Temat: BusinessNews.com.pl - 10.08.2007 Agencja Xinhua

http://BusinessChina.com.pl News 10.08.2007

Uzbekistan reaffirms one-China policy

Cyprus reaffirms one-China policy

China says SCO military drill not targeting any country

2008 Olympics gets green fruits

IOC chief Rogge awarded honorary citizenship of China's Lijiang City

Chinese Vice President visits Inner Mongolian city

China Focus: China's monthly trade surplus down 10 pct

(Beijing Olympics) Thai official faces language problem in Beijing

Tropical storm Pabuk shortens stocks trading, disrupts traffic in HK

Corrupted prison officials jailed for providing preferential treatment to Shanghai property tycoon

China ready to launch first lunar satellite

Interview: ASEAN should play more pro-active role in global financial system: Thai Finance Minister

China plans to measure the soil of the moon: expert

China Enterprises Index tumbles 3.18 pct in shortened trade -- Aug. 10

Gold price lower in Hong Kong -- Aug. 10

"China is developing at an unimaginable speed": ABP director

China claims to be repelling software pirates

Chinese vice president urges local officials to make breakthroghs in economic, social development

Xinhua summary of Asia-Pacific stocks news at 1100 GMT, Aug. 10

Foreign exchange rates in Singapore

Indian stock market closes sharply lower

Jakarta shares close lower

Colombo stocks close down

Singapore shares end sharply lower

First Mongolia-China entrepreneurs' forum opens in Ulan Bator

Singapore raises annual economic growth forecast

PetroChina shareholders approve company's Shanghai bourse debut

Chinese shares close lower amid global losses, ahead of inflation data release


Uzbekistan reaffirms one-China policy

MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan reaffirmed on Friday its one-China policy and regards Taiwan an inseparable part of China, according to reports reaching here.
"Uzbekistan recognizes that there exists only one China in the world and that the government of the People's Republic of China is its only legitimate government. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China," Interfax quoted a Uzbekistan Foreign Ministry statement as saying.
The statement mentioned attempts by the Taiwan authorities to join the United Nations and to hold a referendum on the issue, reaffirming its principle concerning Taiwan as recorded in a Treaty of Partnership, Friendship and Cooperation with China.
The statement was made in response to recent moves by the Taiwan authorities under Chen Shui-bian to push for UN membership under the name of "Taiwan," attracting opposition from the international community, including the United States and the European Union.
The Taiwan authorities on July 19 sent a letter to UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon, raising an application to join the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan." Meanwhile, Chen Shui-bian has been pushing for a plan to hold a "referendum" inside Taiwan on its entry to the United Nations under the name of "Taiwan."
A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on July 23 that the UN Office of Legal Affairs had rejected the application for UN membership by Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian, saying that the decision was made in keeping with resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly, which determined that the United Nations abides by the one-China policy.
On July 31, China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, in his capacity as the rotating president of the UN Security Council in July, rejected the Taiwan authorities' application forwarded by representatives of Swaziland and the Solomon Islands to the United Nations.
The Chinese government condemned the Taiwan authorities' secessionist attempts, including the application for UN membership and the referendum bid, as "ridiculous" and "doomed to failure."


Cyprus reaffirms one-China policy

NICOSIA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Cyprus government adheres to the one-China policy and deplores the secessionist attempts by Taiwan authorities, Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou- Markoullis said on Friday.
She made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese ambassador to Cyprus Zhao Yali.
In response to the latest failed move by the Taiwan authorities to apply for UN membership under the name of "Taiwan," the minister pointed out that such an attempt would only destabilize the region of eastern Asia.
Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador expressed China's constant and unwavering support to a just and viable solution of the Cyprus problem, based on UN Security Council resolutions and the principles of international law.
Markoullis and Zhao also discussed prospects for enhancing the already excellent bilateral relations and expanding bilateral cooperation in international fora, according to an official release from the Cypriot Foreign Ministry.


China says SCO military drill not targeting any country

MOSCOW, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- An ongoing joint military exercise sponsored by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will not target at any country or organization but is a support to the international war against terrorism, a senior Chinese diplomat said Friday.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Liu Guchang told reporters at a press conference here that the "Peace Mission 2007" exercise, the first joint anti-terror drill involving military forces from all SCO member countries, will be observed by heads of states of the six nations.
"It indicated the importance attached by member countries to the drill and their firm will to enhance cooperation, jointly crack down on the three evil forces, maintain regional peace, security and stability as well as determination to promote the development of SCO," he said.
The SCO, which holds a defense and security principle of fair, open and transparency, will not play as a close military bloc but will advocate for a new concept of security featuring mutual-trust, mutual-beneficial, equality and coordination, Liu said, noting it holds a principle of non-alliance, non-confrontation and will not target at any third country or organization.
Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO was aimed at enhancing security, trade, cultural, military and justice cooperation among member countries.
The 10-day exercise will promote exchange and cooperation among China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and improve their ability in jointly fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism and coping with new threat and challenges, Liu said.
The chiefs of staff of armed forces of the six member nations ordered commanders of various troops to launch the long-prepared anti-terror drill on Thursday, following strategic consultations in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
About 6,500 troops and 80 aircraft are expected to take part in the drill in Russia's Ural Mountains city Chelyabinsk and in Urumqi from Aug. 9 to 17.
A total of 1,600 officers and soldiers from land and air forces of Chinese People's Liberation Army will participate in the drill.

2008 Olympics gets green fruits

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Pinggu District of Beijing, the largest peach-producing base in China, has been selected to supply 40 kinds of green fruits for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Ten thousand peach farmers of Pinggu made pledges not to use banned pesticides and fertilizers in fruits for the Olympic Games at a ceremony held here on Friday.
The Chinese government says it is able to guarantee the food safety for the Games. An elaborate monitoring system will be applied to help oversee the whole process of food production, processing and transportation, said Wang Wei, executive vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
The 40 kinds of fruits to be supplied by Pinggu District include peach, pear, apple and plum.
Pinggu has 27,200 hectares of area planted with fruit trees, making it the biggest fruit producing area of Beijing.
It yields 89 million kilograms of unpolluted fruits each year.


IOC chief Rogge awarded honorary citizenship of China's Lijiang City

LIJIANG, Southwest China, August 10 (Xinhua) -- Jacque Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and his wife were awarded honorary citizenship by Lijiang city soon after arriving the World Culture Heritage site on Friday.
Rogge, who arrived here Friday afternoon after visiting the Kungfu-renowned Shaolin Temple in central China, is attracted by the charming ancient town and beautiful view.
"I hope the upcoming Beijing Olympics will bring more changes to the charming town," Rogge said.


Chinese Vice President visits Inner Mongolian city

WUHAI, Inner Mongolia, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong called for boosting the development of modern agriculture during an inspection tour to Wuhai, a city in western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Friday.
"Development of modern agriculture is the primary task of building socialist new countryside," Zeng said while visiting Haibowan modern farming demonstration park in Wuhai.
Zeng urged local people to develop high-efficient and environment-friendly agriculture by applying up-to-date technology and expertise, continue to increase farmers' income and break a new path in narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas.
As a rising industrial city featuring mining and chemical development, the city shoulders a tough task to reduce pollution and reduce energy consumption. Zeng hopes the city to balance environment protection with the economic development.
Zeng was here with the central government delegation to mark Inner Mongolia' 60th founding anniversary.
Oyunqemag, vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and deputy head of the central government delegation, met with local officials and residents in Hohhot and Ulanqab cities on Friday.

China Focus: China's monthly trade surplus down 10 pct

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's monthly trade surplus in July dropped 2.55 billion U.S. dollars, or 10.4 percent, from June to 24.35 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday.
The figure was the second highest monthly level on record.
The country's trade surplus totaled 136.81 billion dollars in the first seven months, the administration said.
July's imports and exports both hit monthly records: imports rose 26.9 percent on July last year to 83.39 billion dollars while exports were up 34.2 percent to 107.74 billion dollars.
Imports rose 7.03 billion dollars from June while exports were up 4.47 billion dollars.
China's foreign trade for the first seven months totaled 1.17 trillion U.S. dollars, up 24.4 percent from the same period last year.
A report published on Wednesday by the People's Bank of China predicted that the country's trade surplus would remain high while the growth is expected to slow.
It predicted that global demand will remain strong as the world economy may grow by four percent year on year. Meanwhile, accelerating investment in China will result in increased export capacity.
Customs data shows China's processing trade in the first seven months rose 18.5 percent over the same period last year to 523.8 billion dollars, accounting for nearly half of the country's imports and exports.
Qi Jingmei, an analyst with the State Information Center, predicted that export growth in the second half will slow down to 21 percent to 24 percent as the country moves to ease trade restriction with other countries.
In the first seven months, the European Union remained China's top trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching 190 billion U.S. dollars, up 28.5 percent on last year.
The growth was 11 percentage points higher than China-U.S. trade growth in the same period and 13.3 percentage points higher than China-Japan trade growth.
Despite the yuan's appreciation, the government still faced difficulty in reducing the trade surplus, said Zhang Yansheng, director of the International Economic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.
The currency appreciation failed to affect foreign trade as expected, Zhang said.
More than 55 percent of China's exports were made by foreign-funded enterprises, which were little affected by the appreciation as 70 to 90 percent of their materials and spare parts were purchased aboard, he said.
Most foreign-funded enterprises were also unaffected by reduced or canceled export rebates measures as they were chiefly in the IT and equipment manufacturing industries rather than steel and textiles, which were covered by export rebates, Zhang said.
To avoid or reduce the impact of appreciation and export rebate measures, large domestic businesses chose to develop new products, raise prices and produce goods unlisted in the rebate-cut measures, he said.

(Beijing Olympics) Thai official faces language problem in Beijing

By sportswriter Ma Xiangfei
BANGKOK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Language was a problem for the Thai Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Varakorn Samakoses when he had a meeting in Beijing last week.
Having returned from UNESCO Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy to Bangkok for the ongoing World University Games, Samakoses told Xinhua on Friday, "I had a problem finding people speaking English in Beijing."
"Even in the hotel I stayed, there were not many people speaking English," said the vice minister who is also the vice president of the Bangkok Universiade organizing committee.
However, he knew that many Beijing residents were learning English for the Beijing Olympics.
"I hope it will be better in the future," he added.
Beijing is making great efforts in breaking the language barrier in the Chinese capital during its preparation for the Olympic Games, slated to open on Aug. 8 next year.
The government launched the Beijing Speaks Foreign Languages Program in 2002 in an effort to raise Beijing residents' English level.
English Corners were set up in many districts of Beijing and English speech contests were held frequently in recent years.
By the end of January 2007, the Beijing municipal government had completed the translation of the names of 1,000 Chinese dishes and issued the English Translation of Public Signs.

Tropical storm Pabuk shortens stocks trading, disrupts traffic in HK

HONG KONG, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tropical storm Pabuk made a powerful landfall Friday afternoon in Hong Kong and forced the stock market to close ealier and caused large-scale traffic chaos in the cosmopolis.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a tropical cyclone warning signal No. 8 at 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT), the first of its kind in three years, advising the public to return home immediately and closed all of the city's schools.
Trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was suspended at 2:45 p.m. (0645 GMT) due to the cyclone warning, only 15 minutes after the trading was resumed in the afternoon session and one hour and 15 minutes earlier than usual.
By 9:00 p.m. (1300 GMT) tropical storm Pabuk was centered about 90 kilometers west of the Hong Kong Observatory but the tropical cyclone warning signal was still in force in the city.
There have been no reports of casualty by the press time.
Under hours of the tropical storm Pabuk's battering, maximum winds of 90 kilometers per hour were measured in the territory, with gusts of up to 111 kilometers per hour, according to the observatory.
As at 9:00 p.m. (1300 GMT)), the Home Affairs Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has opened 26 temporary shelters in various districts for 198 people in need of refuge during the passage of tropical storm Pabuk.
While the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Highways Department have received a total of 33 reports of fallen tress and trunks. There has been no flooding and landslide report so far.
Thousands of people rushing for home once jammed the subway station in Central and a couple of people were reported to pass out when waiting for the train. Long queues were also formed outside bus stops until dusk.
Both the MTR and KCR, two of Hong Kong subway or railway public transporters, have strengthened train services to cope with the upsurge in demand. The Peak Tram, which is a must for visitors coming to Hong Kong, has also stopped service and the frequency of trams has been reduced to 8-minute interval.
Apart from some suspended routes, bus services have been enhanced. However, all ferry services have been suspended because of heavy sea.
Service at the Hong Kong International Airport remains normal by the press time but the airport authority urged passengers to inquire relevant airlines for the update of the flight information.
Hong Kong Observatory said gale force winds and heavy rain are expected on Saturday but the winds would weaken later in the weekend.

Corrupted prison officials jailed for providing preferential treatment to Shanghai property tycoon

SHANGHAI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Four prison officials in Shanghai have been jailed for taking bribes and providing preferential treatment to Zhou Zhengyi, a convicted property tycoon, local courts said Friday.
Zhou Zhengyi, former president of Shanghai-based property firm Nongkai Development Group, had been charged and convicted for fraud and stock manipulation.
Zhou was arrested and put into the Shanghai Detention House on May. 26, 2003, which keeps prisoners awaiting trial. He was transferred to the Shanghai Tilanqiao Prison on June. 26, 2004, after being sentenced on June 1, 2004 to a three-year jail term.
The Shanghai No. 2 People's Court heard that Huang Jian, former director of the detention house, has taken 400,000 yuan of bribes (about 52,600 U.S. dollars) in return for preferential treatment to Zhou. The court sentenced Huang to 11 years in prison, and sentenced his wife to three years in prison for collusion, but gave her a three year reprieve.
The court also gave jail terms to two other prison officials who took bribes and offered convenience to Zhou in the prison. Wang Zhengming, director of the prison affairs department of the Shanghai Prison Administration, was given two years of imprisonment and two years reprieve, for taking 41,000 yuan (about 5,400 U.S. dollars) of bribes from people related to Zhou.
Yu Jinbao, a supervisor in the Shanghai Tilanqiao prison, was sentenced to two years in prison.
The court said Yu had helped his wife to sign a contract to decorate the house of one of Zhou's relatives. Yu had also written more than 200 letters to try to get Zhou's sentence commuted, it said.
Fu Kehu, another supervisor in the prison who was tried in the Shanghai Hongkou District People's Court, was jailed for two years for accepting a car worth 77,000 yuan from people related to Zhou.
Zhou, 45 and also known as Chau Ching-ngai, started business as a teenager in a wonton noodle shop. In 2002, Forbes estimated Zhou's wealth at about 320 million U.S. dollars.
In January this year, Zhou was re-arrested on charges of bribery and forging VAT receipts, just months after being released from prison in May, last year.

China ready to launch first lunar satellite

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China will soon launch its first circumlunar satellite as part of its ambitious moon exploration program enters the stage of implementation, sources with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said here on Friday.
Development of the satellite, called Chang'e I after the legendary Chinese goddess Chang'e who flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A has been completed after numerous tests, said a CNSA official, who declined to be named.
The moon probe satellite is expected to fulfill a string of missions, including collecting three-dimensional moon images and exploring lunar features.
More than 10,000 scientists and technicians took three years to develop Chang'e I and its supporting systems, a relatively short time compared with other countries, said Luan Enjie, chief commander of the lunar program.
The satellite launch will mark the first step of China's three-stage moon expedition called Chang'e project, which will have a landing on the moon and launching a moon rover around 2012. In the third phase, another rover will land on the moon and return to earth with lunar soil and stone samples for scientific research around 2017.
The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects.


Interview: ASEAN should play more pro-active role in global financial system: Thai Finance Minister
by Shen Min

BANGKOK, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- ASEAN countries should move to shift from a passive position to a pro-active role in global financial system by strengthening cooperation and convergence in exchange rate policies and foreign reserve investing strategies, Thailand's Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said.
As the ASEAN celebrated its 40th birthday on Aug. 8, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, the Minister looked to the potential of ASEAN, plus its three East Asia partners -- China, Japan and South Korea, to insert bigger influence on global financial system by promoting convergence of exchange rate policies and coordinating management of the region's huge foreign reserves.
Looking back, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has launched some initiatives to promote regional financial cooperation, one of the notable is the Chiang Mai Initiative.
The Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) is a scheme of bilateral swap arrangements introduced in 2000 in order to prevent a recurrence of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis. Under the scheme, the central banks of participating countries can swap foreign exchange reserves to counter speculative moves on their currencies.
The amount of money involved in the 16 signed bilateral arrangements has surpassed 80 billion U.S. dollars. The next step, as has been agreed at the last ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' meeting in Kyoto this May, would be moving from the bilateral system to multilateral one.
The proposal holds that by setting up a common pooling reserve, in which each country would input an amount of foreign reserve under a single agreement, any country in the framework could draw from the fund to cope with short-term liquidity difficulties.
Details of the single agreement, in regard to the size of the pooling amount and conditions on which country could draw the money, might take about two years to finalize, the Minister suggested. It would also require the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the fund.
However, the Minister conceded, the CMI, whether in bilateral or multilateral terms, would act more as a contingency plan which aims to provide self-help inside the region. With only a limited amount of foreign reserves to be involved, the system would not have impact on the regional or global market. Nor would it be sufficient to deal with a new financial crisis in a form different from the one that hit 10 years ago.
"In the past, if you ask who is guiding the global financial system, people would say the Federal Reserve (of the United States) . But in fact the Federal Reserve has now very limited influence even inside the U.S., let alone the global market," the Minister said.
While ASEAN, and its three East Asia partners -- China, Japan and South Korea, under the so-called ASEAN+3 framework, holding altogether foreign reserves of some 3 trillion U.S. dollars, would be able to insert huge influence on global financial market, not only in the exchange rates, but also the interest rates of the major currencies, he said.
"We have been very passive as individual countries in the past, simply witnessing and following what is happening in the global financial market. We should change to be more pro-active.
"It is time for us to think about which role we can play, and how we can play. We could also consider cooperating with the Federal Reserve, with the same goal to stabilize the global financial system".
The need to push exchange policy convergence could be reflected in the currency appreciation pressure faced by Thailand currently.
Since last year, due to the huge amount of foreign capital inflow to the local stock market, the exchange rate of the Thai baht has strengthened in a way much more rapidly than most of the other currencies of its neighbor countries, prompting the government to launch intervening measures to keep the currency stable.
Working separately on different exchange rate policies, each country in the region has tried to stabilize its currency so as to maintain competitiveness of its export sector, despite the continuous weakening of the U.S. dollar.
However, this would not be the sustainable way. The better way, the Minister suggested, is to find a sustainable regional solution, by converging the exchange policies.
"The challenge is to make our exchange policies more similar. If the currency rates in different countries are changing in the same direction, or at the same amount, exporters would not feel the pressure."
Chalongphob admitted that there has been less progress made on the exchange rate cooperation issue. In the past, whenever the issue of exchange rate cooperation was raised, the proposals put forward tended to be too extreme, said Chalongphob.
One proposal was the idea of a single currency for the region as euro for the European Union, which Chalongphob believed was too unrealistic. The economic development levels of the EU member countries are similar, while it has not been the case with ASEAN, he explained, "It might need another 50 years to realize."
Although a single currency solution has been put aside, every nation agreed that a greater convergence in exchange policy has to be further discussed.
Equally important is the issue on seeking a common strategy for the region on how to manage the huge amount of foreign assets it holds.
A suggestion is to set up a forum that acts like an ASEAN+3 central bank to monitor the global financial system and decide investment strategy and policy direction for the region.
"We have the instrument, the resources, and the duty to seek a more pro-active stance. At least we need to have some input, or message into the global financial system."
A more concrete achievement in the ASEAN integration progress was the Free Trade Area (FTA) agreements. Most commodities being traded between ASEAN countries are now under 0 to 5 percent tariff. But beyond low tariffs, there still exist many other barriers to the free flows of products in the region that need to be cleared, Chalongphob said.
The target for ASEAN is to form the so-called ASEAN economic community by 2015, which aims to shape ASEAN as a single production and investment community. "That means when foreign investors think of ASEAN, they don't separate ASEAN countries, rather think of ASEAN as one region."
To further promote cooperation in economic or financial sectors depends on the political determination of the leaders, the Thai financial head said.
A major step towards that target being taken is the development of the ASEAN Charter.
"The ASEAN is still a very loose organization. Now, after 40 years, we began working on a Charter. We hope this would formalize ASEAN as a bloc."

China plans to measure the soil of the moon: expert

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China plans to measure every inch of the soil of the moon in its planned lunar probe program, said Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of the program.
By measuring the soil of the moon we can figure out the exact amount of helium-3, a resource for nuclear fusion, said Ouyang.
Earlier reports said China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, will most likely be launched in the second half of 2007.
Addressing a recent a forum for young workers in the provincial government departments in southwest China's Guizhou Province, Ouyang said there is about 15 tons of helium-3 on earth, while the volume of helium-3 on the moon is estimated at 1 to 5 million tons.
"When obtaining nuclear power from helium-3 becomes a reality, the resource on the moon can be used to generate electricity for more than ten thousand years for the whole world," Ouyang said.
China's moon exploration program will be carried out in three stages-- "circling the moon", "landing on the moon" and "back to earth", said Ouyang.
In the first phase China will launch an orbiter for preliminary exploration of the moon, in the second phase it will send a moon rover for precise probe in some area, and in the third phase lunar samples will be brought back to earth.
China carried out its maiden piloted space flight in October 2003, making it the third country in the world following the Soviet Union and the United States to have put men into space. In October 2005 China completed its second manned space flight, with two astronauts on board.

China Enterprises Index tumbles 3.18 pct in shortened trade -- Aug. 10

HONG KONG, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on Hong Kong Stock Exchange plunged 402.69 points, or 3.18 percent, to close at 12,276.06 in shortened trade Friday due to a tropical cyclone after renewed concerns over the credit market in the United States triggered large-scale sell-off in the global markets
The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on March 12, 2007, tracks the overall performance of 41 Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hang Seng China H-Financials Index fell 411.7 points, or 2.69 percent, to close at 14,872.56.
The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, tracks the performance of eight major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index lost 174.05 points, or 4.03 percent, to close at 4,147.66.
The index tracks the performance of 31 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index dropped 137.16 points, or 3.37 percent, to close at 3,937.13.
Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 and readjusted on Sept. 11, 2006, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 103 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

Gold price lower in Hong Kong -- Aug. 10

HONG KONG, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Gold price in Hong Kong fell 88 HK dollars from the previous trading to 6,168 HK dollars per tael Friday, according to the Bank of China (Hong Kong).


"China is developing at an unimaginable speed": ABP director

LOME, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Beninese News Agency (ABP) director general Yaovi Hounkponou has said China is developing at an unimaginable speed, according to news reaching here on Friday.
Speaking to Xinhua during an interview in the Beninese capital of Cotonou after visiting China recently, Hounkponou said China is a big country developing in all sectors. "Once you visit big Chinese cities, you realize how much Chinese people work and develop," he said.
During his visit to China, he visited historic sites such as " the Great Wall" and "the forbidden City." "We also visited and discovered other prestigious cities such as Tianjin, Shenzhen and Guangzhou," he said.
Commenting on China's economic development, ABP boss agrees that China has experienced indescribable development on the economic front. "This fact can be explained by the way that the Chinese people take their work seriously. One may be forgiven of thinking work is their religion because wherever we went we encountered Chinese people working day and night," Hounkponou said.
He hailed China's foreign policy which is based on friendly relations with all countries, and the cordial cooperation relations existing between China and Africa.
He said the interest that China attaches to joint prosperity can be discerned at all levels and contacts, and the fact that Chinese government affirms the objectives of China's Africa policy through various initiatives undertaken in this regards for the coming years. "This can be described as a win-win cooperation," he said.
The price is equivalent to 662.94 U.S. dollars a troy ounce, down 9.07 U.S. dollars at Friday's exchange rate of one U.S. dollar against 7.81 HK dollars.

China claims to be repelling software pirates

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's software piracy rate dropped eight percent last year, amid rising sales of foreign and domestic software firms, the State Copyright Bureau has announced.
Figures from the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) show pirated products accounted for 24 percent of China's software market last year, down two percentage points from 2005.
The proportion of pirated PC software last year was 53 percent, down by four percentage points from 2005, said the report by CNNIC.
"China is striving to crack down on piracy with governments at all levels leading the way in the use of legal software," said Xu Chao, deputy director general of the State Copyright Bureau Copyright Department, on Thursday.
Software piracy in China covers the pirating of discs, pre-installing pirated software, copying between users and illegal usage, according to a survey by the Ministry of Information Industry and the China Software Industry Association.
Copying between users was gradually replacing pirated discs as the main method of piracy, said the survey which covered hundreds of software companies and thousands of software users.
The government had to promote legal software to stamp out piracy and reducing prices was not necessarily effective, said the bureau.
China's software industry reported 2006 sales of 480 billion yuan (60 US dollars), of which software products accounted for about 274 billion yuan, said the report.
"The issue of intellectual property rights is very complex in China," said lawyer Yang Jun. "It will take a long time to educate ordinary people, many of whom consider selling and buying pirated disks a moral issue rather than an illegal action."
Since 1996, law enforcement agencies have stopped 231 illegal disc production lines that could have produced 220 million discs, said the Ministry of Public Security.
From 1994 to 2005, China confiscated 1.5 billion illegal publications, of which more than one billion were pirated discs, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Chinese vice president urges local officials to make breakthroghs in economic, social development

HOHHOT, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong has called on Party and government officials of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to seize opportunities and make new breakthroughs in local economic and social development.
Zeng made the remarks when meeting with local officials on Thursday. Zeng is in Inner Mongolia, north China, attending celebrations marking the region's 60th anniversary.
"Inner Mongolia, together with the entire nation, is standing on a new starting point for development, which requires officials to seize opportunities and develop the region with scientific concept," said Zeng, who conveyed festival greetings to local officials and people on behalf of the central government.
Zeng said, great changes have taken place in Inner Mongolia in the past 60 years, but he reminded local officials to continue adopting a modest and cautious working style, further emancipate their mind, unswervingly carry on opening-up and reform, and strive for the building of an affluent society in an all-round way.
He warned local officials not to be complacent over the region's past achievements but heighten their sense of hardships during the course of future development, and the sense of serving the people wholeheartedly.
With an area of 1.18 million square kilometers, Inner Mongolia is the first of five province-level autonomous regions established in China.


Xinhua summary of Asia-Pacific stocks news at 1100 GMT, Aug. 10

MANILA -- Philippine stock prices closed sharply lower on Friday following another slump in global equities markets amid worry about that the U.S. credit crisis was spreading elsewhere, dealers said.
The main composite index ended down 103.24 points or 3 percent at 3,281.96.
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SHANGHAI -- China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 4,749.37 on Friday, down 4.73 points, or 0.10 percent, from the previous close.
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SHENZHEN -- The Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange closed at 16,323.44 points on Friday, down 356.94 points, or 2.14 percent from the previous close.
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TOKYO -- Japan's key Nikkei stock index dived more than 400 points Friday.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost more than 500 points at one point before ending down 406.51 points, or 2.37 percent, at 16, 764.09, the lowest close since mid-March.
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WELLINGTON -- New Zealand share market closed lower Friday with the benchmark the NZSX-50 index falling 50.58 points at 4,109.84 on turnover of 163.5 million NZ dollars (117 million U.S. dollars).
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HONG KONG -- Hong Kong stocks closed sharply lower in a shortened session due to a tropical cyclone, with the benchmark Hang Seng index plunging 646.65 points or 2.88 percent to 21,792. 71.
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HANOI -- Vietnam's stock market index, VN-Index, closed at 935. 68 points on Friday, down 2.53 points, or 0.27 percent against Thursday.
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TAIPEI -- Share prices on the Taiwan Stock Exchange slumped Friday with the weighted index, the market's key barometer, moving down 251.29 points to close at 8,931.31.
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CANBERRA -- The Australian stock exchange market closed lower sharply Friday as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 plunged 229.6 points to 5,936, while the all ordinaries sank 222.5 points to 5,965.2.
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BANGKOK -- The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index on Friday moved down 6.99 points to close at 804.84 points.
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SINGAPORE -- The shares prices in Singapore closed sharply lower on Friday with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) reducing 54 points to end at 3,359.2 points.
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COLOMBO -- Share prices on the Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday, with the key Colombo All Share Price Index decreasing by 12.82 points or 0.53 percent to close at 2,422.17 points.
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JAKARTA -- Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange ended 1.5 percent lower Friday led by slides in auto firm Astra International and Bank Mandiri.
The composite index fell 34 points (0.94 percent) to close at 2, 207.4 points, with 3.2 billion shares worth 3.07 trillion rupiah ( 328.2 million U.S. dollars) changing hands.
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MUMBAI -- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 14868.25 points on Friday, down 231.90 points or 1.54 percent over the previous day close.

Foreign exchange rates in Singapore
SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The following are inter-bank rates of foreign currencies against the Singapore dollar on Friday.
Friday Wednesday
bid/ask bid/ask
Australian dollar 1.2857/1.2873 1.2963/1.2974
British pound 3.0761/3.0779 3.0614/3.0631
Euro 2.0824/2.0837 2.0797/2.0812
Hong Kong dollar 0.1945/0.1946 0.1933/0.1934
Japanese yen 100 1/2879/1.2888 1.2686/1.2696
Swiss franc 1.2727/1.2739 1.2642/1.2651
U.S. dollar 1.5210/1.5217 1.5130/1.5137

Indian stock market closes sharply lower

MUMBAI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at 14868.25 points on Friday, down 231.90 points or 1.54 percent over the previous day close.
Dealers said that the Sensex tracked the Wall Street decline and the weakness of the global stock market.
Of 2,660 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,591 declined, 1,023 advanced and 46 were unchanged.
Sensex is the common name for the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index. It consists of the 30 largest and most actively traded stocks, representative of various sectors, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The base year of Sensex is 1978-79 and the base value is 100.

Jakarta shares close lower

JAKARTA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange ended 1.5 percent lower Friday led by slides in auto firm Astra International and Bank Mandiri.
The composite index fell 34 points (0.94 percent) to close at 2, 207.4 points, with 3.2 billion shares worth 3.07 trillion rupiah ( 328.2 million U.S. dollars) changing hands.

Colombo stocks close down

COLOMBO, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Share prices on the Colombo Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday, with the key Colombo All Share Price Index decreasing by 12.82 points or 0.53 percent to close at 2,422.17 points.
The highly capitalized Milanka Price Index also decreased by 18. 85 points or 0.57 percent to close at 3,314.93 points.
A total turnover of 61.11 million rupees (about 555,545 U.S. dollars) was recorded during the day with a volume of 1.45 million shares being traded.
Losers beat gainers 160 to 26, while 45 other issues left unchanged.

Singapore shares end sharply lower

SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The shares prices in Singapore closed sharply lower on Friday with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) reducing 54 points to end at 3,359.2 points.
The overall volume stood at 2.26 billion shares worth 2.39 billion Singapore dollars (about 1.58 billion U.S. dollars).
Losers led gainers by 736 to 171 with another 27 unchanged.
On Wednesday, the STI index jumped 111.2 points to end at 3,413. 2 points.

First Mongolia-China entrepreneurs' forum opens in Ulan Bator

ULAN BATOR, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The first Mongolia-China entrepreneurs' forum opened here Friday.
Nearly 200 entrepreneurs from the two countries will talk about possibilities of cooperation at the six-day forum.
Mongolian Vice Prime Minister M. Enkhsaikhan said at the opening ceremony that the cooperation between the two countries in trade and economy has reached a high level.
Both sides should make more efforts to strengthen the cooperation, he said.
The Mongolian entrepreneurs' association and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia organized the forum.

Singapore raises annual economic growth forecast

Singapore raises annual economic growth forecast SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Singapore on Friday raised this year's economic growth forecast from 5-7 percent to 7-8 percent due to healthy external environment and continued growth across the major sectors in the coming months.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore's economy continued its growth trend in the second quarter of this year by increasing 8.6 percent year-on-year following 6.4 percent in the first quarter of this year.
On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualized basis, the country's economic growth jumped 14 percent from 8.8 percent in the previous quarter.
The city state's economy expanded by 7.6 percent in the first half of this year, and it is expected to grow by 7-8 percent this year.

PetroChina shareholders approve company's Shanghai bourse debut

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Shareholders of PetroChina Company Limited, a listed subsidiary of China's largest oil producer, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), on Friday approved a plan for the company's first domestic listing.
The plan for a public offering of up to four billion A shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) was approved by "a strong majority" at the extraordinary general meeting, said an insider with PetroChina.
Before listing in the domestic A-share market, the Hong Kong-listed company would also require approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the SSE and other authorities, according to a circular released earlier by PetroChina.
The insider did not give details about the price, but according to the circular, pricing would be determined through market consultation.
At the company's current share price in Hong Kong, the new issue could raise nearly six billion U.S. dollars.
The fund would be mainly used to finance the exploration and development of domestic petroleum and gas resources, the construction of large refinery, petrochemical and gas pipeline projects, and the acquisition of overseas petroleum and gas resources, said the company.
The H shares of PetroChina are listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange.
Trading of A shares is limited to mainland investors and a handful of foreign institutions.
China's securities regulators have been encouraging blue-chip Chinese firms listed overseas to return to the A share market to stabilize the mainland bourses.
This year China's A-share market has seen the return of Hong Hong-listed China Cosco Holdings Company Limited and is waiting for the listing of the China Construction Bank (CCB).
Hong Kong-listed China Shipping Container Lines Company Limited announced on Friday its plans to issue up to 1.5 billion A shares.
The market value of the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen for the first time exceeds last year's gross domestic product (GDP) value, 20.94 billion yuan (2.72 billion U.S. dollars), to reach 21 trillion yuan (2.86 trillion U.S. dollars) on Thursday.
PetroChina's nominal price on Friday was 10.52 HK dollars, down more than 3.3 percent from the closing price 10.88 HK dollars on the previous trading day.
The improved outlook for this year reflects higher growth in financial and business services, manufacturing, and construction.

Chinese shares close lower amid global losses, ahead of inflation data release

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares closed 0.1 percent lower on Friday due to heavy profit-taking amid worries over global losses and next week's release of key economic data.
The key Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, declined 4.73 points or 0.1 percent to close at 4749.37 points.
The market recovered slightly from a morning plunge of 76.61 points or 1.61 percent, despite the benchmark index hitting an intraday all-time high of 4769.62 points in the morning.
On Friday, Asian stock markets witnessed heavy losses in the wake of Wall Street's tumble, with Hong Kong shares down 2.88 percent and South Korean shares down 4.2 percent.
"The market showed signs of correction after the hasty rise in recent days, which was inevitable amid the heavy losses in neighboring markets," said an analyst with Shenyin Wanguo Securities.
Meanwhile, July's inflation figure in China, to be announced on Monday, was predicted to be five percent, following a 28-month high of 4.4 percent in June and triggering fears of more cooling measures and greater market volatility, said analysts at Guangfa Securities.
The heavyweight Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which rose 2.29 percent, continued to be a major contributor to the index and led the recovery in the afternoon.
The Bank of China, however, dipped 0.17 percent and China Minsheng Banking Corp. dropped 2.55 percent.
The aviation sector racked up the highest rise, with Air China up 7.72 percent, Hainan Airlines up 6.95 percent, Shanghai Airlines up 9.98 percent and China Southern Airlines up the daily limit of 10 percent.
There were only 302 gainers in the mainland's two bourses, while the number of losers soared to 1,025.
The component index of the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange dropped 356.94 points or 2.14 percent to 16,323.44 points.
Turnover of the two bourses added up to 227.2 billion yuan (30 billion U.S. dollars), compared with 211 billion yuan on the previous day.
The Hushen 300 index, which tracks 300 companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, closed at 4,726.68 points on Friday, down 50.6 points or 1.06 percent from the previous close.

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