Automotive

High Speed Rail to Connect Nine South China Cities

Jan. 12 – Guangdong Province has begun work on the first stages of its ambitious high speed rail link which, when completed by 2020, will possess 10 routes and link the cities of Zhaoqing, Foshan, Jiangmen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai on the western side of the Pearl River to the eastern Pearl River Delta cities of Dongguan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. The existing links from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and Shenzhen will automatically become part of this network.

The first section, the Zhuhai-Guangzhou spur was opened last week and is the first line of a 1,500 kilometer system that will provide increased inter-connectivity throughout China’s wealthiest province and the heart of its manufacturing industry. Continue reading →

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China Auto Repair and Servicing the Big Thing for 2011

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis and Richard Hoffmann

Dec. 20 – While China’s auto market has grown in leaps and bounds fuelled by cheap credit and increasing middle class wealth, one aspect of the auto industry is strangely absent in China. There are very few auto repair and service stations.

In fact, even in car crammed cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, finding a gas station can be troublesome – the market penetration just is not there yet. Buying a car in China – and increasingly these are domestic produced models – typically comes with a three year warranty, usually arranged and organized by the dealer, who will have a service station on site just to provide warranty services to those vehicles that the specific dealership sold. However, as vehicles become older, thrift and the advent of a reliable quality, secondhand vehicle market are starting to appear in China. Continue reading →

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China’s State Council Promotes Cross Border M&A

Sept. 22 – The State Council is looking to remove barriers to corporate restructuring in China, recently releasing a circular that aims to optimize and promote mergers and acquisitions in the country.

Guofa [2010] No. 27, released on August 28, calls for the cancellation of existing rules restricting cross border corporate restructuring as well as the improvement of tax sharing between different locations and the broadening of the investment scope for private capital.

The circular also reaffirms preferential tax policies granted to companies undertaking corporate restructuring including assets valuation appreciation, gains on debt restructuring, and transfers of ownership of property. Continue reading →

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Notice on Importing Automotive Vehicles by Permanent Institutions

Jun. 21 – The General Administration of Customs recently issued a notice regarding automotive vehicle imports made by permanent institutions and permanent personnel, with the aim to safeguard the local automobile market.

Customs Collection [2010] No. 32, issued May 25, stipulates that from Jul. 1, 2010 onwards, Customs will not process applications for importing used automotive vehicles by permanent institutions or permanent personnel, unless otherwise provided with the Intergovernmental Agreement on the duty-free entry of automobiles, or high-level talents and experts invited by the government. Applications sent to Customs before Jul. 1st, 2010 are not restricted by the new notice. Continue reading →

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China to Extend Auto Replacement Subsidy

Jun. 18 – China will extend auto replacement subsidies from May 31 to Dec. 31, the Ministry of Commerce has announced.

The implementation of the auto replacement policy aims to encourage the elimination of high-emissions and polluting vehicles, and to stimulate automobile consumption, according to the MOC. Continue reading →

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China’s Large SOEs Increasingly Matchmaking For Western Partners

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

CHANGCHUN, Apr. 21 – As my regular tour of Northeast China cities continues, it is becoming apparent that the benefits to a foreign investor of participating in joint ventures with China’s large state-owned enterprises is spinning off in ways that no one had imagined a few years ago.

Take the massive state-owned First Auto Works (FAW) for example. In the past, I have spent many hours negotiating with a variety of foreign auto manufacturers in FAW’s gigantic offices in Changchun, not least for a division of Fiat. These talks could be protracted and the China side often unfamiliar with Western accounting and financial modeling. In the early days of Sino-foreign JVs, FAW was the game in town – producing everything from cars, trucks, buses and coaches to auto parts and even trams and railway carriages. Cold frigid winter days and a reputation as a rust belt did not do Changchun’s image much good, neither did the sight of farmers wearing blue Mao jackets and trotting along the side streets on donkey and cart. Detroit seemed sophisticated by comparison. Continue reading →

Posted in Automotive, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Northeast China | Leave a comment

Daimler and BYD Sign MOU for China Electric Cars

Mar. 3 – Daimler of Germany and BYD, the Shenzhen-based, Hong Kong-listed small auto manufacturer, have signed an agreement to develop and sell electric cars on the Chinese mainland.

The deal could be worth up to US$150 million in a joint venture to develop fully electric vehicles.

“This is cooperation between the most senior car maker and the youngest, between the country with the best car industry and the country with the biggest car market,” BYD’s General Manager Henri Li stated at a press conference. Continue reading →

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China Briefing Partners with China Daily and IBISWorld to Provide China Industry Reports

Mar. 2 – China Briefing has partnered with China Daily and the market research firms All China Marketing Research and IBISWorld to provide a series of industry reports covering a number of sectors

Written by dedicated researchers from China Daily and ACMR-IBISWorld, these reports are listed on the Asia Briefing Bookstore and include the following titles:

China Daily
AutoChina
China Banking
China Energy Continue reading →