Hoarding of grain inventory to receive government subsidies and illegally selling grain reserve to the market to reap a windfall; A recent fire at a storage facility has brought to the fore the problems linked with requiring so much gra

06.06.2013 17:10

Closer Look: Paying High Prices for Food Security Sacrifice

A recent fire at a storage facility has brought to the fore the problems linked with requiring so much grain held in store

By staff reporter Chang Hongxiao

A fire recently engulfed a regional grain reserve in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang has led to many questions, ranging from the cause of the blaze to why the grain was left in the open.

The fact that the fire occurred four days after a Communist Party discipline inspection team started to review the company’s top officials spurred further speculation. Read more of this post

Victor Shih: “This Cultural Revolution shock committed the post-Mao leadership to pursue decentralisation policies throughout much of the 1980s”

Mao’s rampages a driving force of regional growth

June 7, 2013

John Garnaut

The risks are growing that China, which underwrites the Australian economy, will succumb to a financial crisis. This has not sunk in for Australian policy makers, perhaps because the implications are just too large, but it is the view forming among a large number of investors and economists who watch the data and investigate ground-level conditions closely. It looks as though China is in the middle of one of history’s great credit expansions, and all that money is no longer generating growth in gross domestic product. The accelerator is pressed to the floor, the tank is getting low, but the wheels are not getting traction like they used to.

Read more of this post

China losing top-notch talent ‘at highest rate in world’; An average of 87 per cent of students in science and engineering stay overseas

China losing top-notch talent ‘at highest rate in world’

Friday, 07 June, 2013, 12:00am

Bloomberg in Beijing

China losing its best talent at highest rate in the world, says official from working group

China is losing top-notch talent at the highest rate in the world as students who seek degrees abroad opt to remain overseas, the official People’s Daily reported yesterday.

An average of 87 per cent of students in science and engineering stay overseas, the newspaper said, citing an official from a government working group on talent. China needs to compete better for human talent, the report cited the official as saying. Read more of this post

How the Gaokao Make or Break Chinese Lives

How the Gaokao Make or Break Chinese Lives

07JUN2013

On June 7th, around 9 million Chinese high school students will begin the three-day-longGaokao college entrance exam. Despite the massive scale of the test and the seemingly glacial pace of reform in Chinese education, some interesting developments have affected this year’s test takers – and by extension, prospective applicants to schools abroad. Read more of this post

With big U.S. pork buy and diet shift, China now asks: “Where’s the beef?”

With big U.S. pork buy and diet shift, China now asks: “Where’s the beef?”

Wed, Jun 5 2013

By Dominique Patton and Niu Shuping

DACHANG, China (Reuters) – With more money in their pockets, millions of Chinese are seeking a richer diet and switching to beef, driving imports to record levels and sending local meat firms abroad to scout for potential acquisition targets among beef farmers and processors.

The need to feed the world’s most populous nation has seen Chinese firms gobble up foreign dairy, sugar and cereal producers, and Shuanghui International’s $4.7 billion bid last week for top U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods is just the country’s latest food ‘land grab’. Read more of this post

China Vanke Chairman Says Country Faces Risk of Home Bubble

China Vanke Chairman Says Country Faces Risk of Home Bubble

China Vanke Co. (000002) Chairman Wang Shi said the country’s property market faces the risk of a “bubble,” reiterating concerns the nation’s biggest developer by sales raised three months ago.

The bubble isn’t “light,” Wang said at a conference in Shanghai today. “If the bubble lasted, it will be dangerous.” Read more of this post

Beijing Raises Cab Fares as Taxis Disappear During Rush Hours

Beijing Raises Cab Fares as Taxis Disappear During Rush Hours

Beijing will raise taxi fares for the first time since 2006 to boost driver incomes after customer complaints that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to hail a cab in China’s capital city.

Starting from June 10, the base fare will be increased 30 percent to 13 yuan ($2.12) for the first 3 kilometers (1.86 miles), the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform said in a statement posted on its website. Each additional kilometer will cost 2.3 yuan, up from 2 yuan currently, according to the statement.

Beijing, which has been voted as having the world’s worst commute, is raising taxi fares to entice cab drivers to brave the morning and evening rush hours, when demand by the city’s 20.7 million residents is highest and traffic jams are at their most severe. Read more of this post

China’s trade threat leaves bitter taste in French wine world

China’s trade threat leaves bitter taste in French wine world

10:26am EDT

By Muriel Boselli and Catherine Bremer

PARIS (Reuters) – Beijing’s salvo at European wine exports has brought into focus simmering French unease about the growing power the Chinese wield over their cherished vines, as consumers, investors and even chateaux owners.

Responding to an EU move to impose duties on Chinese solar panels, China launched an anti-dumping inquiry into European wine sales this week that could lead to exporters in France, along with Spain and Italy, being hit with retaliatory duties.

The French government reacted angrily and indignant producers of Bordeaux – which China’s wealthy have developed a seemingly unquenchable thirst for – snorted that they had nothing to do with solar panels. Read more of this post

After tech success, Israel seeks life sciences growth

After tech success, Israel seeks life sciences growth

7:00am EDT

By Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer

HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) – Inspired by its success in high-tech electronics and software, Israel is hoping to pull off the same trick in life sciences. The Mediterranean country already boasts the world’s biggest generic drug maker and a host of smaller research-oriented companies. Now it aims to build on that foundation, offering incentives to multinationals to invest in a biopharmaceutical incubator fund, set up research centers and collaborate with local firms. High-tech has been one of Israel’s main growth engines and companies such as Intel Inc, IBM and Google Inc have major R&D centers in the country. Such companies make significant contributions to the tech sector’s advancement, says the government’s Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS), which hopes to see the creation of similar R&D hubs in the pharmaceutical industry. Read more of this post

A cancer that erodes morality and wellbeing: most of Thailand’s business leaders acknowledge that corruption has been rampant since 2010

A cancer that erodes morality and wellbeing

According to the IOD poll, most of Thailand’s business leaders acknowledge that corruption has been rampant since 2010. -The Nation/ANN 
Thu, Jun 06, 2013
The Nation/Asia News Network

Corruption infects Thailand at every level, causing harm to the individual citizen, the national economy and our business environment; our very future could lie in the balance. The cost of doing business in Thailand is increasing due to corruption. Between 10 and 30 per cent in extra costs are added to business operations because firms have to pay kickbacks, according to their executives. Sixty-three per cent of corporate executives surveyed recently by the Thai Institute of Directors (IOD) said corruption has an impact on their business operations at “high and very high levels”. Ninety-three per cent agreed that the problem of corruption continues at a seriously critical level.

Read more of this post

Fewest Hedge Funds Invest in Gold Since 2010 as Assets Fall 31%

Fewest Hedge Funds Invest in Gold Since 2010 as Assets Fall 31%

The rout in gold that drove the metal into a bear market cut the number of hedge funds investing in bullion to the lowest level since 2010 as assets slumped 31 percent this year on losses and redemptions.

Performance declines tied to volatility and withdrawals led either to closures or a shift in strategies, Farhan Mumtaz, an analyst at EurekaHedge Pte Ltd., the Singapore-based fund-research company, said in an interview. The number of funds investing in gold fell to 290 globally by May compared with 310 in December, and their assets shrank to $22.2 billion from $32.1 billion in the same period, he said on June 5. EurekaHedge has tracked gold-investing hedge funds for 10 years, he said. Read more of this post

Imported $60 Stout Opens Doors for Japan Craft Beer Revival; Domestic shipments by the nation’s five largest beermakers dropped to a record low for the eight straight year in 2012

$60 Imported Stout Opens Doors for Japan Craft Beer Revival

Naoyuki Ide is betting that a weaker yen will drive more Japanese people to drink his locally made craft beers.

The president of Yo-Ho Brewing Co. is boosting production capacity at the microbrewery in Nagano, central Japan, by 50 percent this year as he anticipates the currency’s decline will force importers to raise prices for foreign brands, giving local craft brewers such as his a competitive edge.

“If the yen weakens more, they’ll have to increase import beer prices in the near future,” Ide, whose company makes Yona Yona Ale and Tokyo Black beer, said in an interview. “Import beers cater to people’s growing taste for beer with character, but if customers are looking for something distinct, they may choose our beer instead, because it’ll be cheaper.” Read more of this post