26

Ariane - Strangely (and ironically), your second to last paragraph explains why I was disappointed not to see a discussion about China-related equities here, beause many of the other threads are full of bickering children and aren't worth bothering with. lol!
So I understand your point of view.

I also understand the need for reference material, my memory isn't quite what it once was either.....but I blame 30 years of partying, not age! ;)

Good luck with your investing.

[ariane] 16/4/2005 14:47

thanks mad4it.

in main we use the threads as aide memoires and try to discuss items if something arises.

Most of the posts are for later reference and not for unhelpful debate.

We avoid much discussion due to a number of posters having already made up their
minds on the topic despite contrary facts. Also to avoid ignorant posters and those being down right rude.

We are now of an age(old) where reference is a help to remember.

[mad4it] 16/4/2005 14:13

Ariane, I'm sorry if I've upset you. It's just that every time I read any of the threads started by your group I am left baffled as to why you bother. Most of the time I've got no idea what the thread is supposed to be about!

I just find it strange that none of you EVER post any comment or analysis with your cut n pastes. I mean, what's the point ?

Perhaps if you and your friends started a discussion about potential China related investments, you'd attract more posters and the thread would become busier.

Anyway, no offence meant.

[ariane] 16/4/2005 14:04

you might find that very few people would post,so the thread would die o'wiseone.

shame your post wasn't constructive.

you might have got a response.

enjoy your weekend

[mad4it] 16/4/2005 13:44

What a shame!

I spotted this thread and expected to find discussion of various quoted companies and their prospects for succeeding in China.

energyi set the tone with his opening post, yet, unfortunately, the thread has been taken over by that strangle little group of AFN posters I call 'The cut n paste Crew'.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but, really, you lot are strange! Even the threads started by your little group contain nothing but cut n pastes with NO ANALYSIS OF ANYTHING. Some of your threads have nothing more that post after post of links, with no explanation as to what they are or what they relate to. Bizarre! I've been meaning to ask you all for ages; what is the point and why do you do it ?

Furthermore, most of the cut n pastes you've posted are unrelated to the header and the whole raison d'etre of this thread!

Why don't you comment and add some analysis to your cut n pastes ? Otherwise your posts are pointless.

[ariane] 16/4/2005 13:18

Snow Says `Time Has Come' for China to Loosen Yuan (Update1)
April 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said the ``time has come'' for China to introduce a more flexible currency, stepping up pressure on the world's most populous nation after two years of diplomacy failed to force a change.

``They are ready,'' Snow said in an interview from Washington today. ``They have prepared their financial system to live in a world of greater flexibility.''

The U.S. and other members of the Group of Seven industrial nations say China's 10-year policy of pegging its yuan at 8.3 to the dollar gives its manufacturers a price advantage that's helped drive the U.S. trade deficit to a record and threatens economic growth in Europe.

G-7 finance ministers, gathering in Washington for talks today and tomorrow, have pressed China to change since 2003. They are now under pressure from politicians and executives in their own countries to take a tougher line.

Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters China risks igniting protectionist tensions if it doesn't act. ``The sooner they are able to move with respect to more flexibility in their exchange rate situation, the better it will be,'' he said. China's leaders should ``see the freight train coming and behave responsibly in advance.''

The U.S. last year posted an unprecedented $162 billion trade gap with China and Chinese exports to the rest of the world surged 33 percent in the year through March.

Possible Duties

The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would slap duties of as much as 27.5 percent on Chinese imports until the peg is loosened. Italian Industry Minister Antonio Marzano last month demanded that the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, impose tariffs on Chinese textile and clothing imports.

``There is no visible evidence that Snow's quiet diplomacy has yielded any real or tangible results,'' said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland in College Park, who has advised U.S. lawmakers on China's currency.

Snow said he preferred the diplomatic approach to tariffs and predicted China would move ``soon'' to a new currency regime. ``We're going to be talking with them to move forward as quickly as possible.''

Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui added caution to the debate, telling reporters that ``the G-7 meeting isn't a place to add pressure.''

Chinese

China is laying the groundwork for a more flexible exchange- rate system and may introduce changes ``unexpectedly,'' Premier Wen Jiabao said March 14. The government has yet to agree on how to adjust the peg, he said the same day.

After attending the last two meetings of the G-7 finance ministers, who oversee two-thirds of the world economy, China's Finance Minister Jin Renqing and Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said this month they won't be visiting Washington this week.

The Chinese may be feeling the pressure, said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. ``China will refuse to send senior government officials to a meeting where they will likely only be berated for not revaluing the yuan,'' he said.

[energyi] 12/4/2005 07:25

It looks like the idea that the future will be a battle for water is heating up. From the AP in Shanghai, China, we learn "In Beijing, each resident has access to only 10,593 cubic feet of water a year, compared with the world average of 35,310 cubic feet."

And worse, the needle on The Mogambo Bad-News-O-Meter (TMBNOM) dips to the bottom of its range as we read "Meanwhile, experts warned that more than 300 million rural Chinese lack clean drinking water since most of China's waterways are fouled by industrial effluent, untreated sewage and runoff of agricultural chemicals from fields." Editorial Mogambo comment (EMC): Yuck. The article goes on to say, "Only 47 percent of water in major rivers is drinkable, while half of all lakes are heavily polluted. And 35 percent of ground water is undrinkable due to pollution."

@:

[grupo] 11/4/2005 06:59

FRANKFURT (AFX) - ThyssenKrupp AG won an order worth in the double digit
millions of euros to supply elevators for the Shanghai World Financial Centre,
Garry Elliot, head of the conglomerate's elevator unit, told the Sueddeutsche
Zeitung.
Elliot said the order would help the company raise its profile in the
growing South Asian elevator market.
ThyssenKrupp acquired Korea's Dong-Tank-Group in 2003 in order to compete
more effectively there.
Elliot said ThyssenKrupp Elevators builds about 300,000 units annually, half
of them in Asia.
ThyssenKrupp accounts for about 13 pct of the worldwide elevator market,
behind Otis with 27 pct and Schindler with 18 pct, the report said.
[e-mail]
amk/lam

[robbb] 07/4/2005 12:57

Just while I'm here :- - the first piece is relevant