Numbers of the Week

119 million

According to China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp. Ltd., the aggregate number of Chinese A-share market accounts reached 119 million on July 4, while about 16 percent were dormant partly due to heavy losses incurred in the past 12 months.

$193 billion

The total assets owned by foreign banks in China surmounted $193 billion at the end of March, soaring 55.39 percent year on year, and accounting for 2.44 percent of the overall banking assets at Chinese financial institutions, according to Xinhua News Agency.

TO THE POINT: Declining exports have not been the only setback for China's economic development so far this year. Consumption also shows signs of a possible slowdown. Government figures indicate consumers were less optimistic about the country's economic performance during the first six months of the year. The mainland property market was undergoing a correction when prices fell in some cities. But foreign companies increasingly acquired controlling stakes in large commercial housing projects. A continued surge in oil prices cut the sales volume of automakers. Louis Vuitton bags at a store in Hangzhou were deemed defective, because they lacked product tags. China Oilfield Services Ltd. struck a deal to buy a Norwegian company to expand its overseas operations. By LIU YUNYUN

Sluggish Buying

China's consumer confidence index declined in the second quarter, indicating that consumption-one of the three pillars of the country's GDP (the other two are exports and investment)-might fall because of concerns about inflation.

The index fell 0.7 percent from the previous quarter to 94.1, which was 2.7 percent less than the same period last year, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The index measures consumers' outlooks on employment, the economy, regular income, the stock market and the overall quality of life.

The entrepreneurial confidence and business climate indexes also dropped in the second quarter.

Cai Zhizhou, Deputy Director of the China Center for National Accounting and Economic Growth at Peking University, said the country's current economic performance in general was safe and sound, but its growth rate was declining. He told China Securities Journal that the drop in consumer and entrepreneur confidence was a real reflection of current economic trends.

Shanghai Properties

After reaching a peak in the second half of last year, China's property market showed signs of cooling down. But foreign capital still flowed into the country's real estate market.

CB Richard Ellis China, a provider of commercial real estate services, said in the first half of the year, foreign companies purchased