Sina Reshuffle Centers on Weibo

On February 20， Sina Corporation announced the promotion of its chief operating officer Hong Du to the position of CEO and co-president. The rumor about Du’s promotion once spread widely but was denied by Sina. The company also announced a major restructuring of its business at the end of last year， attaching greater importance to its micro-blogging service Sina Weibo. Sina has now made Weibo one of two major business divisions， consolidating functions that used to be scattered across different departments.

COSCO Seeks Government Support

China COSCO Holdings Co.， the country’s biggest state-owned shipping firm， is seeking policy support from the government and trying to find solutions to turn losses into gains in 2013. The company’s 2011 financial report showed that China COSCO registered a whopping 10.45 billion yuan in net losses for 2011 and a combined loss of 6.4 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2012， becoming the weakest-performing stock among all A-share listed companies. The company will be thrown out of the Shanghai Stock Exchange if it continues to report loss in 2013.

Currency War Never Ends

According to Guido Mantega， the Brazilian Finance Minister， a global currency war broke out in 2010 when the United States implemented a new round of quantitative easing policy. Afterwards developed countries including the US， Japan and the United Kingdom have implemented loose monetary policy to boost the national economy. Japan’s expansive policies， which have driven down the yen， escaped criticism in a statement agreed in Moscow by financial policymakers from the G20.

VAT Reform to Be Expanded

Turnover tax refers to a levy on the gross revenue of a business. Value-added tax （VAT） refers to a tax levied on the difference between a commodity’s price before taxes and its cost of production. As a commonly used tax in most countries of the world， VAT is considered to be relatively scientific and comprehensive. China introduced the reform in Shanghai last year to avoid double taxation. The program was later expanded to another 11 regions， including Beijing， Tianjin and Shenzhen. News came recently that more provinces and regions are likely to benefit from the tax reform.