China's upcoming growth enterprise board to raise funds for small start-ups will not be a threat to the main stock market, said Yao Gang, Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on March 25.

His comments followed continuous declines in China's bourses partly caused by fears of capital shortages after a series of restraining measures and huge refinancing.

"The market is not short of money, but of better and more attractive investment products," said Yao in an online interview.

CSRC statistics showed the average market capitalization of the 222 companies listed on the Shenzhen small and medium-sized enterprises board was only 300 million yuan ($42.9 million).

Tapping the Chinese Market

Almost 200 exhibitors from 14 countries, including the world's leading nuclear energy companies, attended the 10th China International Nuclear Industry Exhibition in Beijing in the hope of reaping contracts from China's planned expansion of its nuclear power industry that opened on March 25.

Major international companies, such as the French Nuclear Energy Society, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., and Westinghouse Electric Co., held meetings at the exhibition to exchange information with Chinese experts concerning nuclear power generation, environmental protection, equipment building and technical standards.

Auditing Defects of Aided Projects

China's National Audit Office said the financial management or accounting methods of 42 foreign-aided projects were below standard or invalid, according to a report released on the office's official website.

Last year, the office audited 89 projects supported by foreign aid and 28 projects by foreign loans. For the 42 projects, some failed to set up standard accounting books, some had incomplete account management and some failed to complete accounts on time, said the report. However, it said the flaws in the 42 projects had been corrected by the end of November.

Among the 117 projects, 23 fell behind schedule while domestic funds failed to support 11 projects as promised, making a total shortfall of 1.4 billion yuan, the report said, adding that 70 percent of the funds had been allocated by last November.

Profitable Year for Listed Companies

Nearly 40 percent of China's listed companies have released their 2007 annual reports, and 86 percent have reported higher net profits.

The 578 companies that have reported so far had aggregate net profits of 382.7 billion yuan ($54.7 billion), up 38.39 percent year-on-year, according to Wind Info, a provider of financial data. About 130 companies saw net profits more than double.

Buoyed by a booming economy, total investment gains were 96.61 billion yuan ($13.8 billion), up 128.43 percent year on year.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's largest commercial bank, had net profit of 82.3 billion yuan ($11.8 billion), up 64.9 percent as measured by international accounting standards, because of higher interest and fee income.

Gold Futures and a Golden Future

Chinese commercial banks will be allowed to trade gold futures in the domestic market, according to a notice released on the regulator's official website.

China's gold futures trading was launched in January, but domestic banks were barred from trading by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

According to the notice, domestic banks that meet certain requirements, such as having a capital adequacy ratio of more than 8 percent, can apply for a trading permit.