Numbers of the Week

28.4%

China's fiscal revenue for October reached 684.49 billion yuan ($100 billion), up 28.4 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

313.42 billion kwh

The country's power consumption in October rose 15.87 percent year on year to 313.42 billion kwh, said the National Energy Administration.

TO THE POINT: The Ministry of Commerce reiterated the importance of maintaining a stable Chinese currency, especially against a weakened U.S. dollar. Chinese PC maker Lenovo turns loss into profit as its corporate restructuring gains traction. The once anemic textile industry is picking up momentum as evidenced in rebounding exports and handsome industrial profits. Foreign direct investment inflows increased 5.7 percent in October year on year, representing the third consecutive monthly increase since this August. With a widening profit margin, Sina Corp., a leading Internet portal provider, basks in the glow of a vibrant advertising market. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have inked a memorandum of understanding opening their financial markets to each other.

By HU YUE

A Stable Renminbi

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) recently rebuffed calls to allow the Chinese currency to appreciate and said it is unfair to blame the renminbi for global trade imbalances.

"It is not conducive to the global economic recovery, and it is also unfair to single out one country for currency appreciation while the U.S. dollar is losing value at the same time," MOFCOM spokesman Yao Jian said at a press conference on November 16.

The renminbi has remained flat against the weakening U.S. dollar at around 6.83 yuan since the middle of 2008. This aroused concerns in the West that a relatively devalued local currency had helped encourage exports and depressed imports.

China continued to import large amounts of U.S. goods even during the global financial crisis, and the yuan's exchange rate has little to do with China's trade surplus, Yao said.

Lenovo Back in Black

Stiff restructuring efforts at Lenovo seem to be paying off as the financially distressed PC giant jumps back into positive black territory.

The world's fourth largest PC brand reported a better-than-expected net profit of $53 million for the July-September period, reversing a three-quarter negative streak.

Lenovo was one of the hardest-hit among global PC makers due to its strong reliance on the corporate market, the sector that has suffered most from the financial crisis. After acquiring the PC arm of IBM in 2005, high-end computers sold to large enterprises have made up the bulk of Lenovo's revenue.

In the wake of the downturn, Lenovo has cut a number of jobs in Europe and North America to help it refocus on China and other emerging markets that are bustling with vigor.

In China, Lenovo's PC sales grew 9.3 percent in the third quarter year on year, bolstering its market share to 29.4 percent. Analysts believe this was in part assisted by a government program that gave subsidies to PC purchases from rural residents. In addition, the release of Windows 7 in October is widely expected to deliver a boost to Lenovo as many corporate clients are ready to upgrade their PC operating systems, said Yang Yuanqing, CEO of the company.

"We'll further enhance brand loyalty and distribution power and press ahead with low-end products to underpin our China foothold," added Yang.

Textile Revival

With export orders firming up, the pains of China's textile manufacturers are fading fast, though a substantial turnaround is still some way off.