ASIA-PACIFIC

Macao launches eco-fund to encourage purchase of “green” equipmentMACAO， July 21 - Government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) has announced the creation of Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Fund， providing financial support for purchasing green technology products and equipment， the Macao Daily Times reported.The newspaper quoted Cheong Sio Kei， director of the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA)， as saying that the 50-million-U.S. dollar fund will be divided into several plans and that the first will be enforced around September.Cheong， who made the remarks after the Executive Council gave a green light to the by-law establishing the fund yesterday， said that the policy targets commercial companies and associations， aiming at covering expenses related to the purchase or replacement of environmental-friendly products or other equipment aimed to boost energy efficiency or water saving.According to the policy， the fund will grant 80 percent of the amount required， which cannot exceed 500，000 patacas (62，500 U.S. dollars) and beneficiaries can only receive financial support once each year.According to DSPA， atmospheric pollution is regarded as the main environmental issue in Macao. Therefore， the fund will focus on the reduction of gas emissions.“Most complaints received by the bureau are related to the emission of smoke and bad smell from restaurants and bars， as well as gas emissions from workshops and factories，”Cheong said. (Xinhua)Cambodia， China sign trade promotion cooperationPHNOM PENH， May 24 – Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of bilateral trade.The MoU was inked between Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and Wan Jifei， visiting chairman of CCPIT and president of China Chamber of International Commerce.Speaking before the signing ceremony， Cham Prasidh said the agreement will be useful for Cambodia to strengthen and expand trade cooperation with China.“As Cambodia and China have good relations in all levels ranging from the two countries’ governments to business people and people， I believe that Cambodia and China will be able to achieve the bilateral trade volume of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2012，” he said.The minister has suggested China to help encourage Chinese investors and people to purchase Cambodian agricultural products such as rice， corn， cassava and rubber in order to fulfill the expected trade target in 2012.Meanwhile， Wan Jifei said that the two countries’ cooperation in terms of trade and investment has a lot of room to grow.He added that through the agreement， the CCPIT will encourage more Chinese investors to come to Cambodia， and will arrange more meetings between the two countries’business people， and will organize trade fairs in China or in Cambodia.Wan Jifei stressed that currently， the exports of Cambodian products to China are done mostly by the third country such as Vietnam or Thailand. “This is the reason that Cambodia’s exports to China are far fewer than those China’s exports to Cambodia because the third country buys products from Cambodia and exports to China，” he said， adding “so， to re-balance the two countries’ trade， it’s necessary that Cambodian and Chinese business people have to meet more often in order to bridge direct trade between the two countries.” (Xinhua)China-ASEAN trade to keep steady growth in H2: officialBEIJING， July 26 – China’s trade with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries is expected to maintain steady growth in the latter half of this year， after growing by a quarter in the first half， a commerce official said Tuesday.The optimism is based on the fact that the two sides are at the stage of fast development， Gao Hucheng， Vice Minister of Commerce， said at a press conference.Gao said he was confident that the bilateral trade value will reach 500 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2015， considering the current pace of growth.Bilateral trade rose 25.4 percent to 171.12 billion U.S. dollars year-on-year in the first six months， according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).Over the past 20 years， trade between ASEAN and China increased 37-fold. ASEAN overtook Japan as China’s third largest trading partner in the first half of this year， said the ministry earlier this month.The MOC will continue to facilitate trade and investment between the two sides， Gao said.He said China does not seek a trade surplus with the ASEAN nations and welcomes more imports.MOC data shows ASEAN has maintained a trade surplus with China since establishing trade relations with the country. Surplus exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars in the first six months.China will also continue to encourage Chinese companies to invest in ASEAN nations， notably in the areas of textiles， iron and steel， ship-making， chemical and auto industries， Gao said.By the end of June， bilateral investment had reached nearly 80 billion U.S. dollars， according to MOC data. (Xinhua)Yunnan investors eye CambodiaA group of investors from China’s southwestern Yunnan province has explored investment opportunities in Cambodia and expressed their interest in the country， Cambodian Ministry of Commerce said on June 20.Among the delegates are Yunnan Hydrolancang International Energy and the Yunnan Coal Chemical Group.The delegation led by Cao Junde， deputy chief of China International Economic Development and Cooperation Office， held a meeting with Cambodian minister of commerce Cham Prasidh.“Some of the investors have showed their interest in investing in mining， oil and gas exploration， rice mill and hydroelectricity in Cambodia，” the ministry said in a statement.Cham Prasidh， who is also the vice-chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia， said that the mineral resources is one of the sectors that the government offers incentives to investors in terms of tax reduction and tax exemption for construction materials and machinery for building processing plants in Cambodia.China is the largest foreign investor in Cambodia with the accumulative investment of $8 billion by the end of 2010， according to the Council for the Development of Cambodia.(Xinhua)Sri Lanka seeks greater cooperation with ChinaSri Lanka looks forward to greater cooperation with China in the international arena after President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao， a senior official said here on June 21.Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Ajith Cabraal was referring to the meeting held on the sidelines of the economic summit held in the Russian town of St Petersburg last week.“Many discussions were held on infrastructure investment in tourism. China has a huge middle class for tourism potential. People-to-people contact in the economic sphere can develop into flexible financial arrangements，” Cabraal said.External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said the Chinese president had assured Sri Lanka its support against external intervention in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka is currently under the spotlight over the UN Secretary General’s special panel report which called for a war crimes investigation into Sri Lanka.Peiris said Sri Lanka have found two members of the UN security council who would stand by the island in the event of further action by the UN on the panel report.Commenting on the Sri Lankan president’s meetings with both the Chinese and Russian leaders， Peiris said， “Sri Lanka is not isolated. We have international friends who empathize with us.” (Xinhuanet)SEOUL， June 27–The number of Chinese firms has been growing at the fastest rate among foreign-based companies doing business in South Korea， making a nearly threefold jump in the past 10 years， data showed Monday.The number of Chinese companies in South Korea stood at 620 in 2009， up from 225 in 1999， according to the data by the National Tax Service (NTS).When combined with companies from China’s Hong Kong， the number reached 990 in 2009， accounting for more than 10 percent of the total number of foreign-based companies in South Korea. Foreign- owned firms amounted to 9，075 in 2009， according to the data， reporting an over two-fold increase over the 10 years.China has the third-largest business presence in South Korea by count， following Japan and the United States， which run 2，509 and 2，009 companies here， respectively， the data showed.“If this trend continues for the next 10 years， Chinese companies could account for the largest portion of foreign corporate presence in South Korea，” an NTS official was quoted as saying by Seoul’s Yonhap news agency. (Xinhua)China continues to be “bright spot” in global economy: IMFWASHINGTON， July 20—China contributed significantly to the global economic growth during the financial crisis and the trend is expected to continue， according to a report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday.The Executive Directors of the IMF believed that “expansionary policies in China during the crisis had played an important role in bolstering global stability and growth， and expected China’ s positive externalities to continue， especially for regional economies，” said the IMF in its annual assessment of the Chinese economy.“A major disruption in China’s so-far-steady growth would have material adverse consequences for the rest of the world，” said the Washington based international financial institution.It noted that China’s economy remains on a solid footing， propelled by vigorous domestic and external demand.“Chinese economy will continue to be a ‘bright spot’in the global growth，” Nigel Chalk， Senior Advisor of the IMF’s Asia and pacific Department and Mission Chief for China， told reporter during a conference call.“We do see the growth is very healthy， and inflation is declining，” chalk added.“China’s near-term growth prospects continue to be vigorous and are increasingly self-sustained， underpinned by structural adjustment，” revealed the report. (Xinhua)