TRADEWINDS
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CHINA
China adopts new Property Law |
After much dillydallying, Chinese Legislature has finally adopted a landmark property law granting equal protection to public and private properties. The 247-article law, due to come into effect from October 1, 2007, stipulates that "the property of the state, the collective, the individual and other obligees is protected by law, and no units or individuals may infringe upon it". The analysts say it marks a significant step in the country’s efforts to further economic reforms and boost social harmony.
Foreign enterprises to now pay 25% income tax in China
Chinese Legislature has adopted the enterprise income tax law which ends tax concessions to foreign enterprises. Domestic and foreign enterprises will now pay a 25% income tax. Earlier, foreign owned enterprises were paying an average tax of 15% compared to the 25% by local enterprises. The new law is due to take effect from January 1, 2008, but will be phased over for years in case of already existing foreign enterprises in China.
China’s Foreign Trade up by 31.6%
China’s foreign trade totaled US$ 297.81 billion in the first two months of 2007, recording a growth of 31.6% year-on-year. Exports were US$ 168.71 billion, surging 41.5%, and import, US$ 129.1 billion, up 20.6%. In February alone, trade amounted to US$ 140.4 billion, rising 32.9 %. This included exports of US$ 81.1 billion, up 51.7%, and imports of US$ 58.34 billion, climbing 13.1%. The trade surplus in February reached US$ 23.76 billion, and that in January-February came up to 39.61 billion US dollars.
China to import less iron ore from India
China’s imports of iron ore from India will drop following the levy of export duties according to China Minmetals Corporation, the country’s largest minerals trading company and Sinosteel Corporation, China’s second largest iron ore importer. An export duty of Rs.300 (US$ 6.7) on per ton of iron ore from March 1 was announced by Government of India in the budget recently. According to analysts, the export duties make Indian iron ore less competitive in price and are forcing buyers to turn to other countries like Australia and Brazil. As the world’s biggest producer and consumer of steel, China imported a record 325 million tons of iron ore last year, 23% of which came from India.
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Mongolia
Mongolia looks for Indian sugar, rice, carpet, silk… |
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For 2006, total external trade turnover of Mongolia equaled to US$ 3018.0 million, of which exports amounted to US$ 1528.78 million and imports equaled to US$ 1489 million. Its total external trade balance had a surplus of US$ 39.6 million. The main components of exports were mineral products, textiles and textile products, precious metal, jewellery, processed hides, skins, fur etc. Machinery, electric appliances, recorders, TV sets, spare parts, vegetable origin products, auto, air and water transport vehicles and their spare parts were the main constituents of imports. Mongolia is a mineral rich country and lots of items are imported from other Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
Indian products are having reputation in Mongolia as products with good quality at low prices. India-Mongolia bilateral trade during 2006 was only about US$ 4 million and India’s exports consisted of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, dyes, machines and consumer durables, animal vaccines, tobacco and textile products. India imports cashmere, wool and some precious stones from Mongolia.
Recently Mongolian companies have expressed keen interest in importing sugar, rice, confectionery and biscuits, souvenir products, soybean oil and gold and silver products, carpet and silk etc. from India. n
