China has suspended the approval for nuclear power stations so that safety standards can be revised after explosions at a nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukushima Prefecture raised concerns, according to the executive meeting of the State Council on March 16. The State Council has required relevant departments to do safety checks at existing plants, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Before the revised safety standards are approved, all new nuclear power plants, including pre-construction works, should be suspended, said the statement.

China has six nuclear power plants in operation, which are located along the country's eastern and southern coasts.

NPLs Drop

The balance and ratio of major Chinese commercial banks' non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at 364.6 billion yuan ($55.5 billion) and 1.15 percent, respectively, by the end of 2010, marking a sharp contrast from the 2002 level of 2.28 trillion yuan ($345 billion) and 23.61 percent, said Liu Mingkang, Chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The total value of Chinese banks' assets more than tripled from that of 2003 to hit 95.3 trillion yuan ($14.44 trillion) by the end of last year while net profit was 28 times the 2003 level, said Liu.

By the end of last year, outstanding loans to small enterprises by banks and financial institutions hit 7.3 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion), accounting for 24 percent of total loans to enterprises, he said.

T-Bond Sale

China's Ministry of Finance sold 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) worth of book-entry Treasury bonds from March 17-21. The 10- year bonds have a fixed annual interest rate of 3.83 percent, the ministry said.

The bonds became tradable on exchange markets starting March 23. Interest on the bonds will be paid when the bonds mature on March 17, 2021. The bonds will be the ministry's eighth issue of book-entry Treasury bonds this year.

Online Gamers

Internet game players in China exceeded 120 million in 2010, up 37 percent year on year, according to the 2010 China Online Game Market Report released by China's Ministry of Culture.

The country's online gaming market last year grew by 26 percent to 34.9 billion yuan ($5.3 billion), according to the report.

Chinese-made online games saw high exports last year, with overseas revenues of nearly $230 million, up 116 percent year on year, said the report.

U.S. IPO Plan

Chinese security software provider Qihoo 360 Technology Co. plans to raise up to $200 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.

The company aims to seek the public listing in the first quarter of this year, with UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. as its leading underwriters, it said in a regulatory filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 14.

The proceeds from the IPO will be used for research and development and acquisition of technologies, products or businesses. Domestic research company iResearch reported Qihoo 360 is the third largest Internet company by user base, which reached 339 million in January this year.