A Sailor Embarks

Chinese sailor Guo Chuan set out on November 18 from Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, for a solo, nonstop sail around the globe.

Guo, 47, aims to travel 21,600 nautical miles in about 130 days, navigating in a Class 40 boat named after his hometown of Qingdao. Guo will pilot his boat across the Pacific Ocean to Cape Horn in Chile, enter the Atlantic Ocean, then go on to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa before crossing the islands of Indonesia to return to Qingdao. He will eat artificial dehydrated food during the voyage, and use a desalination unit for drinking water.

Guo is the first Chinese sailor to have taken part in the Clipper Round the World (2006) and the first Chinese to complete the Volvo Ocean Race (2008-09).

Guo received a master's degree in aircraft control from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and then worked on China's commercial satellite launch projects. Hejoined friends at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for a day's sailing during a trip to Hong Kong in 2000, at which point he decided to become a professional sailor.

Anti-dumping Triumph

China's leading shoemaker, Aokang Group Co. Ltd., has won a lawsuit against EU antidumping measures on Chinese leather shoes.

On November 18, the European Court of Justice overruled an earlier judgment by the General Court of the EU in April 2010, which dismissed Aokang's action against the EU.

The court also ordered the Council of the European Union to pay the costs incurred by Aokang Group from the lawsuits.

The EU imposed a two-year 16.5-percent anti-dumping duty on imports of Chinese leather shoes in October 2006 and later decided to extend the duty until March 31 in 2011.

Five Chinese shoe companies including Aokang lodged a lawsuit against the EU measures to the General Court of the EU after the duties were imposed.

After the Chinese companies lost the first round, Aokang decided to appeal to the European Court of Justice.

Despite the EU removing its anti-dumping duties in April 2011, Aokang continued with its lawsuit.

Experts said Aokang's legal victory could bring the company more than 5 million yuan ($801,600) in compensation for legal costs, and importers and exporters in trade relations with Aokang will get back the anti-dumping duties levied by the EU over the past six years.

Experts also believe the victory will set a legal precedent for Chinese shoemakers when facing international trade disputes in the future.

Home Price Rise

More Chinese cities saw home prices rise in October from September despite the government's dogged efforts to curb property prices, said the National Bureau of Statistics on November 18.

In October, 35 of 70 major cities, up from 31 in September, recorded higher new home prices than a month earlier.

Home sales rose 5.6 percent year on year to 4.63 trillion yuan ($736 billion) in the first 10 months, accelerating by 2.9 percentage points from the January-September period.

Home transactions have picked up over the past month, the traditional peak season for housing sales in the country, on the back of recent government policies to shore up growth, analysts said.

Yin Zhongli, a finance researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the government's current measures showed that it has kept its vigilance against price hikes. The central bank has stopped introducing more easing measures since the interest rate cut in August for fear of re-igniting speculation fervor in the property market, he said.

Investment Condition

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped 3.45 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2012 to $91.74 billion, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on November 20.

The drop was less sharp compared to the first three quarters when FDI dropped 3.8 percent year on year to $83.42 billion.

On the other hand, China's outbound direct investment (ODI) in non-financial sectors surged 25.8 percent year on year to $58.17 billion during the first 10 months.

The increase was slower than the 28.9-percent expansion seen in the January- September period, as the country's economy slowed due to flagging property investment and exports, said Shen Danyang, MOFCOM spokesman, at a press conference on November 20.

Chinese mainland's investment in Hong Kong rose by a stunning 42.6 percent during the first 10 months of the year, while the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, Russia and Japan also saw double-digit growth in ODI from China.

However, China's ODI in the EU fell 20.9 percent year on year to $1.58 billion during the January-October period.

Corporate Governance

A survey on the corporate governance standards of companies listed in Hong Kong, which was released on November 20, found that current levels of corporate governance have improved significantly since 2009.

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors and the Hong Kong Baptist University jointly conducted the survey.

A total of 121 listed companies in Hong Kong are assessed based on the five principles of corporate governance—rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency, and board responsibilities.

Six out of the top 10 firms with the best corporate governance practices are stateowned or backed with funding from China's mainland, reflecting that many large stateowned enterprises have devoted the time and resources needed to improve transparency, to clarify the power and responsibilities of the board of directors and to enhance corporate social responsibility.

The six firms from the Chinese mainland are Bank of China, shipping giant COSCO, China Life Insurance, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, PC maker Lenovo and marine oil producer CNOOC.

Liquor Stocks Slump

While China's high-end liquor makers are enjoying intoxicating profits, they face a frustrated stock market partly due to government vows to control official spending on banquets.

Stocks tumbled across the liquor sector listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges on November 19, sparing only a few. Kweichow Moutai, Wuliangye and Luzhoulaojiao saw stocks fall by 4.6, 5.8 and 6.1 percent respectively as of the end of the trading day.

The net profits of Moutai surged 106.05 percent year on year to reach 3.42 billion yuan ($543.41 million) in the third quarter of 2012.

Wuliangye Group, a major competitor of Moutai, also recorded a net profit increase of nearly 90 percent in the third quarter, which the company attributed to price hikes and strong sales.

However, Moutai has gone through a string of price drops this year that have taken its average bottle price to around 1,500 yuan ($240.75) from about 2,300 yuan ($369.15) at the beginning of 2012.

It is said that Moutai's inventory has topped 20,000 tons. Industry insiders believe that unconfirmed information moved some dealers to lower prices in order to destock and cash in.