Nepal， China sign MoU for promotion of tradeA Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) has been signed between the Confederation of Nepali Industries(CNI) and China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPTI) in Nepali capital Kathmandu in December of 2010.Acting President of the CNI Narendra Kumar Basnyat and Chairman of the CCPIT Wan Jifei signed the MoU.Speaking at the program， Chief Guest and Minister of State for Commerce and Supplies Saroj Yadav emphasized on the need for strengthening the ties between Nepal and China.Likewise， Narendra Basnyat， Acting President of the CNI said that the visit of CCPIT has opened a new avenue of bilateral relations and added to the existing goodwill between Nepal and China.“This kind of high level visit and exchange of ideas will strengthen our ties and help to build confidence at a great level， ” he said.“The CCPIT， being an apex business organization of China， deserves its own role in trade and investment as well as bilateral relations，” Basnyat further emphasized.Highlighting the prospect of Chinese investment in Nepal， Basnyat said，“There are prospects for investment in Nepal for the Chinese side such as hydropower projects， construction， pharmaceuticals， minerals， cement， education and tourism.”He called on the Chinese counterparts， especially from the CCPIT to grab the opportunity.Similarly， speaking on the occasion Chinese Ambassador to Nepal， Qiu Guohong， said that business community and businessmen from both China and Nepal brainstormed solutions to achieve common development to survive the global economic recession last year.“The two governments worked out policies and measures to promote bilateral economic cooperation and trade，” he said.A m b a s -sador Qiu Guohong said， “China’s policy to offer zero- tariff treatment to Nepalese commodities means that China’s market is open to Nepal.”“C h i n aNepa l trade volume in the first ten months of this year has exceeded 257 million USD， registering an increase of 76 percent compared to the same period last year，” he informed.Similarly， Wan Jifei， Chairman of the CCPTI who is also leading the 60-member business delegation from China to Nepal， said that the economic ties between Nepal and China have maintained momentum in the recent years.“China and Nepal share common trade interests，” he said.“Nepal has many potentials in the agriculture， hydropower and tourism sectors， thus， we are encouraging Chinese companies for investments in Nepal，” he said.He also proposed the idea of establishing Trade Areas and Special Economic Zone for further enhancement of trade relations. (Xinhua)China-Vietnam trade up 42.4% in first 10 months: officialTrade volume between China and Vietnam in the first 10 months climbed 42.4 percent from a year earlier to 23.12 billion U.S. dollars， a Chinese official said on December 28， 2010.Zhu Hongren， chief engineer of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)， said at a China-Vietnam trade seminar that the trade growth was pushed up by intensified exchanges between small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) of both countries.Since China and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation be- tween SMEs of both countries in an APEC ministerial meeting in 2006， SMEs from both countries have become more involved in the bilateral trade， according to Zhu.Among the five China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zones that China established in ASEAN countries， two are located in Vietnam. (Xinhua)China Huaneng buys power generation assets from Indian GMRChina’s top power generation company China Huaneng Group will spend 1.232 billion U.S. dollars buying 50 percent stakes of U.S.-based power generation firm InterGen N.V. from Indian infrastructure developer GMR Group.GMR said the purchase of assets will help China Huaneng tap power generating assets in the UK， the Neth- erlands， Mexico， the Philippines and Australia with overall gross operational capacity of 8，148 MW.GMR said the transaction requires customary regulatory approvals from above-mentioned countries as well as China and is expected to wind up the deal in the first half of 2011.G. M. Rao， chairman of GMR Group， said the decision to divest shares in InterGen falls in line with company strategy to focus on Indian market and GMR Group could hence deploy more capital and management resources on domestic investments.Rao said: “InterGen has emerged as a more efficient and strong power producer and we believe that China Huaneng will be an ideal partner in the next phase of InterGen’s growth.”GMR Group purchased 50 percent stakes of InterGen in October 2008 at the price of 1.135 billion U.S. dollars.Headquartered in Bangalore， GMR Group deals with airports， energy， highways and urban infrastructure businesses and has 14 power projects operational or under construction.InterGen has 12 power plants scattered in several countries and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan holds the other 50 percent of InterGen shares. (Xinhua)China boosts South Korean bond holdingsChina boosted its holdings of South Korean bonds in December in 2010， even as lawmakers in Seoul reinstated a tax on interest income from debt securities.China’s net purchases of Korean Treasury notes totaled 444 billion won($395 million)， 23 percent more than in December 2009， South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service said.The addition more than tripled China’s holdings of South Korean fixed-income securities to 6.57 trillion won at the end of last year. Net outflows by overseas investors were a record 5.3 trillion last month.“China was a net investor every month last year，” the statement said.“We believe the record net outflows came from several factors， including the passage of a foreigner bond tax， the European debt crisis， a stronger dollar and year-end position adjustments.”South Korea’s parliament passed a bill in December that revived a tax of as much as 14 percent on interest income from treasury and central-bank bonds and a 20 percent levy on capital gains from their sale.Officials from Latin America to Asia have tried to slow fund inflows and curb gains in their currencies since last year to protect exporters.South Korean bonds fell for a fourth day on Thursday. The yield on the 4 percent notes due in September 2015 increased seven basis points to 4.27 percent as of 1:25 pm on Thursday in Seoul， the highest level since Aug 18. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The won rose 0.2 percent to 1，123.95 per dollar.China is considering allocating more of its $2.65 trillion foreign-exchange reserves to emerging-market currencies to boost returns， central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in October.The nation should expand investment of its reserves in bonds and stocks， Zhang Monan， an economics researcher with the State Information Center， wrote in a commentary published on China Daily on Dec 30.China increased its holdings of US Treasuries for a fourth month in October to $906.8 billion， Bloomberg data show. The nation bought a net 262.5 billion yen ($3.1 billion) of Japanese bonds in October， Japan’s Ministry of Finance said on Dec 8. (China Daily)Singapore opens overseas center in China’s Hubei to explore business opportunitiesSingapore’s pro-trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore in the end of November of 2010 opened its 10th Overseas Center (OC) in China’s Hubei province.Based in Hubei’s capital city Wuhan， the new OC will focus efforts on Central China， in particular Hubei， Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.The center will bring IE Singapore and Singapore Economic Development Board under one roof to facilitate trade and investment activities.It will assist Singapore-based companies to explore business collaborations and opportunities with the Chinese enterprises， help increase in-market knowledge of these companies as well as to build networks with the local governments and businesses. It will assist Chinese companies to explore international operations from Singapore， and help increase the companies’ familiarity of the international marketplace.“The establishment of the Singapore Center in Wuhan is timely，” said Sam Tan， Singapore’s Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Trade Industry， and Information， Communications the Arts， “Singapore- based companies have the relevant expertise and experience to share and contribute to the developing needs of Central China in various industries，” he added.In 2009， there were a cumulative number of 287 Singapore projects in Hubei with cumulative actual investments reaching 770 million U.S. dollars. Singapore’s actual foreign direct investments into Hubei amounted to 138 million U.S. dollars.IE Singapore currently has Overseas Centers located in China’s Beijing， Chengdu， Chongqing， Dalian， Guangzhou， Hong Kong， Qingdao， Shanghai and Xi’an. (Xinhua)Chinese company gets permission to build cement factory in SuvaFiji’s Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Netani Sukanaivalu on Thursday formalized a 99- year lease agreement for a Chinese cement factory to be set up in Veisari Lami outside Suva on December 30， 2010.Sukanaivalu told local media that the Tengy Cement Company Limited was given consent by the state to secure the 99-year lease to build the country’s second cement factory.This move has been welcomed in the island nation as they anticipate a decrease in the price of cement for the construction of affordable homes， he said.Tengy is one of the first Chinese companies to accept Fijian Prime Min- ister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s invitation to set up business in Fiji after several trips he made to China， it was reported.Sukanaivalu said he was particularly pleased that the Fiji government has stood true to its commitment to facilitate the request from foreign investors in the shortest possible time and within reasonable cost.Under the agreement， the new 40 million Fiji dollars (21.6 million US dollars) factory is expected to serve Fiji and the Pacific and reduce costs for home construction through competitive pricing of cement.In August 2010， the state owned radio Fiji Broadcasting Commission reported that Tengy had been given permission by the Fiji government to conduct studies on the establishment of a wind power generation plant in Fiji.The Tengy group of companies said they would provide environmental protection industries while investing in Fiji. (Xinhua)Trade pact between Hong Kong SAR， New Zealand to be effective on Jan. 1The Hong Kong， China - New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEP Agreement)， which is tantamount to Hong Kong’s first free trade agreement with a foreign economy， will enter into force on Saturday， a spokesman of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said on December 31， 2010.The CEP Agreement， signed on March 29， 2010， covers a wide range of areas of mutual interest to Hong Kong SAR and New Zealand， including liberalisation measures in both trade in goods and services.Under the CEP Agreement， New Zealand will phase out over six years its import tariffs on all goods originating in Hong Kong. Over 90 percent of New Zealand’s tariff lines will become duty free within two years after the CEP Agreement has entered into force.On trade in services， Hong Kong service providers and the services they provide will enjoy secured preferential opportunities in the New Zealand market in a variety of service sectors.In terms of market access， Hong Kong service providers and the services they provide in a wide range of sectors will be treated no less favorably than their New Zealand counterparts in similar circumstances.To facilitate movement of business persons， without compromising legitimate immigration control， business persons of the two economies in the categories of business visitors， intra- corporate transferees， and installers or servicers in specified service sectors will be granted temporary entry into Hong Kong SAR and New Zealand under favourable conditions.To further enhance bilateral investment flows， the two sides have also agreed to negotiate an Investment Protocol to the CEP Agreement， with a view to concluding the investment negotiations in two years after the CEP Agreement has entered into force.New Zealand is an important trading partner of Hong Kong in the AsiaPacific region. In 2009， the total bilateral merchandise and services trade amounted to 6.5 billion and 3.7 billion HK dollars respectively. (1 U. S. dollar is equivalent to 7.774 HK dollars). (Xinhua)Southern Airline to start flights to New ZealandChina Southern Airlines will begin flying to Guangzhou from Auckland three times a week from next April.Auckland Airport made the announcement at a news conference in December 2010.China Southern Airlines will run three flights between the cities (via Melbourne) each week， offering 88，000 more seats annually than are currently available.Auckland Airport’s chief executive Simon Moutter said better connections to the city are critical for trade and tourism.He expected the new services to inject NZ$50 million ($37.5 million) into New Zealand’s local visitor economy alone.The service is due to start by April 30， 2011. (Xinhua)China’s shipping company taps into Turkish marketChina Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO)， China’s largest shipping group， has been strengthening its foothold in Turkey since entering the market in 1996.COSCO， which owns and controls over 800 modern merchant vessels with an annual carrying capacity of 400 million tons， offers container liner services in major Turkish ports， including Istanbul， Izmir and Mersin， and provides ship agency for bulk cargo carriers at all Turkish ports.With a 13 percent share in Turkey’s container transportation market， COS- CO has become an important player in the shipping market of Turkey.Zhang Zhiliang， former Chinese consul-general in Istanbul and new Chinese Ambassador to Qatar， said the COSCO Turkey office has acted according to the Turkish law， respected working partners in Istanbul and brought their advantages into full play.The office has set a good example for the cooperation between Chinese and Turkish companies， he said.Erdal Tokcan， vice chairman and general manager of Turkey’s Marti Container Services S.A.， once said that there has been good synergy between COSCO and the Marti Container Services S.A.， which has a good understanding of the local market.The COSCO staff always listen to the advices of their partners before they making a decision or judgement and act in a fair and reasonable way， he said， noting that COSCO’s success in Turkey was based on the Chinese culture， etiquette and ethics shown in its interaction with the Turkish side.“I hope we can foster closer cooperation with COSCO in future，” he said. (Xinhua)China energy giant CNOOC signs gas deal with Australia’s Exoma EnergyAustralia’s Exoma Energy Ltd has signed an agreement with Chinese energy giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to sell a 50 percent interest in its gas exploration permits in Queensland’s Galilee Basin， the Brisbane based oil and gas exploration company announced on December 9 in 2010.Under the agreement， an Australian subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) will acquire an equal interest in five permits by spending 50 million AU dollars(49.34 million U.S. dollars) on exploration and appraisal.CNOOC also has the option to acquire 86.6 million ordinary Exoma shares at 31.5 AU cents (31.1 U.S. cents) per share and a free attaching option for further ordinary shares expiring Dec. 31， 2012.The agreement and options are subject to approval from the Queensland government and Chinese Gov- ernment Authorities and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act.Exoma’s Chairman Mr Brian Barker said， “It is a very positive endorsement that CNOOC， a world leader in the petroleum industry， shares our technical and commercial assessment of the resource potential of Exoma’s Galilee Basin permits.”The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) was founded in 1982 and is one of the largest state owned oil entities in China， as well as the largest offshore oil and gas producer. (Xinhua)China， DpRK upgrade hydropower station on border riverA planned explosion blasted apart a dam spanning the Yalu River， a border river between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)， on December 28 in 2010 as work crews from the two countries race to upgrade a dilapidated hydropower station.The blast successfully tore down the 273-meter back-up dam to Shuifeng hydropower station and enabled engineers to finish the renovation project on time — or by June next year， said officials in charge of the project.Shuifeng hydropower station was built more than 70 years ago and remains till now the largest hydropower station on the Yalu River. The dam can hold up to 14.7 billion cubic meters of water.It has generated more than 260 billion kw/h of electricity since China and the DPRK co-launched a power company to operate the hydropower station in 1955， official data shows. The generated electricity is shared by the two countries.The renovation project started in August 2009. (Xinhua)