China Digest Round-Up of Business News, Current Issues, and M&A Analysis Q2 2015
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www.pwc.com China Digest Round-up of business news, current issues, and M&A analysis Q2 2015 China by numbers In the news … • 7% — GDP growth in 1Q 2015 marking a six- AIIB attracts 46 founding members [Finance] year low 46 countries have applied to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as • Of 70 large and medium-sized cities founding members, including major economies of Germany, France, the UK, Italy, surveyed, 66 saw new home prices dip on a Australia, South Korea and Brazil. The China-led bank is designed as a multilateral monthly basis in February institution aimed at funding infrastructure and other sectors in Asia, and is seen in some • 35% — estimated proportion of local quarters as a rival to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The bank's authorised capital is government revenue accounted for by land US$100 billion and its initial subscribed capital is expected to be about US$50 billion. sales Potential founding members have agreed that GDP will be the basic parameter in • US$3,200 — appoximate per capita determining share allocation among member countries. (Xinhua) disposable income in 2014, up 10.1% year- on-year. Rising to about US$4,600 among Former factory worker now China's richest woman [People] urban residents Zhou Qunfei, one time factory worker now chairwoman of Lens Technology, has been • China's retail sales grew 10.7% year-on-year named as China's richest woman with a total asset of US$6.1 billion by Forbes. 45 year to US$779 billion during the first two months of 2015 old Zhou replaces Chan Laiwa, founder of Beijing Red Sandalwood Cultural Foundation, as the wealthiest woman in China following the listing of Lens Technology on the • 76 years — life expectancy for women; 72 Shenzhen stock exchange. The company makes glass covers for various consumer years for men. electronic products. Its combined sales to Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co made • 29.4% — proportion of 1990s graduates who up more than 70% of the company's sales revenue between 2012 and 2014. It is also a want to work for foreign companies. 25.5% wanted to work for SOEs, 23.5% for private glass provider for the newly launched Apple Watch. Zhou has an 89% stake in the firm, companies, with 7.8% planning to take civil which had more than 80,000 employees and revenue of US$3.3 billion in 2013, according service exams, says Renren.com survey to Bloomberg. (Forbes) (Sources: assorted) Hong Kong facing competition as offshore Rmb centre [Finance] GDP 1Q 2015 up 7.0% Hong Kong is facing greater competition as an offshore Rmb centre from other global GDP 4Q 2014 up 7.3% GDP 1Q 2014 up 7.4% centres, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). While Hong Kong still dominates with a 70% share in global Rmb payments during February, the combined total for other centres, especially Singapore and London, increased to 25% from 17% a year earlier. Additionally, newer players including Bangkok, Doha, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, Luxembourg, Paris, Seoul and Toronto and, more recently, Sydney are also now competing for market share. Observers point out, however, that given offshore Rmb liquidity amounts to less than 2% of China's M2 money supply, there is still plenty of room to build market share. (China Daily) Shanghai Composite closes up at 4,140.82 Population and urbanisation trends in China [Demographics] • China's sex ratio at birth was 118.08 males to 100 females according to the last census in 2010. In Anhui, Jiangxi and Shaanxi, the ratio was more than 130 males. • By 2020, China could have 24 million more men than women of marriageable age according to some estimates. • China has five megacities (urban areas of 10 million inhabitants) — compared to three in India, two in the USA, Japan, and Brazil, and one in 14 other countries. • China has 14 cities with more than five million people, 41 cities with more than two million people, and 79 of the world's 478 largest built-up areas. Shenzhen Composite closes down at 13,913 Debt-for-bond program to be expanded to Top 10 best-selling SUVs in mainland China ease local government debt [Fiscal policy] in 2014 Beijing will likely expand a program to alleviate the debt- 1. Great Wall's Haval H6 (sales volume: 315,900 units) repayment burden of China’s local governments this year, 2. Volkswagen Tiguan, manufactured by Shanghai Volkswagen according to Finance Minister Lou Jiwei. Underscoring one of the (237,400) biggest risks facing the world’s second-largest economy, the 3. Chery Tiggo (196,400) initiative would follow a recently announced plan by China’s Finance Ministry to allow localities to sell about US$161 billion 4. Honda CRV (168,200) worth of bonds to replace their existing debts - mostly short-term 5. Hyundai IX35, manufactured in Beijing by BAIC/Hyundai bank loans with relatively high interest rates - as localities JV (145,300) struggle to repay trillions of dollars of debts used to finance 6. Ford Kuga, China-made version of Escape (136,000) highways, airports and other big-ticket projects. The debt-fuelled 7. Toyota RAV4 (124,700) investment boom shielded China from the global financial crisis 8. Nissan X-Trail, manufactured by Dongfeng Nissan Vehicle but left the country with greater financial vulnerabilities. Co (114,500) Beijing hopes that the program will enable various levels of 9. Audi Q5 (100,700) government to reduce their debt using longer-term bonds with 10. Chang'an CS35 (100,600) low rates to repay old debts. Local government borrowing in recent years has contributed to China’s surging debt levels and (China Daily) has been likened to the debt bubbles in the US, Japan and South Korea. (Dow Jones) Top 10 provincial-level regions with highest Government eases mortgage restrictions yearly per capita disposable income in and capital gains tax requirements [Real 2014 Estate] 1. Shanghai: US$7,767 (Ranked in 2013 #1; in 2000 #1) China is to relax mortgage rules for second home buyers by 2. Beijing: US$7,148 (2013 #2; 2000 #2) reducing down payments to 40% from 60% to 70%, according to a 3. Zhejiang province: US$6,576 (2013 #3; 2000 #4) March 30 announcement from the People's Bank of China, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of 4. Jiangsu province: US$5,591 (2013 #6; 2000 #8) Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The Ministry of Finance 5. Guangdong province: US$5,233 (2013 #4; 2000 #3) and the State Administration of Taxation announced on the same day that sellers who have owned homes for two years or more will 6. Tianjin municipality: US$5,129 (2013 #5; 2000 #5) be exempt from paying a 20% capital gains tax. The previous 7. Fujian province: US$5,001 (2013 #7; 2000 #6) period was five years. City governments started banning people 8. Shandong province: US$4,757 (2013 #8; 2000 #9) from buying more than two homes in 2010. Some cities have ended the ban amid declining prices and sales in 2014, but 9. Liaoning Province: US$4,734 (2013 #9; 2000 #10) Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen kept the ban in 10. Inner Mongolia autonomous region US$4,615 (2013 #10; place. (Caixin) 2000 #22) Pfizer to end China vaccine sales business (China National Bureau of Statistics) [Pharmaceutical] As a result of another regulatory blow to pharmaceutical China restricts land supply to boost companies in China, Pfizer Inc. is ceasing vaccine sales operations flagging property market [Real Estate] in China after authorities there failed to renew an import license for one of its products, Prevenar (sold as Prevnar in the US). Chinese land and housing authorities have announced measures According to the company, this development will cause a shortage to regulate land supply for residential buildings over concerns of of the treatment in China which protects toddlers against a glut in supply, following 2014’s continuing downturn in sales, pneumococcal disease that can lead to pneumonia and other prices and investment. Where home supplies are excessive, local infections. The vaccine is Pfizer's No. 2-selling franchise globally, governments should "significantly" reduce or halt land supply, behind the Lyrica pain drug. Global sales of Prevenar-branded according to the measures jointly rolled out by the Ministry of products reached US$4.5 billion in 2014, up 12% from a year Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban- earlier. Rural Development. The move is the latest regulatory setback for drug makers in In cities where there are not enough homes to meet demand, China in recent years as government oversight has grown more land supply should be increased based on market principles stringent even as the market for drugs has expanded. China's according to standards set by the regions themselves. (Xinhua) Food and Drug Administration also lacks manpower to approve drugs, creating a backlog of approval, some experts say. (WSJ) M&A update Inbound: China FDI surges in Q1 2015 China FDI in January 2015 soared by 29.4% from a year earlier to US$13.92 billion, with most destined for the services and high-end manufacturing sectors, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). FDI in the services sector was US$9.18 billion, up 45.1% year-on-year and accounted for 66% of total FDI, the ministry said, adding that 28.4% of FDI went to high-end manufacturing. The top 10 investors, who accounted for 96.5% of January’s figures, were led by Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.