Green car output

    CHINA produced 16,100 new energy vehicles in January, a 144 percent increase from a year earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Tuesday.

    Ninty-seven percent of the green cars produced in January qualified for a government scheme which allows certain new energy vehicles to be exempt from purchase tax, the ministry said.

    Automakers in China earmarked in 2015 at least 50 billion yuan (US$7.68 billion) for developing and manufacturing “new energy” vehicles, a Chinese catch-all term for electric and highly electrified cars, data compiled by Reuters shows. The government has set a goal of annual production of 1 million new energy cars by 2020.

    Non-financial ODI

    CHINA’S non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) in January rose 18.2 percent from a year earlier to US$12.02 billion, the Commerce Ministry said Tuesday.

    The ministry expects investment to the United States to grow at a rapid pace in 2016, it said in a statement on its website. Non-financial outbound direct investment grew 14.7 percent in 2015 from the previous year, to US$118.02 billion.

    Rare earth output

    CHINA has set its first rare earth production quota for 2016 at 52,500 tons, unchanged from last year, the Ministry of Land and Resources said Tuesday.

    The ministry said that the total quota includes 8,950 tons of medium- and heavy- rare earth oxides, and 43,550 tons of light rare earth oxides. A second quota is usually issued later in the year.