LI ZIHENG

Numbers of the Week

12 billion yuan

The country's 1,000 major domestic retailers reaped 12 billion yuan ($1.76 billion) during the three-day May Day holiday (May 1-3), a 9-percent increase year on year.

28.7 trillion yuan

The value of the total assets of companies under the supervision of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission stood at 28.7 trillion yuan ($4.2 trillion) last year.

TO THE POINT: Signs of economic recovery are glimmering in China. The renminbi appreciated to a seven-month high against the U.S. dollar. Property sales in Beijing picked up in April. Meanwhile, on the mainland stock markets, China Eastern Airlines reported the biggest loss in 2008 of all listed companies and was warned about a possible delisting. Last year's stock market slump took its toll on social security fund performance with its first loss in eight years. Internationally, China insisted on a 40-percent cut in iron ore prices, despite Australian miners' strong opposition. The Chinese Government will send two investment and purchase teams to Europe in June.

By LIU YUNYUN

Renminbi at a Seven-month High

The Chinese currency, renminbi, soared to a seven-month high against the U.S. dollar on May 5 to 6.8201 yuan per dollar, demonstrating the strong status of the yuan amid the financial market meltdown.

By May 5, the renminbi had appreciated about 0.18 percent since the beginning of this year.

The yuan lingered around 6.83 per dollar for months. It lost some value on the next trading day, which was believed to have encountered a correction period after days of upsurge.

Analysts said the ongoing internationalization effort of renminbi spurred its fast appreciation, and such a trend would continue in the short run. This year, China inked currency swap agreements worth a total of 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) with six countries. The agreements are part of the government's endeavor to make the renminbi an internationally recognized settlement currency.

Analysts also said the weak U.S. dollar helped push up the renminbi. The renminbi appreciation leaves "made-in-China" products more expensive in foreign countries, thus dampening China's fragile exports, which have declined so far this year.

But some experts insist a more valuable yuan is well-matched to China's rising economy. Wu Jiahuang, Vice President of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, said the country should not exaggerate its stagnant exports. He pointed out a more valuable yuan is conducive to imports, tourism and overseas investment.

Property Rally

The property market recovered in April, as mirrored in a price hike and booming sales volume.

Beijing's property market recovered in the spring. In April, a total of 14,977 new homes were sold in the capital, the highest number since May 2006. More than 20,000 second-hand homes were sold in April, setting a new record.

But as apartment sales rose, so did their prices.

"The apartment I'm interested in buying is now priced at 13,000 yuan ($1,900) per square meter, about 2,000 yuan ($292) more than at the beginning of this year," said Zhou Mengna, who was looking for an apartment on the South Third Ring Road in Beijing. She said she would wait another month to see if the price would go down.

Meng Qi, a senior real estate analyst, said consumers are now very sensitive about home prices, because the economic downturn is pulling down their incomes. He said developers should not hike prices to unreasonably high levels, because it would scare off potential buyers and prevent them from unloading their property inventories.

Checking Loss-making Companies

The 18 worst-performing listed companies on the mainland A-share markets lost 60 billion yuan ($8.78 billion) in 2008.

China Eastern Airlines Co. Ltd. made up the biggest part of the loss at 14 billion yuan ($2.05 billion). There are five airlines listed on the mainland stock markets, and all of them were included on the list of the 18 worst-performing companies compiled by Dong Dengxin, a finance professor at Wuhan University of Science and Technology.

Dong compiled the list according to the 2008 annual reports of the 1,624 listed companies. Last year, they made a total profit of 821 billion yuan ($120 billion).

China Eastern is now under special treatment, because it has failed to make profits in the past two years. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is closely monitoring the performance of the five airlines, which suffered huge losses in oil futures hedging last year due to the fallout of the global credit crunch.

Dong also noted the worst listed company in 2008 was Shanghai Hongsheng Technology Co. Ltd. It lost 21 yuan ($3.1) per share last year and will be delisted. Its chairman, Long Changsheng, was sued by investors for flight of capital contribution.

SSF Recorded Mild Loss

China's national social security fund (SSF) reported its first annual loss since its debut eight years ago.

It lost 6.79 percent in 2008, but its performance was considered relatively stable as other wealth management products had all reported sharp losses due to the global financial meltdown. The plummeting stock market was the major reason for poor SSF performance. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index of mainland stock markets tumbled 60 percent in 2008.