Loosening Controls
China will expedite foreign exchange (forex) transactions in the services trade by cutting more red tape, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced recently. Under the new rules, which will take effect on September 1, a forex payment or settlement transaction of $50,000 or less in the services trade can proceed without having its transaction documents verified, said the SAFE. The simplified procedure is expected to benefit about 88 percent of Chinaís services-trade-related forex transactions, according to the SAFE.
WeChat 5.0
The battle between Chinaís Internet titans intensified as Tencent Holdings Ltd. started allowing its WeChat users to make online payments in early August, a move that taps into the lucrative e-commerce market, which has been traditionally dominated by Tencentís archrival Alibaba. The WeChat payment function can integrate bank accounts (credit or debit cards) with a customerís WeChat account, which allows WeChatís more than 400 million users to make purchases on several e-commerce platforms. WeChat, the most popular messaging and social media app developed by Tencent, released its newest version in August, giving the product its biggest update since it was launched in January 2011.
Aiding Small Firms
China suspended the value-added tax (VAT) and turnover tax for small businesses with monthly sales of less than 20,000 yuan ($3,226) starting from August 1, a move aimed at supporting the countryís fledging small businesses amid an economic slowdown. The move will benefit more than 6 million small companies and boost employment and income opportunities for tens of millions of people, according to a statement from the State Council. More efforts should be made to create a fair, open and convenient market environment, motivate market players and enhance construction in weak areas of the economy.
Green Investment
Chinaís investment in renewable energy during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15) will reach 1.8 trillion yuan ($294 billion) in addition to 2.3 trillion yuan ($375 billion) that will be spent on saving energy and reducing emissions. ìChina has carried out a series of policies to cope with climate change and we have achieved some success after several years of effort,î said Xie Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission. From 2006 to 2012, Chinaís energy consumption per unit of the GDP was reduced by 23.6 percent, which equals a reduction of 1.8 billion metric tons of carbon emissions. However, Xie admitted Chinaís economic development depends heavily on high-energy consumption and produces high emissions, and that the countryís emission per capita is higher than the global average. CA
Numbers
$885.2 billion The size of China's e-commerce industry market in the first half of 2013
20.12% June increase in China's FDI compared to a year earlier
$5.2 million Rwanda's tea export revenues in June 2013