Yuan move ‘not embarking on devaluation trend’

    CHINA’S devaluation of the yuan Tuesday should not be seen as it embarking on a devaluation trend, the central bank’s chief economist, Ma Jun, wrote in the People’s Daily yesterday.

    Ma described the move as a one-off change to make the currency more market-oriented. The central bank set its guidance rate down nearly 2 percent at 6.2298 yuan per U.S. dollar Tuesday, its lowest point in almost three years, in what it said was a change in methodology to make the currency more responsive to market forces.

    Tsinghua Holdings to invest in mobile chips

    TSINGHUA Holdings plans to invest at least 30 billion yuan (US$4.74 billion) in developing mobile chip technology to challenge industry leader Qualcomm Inc.’s market dominance, China Daily newspaper reported yesterday.

    “To catch up with Qualcomm as soon as possible, we will pour 30 billion yuan, and probably even more, into the research and development of mobile chips in the next few years,” chairman Xu Jinghong was quoted as saying in an interview. Tsinghua Holdings has emerged as a champion of Chinese technology in recent years as the country tries to shed its reliance on foreign industrial science.

    Stocks drop as yuan falls further

    CHINA’S stocks fell yesterday as the central bank let the yuan currency slide sharply for a second day and data showed further deterioration in the economy.

    Investors continued to dump airline shares on fears that a weaker yuan would translate into higher fuel bills and hurt sectors with heavy foreign debt. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 1.2 percent to 4,016.13 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 1 percent to 3,886.32. The yuan hit a four-year low yesterday, falling for a second day after authorities devalued it Tuesday.

    Trading in units of AVIC suspended

    TRADING in three subsidiaries of Aviation Industry Corporate of China (AVIC) was halted yesterday amid domestic media reports that said the State-owned aerospace and defense company was preparing to merge them.

    The shares of AVIC Aircraft Co., AVIC Capital and AVIC Electromechanical System were suspended from trading indefinitely, the companies said in separate stock exchange filings. The filings gave no reason for the suspension.