Bobo Chan

Bobo Chan, the heroine of Edison Chen's sex photo scandal, shoots herself in a pretty manner in hope of returning to the stage.

China set to trim steel output

China is ready for a breakdown with global miners in this year's iron ore price talks and would rather reduce steel output if supplies are disrupted, a senior industry group official said.

The country would not make concessions in the negotiations and continue to hold out for a cut of 40 to 45 percent in annual contract prices, said Shan Shanghua, secretary general of the China Iron and Steel Association.

Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto last month agreed with Japanese and South Korean mills on a 33-percent price cut. But a discount of that scale would not allow Chinese steel mills to make money as prices have slumped.

Japan shouldn't be taken as a representative for Asia in the price talks as its imports only account for one sixth of China's, Shan said in remarks published in the China Securities Journal yesterday, adding that the Japanese could accept such cut as many of them hold interests in Australian mines.

"It's impossible that China will allow (ore) miners to maintain high profit while its own mills are losing money," Shan said. Mills negotiate prices annually with the world's top three ore suppliers which also include Brazil's Vale and Australia's BHP Billiton.

Shan said that in case the negotiations collapse, China could turn to spot purchases as there is an oversupply in the ore market, and in a worst-case scenario, it would rather cut steel output if supplies are affected.

Still, China seems to be increasingly isolated, with more term deals being reached.

Brazilian miner Vale on Wednesday said it agreed with Nippon Steel Corp and South Korea's POSCO to a 28-percent cut for its benchmark fine ores. And industry reports yesterday said Japan's No. 2 mill, JFE Steel Corp, has also settled prices with BHP, agreeing to the same cut as that reached with Rio. Rio and BHP won bigger price increase last year than Vale in recognition of the lower freight cost to Asia for Australian ore.

Another senior CISA official earlier said talks could end before the end of this month, which set prices for the fiscal year starting April 1.

HK earmarks HK$300mln to boost creative industries

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has approved an initiative worth 300 million HK dollars to support creative industry projects not covered by existing programs, Eddy Chan, commissioner for innovation and technology, said here on Wednesday.

"This will provide broader and more comprehensive financial support for the development of creative industries in Hong Kong," Chan said at the opening ceremony of the "Reinventing with Design 2009 Conference", which aimed to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of businesses in the Pearl River Delta region.

The commissioner said the government has always supported the development of design and innovation in Hong Kong, noting that the government launched the 250-million-HK- dollar "DesignSmart Initiative" in 2004 and recently set up a new office to coordinate efforts and resources in this regard.

"With a dedicated office, the government believes that it can more effectively respond to industries' demands and better serve the trade through this one-stop-shop service," he added.

Chan also expressed his confidence that the efforts and investments would yield a sizable dividend.

US reform will secure Chinese investment

A sweeping plan for financial regulation unveiled late last night (Beijing time) by US President Barack Obama will offer better protection to China's investments in that country, Chinese experts said Wednesday.

"Only when the US financial markets start to stabilize can the safety of China's investment be secured, " Zhao Xijun, a professor at Renmin University of China, told China Daily.

Guo Tianyong, a professor at Central University of Finance and Economics, agreed.

"Financial stability is one of the necessary pre-conditions to restore China's confidence in its US investments," he said, referring to the government's $2 trillion foreign reserve, mostly held in dollar-denominated assets.

Under Obama's proposals, the US Federal Reserve has greater power to monitor risks that threaten the entire financial system - which is similar to the role performed by China's central bank, Zhao said.

"Despite the differences between the US and China in financial regulatory mechanisms, the Fed will function like the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in controlling systemic risk," he said. The PBOC, apart from managing monetary policy, also plays a key role in controlling systemic risk. The country also has three regulatory bodies for banking, securities and insurance industries.

The Obama administration has been discussing for six months how best to tighten bank and market regulation in response to the financial crisis.

Under the proposals:

An independent consumer financial products watchdog agency will be established, and financial firms be required to hold more capital so they can better survive tough times.

More transparency and accountability will be mandated for exotic financial markets that in recent years expanded far beyond the government's ability to keep track of them.

The government will be empowered to seize and unwind large, troubled companies that are not banks, modeling the process on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's existing power to unwind failing banks.

Markets for securitized debt and over-the-counter derivatives will be reined in, and there will be more regulation of money market mutual funds, credit rating agencies and hedge funds.

Changes to corporate governance will give shareholders more power to restrain executive compensation.

Months of debate in the US Congress lie ahead.

Committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives have scheduled more than a dozen hearings on regulatory reform between now and mid-July.

"The US will have a systematic-financial-stability regulator. But we are not going to have a unified regulatory body like in Japan or the United Kingdom. We are going to be more like China, which has different regulators, but their role will be more clarified," David Loevinger, the Treasury's newly-appointed executive secretary told China Daily Wednesday.

The US Treasury official stressed that the September G20 meeting will also be "an important part" of the Obama administration's financial reform.

"The G20 is a going to be a very important body going forward. Whatever we do in the US to strengthen our financial regulation and supervision

"We know we have to work with China and other critical partners to strengthen financial supervision," said Loevinger, who is also the senior coordinator for China affairs and the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

"We are seeing some risk stability and recovery in the US financial market, and risk premium is coming down. Financial markets are rising, and banks are beginning to lend to each other, and this are optimistic."

Yi Xianrong, an economist with the China Academy of Social Sciences, said: "The cumulative risk in the US requires financial regulation to be more dynamic, rather than static, which means it has to be sound enough to monitor the entire financial system. Letting the Fed play a bigger role in financial regulation is a move in the right direction."

But Sun Lijian, a professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the country should not rush in to copy US reforms.

"The US reform plan aims to fine-tune its financial sector and set financial innovation on a more sustainable and healthy development track," he said.

"In China, where financial innovation is still in its infancy, we must make sure that regulations are not too strict to stifle the vitality of the financial system."

China, Russia sign five-point joint statement

China and Russia Wednesday signed a five-point statement on bilateral relations and mutual cooperation.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev during the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Russia in Moscow, capital of Russia, June 17, 2009. [Rao Aimin/Xinhua]

Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and the meeting of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in Yekaterinburg in central Russia on June 15 and June 16. He arrived in Moscow Tuesday for a three-day state visit.

China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation

Hu, who is on a state visit to Russia, discussed the current situation and prospect of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. The two leaders held in-depth exchange of views on major international and regional issues and reached broad consensus.

The two sides are satisfied with the development of the Sino-Russian relations in the past year.

China and Russia thoroughly completed the boundary demarcation work between them in 2008, and ratified the Action Plan to Implement the China-Russia Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation (2009-2012).

The two countries have launched energy negotiations at Vice-Premier level and signed an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the field of crude oil.

The two leaders stressed that mutual supports on issues related to their core interests are an important part of the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation.

The Russian side reiterated that Taiwan and Tibet are inalienable parts of the Chinese territory. Russia will not change its stand on the issues concerning Taiwan and Tibet and will support the peaceful development of the cross-Straits relations and China's peaceful reunification.

The two sides emphasized that mutual supports on issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity are of vital importance. The Chinese side backed Russia's efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the region of Caucasus.

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