Day: April 13, 2021

(Xinhua)08:59, December 28, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — Chinas fixed-asset investment in transport is forecast to reach over 3.42 trillion yuan (about 523.47 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to a national transport work conference.

In breakdown, railway sector investments will likely reach 778 billion yuan, and that on civil aviation will hit 105 billion yuan. Road and waterway construction will take up the largest share of investments, with over 2.54 trillion yuan, said the conference.

The country will invest about 2.4 trillion yuan in the transportation industry in 2021, said Minister of Transport Li Xiaopeng.

China is forging ahead in developing a comprehensive and multidimensional traffic network that is intelligent, safe and green to become a world leader in the field, according to a white paper released on Tuesday.

By the end of 2019, China had 139,000 km of rail track, of which high-speed lines represented 35,000 km. It also had a total of more than 5 million km of highways, of which expressways represented 150,000 km, according to the white paper.

(Xinhua)09:00, December 28, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange carried out regulatory talks with Ant Group on Saturday.

The financial regulators identified major problems in Ant Groups business operations and asked the group to come up with a rectification plan and set a timetable as soon as possible to fix the problems.

The following are the key takeaways of the talks according to the remarks of the deputy head of the PBOC Pan Gongsheng in response to media questions.

BACKGROUND OF THE TALKS

In December, a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the annual Central Economic Work Conference both called for strengthened antitrust efforts and the prevention of disorderly capital expansion, putting forward clear requirements for financial management in related areas.

The countrys financial regulators will follow these requirements, supervise market entities in the financial sector in accordance with laws and rules, strictly investigate and punish violations of laws and regulations, rein in disorderly capital expansion, and safeguard fair competition and financial market order.

Since its establishment, Ant Group has played an innovative role in developing financial technologies, and improving the efficiency and inclusiveness of financial services.

However, as an influential enterprise in the fields of fintech and the platform economy, Ant Group must comply with national laws and regulations, integrate its development into the overall development of the country, and live up to corporate social responsibility.

The main purpose of the talks was to urge and guide Ant Group to follow market-driven and law-based principles, implement requirements regarding financial supervision, fair competition and protection of consumers legitimate rights and interests, and standardize the operation and development of its financial businesses.

ANT GROUPS OPERATING PROBLEMS

The groups major operating problems include flaws in its corporate governance mechanism and poor legal awareness, flouting regulatory compliance requirements, foul play for regulatory arbitrage, leveraging market dominance to exclude competitors, and hurting consumers legitimate rights and interests, which led to consumer complaints.

SUPERVISION REQUIREMENT

The Ant Group has been asked to return to its original business as a payment services provider and enhance transparency of transactions, and the group is strictly prohibited from unfair competition.

The company should carry out individual credit reporting business that is compliant with laws and regulations, and should protect personal data privacy.

The group must set up a financial holdings company in accordance with laws, strictly implement supervision requirements and ensure capital sufficiency and legality of relevant businesses.

The company has also been urged to improve corporate governance and strictly rectify illegal credit loans, insurance, wealth management and other financial activities in accordance with supervision requirements.

It must also operate securities and funds businesses in accordance with laws and regulations, strengthen governance of securities institutions and carry out asset securitization businesses in compliance with regulations.

Meanwhile, Ant Group should strengthen risk management and control, maintain business continuity and normal business operations, and ensure quality financial services for the public.

Financial regulators will keep close communications with Ant Group and listen fully to its opinions.

POLICY ORIENTATION FOR FUTURE SUPERVISION

Financial regulators will continue to encourage and support fintech companies, as ever, to make innovations on the premise of serving the real economy and complying with prudent supervision.

Fintech companies must foster a sense of strictly abiding by financial supervision, a market awareness of resolutely safeguarding fair competition and a service awareness that places the protection of consumers rights and interests at its core.

In terms of policy orientation for future supervision, Pan listed the following several principles: resolutely breaking monopolies, rectifying, investigating and punishing unfair competition to safeguard a sound market order; putting all financial activities under supervision in line with laws and rules, with all financial businesses licensed, and exercising zero tolerance for all kinds of law-breaking behaviors; protecting intellectual property rights in line with laws, upholding entrepreneurship, inspiring market entities vitality and social creativity, and enhancing the core competitiveness of the countrys fintech enterprises in the global market.

Fintech and internet platform enterprises are fresh business forms that innovate and evolve rapidly, taking on many new features. Financial regulators will continue to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in supervision, while jointly promoting innovations of financial technologies as well as the healthy development of the financial system.

(Xinhua)09:02, December 28, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — Most major production goods monitored by the government posted higher prices in mid-December compared with the previous 10 days, official data showed.

Of the 50 goods monitored by the government, including seamless steel tubes, gasoline, coal, fertilizer and some chemicals, the price of 33 goods rose during the period, while 13 posted dropping prices and four saw their prices unchanged, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Liquefied natural gas led the upward trend with a 26.3-percent growth in prices, followed by methanol and polyester filament, according to the NBS.

The reading, released every 10 days, is based on a survey of nearly 2,000 wholesalers and distributors in 31 provinces and regions.

(Xinhua)09:02, December 28, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — Chinas telecommunications industry registered steady growth in revenue in the first 11 months of this year, official data shows.

The combined industrial revenue rose 3.5 percent year on year to 1.25 trillion yuan (about 191.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-November period, up 0.2 percentage points from growth in the first 10 months, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Revenue from fixed-line telecommunications across Chinas three telecom giants — China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom — amounted to 427.5 billion yuan during the period, climbing 11.6 percent year on year.

By the end of November, China had 1.6 billion mobile phone users, with the number of 4G subscribers edging up 1.3 percent year on year to 1.29 billion, the ministry said.

The three telecom companies also saw a steady increase in the number of fixed broadband internet users by the end of November, with subscribers rising 6.9 percent year on year to 483 million, a net increase of 33.49 million from the end of last year.

(Xinhua)09:17, December 28, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — Chinas financial regulators have identified major problems in Ant Groups business operations and have urged the company to make plans and set a timetable as soon as possible to fix the problems in accordance with supervision requirements.

The groups major operating problems include flaws in its corporate governance mechanism and poor legal awareness, flouting regulatory compliance requirements, foul play for regulatory arbitrage, leveraging market dominance to exclude competitors, and hurting consumers legitimate rights and interests, which led to consumer complaints, said Pan Gongsheng, deputy head of the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC).

The requirements for the group to rectify its business operations were put forward during the regulatory talks carried out by the PBOC, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Saturday.

The Ant Group has been asked to return to its original business as a payment services provider and enhance the transparency of transactions, and the group is strictly prohibited from unfair competition, Pan said when answering questions from the press.

The company should carry out individual credit reporting business that is compliant with laws and regulations, and should protect personal data privacy, said Pan.

He said Ant Group must set up a financial holdings company in accordance with laws, strictly implement supervision requirements and ensure capital sufficiency and legality of relevant businesses.

The company has also been urged to improve corporate governance, strictly rectify illegal credit loans, insurance, wealth management and other financial activities in accordance with supervision requirements, said Pan. It must also operate securities and funds businesses in accordance with laws and regulations, strengthen governance of securities institutions and carry out asset securitization businesses in compliance with regulations, he said.

Pan said Ant Group should strengthen risk management and control, maintain business continuity and normal business operations, and ensure quality financial services for the public.

Financial regulators will keep close communications with Ant Group and listen fully to its opinions.

Pan said financial regulators will continue to encourage and support fintech companies, as ever, to make innovations on the premise of serving the real economy and complying with prudent supervision.

Fintech companies must foster a sense of strictly abiding by financial supervision, a market awareness of resolutely safeguarding fair competition and a service awareness that places the protection of consumers rights and interests at its core, he said.

In terms of policy orientation for future supervision, Pan listed the following several principles: resolutely breaking monopolies, rectifying, investigating and punishing unfair competition to safeguard a sound market order; putting all financial activities under supervision in line with laws and rules, with all financial businesses licensed, and exercising zero tolerance for all kinds of law-breaking behaviors; protecting intellectual property rights in line with laws, upholding entrepreneurship, inspiring market entities vitality and social creativity, and enhancing the core competitiveness of the countrys fintech enterprises in the global market.

Fintech and internet platform enterprises are fresh business forms that innovate and evolve rapidly, taking on many new features, he said. Financial regulators will continue to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation in supervision, while jointly promoting innovations of financial technologies as well as the healthy development of the financial system.

Since its establishment, Ant Group has played an innovative role in developing financial technologies, and improving the efficiency and inclusiveness of financial services, said Pan.

However, as an influential enterprise in the fields of fintech and the platform economy, Ant Group must comply with national laws and regulations, integrate its development into the overall development of the country, and live up to corporate social responsibility, he said.