Lucrative Vegetable

Yin Zuohai, a villager from Fushun County, north China’s Hebei Province, holds a selfgrown tomato.

Fushun County invested heavily in guiding local villagers to grow green and organic vegetables. To date, the county grows 1.22 million tons of organic vegetables each year.

Non-Manufacturing Sector Shrinks

The purchasing managers index(PMl) for the non-manufacturing sector stood at 54.5 percent in April,down 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on May 3.

The non-manufacturing PMl dropped in April from March, but still came in above the demarcation line,indicating stable growth for nonmanufacturing economic activity,said Cai Jin, Vice Chairman of CFLP.

The sub-index for service business activity stood at 52.5 percent in April,down 1.4 percentage points from the previous month. Within the same category, the index for construction shrank 0.1 percentage points from the previous month to 62.4 percent.

The sub-index for new orders lost 1.1 percentage points from a month earlier to 50.9 percent. ln that category, the index for new orders in the service sector fell 1.6 percentage points to 49.8 percent.

The sub-index for intermediate input prices lost 4.2 percentage points to reach 51.1 percent in April.This indicates that non-manufacturing enterprises are optimistic about their business in the next three months, said the NBS.

The sub-index for prices stood at 47.6 percent in April, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous month. ln the category, the index for the service sector declined 3.2 percentage points to 46.7 percent.

But the sub-index for business outlook climbed 0.1 percentage point month on month to 62.5 percent.

The non-manufacturing PMl is based on a survey of about 1,200 companies in 27 industries, including transportation, real estate, catering and software development.

Foreign Trade Rebound

China’s foreign trade volume grew by 15.7 percent year on year in April,faster than the 12.1 percent increase in March, according to customs data released on May 8.

The General Administration of Customs, said in a statement that total exports and imports stood at$356 billion in April. Exports rose 14.7 percent year on year to $187 billion,while imports surged 16.8 percent to$169 billion, the data showed.

China saw a trade surplus of$18.16 billion in April, narrowing 1.7 percent from a year earlier. ln the first four months of the year, total foreign trade expanded 14 percent from a year ago to $1.33 trillion, while trade surplus stood at $61 billion.

TURNING SUNSHINE INTO NUTRITION

A greenhouse installed with LED ecological glass is on show in Beijing on May 9.Developed by Beijing-based Aobo Group, this type of glass can turn the sun’s UV light into light that is most conducive to plant growth

Video Website Acquisition

China’s online search leader Baidu lnc. announced on May 7 it will pay$370 million to buy the online video business PPS, in its latest attempt to grab market share in the highly competitive industry.

Baidu will integrate the PPS online video business into its own video platform iQiyi. lt expects the combined entity to become China’s largest online video platform by number of mobile users and video viewing time. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. The acquisition is Baidu’s latest step to diversify businesses beyond its core search sector.

China’s online video industry has struggled for pro fits due to the high cost of content. Eyeing longterm advertising revenues in the booming mobile lnternet sector,major market players have stepped up efforts to develop their mobile user base despite current difficulties.

The latest deal would make iQiyi a more competent contender to industry leader Youku Tudou lnc., which was created last year through the merger of the country’s two major video giants Youku and Tudou.

COLORFUL FLUID

Visitors observe cocktails at the 15th HOFEX,the largest food and hospitality trade show in the Asia-Pacific, in Hong Kong on May 7

Energy Collaboration

China’s largest offshore oil producer announced on May 6 that it has inked an agreement to buy lique fied natural gas (LNG) from BG Group and increased its stakes in an LNG project in Australia.

Under the contract, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation(CNOOC) will purchase 5 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG, starting in 2015, from BG Group’s global LNG portfolio for 20 years.

By then, the CNOOC’s mid-andlong-term LNG contracted volumes will reach 21.6 mtpa, the company said in a statement on its website.

CNOOC will also acquire a 40-percent equity interest in QCLNG Train 1, increasing its equity ownership from 10 percent to 50 percent.lt will acquire a 20-percent equity interest in the reserves and resources of certain BG Group tenements in the Walloons Fairway region of the Surat Basin, Queensland, increasing its equity ownership from 5 percent to 25 percent. lt will acquire a 25-percent equity interest in certain other upstream tenements held by BG Group in the same region.

CNOOC and BG Group will also jointly invest in building two more LNG transportation ships in China.Those transactions will be completed by the end of this year.

Inflation Rises

China’s consumer price index (CPl),a main gauge of inflation, grew 2.4 percent year on year in April,up from 2.1 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)said on May 9.

The bureau attributed the increase mainly to an unusual increase in vegetable prices during that month as low temperatures and scarce rainfalls disrupted supplies.

ln April, food prices, which account for nearly one third of weighting in China’s CPl, increased 4 percent year on year, with the prices of vegetables rising 5.9 percent, said the NBS.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in April edged up 0.2 percent.

The NBS also said that China’s producer price index (PPl), which measures wholesale inflation, fell 2.6 percent year on year in April,marking the 14th straight month of decline and the steepest drop in six months, pointing to continued weak market demand.

Taxi Fare Hike

A taxi driver waits for passengers outside the Beijing Railway Station on May 7.

Taxi fares will rise in Beijing in an effort to address drivers’complaints over low salaries amid a soaring cost of living in the capital.