The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
South China hit by floods
China’s Ministry of Water Resources initiated a Level-III Emergency Response for flood control, as floods hit south China’s Pearl River basin. Heavy rain swept the Pearl River basin from Monday to Wednesday, with the water levels of its main rivers, including the Xijiang, Beijiang and Hanjiang rivers, rising. The ministry has sent working groups to Guangxi and Guangdong to guide flood control work. China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level I being the most severe.
China’s FDI inflow up
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 17,3 percent year-on-year to 564,2 billion yuan in the first five months of the year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday. In US dollar terms, the inflow went up 22,6 percent year-on-year to US$87,8 billion. The service industry saw FDI inflows jump by 10,8 percent year-on-year, while that of high-tech industries surged by 42,7 percent from a year earlier. Specifically, FDI in High-Tech manufacturing rose 32,9 percent from the same period a year ago, while that in the High-Tech service sector surged 45,4 percent year-on-year. During the period, investment from the Republic of Korea, the United States and Germany climbed by 52,8 percent, 27,1 percent and 21,4 percent, respectively.
China’s home prices continue to ease
China’s home prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities continued the downward trend in May, though the pace of decline slowed, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. In May, 43 out of the 70 cities saw a month-on-month drop in new home sales prices, down from 47 in April. New home prices in four first-tier cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou – edged up 0,4 percent month-on-month in May, widening 0,2 percentage points from that in April. A total of 31 second-tier cities witnessed a month-on-month decline of 0,1 percent in new home prices, while 35 third-tier cities saw a month-on-month decline of 0,3 percent in new home prices. Prices of resale homes in the four first-tier cities remained unchanged month-on-month in May. Second-tier and third-tier cities saw their prices of resale homes edge down 0,3 percent and 0,5 percent monthly, respectively.
Shanghai banks support tourism recovery
Five banks in Shanghai jointly granted credit totalling 50 billion yuan (about US$7,4 billion) to support the recovery of the city’s cultural and tourism industry. The Shanghai branches of Bank of Communications, China Construction Bank and Bank of China, as well as Bank of Shanghai and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank have signed agreements with relevant enterprises to provide financial support for the construction of a new cultural E-sports centre, issuance of consumption coupons, rural vitalisation and digital transformation of scenic spots. Since 2020, these five banks have supported nearly 4 000 cultural and tourism enterprises in Shanghai, issuing loans of more than 53 billion yuan (about US$7,8 billion).
China’s online payment users increase
The number of online payment users in China amounted to 904 million at the end of 2021, according to a report released by the Payment & Clearing Association of China on Wednesday. The figure accounted for 87,6 percent of the country’s total netizens and was up by nearly 50 million from a year ago. China’s cashless and cardless trend continues to grow, covering an increasing number of scenarios from ordering food to paying bus fare. Chinese banks handled 102,3 billion such transactions with a combined value of 2,353,96 trillion yuan (about US$350 trillion) last year, 5,32 times and 2,86 times that of 2012, respectively.
Manyika Kangai helps African businesses realise the full potential of the vast opportunities China presents. He has over 15 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. Feedback: +27743487997/www.muvambi-sa.co.za
