ASIA-PACIFIC

China， Israel ink contracts worth about$100 mlnEnterprises from Israel and Harbin， capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang Province， signed on January 20， 2011 to a package of economic and trade cooperation contracts valued at 648 million yuan (US$98 million).This is part of the ongoing 2nd China Harbin-Israel Cooperation Convention， an economic platform that was designed to deepen economic and trade cooperation for Chinese and Israeli enterprises.Also， 39 Israeli enterprises and 170 local enterprises in Harbin held talks on Tuesday for potential economic cooperation. (Global Times)China overtakes S Korea as world’s largest shipbuilderChina surpassed South Korea to become the world’s largest shipbuilder in 2010 in terms of shipbuilding capacity and new orders， according to recently released statistics from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information in January.The statistics show that from January to December 2010， China’s shipyards finished building 65.6 million dead- weight tons， an increase of 54.6 percent year on year. They received new orders exceeding 75 million deadweight tons， nearly triple the amount of a year earlier.The great development of the shipbuilding industry in recent years can be mostly attributed to the increasing capacity requirements due to economic growth， said an expert from the economic research center of China’s shipbuilding industry.China’s shipbuilding enterprises are mainly distributed among Jiangsu， Shanghai， Zhejing， Shandong and Guangdong， with Jiangsu ranking first. (People’s Daily Online)Cambodia’s trade with China up 41.5 pct in 2010Bilateral trades between Cambodia and China increased 41.5 percent in 2010 compared with that of 2009， official statistics showed.The two countries’ total trade volume hit US$1.12 billion in 2010， up 41.5 percent from about US$791 million in 2009， according to the statistics from the department of statistics and planning of the Ministry of Commerce on January 18.Of the figure， Cambodia’s exports to China worth 56.8 million， increased nearly four folds from US$15 million in 2009 and Cambodia’s imports from China reached US$1.07 billion， up 37.8 percent from US$776 million in 2009.The increase in trade volume is due to the economic recovery.Cambodia’s main imports from China are garment raw materials， machinery， foodstuffs， electronics， furniture， light products， medicines and cosmetics while Cambodia’s main exports to China are agricultural products， rubbers， fishery， timbers， and some garments and textiles. (Xinhua)China’s imports from ASEAN up 44.8 pct in 2010China’s imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose 44.8 percent to US$154.56 billion in 2010， said the General Administration of Customs on January 20， 2011.Since the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area at the beginning of 2010， bilateral trade had risen 37.5 percent year on year to US$292.78 billion， the customs said.ASEAN is China’s fourth largest trading partner， after the European Union， the United States and Japan.Mechanical and electrical products accounted for 53.7 percent of all imports.I n 2 0 1 0 ， China’s exports to ASEAN were up 30.1 percent from a year earlier to US$138.22 billion. China’s trade deficit with ASEAN saw a 30.7-fold increase to US$16.34 billion.(Xinhua)Robust trade between Chinese mainland and TaiwanTrade volume between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan reached US$145.37 billion last year， up an annual 36.9 percent， according to a report by China’s Ministry of Commerce on January 21， 2011.The mainland exported US$29.68 billion worth of products to Taiwan， up 44.8 percent year on year， and imported US$115.69 billion worth of products from the island， up 35 percent， figures showed.The December trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan increased 4.1 percent from November to US$13.61 billion.The mainland is Taiwan’s largest export market.(Shanghai Daily)Japan’s TEL kicks off new plant in East ChinaJapan-based Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) began construction of its Chinese joint venture in eastern Jiangsu Province on January 18， 2011.The joint venture， Tokyo Electron Kunshan Limited， has a designed annual capacity of 500 sets of production equipments for flat panel display (FPD)， solar and semiconductor products， with sales revenue up to 10 billion yuan(US$1.5 billion).According to the investment agreement jointly signed by TEL and Kunshan Economic Technical Development Zone， where the joint venture is located， the project has a total investment of US$400 million with a registered capital of US$50 million.First-phase investment will reach US$150 million， with initial construction covering an area of 100，000 square meters， according to the agreement.Kunshan， a city adjacent to Shanghai， has been designated by the Chinese government as a key FPD industry promotion base.Set up in 1963， TEL is a leading supplier of semiconductor production equipment with a global network of about 90 locations in 15 countries in the United States， Europe and Asia. (Global Times)Record 284 companies invest in Hong Kong in 2010Invest Hong Kong of the Hong Kong government helped a record of 284 companies from Chinese mainland and overseas set up or expand in Hong Kong in 2010， with Chinese mainland continuing to be the largest single source of investment by taking 18 percent of the total projects， the bureau said on Jan. 19.“Last year’s result was very encouraging. It demonstrated a strong vote of confidence in Hong Kong as a business location，” DirectorGeneral of Investment Promotion Simon Galpin said.Of the 284 completed projects， Chinese mainland accounted for 52 projects， followed by the United States with 51， the United Kingdom with 36， Japan with 19， and Australia with 16. The top three industry sectors were transport and industrial， tourism and hospitality， and innovation and technology， the statement showed.Last year also marked greater emphasis on green foreign direct investment， in particular on companies that provide renewable energy and environmental protection solutions.Invest Hong Kong will strengthen its promotion efforts in the mature markets of the United States and the United Kingdom in 2011， as well as the emerging markets of Chinese mainland and Russia， said Galpin. (Xinhua)Chinese hydro power enters Nepal hydro sectorNepal’s state–owned， Nepal Electricity Authority(NEA)， has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for commissioning the 50 MW Upper Marshyangdi Hydro Electricity Project ‘A’ (UMHEP) with Sino Hydro Sagarmatha Power Company， a Nepal-China joint venture company. This is the first Chinese investment in hydro project in Nepal.UMHEP ‘A’ located at Bhulbhule VDC of Lamjung district will start construction work this winter. It is expected to be completed in five years at an estimated cost of US$138 million.“UMHEP is an attractive project compared to other donor-funded hydro projects as it will generate 50 percent of the total capacity even during the dry season，” said Diwakar Poudel， an NEA official. The government issued generation license for the project after the parties concerned signed the PPA.The PPA has set the rate of 5.995 cents (approximately Rs 4.50) per unit taking 2010-11 as the base year. The PPA rate per unit from the commercial operation date (COD) will be 6.95 cents. The estimated COD for UMHEP is 2016-17.(China.org)