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China manufacturing steady in September: index
Shanghai (AFP) Sept 30, 2009 China's manufacturing activity continued to expand at a steady rate in September, as domestic and overseas demand continued to improve, an independent survey published Wednesday indicated. The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI, or purchasing managers index, fell slightly to 55.0 in September, from 55.1 in August. A reading above 50 nevertheless means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates an overall decline. "Although the headline PMI remained broadly unchanged from the previous month, there was a marked expansion of manufacturing employment in September," the bank's chief China economist Hongbin Qu said. Manufacturers were hiring in September at the fastest rate in 25 months to keep up with rising sales volumes, HSBC said in a research note. Foreign order levels rose for a fourth straight month, but the increase in total new orders outpaced export sales, suggesting domestic demand was driving the overall improvement, the bank said. China's economy expanded by 7.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, up from 6.1 percent in the first quarter, mainly as a result of massive government spending amid the global downturn. Beijing announced a four-trillion-yuan (585-billion-dollar) stimulus package last year in a bid to prop up growth in the country by boosting investment in infrastructure and other government-backed projects. The PMI sank to a record low of 38.8 in November as the global financial crisis took hold, but improved continuously in the following months, moving above 50 in March. Manufacturing accounted for more than 40 percent of China's economic output last year, which has been hit hard by evaporating demand for its products in key export markets such as the United States and Europe.
earlier related report Citigroup's China unit was "very prudent and careful" during the global financial crisis and now should extend its network here, Yan Qingmin, director of the Shanghai branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission told the Wall Street Journal. The unit -- Citi China -- has eight corporate bank branches, 27 consumer outlets and two investment bank representative offices in the world's third largest economy. Over the past year, Citigroup had expanded in China but not as much as other foreign banks, Yan said. Yan said the US government's 45-billion-dollar bailout of the troubled bank -- a portion of which was converted into a 34-percent ownership stake -- was necessary at the time. His comments suggested that Chinese regulators were not worried about the US government's big stake in the bank, the paper said. "Regarding the US government bailout of Citigroup, I think the American government measures were urgently needed," Yan said. "They were very timely. At that moment, what we needed most was confidence." For its part, Citigroup said it remained committed to the Chinese market even as the bank's global operations struggled to return to profitability. The bank lost 27.68 billion dollars worldwide in 2008, but its China operation nearly doubled net profit to 191 million, the paper said. "Within the bank's global landscape, China is a recognised top priority market, which we were extremely focused on throughout the difficult times," Andrew Au, chief executive of Citi China, said in an interview published Wednesday in the official English-language newspaper China Daily. Au said Citi China had performed well during the crisis and was "well capitalised" and "liquid". Earlier this month China's banking regulator said that the ability of banks to manage risk will be a factor in granting access, raising a new potential obstacle for foreign lenders eyeing the Chinese market. The regulator will "take into account how commercial banks manage their reputation risk in approving market access," it said at the time. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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China faces 'big' uncertainties: World Bank chiefWashington (AFP) Sept 28, 2009 China faces major uncertainties even though it rebounded strongly from the latest financial crisis aided by its huge treasure chest, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Monday. "China's future is not yet determined," he said even though the Asian giant effectively pump primed its huge economy and used various monetary polices to weather the crisis that plunged the world into ... read more |
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