China will allow unfettered exchange of its yuan currency in its first free trade zone, a draft plan seen by AFP Thursday showed, in a bold push to reform the world's second largest economy.
The free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai is intended to make the city into a true international trade and financial centre and challenge the free economy of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, analysts and government officials said.
China has unveiled measures to boost its sluggish economy, in the strongest indication yet of the leadership’s concern about the slowdown and one that also underscores a shift in Beijing’s approach to managing its economy.
The “mini stimulus”, though limited in size, could herald more policy moves to prop up growth. The government will eliminate taxes on small businesses, reduce costs for exporters and line up funds for the construction of railways.
Chinese credit rating company Dagong launched a new venture with Russian and US partners yesterday to challenge the dominance of the major rating agencies that were blamed for contributing to the global financial crisis.
Officials said the Universal Credit Rating Group is aimed at "providing some balance" to the industry, traditionally cornered by Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch.
China and Russia are to deepen their existing energy industry cooperation after signing a deal to supply oil to China worth $270 billion over the next 25 years.
The deal was signed on Friday between Rosneft and China National Petroleum Corporation,the country's largest State-owned oil and gas producer. The deal will see the supply of 365 million metric tons of oil to China starting from next month, according to media reports.
China is stepping up the expansion of its new over-the-counter equity exchange system in its efforts to create a multi-level capital market.
The National Equities Exchange and Quotations - the so-called "third board", an equity exchange system for small- and medium-sized enterprises - is to expand its pilot sites this year, an official told China Daily on Friday. It is China's third national equity exchange after Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange the only over-the-counter market regulated by China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is now the second-largest investor after the state in VTB, Russia’s state bank, following the privatisation of a 14 per cent government stake this month.
It was the second significant stake in a state bank to be sold as part of plans to privatise Russian banks announced in June 2012. In September, the central bank sold a 7.6 per cent share in Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, bringing the government ownership to 50 per cent plus one share.