China Economic ReviewFactoring is a financing method whereby firms can speed up the collection of accounts receivable by assigning invoices to a third party factor. It is fast gaining popularity in mainland China, where late payment and bad debts are major concerns for companies. Last year, the number of Chinese banks advertising factoring services increased from two […]
A direct rail-ferry service between Hainan and Guangdong provinces completed its maiden voyage in early January. The train, loaded with motor vehicles, made the 20km trip in 50 minutes. The crossing on a 165- metre-long special ferry marked the completion of the Yn4.5bn railway line from Zhanjiang in Guangdong to Haikou. Normal passenger operations are […]
In late December, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji were both passengers on a successful test ride of Shanghai's magnetic levitation train, which runs from the city's financial district to Pudong international airport. The train reached a speed of 430km/hour and took just eight minutes to complete the 30km journey. Commercial services […]
The World Bank is set to offer China US$1.2bn annually over the next three years, more than double the amount China received over the past two years. The bank said the money would be made available to help improve the climate for investment, speed the transition to a full market economy, clean up the environment, […]
UTStarcom has won a US$47m contract to supply equipment for China Telecom's networks in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces. The California-based company had previously won a string of contracts with China Netcom, China's second-largest fixed-line telephone operator. Both Chinese companies are using the equipment to expand their wireless local telephone services, by using fixed-line infrastructure to […]