Numbers of the Week

$78 billion

The government collected approximately 532 billion yuan ($78 billion) in taxes nationwide in July, an increase of 13.8 percent compared with the same month last year.

$28.65 billion

In the first seven months, China reaped total revenue of $28.65 billion in overseas project contracting, up nearly 50 percent from the year-earlier period.

TO THE POINT: China's state-owned enterprises are focusing on the stalwarts of the domestic economy, including the oil, telecommunications and power industries. Although auto sales have seen a period of sluggish demand, luxury car imports have been increasing. Steel mills will drop their prices in the fourth quarter because of excessive supply. China's stock markets, once taking the global lead in share price increases, have become the worst performing markets in the world. Along with the declining stock markets, mainland-listed companies also saw their profits drop in the first half of this year.

By LIU YUNYUN

SOE Wrap-up

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have always been a main gauge of China's economic development trend.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) summarized the current situation of the country's SOEs at a recent conference. It said the country has 149 centrally administered SOEs, down from 196 in 2003. The number is expected to shrink to between 80 and 100 by 2010 through mergers and restructurings. These enterprises have been concentrating on critical industries such as oil, petrochemicals, power, national defense, telecommunications, transportation, and mining, which comprise about 83 percent of the total assets of the centrally administered SOEs.

From 2002 to 2007, the centrally administered SOEs saw their assets rise by 1.5 trillion yuan ($219 billion). Their sales rose by 1.3 trillion yuan ($190 billion) and profits by 150 billion yuan ($22 billion) each year.

Almost two thirds of the centrally administered SOEs and their subsidiaries have become shareholding companies following the country's rapid restructuring efforts. A number of large SOEs have gone public on both domestic and foreign stock exchanges. Of about 1,500 listed companies on China's A-share market, more than 1,100 are wholly or partly state-owned, according to the SASAC.

Auto Import Boom

Major auto producers increasingly have been turning to the Chinese market in light of the enormous losses they have suffered as a result of the global economic slump.

In the first seven months, China imported approximately 48 percent more motor vehicles year on year for a total of 247,000 cars valued at $9.17 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs.

The government agency said most of the imports were luxury cars. It also noted growing imports of sport utility vehicles and high-emission vehicles, whose sales in the United States deteriorated because of soaring oil prices in the first half of this year. This was part of the reason why Ford Motor Co., one of the big three U.S. auto manufacturers, posted a loss of $8.7 billion in the second quarter of this year.

A report issued by the agency said sluggish international auto demand prompted producers to shift their focus to China, and that major producers increased their supplies of new models to the Chinese market.

Japan, the EU, South Korea and the United States were the top four sources for China's auto imports.

Steel Prices Down

After three quarters of price increases, domestic steel manufacturers will lower prices in the fourth quarter of the year.