China

Pension Growth

Chinese authorities have decided to raise pensions for corporate retirees by 10 percent to cope with the rising cost of living. The new rule retroactively took effect on January 1. Pensions will be raised based on the 2012 basic level of monthly pensions per capita. The Central Government pledged to establish a pension-adjusting mechanism to ensure that pensions for corporate retirees could be raised gradually. Their per-capita monthly pensions have been increased from 700 yuan ($111) in 2005 to 1,721 yuan ($273) in 2012.

China

Patent Authorization

The State Intellectual Property Office granted 1.26 million patents to domestic and overseas applicants in 2012, up 31.25 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the office in January. In 2012, the office received 2.05 million patent applications from inside and outside of China, a year-on-year increase of 25.77 percent. The office grants patents in three categories: inventions, utility models and designs.

China

Air Quality Data

The China National Environmental Monitoring Center released air quality data on New Year's Day, including intensity of fine particulate matter with a diameter under 2.5 microns (PM2.5). On January 1, 2013, 496 sites in 74 major Chinese cities began monitoring PM2.5 data. Information on particulate matter in China used to be limited to particulate matter 10 microns or less in diameter. Live air quality data are provided at the center's website, www.cnemc.cn. A mobile phone application is also available. China's urban air quality monitoring will proceed in stages, with all prefecture-level cities slated to begin PM2.5 monitoring by 2016.

The number of Chinese accessing the Internet via mobile devices 2012: 420 million (XINHUA)

 Numbers:

420 million

The number of Chinese accessing the Internet via mobile devices in 2012

$38.2 billion

Total value of project contracts signed by Chinese enterprises and their African partners between Jan-Oct 2012

20

Number of spacecraft China plans to launch in 2013

6.2%

The year-on-year growth of China's foreign trade in 2012

20%+

Nigeria's housing sector's contribution to its GDP by 2020