Call us old-fashioned, but there isn’t much to say about this wedding photograph published in the China Daily, which notes the popularity of specially-themed wedding portraits.
Entries from July 2009
July 29, 2009
China and U.S. Sit On Opposite Ends Of Global Economic See-Saw
The latest round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue with the U.S. is done. Goodwill and common purpose expressed in public: China will boost domestic demand and the U.S. will toughen its financial reform. Whatever.
In private, Beijing was forthright in expressing well-rehearsed concerns about the dollar’s value and America’s deficits. And there remains deep differences [...]
July 26, 2009
The Battle For China’s Steel
The Economic Observer says the investigation into the leaking of China’s negotiating position at the iron-ore price negotiations earlier this year that has resulted in the detention without charge of four Rio Tinto employers has widened to include Baosteel, the largest steel company. (China Daily has reported that all 16 of the leading steel mills [...]
July 25, 2009
Industrial Relations In China Turn More Violent and Deadly
Industrial relations in China are taking on some of the violent aspects of labour disputes in the West in the 1920s and 1930s. Following our earlier note about foreign staff being held hostage by suppliers, comes news of a deadly incident involving 30,000 steelworkers in Tonghua, a dusty industrial town in Jilin better known for [...]
July 25, 2009
Doing Business In China: The Hostage Issue
Dan Harris over at China Law Blog has a horrifying tale from the rep. office in China of what we assume is a U.S. company. The company was declaring bankruptcy and sent an executive to China to inform suppliers that they wouldn’t be getting paid. The suppliers didn’t just take umbrage; they took hostages, forcibly [...]
July 23, 2009
A Clue To When The Rio Four Will Be Charged Or Released?
Conspiracy theorists start here: Xinhua has a report on the growing dispute with Australia over the detention without charge of four Rio Tinto executives, one an Australian citizen, on allegations of stealing state secrets. It is titled, China Striving To Create Fair Trading Environment, so you get its drift. But it concludes with the following tantalizing [...]
July 23, 2009
Canberra Getting Antsy Over Rio 4
Australia trade minister Simon Crean has called on Beijing to lay charges or release detained Rio Tinto sales executive Stern Hu, an Australian citizen, and three Chinese colleagues. The four men are accused of stealing state secrets in connection with the iron-ore price negotiations earlier this year. Rio had denied the allegations. The quartet has [...]
July 23, 2009
CSCEC Gets It IPO Away With Ease
China State Construction Engineering Corp. (CSCEC) got its IPO out at 4.18 yuan a share, top of the indicated range, and raising 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) for 40% of the A-shares. That values the company at 125 billion yuan, or 51.3 times earnings on a fully diluted basis. With the offering oversubscribed 35 times, [...]
July 23, 2009
An Analog Moment: A Total Eclipse
We are not superstitious, as Bystanders go; but the long eclipse was quite moving, or at least what we could see of it given the conditions. We know we are unlikely to see anything like it again in our life time. As the darkness descended, we realized it was something else, equally rare, a few [...]
July 21, 2009
CSCEC IPO Looks Rich
China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC) is looking to raise 50 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) from selling a 40% stake in its A-shares on the Shanghai excahnge. That looks rich. The indicated price is 49-51 times 2008 earnings on a fully diluted basis, high by the standards of the average 27 times historic earnings of [...]
