Categories
Banking & Finance Brief Economics & Trade Energy & Environment Health Care Manufacturing

China to modify environmental supervision of firms to boost post-coronavirus recovery

China will modify the environmental supervision of companies to help the resumption of production disrupted by the coronavirus epidemic, giving firms more time to rectify environmental problems, but stressed it was not relaxing standards, reported Reuters. China has said it will exempt some firms from on-site environmental checks if they are involved in the production of […]

Categories
Brief Commodities Economics & Trade Health Care Transport & Logistics

China’s busiest coal railway posts fourth straight monthly freight decline

China busiest coal railway saw freight volume drop for a fourth consecutive month in February, as the novel coronavirus outbreak pushed down coal output, and market demand remained weak, reported Caixin. The 653-kilometer (405-mile) Daqin railway, which starts in Datong in the coal-rich province of Shanxi, and snakes through four regions until it reaches the Hebei […]

Categories
Banking & Finance Brief Economics & Trade Health Care Markets

Coronavirus prompts boom in risky China share placements

Looser rules on private share sales in China have prompted a flood of issuance, as cash-strapped companies try to fortify their balance sheets against hits from the coronavirus outbreak, reported the Financial Times.  More than 100 listed companies have raised RMB 209 billion ($30 billion) through private placements since February 14, when domestic regulators relaxed restrictions, […]

Categories
Banking & Finance Brief Economics & Trade Health Care Property

Covid-19 outbreak to have ‘devastating impact’ on Shanghai commercial property

The manufacturing sector might have ramped up production after a gap of more than a month, but major shopping districts in Shanghai, China’s commercial and financial capital, remain deserted, with consumers delaying the purchases of daily necessities as well as big-ticket items, reported the South China Morning Post.  As of early this month, only a third […]

Categories
Brief Economics & Trade Health Care Tech, Media & Telecom

Apple sells fewer than 500,000 smartphones in China in February amid coronavirus

Apple sold fewer than half a million iPhones in China in February, government data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus outbreak halved demand for smartphones, reported Reuters. In total, mobile phone brands sold a total of 6.34 million devices in February in China, down 54.7% from 14 million in the same month last year, data from […]