TRIUMPHANT RETURN The first Airbus A320 jet assembled in China successfully landed at the Tianjin airport after a four-hour test flight (LIU HAIFENG)

Stimulus on Track

In spite of minor problems, the country's stimulus package has been implemented in line with government proposals, China's National Audit Office (NAO) said.

The Central Government allocated 100 billion yuan ($14.6 billion) last year, all of which has been disbursed. Another 130 billion yuan ($19 billion), appropriated by the government in February, has been almost completely distributed.

Several problems, including a lack of local support funds and an imperfect implementation of the policy, need to be addressed, NAO said.

China's Competitiveness

China's competitiveness fell three places from its position last year to rank 20th in the world, according to Swiss global business school IMD, which publishes the list.

The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009, published May 20, revealed that China had been performing quite well in terms of its domestic economy, international trade, employment, public finance, labor market and scientific infrastructure.

But the country does not perform well in international investment, business legislation, management practices and health and environmental protection, the report noted.

Of the 57 economies tracked by IMD, the United States still topped the list, followed by China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Coal-bed Methane Project

The World Bank approved an $80-million loan to help China develop and use coal-bed methane. The project is designed to help the country meet its growing energy demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollutants released when coal is burned.

The World Bank said the loan would help finance the exploration for and development of about 350 vertical coal-bed methane production wells with an estimated annual production capacity of 250 million cubic meters.

The loan will also go toward the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant that produces 50,000 tons of LNG per year.

PVC Futures to be Traded

The Dalian Commodity Exchange announced May 20 that investors could start trading polyvinyl chloride (PVC) futures on May 25.

The announcement makes PVC the third new commodity to be offered in China so far this year, following steel and early rice futures.

China is the world's largest PVC producer with a total output of 8.8 million tons last year.

SOE Revenues Slip

The operating revenues of China's 115,000 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) totaled 5.98 trillion yuan ($876 billion) in the first four months of 2009, dropping 7.3 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

The net profits of all SOEs stood at 324 billion yuan ($47 billion) in the same period, nose-diving 32 percent from last year.

The 137 SOEs under the Central Government's administration earned a net profit of 171 billion yuan ($25 billion) in the first four months, taking a 37-percent year-on-year plunge.

Fishing Firm Listed in Seoul

China Ocean Resources Co., a Hong Kong-based fishing operation, launched its initial public offering on the South Korean stock market on May 22.

The company floated 57.2 million shares that were priced at 3,100 won ($2.5) each.

The company was the seventh foreign firm listed on the South Korean stock bourse, according to an announcement by the exchange.

China Ocean Resources earned a net profit of HK$186.4 million ($24 million) in 2008.