Japan granted investment quota for first time

CHINA has agreed to grant Japan a 200 billion yuan (US$31.4 billion) investment quota for the first time to buy Chinese stocks, bonds and other assets, Xinhua quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying Wednesday.

The quota will be for investments under the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) program, which was set up in late 2011 to allow overseas financial institutions to use offshore yuan to buy securities, including stocks, bonds and money market investments. Li was also quoted as saying that China holds a positive attitude toward setting up a yuan clearing bank in Tokyo.

No changes in property control policies

CHINA’S housing authority has reiterated that policies to control home prices and prevent speculative investment in the property market will not be changed or loosened, Xinhua said.

Officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban and Rural Development made the comments in talks with officials from the cities of Taiyuan and Chengdu on Wednesday, Xinhua said. The housing authority said it would “earnestly implement” plans to stabilize home prices and rents, speed up the formulation of a residential housing development plan and increase land supply in a targeted way. It also said that cities should build more small, ordinary homes.

Soybean imports expected to drop

CHINA will cut its soybean imports for the first time in 15 years in 2018/19, the agriculture ministry said Thursday, as a trade spat with the United States pushes pig farmers in the world’s top buyer to seek cheaper proteins.

In its first predictions for the upcoming crop year which starts in October, the agriculture ministry said soybean imports were expected to dip 0.3 percent to 95.65 million tons. That would be the first decline since 2003/4, according to data from the United States agriculture department.

Hisense wins bidding to take over Gorenje

GORENJE chose Chinese household appliances maker Hisense Electric Co. to take over the Slovenian appliance maker.

Hisense, which was picked among three companies that submitted binding bids Tuesday, offered 12 euros (US$14) a share for the Velenje, Slovenia-based company, according to a statement on Gorenje’s website Wednesday.