UNIFIED POWER PRICE: A worker checks photovoltaic power equipment in Dunhuang, Gansu Province. China on August 1 set the first unified on-grid power tariffs at 1 yuan ($0.15) per kwh for solar projects approved after July 1, 2011 (TIAN WEITAO)

Yuan Bonds in HK

China's Ministry of Finance said on August 3 it will issue yuan-denominated government bonds worth 20 billion yuan ($3.11 billion) in Hong Kong later in the month, a move to promote Hong Kong as the country's offshore yuan center.

Bonds worth 15 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) with maturities set at three, five, seven and 10 years will be offered to institutional investors, the ministry said.

The remainder of the debt will have a maturity of two years and will be available to individual buyers.

The move indicates the Central Government's determination to cement Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.

Appliance Acquisition

China's Haier and Japan's Sanyo signed a memorandum of understanding on Haier's acquisition of a portion of Sanyo's home appliance division, said a senior Haier company official on August 2.

The two parties are expected to ink a formal agreement at the end of September, said Du Jingguo, Vice President of Haier Group.

Haier, China's home appliance giant, intends to acquire Sanyo's refrigerator, washing machine and other electrical appliance businesses in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam.

Haier would have two research centers and four manufacturing bases in Japan and Southeast Asia after the acquisition, Du said.

Iron Ore Index

The China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said on August 2 it will start a trial run of its iron ore index some time in August.

Zhang Changfu, Vice Chairman of CISA, said in a statement on the association's website that the index will be officially launched in October, and data will be released on a weekly basis.

The index will consist of two sub-indices pertaining to domestic iron ore prices and import prices respectively, he said.

Soaring iron ore prices have been blamed for squeezing profits out of China's steel producers.

Support for SMEs

The State Council is organizing departments to draft a series of supportive policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which is expected to be launched later this year, according to an Economic Information Daily report.

China will issue policies to guide private capital investing in SMEs. China will also loosen policies and clear entrance barriers for SMEs, said the report.

The policies will be implemented throughout the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15).

Liu Gongxiao, Director of the Machinery Industry Information Center, who has been involved in researching and making related policies, told the newspaper China will help SMEs to establish a modern enterprise system and credit system and solve the problems through the issuance of bonds and equity financing.

Liu said encouraging the self-innovation of SMEs will be a focus of the draft policies.