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THE MARKETS
China remained the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) market in 2011, said PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Chinese firms raised a combined 286.1 billion yuan ($45.5 billion) via 282 IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2011, 41 percent less than in 2010. A number of companies postponed their IPOs or slashed their fundraising target due to tepid demand.
PwC forecast that China's IPO market would remain at the same level in 2012, raising 270 billion-300 billion yuan ($42.65 billion-$47.39 billion).
"Many Chinese companies are preparing for IPOs and waiting for the right time to go public," said Frank Lyn, PwC China Markets Leader, adding that the IPO market will be driven by sectors including industrial products, retail, consumer goods and services, as well as financial service.
China's top dairy manufacturers—Mengniu, Yili and Sanyuan—recently announced price hikes of as much as 10 percent, as a result of costs inflation.
"Since last year, the prices of raw milk, packaging materials, as well as labor and logistics costs have been on the rise," said Sanyuan.
But the price increase has raised controversies given simmering worries over dairy safety in the country. In late December 2011, some pure milk products of Mengniu in Sichuan Province were found to be tainted with excessive amounts of aflatoxin, a cancer-causing toxin. The scandal dealt a blow to consumer confidence, though Mengniu immediately apologized to the public. Mengniu's sales in first-tier cities have dropped 10-20 percent due to the image crisis.
"By hiking prices, dairy firms may try to fulfill sales targets for the upcoming holiday season," said Wang Dingmian, President of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association. "The companies should give priority to quality, instead of profits." | 
