Power Blackouts

China is experiencing a power gap of up to 69.63 million kw as a coal shortage cuts generation at some plants, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC).

The shortage has led 13 provincial-level regions, including Hubei, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Yunnan and Guangdong to ration electricity, SERC Chairman You Quan said.

Electricity use has surged amid rapid economic growth. Demand has also jumped as more people turn up the heat in the freezing winter. The snow is also causing transportation problems for coal, which exacerbates output shortages, You said.

Coal reserves were at 17.73 million tons as of January 20, according to the State Grid. The figure only equals eight days' supply for the country's power plants.

Treasury Bonds Scale Up

A total of 35 batches of treasury bonds amounting to about 2.35 trillion yuan ($326 billion) were issued by the Ministry of Finance of China (MOF) in 2007, 1.46 trillion yuan ($203 billion) more than in 2006, said the MOF.

Statistics from the MOF showed that among the 35 batches of T-bonds, there were eight batches of special treasury bonds, 21 batches of book-entry treasury bonds, five batches of certificate treasury bonds and one batch of electronic saving bonds.

The ministry said by the end of 2007, China's aggregated domestic debt balance had exceeded 5 trillion yuan ($694 billion) for the first time, doubling the amount at the end of 2003.

BOC Denies Subprime Losses

Bank of China, the nation's second largest lender, denied reports that it might post significantly lower profits or even a loss in 2007 due to investments in securities linked to U.S. subprime mortgages on January 22.

"The reports were groundless," said a statement from the bank. "The bank's after-tax profit continued to grow in 2007, taking into consideration provisions made for subprime-linked assets."

The bank's shares traded in Hong Kong tumbled 8.61 percent on January 22 after a 6.39-percent drop the previous day.

The bank reported a net profit of 45.5 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) for the first three quarters in 2007, up 40.1 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Tourism Spurs Online Agencies

The value of websites offering travel-related services will reach 3.84 billion yuan ($533 million) in 2008, with a projected growth rate of 70.7 percent, according to a nationwide survey.

The survey showed China's online travel service market was worth 2.25 billion ($312.5 million) in 2007, with an estimated 65-percent expansion for the industry from 2006.

Shanghai-based online travel service provider ctrip.com (NASDAQ:CTRP) still held a steady command of the market with the highest penetration in large primary and second-tier cities, the survey showed.

The effect was felt industry-wide, benefiting other players, including eLong (NASDAQ: LONG), China's second-biggest online travel agency, and Mango city.com launched by Hong Kong China Travel Services in 2005.

The survey indicated that over the next two or three years, traditional and online travel agents will continue to consolidate.

Unemployment Rate Dips

Urban unemployment dropped to 4 percent in China at the end of 2007, according to official statistics.

Yin Chengji, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, said that last year a total of 12.04 million Chinese found jobs in urban areas, a six-year high, representing a 34-percent increase from the government's full-year target.

About 5.15 million of them had previously been laid-off workers and unemployed residents, said Yin, adding China had helped 99.9 percent of "zero-employment" families find at least one job.

China hopes to keep its urban unemployment under 4.5 percent this year by employing another 10 million people, he said.