2-child policy bonus

    THE country’s adoption of a two-child policy is expected to boost the country’s economic growth rate by about 0.5 of a percentage point, stemming from a rise in the size of its work force, a senior Chinese official said Tuesday.

    Wang Pei’an, vice minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, did not specify a time period for that growth target. Last week, President Xi Jinping said it is possible for the country to have annual economic growth of around 7 percent over the next five years.

    Water consumption

    CHINA will increase a cap on annual water consumption over the next five years, but plans tough new regulations to tackle pollution and preserve supplies, the country’s Water Resources minister wrote in a new book on China’s economic goals.

    The article appears in a collection of essays by senior officials on the 13th five-year plan, which maps out China’s targets up to 2020. The government will increase its cap on annual water consumption to 670 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2020, up from the current 600 bcm level, Chen Lei, Minister of Water Resources wrote.

    Chow Tai Fook profit

    CHOW Tai Fook Jewelry Group Ltd., China’s top jewelry retailer by market value, expects its first-half net profit to drop by up to 50 percent due to subdued spending in Hong Kong and Macao and disappointing sales of gold products.

    Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook, which competes with global rivals such as Tiffany & Co. and domestic firms such as Luk Fook Holdings International Ltd., on Tuesday forecast its net profit to fall by about 40 to 50 percent.