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Slowing economy spells opportunity for M&A activity in China

November 4, 2014

BEIJING - Industry experts are confident that a slower economy in China will lead to “great opportunities” for merger and acquisition activity in China, because it will bring target companies’ valuations down to more reasonable levels. Previously, the valuations of Chinese companies have been inflated due to perpetual forecasts of strong organic growth.

Ma reaffirms Taiwan policy on cross-strait relations

November 6, 2014

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s President, Ma Ying-jeou, has said his Government will continue promoting cross-strait relations under the principle of no unification, no independence and no use of force. “This approach is imperative in building a framework for the sustainable and peaceful development of ties between Taiwan and mainland China going forward,” Ma said.

Taiwan’s Ma expects cross-strait benefits from HK ‘democracy’

November 4, 2014

TAIPEI – In an interview with the New York Times, Taiwan’s President, Ma Ying-jeou, has said cross-strait relations stand to gain handsomely if the people of Hong Kong can achieve universal suffrage and move toward greater democracy. “We believe that if mainland China can practice democracy in Hong Kong or become more democratic itself, we can shorten the psychological distance between people from both sides of the strait,” Ma said.

China’s major cities required to designate, protect “permanent fundamental farmland”

November 5, 2014

BEIJING - In the midst of deepening urbanization in China, the Central Government has taken measures to protect arable land outside of its city centres. The governments of the 14 largest cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have reportedly been told to survey farmland outside their urban centres and along traffic routes that might possibly be used for commercial construction, and to label good plots as “permanent fundamental farmland”.

China to push for Regional FTA at APEC Summit

November 5, 2014

BEIJING – Moves to establish a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region first began in 2006, and China is aspiring to make progress towards its fruition at the upcoming APEC summit in Beijing: Wang Shouwen, China’s Assistant Minister of Commerce, told a press conference on Tuesday that a proposal to establish the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) is expected to be completed during the Summit and “would unify fragmented trade rules and not conflict with a US-backed regional trade pact”.

Shanghai FTZ model to expand nationwide

October 30, 2014

BEIJING - The success of Shanghai’s Free Trade Zone in transforming Government functions, facilitating investment and trade, and improving the business environment has received accolades from Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said the FTZ business model should now be copied at other suitable sites across China where conditions are right. Xi told a meeting of China’s top regulators that the experience gained in the Shanghai FTZ “is like seeds cultivated in a test field, and now we will plant them across a greater range of sites, in a hope that they will bear more fruit”.

Soufun predicts continued slump in China’s property prices

October 30, 2014

BEIJING - Vincent Mo, founder and Chairman of SouFun Holdings Ltd (China’s biggest real estate information website), is predicting that Chinese property prices will fall as much as 10% in 2014 and that this will continue well into next year, in what he generally describes as “an adjustment after the rapid increase in the past two years”. He added that prices will likely stabilise around the middle of 2015, and he expects the market to have “another hot cycle in one to two years”.

Japan’s surprise monetary easing puts Korea under pressure

October 31, 2014

TOKYO – ANZ Bank believes the Bank of Korea will be under strong pressure to react following today’s surprise move by the Bank of Japan to expand of its quantitative and qualitative monetary easing measures. Financial market reaction was swift, with the USD/JPY moving from 109.4 just before the announcement to a high of 111.5, and the Nikkei rallying 4.8%. Markets across Asia were also impacted.

Media speculation of possible Xi-Abe meeting at APEC

October 30, 2014

BEIJING - In the wake of a meeting between the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia, where attendees includedboth Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, both Chinese and Japanese media are speculating on the possibility of a one-on-one meeting between Xi and current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at next month’s APEC summit.

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