‘Irrational’ outbound investment curbed

CHINA’S outbound non-financial investment (ODI) slumped 41.8 percent in the January-August period from a year earlier, as authorities kept a tight grip on outflows for what they call “irrational” overseas projects.

This is part of efforts to curb speculative capital outflows that had pressured the yuan currency. For August, ODI declined 24.8 percent from a year earlier to US$11.52 billion, official data showed. The Ministry of Commerce, which Thursday released data on the first eight months of the year, did not give a figure for August alone.

Steel output hits record in August

CHINA produced a record amount of steel in August, data showed Thursday, as mills in the world’s top producer boosted production to take advantage of rising prices despite rigorous environmental inspections across the country.

Mills in the world’s largest steelmaker churned out 74.59 million tons of the construction material in August, up 8.7 percent on a year earlier and just beating July’s previous monthly record of 74.02 million tons. In the first eight months of the year, steel output totalled 566.41 million tons, up 5.6 percent from the same period in 2016, the national statistics bureau data showed.

VW, partners to recall vehicles over air bags

VOLKSWAGEN AG and its Chinese joint ventures FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen will recall 4.86 million vehicles due to issues with air bags supplied by bankrupt auto parts maker Takata Corp., China’s quality watchdog said Thursday.

The watchdog estimated over 20 million cars in China had air bags made by Takata, which have been linked to at least 16 deaths and 180 injuries globally. The air bags have the potential to explode with too much force and spray shrapnel.

Coal production drops to lowest in 10 months

CHINA’S monthly coal production fell in August from a month earlier, hitting its lowest since October 2016 as producers reduced output in the wake of major accidents in cuts that helped push domestic coal prices to a new high.

China produced 291 million tons of coal in August, data released by the national statistics bureau showed Thursday. That was the lowest level in 10 months, though up 4.1 percent from August 2016. Output over the first eight months of the year reached 2.3 billion tons, up 5.4 percent compared with the same period of last year.