‘Smart’ deposits THE country’s financial regulators have told some domestic banks to stop marketing so-called smart deposits, which look like high-interest term deposits but are in fact investment products, Reuters quoted sources with direct knowledge as saying yesterday. “Smart” deposits have been widely marketed by Chinese banks, especially smaller ones, since last year to attract deposits. They offer relatively high interest rates and, unlike term deposits, allow customers to withdraw their money ahead of the maturity date. Some banks were told yesterday to gradually reduce and clean up the outstanding amount of “smart” or “intelligent” deposits, the sources said. Financial regulators will ask banks to stop offering new “smart” deposits starting Dec. 1, The 21st Century Business Herald reported. Subsidy-free projects THE government approved its first batch of subsidy-free wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of 20.76 gigawatts (GW), the country’s top economic planning agency said yesterday. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also urged grid companies to sign long-term power purchase contracts with operators of the unsubsidized renewable projects, it said in a statement. A total of 56 wind power projects, 168 solar power projects and 26 pilot distributed renewable projects in 16 cities and regions in China were approved by the NDRC. By April, China had installed wind power capacity of 280 GW and solar capacity 130 GW, official data showed. WTO sugar case BRAZIL will no longer seek a panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to investigate China’s sugar trade policies, the Brazilian Government said in a statement Tuesday, smoothing commercial relations with its top trade partner. “Brazil and China have reached an understanding regarding the consultations made at the WTO on sugar,” the statement said. |