Yangtze River Delta development
( 2003-08-20 10:48) (China Daily)
The Yangtze River Delta has three unique advantages in terms of economic development, which should ensure the region's high speed growth, said an article in the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily. An excerpt follows:
The first advantage is the result of economic globalization which has helped transform the region into a manufacturing base.
Economic globalization has created opportunities for China's manufacturing industry. About 30 to 40 million manufacturing jobs will be created in China over the coming years, according to Fan Gang, a leading Chinese economist.
Seizing the opportunity offered by this shift of global industry, the Delta should develop all fields of manufacturing, including traditional manufacturing, in a balanced manner.
In the process, the region should not give up labour-intensive sectors while trying to develop high-tech industries.
To make full use of the conditions of the Yangtze River Delta, cities there should try to take advantage of the housing and entertainment facilities in Shanghai, using the region's convenient transportation network.
In this way, costs, which are vital in manufacturing, can be lowered and efficiency improved.
Second, the Yangtze River Delta will benefit from the country's ongoing urbanization.
The southeastern coast is the most urbanized region in China, and this urbanization will give the region the upper hand in economic competition.
The Delta should not only be a destination for investment, but also an attractive destination for low-cost labour from other parts of the country. This should be a goal of the region's urbanization.
In this way, labour costs in the region can be kept at a relatively low level, hence enhancing the region's attractiveness to manufacturing investors.
Third, private enterprises in the Yangtze River Delta are playing an important role in the local economy.
Many private enterprises in the Delta have grown into multinational companies, with some even purchasing foreign enterprises.
To further promote this trend, governments in the region should supply better services to private business, which will, in turn, lower commercial costs in the region as a whole.
Make all shares tradable
The plan of selling off State shares, though not implemented, has opened a new perspective for observing the country's stock market, according to an article in the China Business Times. An excerpt follows:
Since China's stock market was established years ago, it has been far from a natural fruit borne by robust economic growth.
With the stock market seen as a tool for pooling capital, a large proportion of the shares of listed State-owned enterprises have been made non-tradable. And the stock market depends heavily on policy changes.
Many seem to have accepted this as a matter of fact.
The declaration to sell off non-tradable State shares two years ago not only dealt a heavy blow to the market, from which it has not recovered, but also revealed how badly the stock market has been distorted.
At the same time, the plan and the ensuing price dump triggered wide-spread discussion on the stock market, during which non-tradable State shares were panned.
Shelved for the time being to stop further slumps of share prices, the State share sell-off plan has become almost the biggest shadow cast upon the market. It is hard for any new policy change to improve the market mood.
To usher the market into a healthy growth track, the best cure is to make all shares of listed companies tradable on the market.
Though the authorities have originally aimed at financing the fledgling social security system by selling off State shares, making all shares tradable would bring far-reaching solutions to problems of the country's stock market.
According to the latest report of the central bank, the stock market's role in pooling capital for enterprises is diminishing, which indicates a stagnant growth of the market.
So, it is high time to liquidate those non-tradable shares, not only for the urgent need of the current market, but also for its sound development in the future.
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