June 19, 2008
China Spoke, Oil Markets Listened
Beijing will allow key price increases in the energy sector giving oil and gas majors approval for close to 18% price hikes, the second double digit increase in less than a year. Fuel remains subsidized in China and undervalued to world markets.
The announcement brought down the spot price for a barrel of oil more than $4 today.
Electric utilities will also get a rate hike - something sought after before last Winter's devastating snow storms -- to increase kilowatt hour charges just under 5%.
Labels: china, chinese trade, gas, imports, inflation, markets, oil, prices
June 17, 2008
Paulson: China and USA to Maintain "Global Economic System"
The 4th Strategic Economic Dialogue bilateral talks between China and the United States are underway in Annapolis, Maryland.
The Chinese delegation is emphasizing joint cooperation on energy and the environment stressing that the world's number 1 and 2 oil importers have much to gain by working together.
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said that both nations are responsible for "maintaining a stable, secure and prosperous global economic system."
It is only a matter of time before China becomes an issue in the Presidential elections. Will the strategic dialogue fall victim to politics by year's end?
Labels: china, chinese trade, paulson, strategic dialogue, treasury
June 10, 2008
Sichuan Quake Impacts Oil Supply
Heroic efforts to drain the dangerous Tangjiashan 'quake lake' are jeopardizing the sole oil pipeline to Sichuan Province and giant Chongqing municipality. State-owned conglomerate China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) suspended operation of the Lanzhou - Chengdu - Chongqing pipeline for an unknown length of time.
A CNPC manager in Sichuan told Xinhua it had 20 days of reserves to offset the disruption. The pipeline has capacity t0 transport 6 million tons of oil annually and supplies almost three fourths of the oil needed for the region and downstream to Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces.
There is a potential impact for short-term shortages and price inflation in the area.
Labels: china, oil, peak oil, pipeline, sichuan earthquake
China Shares Nosedive
Chinese stock prices collapsed June 10 with the worst showing since the February 2007 pop of the bull run. Chinese financials, banks specifically, were hard hit and the spin on the crash is that markets are nervous about inflation and Beijing's action to raise, for the 5th time in a year, the reserve ratio requirement for banks. But the reserve hike was expected and only the timing could be a surprise. So was the recent improvement just a bear market rally?
Some numbers: benchmark Shanghai Composite closed June 10 just above 3,000 at 3,072.33 down 7.73% back to the level of last spring - CSI 300 Index sank over 8% - and B shares are down almost 7.5% in Shanghai losing almost all of their recent gain - ShenZhen Bs mirror Shanghai's bad performance.
Labels: b shares, china, chinese stocks, csi 300, shanghai composite, shares, shenzhen
June 04, 2008
Iran China Ties Build Despite Pressure
At a press conference today Iranian ambassador to China Javad Mansouri said the two countries are increasing ties particularly in energy development.
China is buying more oil from Iran and imports of petrochemicals have grown from under $100 million (US dollars) a decade ago to an expected $1 billion this year. China accounts for around ten and a half percent of Iran's petrochemicals exports.
Last month Shanghai hosted an "Investment Opportunities in Iran" conference. Trade with the "Dragon's Head region (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, & Zhejiang) was in the billion$ in 2007.
Chinese oil majors are developing big oil and gas fields in China and Chinese auto manufacturers will soon supply Iran with passenger cars. Iran is one of many emerging markets for autos with sales over 1 million/year already. Chery will be rolling out the popular QQ sometime this year. And Chang'An Auto, partner to Ford Motors in China, just started a joint venture with the Iranian PIDF enterprise to assemble Chang'An's 1.3 liter mini, Benben, with production of 250,000 a year expected around 2012.
Meanwhile, geopolitical pressures of the EU and USA will leave this huge emerging market to China unless wiser heads soon prevail.
Labels: china, Chinese business, foreign investment, global economy, globalization, iran, opportunity
June 03, 2008
China Telecom Mergers - Shanghai Talks Foreign Listings - FOREX - Taiwan - Sichuan Quake Update
full transcript at www.sinomania.com
Sinomania Episode 58 for June 2, 2008, looks at mergers and consolidation in Chinese telecom sector, major changes in Shanghai could see foreign firms listing share offers in China, business news, and an update on the economic impact of the Sichuan earthquake disaster.
Sinomania Episode 58 for June 2, 2008, looks at mergers and consolidation in Chinese telecom sector, major changes in Shanghai could see foreign firms listing share offers in China, business news, and an update on the economic impact of the Sichuan earthquake disaster.
May 30, 2008
Red China Cyber Scare
The USA is "investigating" whether the contents of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez's laptop PC was copied by Chinese sleuths during a recenttrip to Beijing according to AP reporter Ted Bridis.
Bridis backs his claim on what anonymous "officials and industry experts told the Associated Press," presumably himself. Yet the Commerce Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI have nothing to say on the allegation or are not even aware of any such "investigation."
Ted Bridis has a long history of keyboarding about Chinese cyber spies for Cold War mongerers who believe that the destruction of American civilization itself is but a mouse click away from a Beijing bunker.
But where was the outcry when Donald Keyser a top State Department official lost a laptop? Or when he was convicted of spying for Taiwan?
China threat stories are a feature of election cycles in the USA. As I predicted earlier this year, we will hear a lot of suchnoise between now and November.
Labels: china, cold war, cyber, espionage, hacking, laptop, spies, spying, threat
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