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Projects open to private investors

China will lift restrictions on the participation in research programs, announced a senior science official on Monday. "We hope private firms will join key research plans [and support] research and transform [results into] achievements," Huang Wei, vice-minister of science and technology, told attendees of the opening ceremony for the 11th China International Private Equity Forum, which began in the northern port city of Tianjin. The government, companies and individuals should all play a part in ensuring diverse funding channels for innovation, he said. In this respect, in March, the ministries of finance, science and technology released a funding guideline for research projects. It said that government departments would cease to manage key projects and allow professional agencies to manage the funding.

Finance support for rural integration

China will leverage policy finance tools to help promote integration of agriculture, industry, service and other sectors in rural areas. The Agricultural Development Bank of China, the country's only policy bank that mainly serves agriculture, will work with the Ministry of Agriculture to help expand the agricultural industrial chain and boost the sector's competitiveness and farmers' income, according to a statement released by the two parties. Efforts will be made to support development of standardized raw material bases, agricultural technology innovation, produce processing and logistics network, according to the statement. The ADBC will support officially registered industry integration projects with diverse credit products, financing models and differentiated policies.

Yuan strengthens against dollar

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened one basis point to 6.7934 against the US dollar on Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Top Glove eyes China expansion

Malaysia's Top Glove, the world's largest rubber glove manufacturer, is looking for merger and acquisition or joint venture opportunities to grow its market share in China. The company, which accounts for 13 percent of Malaysia's total rubber product exports to China, aims to acquire existing glove factories, in which the group can put in additional machinery, in order to compete more efficiently, Lim Wee Chai, Top Glove's executive chairman told Xinhua in an interview, adding the company is also open for M&A or joint venture possibilities in distribution companies in China. In May, the company acquired two plants in Malaysia to expand its access to China. "Our target is to capture 30 percent of China's market share, which we would be achieving with our two acquisitions as exports from these two factories contribute an additional 15 percent of Malaysia's total rubber products exports to China," Lim said. More than 95 percent of Top Glove's rubber gloves are exported. The company, which has 29 factories and 499 production lines around the world, has an annual production capacity of 48 billion pieces.

German PMI hits 73-month high

Germany's private sector grew to 73-month high in May, Markit's survey showed on Monday, suggesting the continuing momentum in Europe's largest economy. The IHS Markit composite Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services that account for more than two-thirds of the economy, rose for the fourth time in six months, to 57.4 from 56.7 in April. It was the highest reading since April 2011, well above the no-change mark of 50.0 and beating market's forecasts. Trevor Balchin, senior economist at IHS Markit, said: "German economic growth strengthened in May to the fastest in just over six years, according to the final composite PMI data." The acceleration was driven by the manufacturing sector, where output growth continued to outpace services expansion.

Nominal wages rise in Japan

Nominal wages in Japan rose 0.5 percent in April year-on-year after declining a month earlier, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said in a preliminary report on Tuesday. According to the ministry, nominal wages rose to 275,321 yen ($2,490) per worker in the recording period, the government's latest data showed, with average real, or inflation-adjusted wages in April flat against a backdrop of rising consumer prices. The government said that nominal wages in April marked an uptick because of a decline in the ratio of part-time workers who receive comparably lower wages compared to the overall workforce. The largest section of monthly wages comprising base pay and scheduled wages gained 0.4 percent in the recording period to average 243,717 yen, with unscheduled wages such as overtime pay falling 0.2 percent to 20,383 yen in the recording period, the government's data showed.

World Bank lifts Romania's forecast

The World Bank on Monday raised its projections for Romania's economic growth from 3.7 to 4.4 percent in 2017. In its report regarding Global Economic Prospects, the bank upgraded its formal forecast on January for the eastern European country for the current year. Moreover, it revised upward by 0.3 percentage point the estimates for 2018 and 2019, when Romania's GDP is set to increase by 3.7 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Romania's gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same period of the previous year, ranking first in European Union countries.

African bloc harmonizes policies

Member states of Africa's largest trading bloc have finalized the development of joint policies and regulations to revitalize the growth of the seed industry, officials said on Monday. Speaking at a regional workshop in Nairobi, policymakers, experts and industry executives from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa said that a new policy and regulatory framework was an imperative to enhance development and deployment of high yielding seeds to farmers. Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Richard Lesiyampe in his opening remarks said that a robust seed industry in the eastern and southern African region is key to achieving food security and sustainable revenue streams for farmers.

Vietnam's credit growth surges

Vietnam's total loans as of May 25 grew over 6.5 percent from the end of 2016, a local banking official said on Monday. The growth rate soared 5 percent against the same period of 2016, favoring businesses in prioritized sectors amid modest disbursement of public investment, deputy central bank governor Nguyen Thi Hong said at a press briefing. Vietnam targets credit growth of 18 percent this year. Last year, loans grew nearly 18.3 percent, according to the central bank.

China Daily - Agencies