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Market Watch
Business> Market Watch
UPDATED: February 5, 2010 NO. 6 FEBRUARY 11, 2010
MARKET WATCH NO. 6, 2010
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Numbers of the Week

11.4 million

China's private sector created 11.4 million new jobs in 2009, according to All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

92.3%

Investment contributed to 92.3 percent of China's GDP growth in 2009, said National Bureau of Statistics.

TO THE POINT: Nuclear power projects under construction in China in 2009 were the most numerous in the world in terms of installed capacity. Chinese telecom operators geared up for 3G competition as the market is expected to grow with an improved network and wider consumer acceptance. Chinese tourists to France overtook Russians to become the biggest spenders in duty-free stores. Mainland travelers to Hong Kong are expected to contribute 30 percent to the region's Spring Festival consumption. This year's Boao Forum for Asia, an Asian version of the World Economic Forum, will focus on environmental efforts and the green economy. Insurers reaped a bumper harvest in 2009 as reflected in their surging profits.

By LIU YUNYUN

Powering the Future

China had the most nuclear power facilities under construction among world powers in 2009. Nuclear power, as well as other alternative energies, is developing rapidly in China due to the country's commitment to a low-carbon economy.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, China increased construction of its nuclear power stations in 2009. By the end of last year, 20 nuclear power generating sets had started construction with an aggregate capacity of 21,920 megawatts, the largest new capacity in the world. The projects required 260 billion yuan ($38 billion) in direct investment.

Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Bureau, said at the national energy work conference held last December that the nuclear power installation capacity would reach 75,000 megawatts in 2020 from the current level of less than 10,000 megawatts. By 2020, nuclear power will generate 5 percent of all electricity. Nuclear power currently generates 2 percent of China's electricity needs.

Before the Chinese delegation headed to the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to cut carbon dioxide emissions per GDP unit by 40-45 percent in 2020 from 2005 levels. "To achieve this goal, we have reached a consensus to accelerate the construction of nuclear power stations," said Yu Jianfeng, Vice President of China National Nuclear Corp.

3G Rush

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China (MIIT) published a report on the communications industry in 2009. The report shows by the end of last year, 3G network users reached 13.25 million. The three 3G operators—China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom—invested 160.9 billion yuan ($23.5 billion) to build the network, which indirectly contributed 589 billion yuan ($709 billion) to the economy and drove 36.4 billion yuan ($5.33 billion) worth of consumption.

MIIT issued 3G licenses to the three operators in early 2009. Each operator was responsible for developing a separate 3G network. China Mobile was given responsibility for the Chinese standard TD-SCDMA; China Unicom developed the internationally accepted WCDMA; and China Telecom adopted the CDMA200-EVDO standard.

The independently developed 3G network—China Mobile's TD-SCDMA—attracted 5.51 million users. The number of new China Telecom users grew by 100.97 percent, the fastest in 2009. MIIT estimated that China Telecom's CDMA200-EVDO standard also attracted about 5 million users last year. The number of China Unicom's WCDMA users was 2.74 million.

3G businesses have already grabbed a large piece of the pie in the largely 2G dominated market, but have not significantly driven economic development. Analysts said 3G will take effect this year along with the perfection of the networks and people's acceptance of the new service.

Wang Jianzhou, President of China Mobile, said his company is striving to multiply and enrich the content for terminal users of not just mobile phones but also netbooks, electronic reading devices and home gateway systems.

Big Spending in France

Along with the domestic consumption boom, deep-pocketed Chinese tourists have also dramatically increased their spending in foreign countries.

Chinese tourists to France overtook Russians to become the biggest consumers among foreign tourists to France, spending 158 million euros ($222 million) on duty-free luxury goods in 2009. The increase was a growth of 47 percent from that of 2008, according to AFP quoting Global Refund, a company specializing in tax-free shopping for tourists.

On average, Chinese tourists spent 1,071 euros ($1,496) in tax-free goods in 2009 per tourist, while Russians shelled out 1,055 euros ($1,474).

Chinese tourists' consumption in France has increased in recent years. The year-on-year growth of consumption value was 39 percent in 2007, 23.3 percent in 2008 and a staggering 47 percent in 2009, according to previous Global Refund reports.

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