BRIDGING HAINAN Construction on the 3,974-meter-long Wanquanhe Bridge was recently completed as part of government efforts to improve transportation in Hainan Province (MENG ZHONGDE)

Going Westward

China plans to invest 468.9 billion yuan ($68.65 billion) in projects to boost the development of the country's western region in 2009, said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on October 13.

The investment will go to 18 projects, including railways, expressways, hydropower stations, shipping hubs, water control projects and airports.

The projects will play a vital role in implementing China's Western Development strategy, which aims to promote economic and social development in the region and improve people's livelihood.

From 2000 to 2008, the country launched 102 projects for boosting western regional development, involving 1.74 trillion yuan ($254.6 billion) in investments, according to the NDRC.

Stabilizing Stock Markets

The Central Huijin Investment Co., a unit of China Investment Corp, recently announced an increase in its holdings in the nation's three largest banks in the Shanghai A-share market: the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the China Construction Bank and the Bank of China. It will additionally continue to expand its holdings in the three lenders over the next 12 months.

The move is widely believed to be a needed boost to stabilize domestic stock markets after the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 6.1 percent in the third quarter, the worst performance among the emerging markets.

This will provide a strong backstop against the flood of initial public offering shares and the soon-to-be released non-tradable shares of state-owned firms in the coming months, said analysts.

Stimulus for Agriculture

China will raise the minimum purchase price for wheat in the country's major wheat and rice production regions in 2010, said the NDRC on October 14 in an announcement on its website.

The top economic planner said that the minimum purchase prices for white and red wheats will be increased by 3 yuan ($0.44) from the 2009 level to 90 yuan ($13.2) and 86 yuan ($12.6) for every 50 kg, respectively.

This move is intended to protect the farmers' interests and promote grain production, according to the NDRC.

Lending Spree

China's new yuan-denominated loans in September rose to 516.7 billion yuan ($75.68 billion) from August's 410.4 billion yuan ($60.04 billion), said the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on October 14.

New yuan-denominated loans in the first nine months of this year stood at 8.67 trillion yuan ($1.27 trillion), 5.19 trillion yuan ($759.33 billion) more than the same period last year.

The figure bodes well for prospects that the world's third largest economy is on the track to recovery, said Ding Zhijie, a senior economist with the Central University of Finance and Economics, to Xinhua News Agency.

Win-Win Alliance

The China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co. Ltd. (CNHTC), the country's leading heavy truck producer, has recently inked an agreement with the German industrial giant MAN SE to boost heavy-duty truck production.

Under the deal, the German company paid 560 million euros ($827 million) for a 25-percent stake plus one share of Sinotruck, the Hong-Hong listed unit of CNHTC.

The deal would also allow CNHTC access to the advanced technologies of MAN SE in heavy-duty truck productions, as well as its sales network for expansion into the global markets.