NEWSLETTER |11 J U N E 2 0 1 2

FCCC activities FCCC Meeting Reception in honor of the future Consul General of Belgium in Shanghai, Mrs Cathy Buggenhout,25 June 2012, 18h00, KBC, Brussels

Past events Conference “Fragile China? – Appraising Recent Developments and Future Operating Conditions for MNCs”, 6 June 2012, Le Méridien, Brussel

FCCC Industrial fact-finding trip to Shandong province (20-24 May 2012)

Publications Voices on China (more information on the FCCC website)

Members' news Hainan Airlines receives Best Punctuality Long Haul Airlines Award

Finance China delays new bank capital rules

China cuts interest rates for first time since 2008

Foreign investment Chinese investment in Europe triples

Tsingtao and Japan's Suntory in beer venture

Foreign trade Foreign trade improves in May

IPR protection Better protection for Chinese fonts needed

Macro-economy Social security agreements negotiated

China's economic performance improves

Mergers & acquisitions China to simplify M&A anti-monopoly reviews

Petrochemicals Deliveries speeded up through Central Asia-China Pipeline

Real estate Property sales on the rise again

Greentown China sells stake to Hong Kong developer

Retail East Dawning set to expand abroad

Science & technology University entrance exam less popular

Stock markets China National Nuclear Power gets go-ahead for a listing this year

Travel Chinese airlines recruiting foreign cabin crew

Big spending planned on urban railways

VIP visits SCO Summit held in Beijing

One-line news

Announcements Webinar: Online Brand Protection in China: Domain Name Strategy

FCCC Newsletter No 275, June 11, 2012 Page 1

Advertisements Hainan Airlines, your direct link from Belgium to China

Canton Fair – Encouraging Growth at a Difficult Time

FCCC ACTIVITIES

FCCC Meeting Reception in honor of the future Consul General of Belgium in Shanghai, Mrs Cathy Buggenhout, 25 June 2012, 18h00, KBC, Brussels

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) is organizing a meeting with the future Belgian Consul General of Belgium in Shanghai, Mrs Cathy Buggenhout. The meeting will take place on Monday 25 June 2012 at 18h00 at KBC, Grote Markt 17, 1000 Brussels.

This event offers an excellent opportunity to meet the new Consul General of Belgium in Shanghai and to inform her about your company's activities in China. Should you wish to participate, please register online by 18 June 2012 at the latest. Participation fee for FCCC members: €45, non-members: €75.

PAST EVENTS

Conference “Fragile China? – Appraising Recent Developments and Future Operating Conditions for MNCs”, 6 June 2012, Le Méridien, Brussels

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and The Conference Board organized a dinner “Fragile China? – Appraising Recent Developments and Future Operating Conditions for MNCs”. This dinner took place at Le Méridien in Brussels and was organized with the support of Flanders Investment & Trade.

Mr Bert De Graeve, CEO of Bekaert NV and Chairman of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce welcomed the participants and introduced the guest speaker. Mr David Hoffman, Vice President and Managing Director of The Conference Board China Center for Economics and Business, dimensioned China’s near-term economic outlook and medium term economic challenges. He also outlined the issues, implications and opportunities for MNCs in China that are inherent to the economic transition now underway in China.

This interesting briefing was followed by a dinner, during which the participants were able to discuss and exchange their views.

FCCC Industrial fact-finding trip to Shandong province (20-24 May 2012)

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) organized a fact-finding trip to Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai in Shandong province from May 20 till 24, 2012 as part of its strategy to give its members a better insight into business opportunities in second- and third-tier cities. Managers of a limited group of companies were offered the opportunity to become better acquainted with the area and meet potential partners and senior officials. H.E. Mr. Patrick Nijs, Ambassador of Belgium in China, accompanied the delegation, assuring that it was received at the highest possible level in all the cities visited.

The mission started on May 20 in Beijing with a networking lunch organized by the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China (BenCham), chaired by Mr. Patrick Vandenbemd, General Manager of BenCham Beijing, where participants to the mission also met FCCC members based in Beijing. Mrs Naomi Sanders, Project Manager of the IPR Helpdesk, gave a presentation on the “Top 5 points you need to know about IP in China”. Mrs Ludmila Hyklova, Advisor at the EU-China SME Center, talked about “Due diligence on investing and exporting to China”, while FCCC member and General Manager of Orientas, Drik Laeremans, talked about different ways to get involved in the Chinese market. The lunch-meeting concluded with a brief introduction of the investment environment in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, by Corinna Wu, Event Manager at the Zhuhai Investment Promotion Bureau. In the evening, Ambassador Nijs welcomed the delegation with a dinner at his residence.

On May 21, the mission traveled by high-speed train to Jinan, capital of Shandong province, were a meeting and lunch were organized with the leaders of the Lingang Economic Development Zone, who briefed the delegation on the investment environment in Jinan. Mr.

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Winston Zhao, Partner at Jones Day Shanghai Office, shared some insights on investing in China. Mr Thierry Schmidt, Chairman of the Board of Esco Couplings (Jinan), offered a testimonial of Belgian investment in Jinan, followed by a visit to the company. The mission also met leaders of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Shandong province and Jinan city. Vice Governor of Shandong province Cai Limin met with the delegation and introduced the economic development of the province. Following a banquet offered by the provincial government, the mission continued the trip by high-speed train to Qingdao.

In Qingdao the mission was briefed on the investment environment in the city by Mr Feng Wenqing, Chairman of the Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Qingdao Sub-Council, followed by a meeting with the leaders of the Qingdao Environmental Protection Bureau, who introduced the opportunities for foreign companies active in the environment sector in the Five Year Plan. Qingdao Vice Mayor Liu Mingjun chaired a banquet for the members of the mission. In the afternoon a visit was organized to the Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone and to Huber Engineered Materials, a Member of the FCCC, where Plant Manager Zhang Weijia and HR Manager Helen Lu introduced the company and its experience of investing in Qingdao. The mission also visited the huge new Kempinski Hotel of Qingdao, which will cater to conferences and conventions, and is owned by the Qingdao Weiye Group, chaired by Mr.Li Zhongyu. A successful day was concluded with a dinner with the leaders of the Economic and Technological Development Zone.

Wednesday, May 23, started with a breakfast meeting with Andries Verschelden, Partner, and Scott Krivokopich, Manager at Moore Stephens Verschelden, about taxation issues and the results of a survey of Belgian companies investing in China. Mr. Zhan Haiqing introduced the Qingdao Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. Following the breakfast meeting, the mission traveled by bus to Yantai for a visit to the Yantai Haide Special Vehicle Co, where Chairman Louis Song and Executive Vice President Maxime de la Morandiere introduced the company. The very brief visit to Yantai was concluded by a meeting with Vice Mayor Song Weining and a dinner attended by leaders of the city. In the evening the mission arrived in its final destination of Weihai.

The first activity in Weihai was a meeting with the Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Weihai-Belgium Cooperation Exchange Meeting with presentations by Mr. Xu Dongming, Director of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce; H.E. Mr. Patrick Nijs, Ambassador of Belgium to the People's Republic of China; Mrs. Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC); Mr. Juha Ven of the Huiyin Group and Mr. Geert Roelens, CEO of Beaulieu International Group. A welcoming lunch was chaired by Vice Mayor of Weihai Mr.Tian Zhiying. In the afternoon the mission visited Bekaert (Shandong) Tire Cord, where General Manager Julia Zhu led a visit to the plant; the Weiqiao Textile Co; the Weihai Airport Equipment Co and the Shandong New Northern Information Technology Co. The fact-finding mission to Shandong was concluded with a banquet offered by the leaders of Weihai's Huancui district.

The visit to Shandong was organized with the financial support of Flanders Investment & Trade. An extensive report of the mission to Shandong will be made available to FCCC members this week.

PUBLICATIONS

“Voices on China” (more information on the FCCC website)

For more information on the book “Voices on China”, please go to the FCCC website at www.flanders-china.be

FCCC Newsletter No 275, June 11, 2012 Page 3

MEMBERS' NEWS

Hainan Airlines receives Best Punctuality Long Haul Airlines Award

On April 26, Hainan Airlines became the news of the day in the Sheraton Hotel at Brussels Airport, where Brussels Airport held its annual awards ceremony. Hainan Airlines, by virtue of its excellent flight punctuality rate of 93.4% in 2011, was awarded the ‘Punctuality Award, Long Haul Airline 2011’ by the airport.

The annual Brussels Airport Awards began in 2007, in recognition of the resident airlines’ performances in flight punctuality, environmental protection, security, and network development. Hainan Airlines won its first Brussels Airport Award in 2011, the ‘Network Development Award, Long Haul Airline 2010’ for the development of its network out of Brussels Airport.

Hainan Airlines is operating a direct Brussels to Beijing service, five days a week, increasing to daily service between July 1 and October 28, 2012. From Beijing, passengers can continue their journey to 50 destinations in China, Hong Kong, Taipei and many other cities in Asia.

Flights between Brussels and Beijing are operated by Airbus A330-200 wide-body jets, offering 34 flat-bed seats in business class and 180 economy class seats, with individual seat-back entertainment systems.

FINANCE

China delays new bank capital rules

China decided to delay the implementation of new bank capital rules that are tougher than the Basel III requirements to the beginning of next year to ensure continued supply of credit. The new standards were originally scheduled to take effect at the start of this year. The plan was delayed after lenders warned that tightened requirements will cut credit supply and slow the nation’s economy further. The government said banks would be required to have a minimum capital adequacy ratio – the ratio of a bank's capital to its risk weighted assets – of 11.5% for larger banks and at least 10.5% for others by January next year, compared with the current requirement of 8%. The tougher requirements were to have been implemented in January this year. The delay indicated a shift in the China Banking Regulatory Commission's policy to encourage lending and save banks the trouble of raising hundreds of billions of yuan to boost capital in a tough fund-raising climate, said economists. This would help raise banks' profitability at the cost of a modest increase in risks for the financial sector, they said. Some economists were not surprised that Beijing chose to delay the new rules, which many banks

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complained were too stringent and would limit their asset expansion plans. They said market conditions had changed dramatically since the proposal to increase capital adequacy ratios was floated last year.

China cuts interest rates for first time since 2008

China has cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 and loosened controls on banks’ lending and deposit rates. The benchmark one-year lending rate was cut by a quarter of a percentage point to 6.31%, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said. The one-year deposit rate fell by the same amount to 3.25%. The central bank loosened its grip on interest rates by allowing banks to set their own deposit rate by as much as 1.1 times the benchmark. It is also allowing banks to set lending rates as low as 80% of the benchmark, 10 percentage points lower than previously. Wang Tao, Chief China Economist at UBS in Hong Kong, described the deposit-ceiling move as “unprecedented” and a “milestone for interest-rate liberalization”. Mortgage payers could pay CNY150 less each month for a 20-year, CNY1 million mortgage. The cuts follow a series of measures to stimulate the economy after growth fell to a nearly three year low of 8.1% in the first quarter and April factory output grew at its slowest rate since the 2008 crisis. “The biggest impact of the move is likely to be on sentiment, both among businesses and consumers domestically” by showing China is “bringing out the big guns to support growth,” said Crédit Agricole CIB Economist Dariusz Kowalczyk. Shen Jianguang, Hong Kong-based Economist with Mizuho Securities Asia, told Bloomberg: “This will be the beginning of a rate cut cycle and there will be at least one more reduction this year.”

Banking profits will be squeezed by the central bank’s benchmark interest rate cut and liberalization of the rate regime, analysts said. In the worst-case scenario, a narrowed deposit-loan rate spread will cut listed banks’ profits by 4% this year and 9% next year, China International Capital Corp (CIC) said. Earnings growth next year will be single-digit, or even stagnant, if the central bank cuts the rate twice in the second half of this year, according to CICC. The widened rate range could intensify competition among lenders and push the deposit rate to its ceiling of 3.575%, meaning the deposit rate could end up higher after the rate cut, according to Singaporean bank DBS. In extreme cases, the deposit-loan rate spread, the main source of income for Chinese banks, will be narrowed by 100 basis points, according to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. A 25-basis-point cut would save borrowers at least CNY145 billion in interest costs. The 16 listed banks raked in CNY272.6 billion in the first quarter, more than half of the profit of all the public companies combined. Big banks responded to the official cut in lending rates by raising deposit rates. They set the rate for on-demand deposits at 0.44% and one-year deposits at 3.5%, the maximum allowed under the new rules and the same levels before the interest rate cut.

• Telecommunications firm ZTE Corporation won approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to issue CNY6 billion of corporate bonds, which will be issued in two batches. The first, which will be no less than half of the issue size, will be launched in the next six months, with the second completed within two years.

• Pan Gongsheng, Executive Vice President of the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), has been appointed Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC). Pan, who was born in 1963 and holds a doctorate in economics, spent most of his career at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), where he was a key figure in government-led efforts to restructure the bank and eventually push it to go public in 2006. His promotion comes after Yang Kun, another of the five Executive Vice Presidents at ABC, was detained in Beijing in late May by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on corruption and gambling charges.

• A third of the 1,300 Chinese companies surveyed by credit insurer Coface say one of their biggest concerns this year is getting bank loans. Respondents said they expected a slew of company bankruptcies in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, which, added to banks' bad and doubtful debts, would make it harder for companies to get credit. Wenzhou, where many of China's spectacles, shoes and other export products are manufactured, was hard hit by the export slowdown. 79% of companies faced payment delays last year, up from 67.4% in 2010.

• Chinese SMEs are joining forces to issue joined bonds. Shandong Haiwang Chemicals and Lianxing Carbon, based in Weifang, Shandong province, will jointly issue CNY200 million of pooled bonds with a tenor of three years. Three other SMEs in Changzhou, Jiangsu province – Changzhou Dongfeng Agricultural Machinery

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Group, Changzhou Shende Seamless Tube, and Xinhua Chang Group – will also jointly issue CNY260 million of three-year bonds.

• Ratings agency Fitch adjusted its estimate for total societal financing (TSF) in China, a measure of overall new credit, including that from outside the banking system, to CNY16.5 trillion to CNY17 trillion this year, down from last year's CNY17.5 trillion. Fitch estimates that this year each yuan in new financing will yield only CNY0.39 in new gross domestic product versus CNY0.73 before the global financial crisis of 2008.

• China may allow its banks to issue asset-backed securities for the first time in four years to diversify risks in the financial system and promote development of the bond market. Guotai Junan Securities has been mandated to issue the loan-backed bonds for the Bank of Communications (BoCom) and China Development Bank (CDB).

• Citigroup introduced yuan-denominated letters of credit for importers and exporters in Latin America. The new product will allow traders in Latin America to work with partners in China to issue, receive and settle yuan-denominated letters of credit. It will also provide traders with alternative means of financing their trade and mitigating their risks.

• The yuan is likely to depreciate against the U.S. dollar this year due to weakening economic growth at home and slumping exports, Standard Chartered economists said. The depreciation could affect the growth in yuan deposits in Hong Kong, and temper enthusiasm for the yuan's internationalization. Appreciation could resume next year, said Robert Minikin, Strategist at Standard Chartered Bank.

• The Ministry of Finance announced plans to issue CNY41.6 billion of bonds on behalf of seven local governments this month in two separate auctions for three-year and five-year bonds. This is the first time the Ministry is raising debt on behalf of local governments. The seven local governments are those of Qingdao, Guangxi, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Gansu, Hainan, and Xinjiang. The Ministry last month also renewed the approval of four areas – Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangdong and Zhejiang – to issue bonds directly, without the involvement of the central government, under a pilot program launched in October last year.

• China Construction Bank (CCB) is planning to integrate its operations in Hong Kong by merging China Construction Bank Asia and CCB's Hong Kong branch, as part of a plan to boost overseas business and avoid internal competition. CCB is pushing for expansion in Moscow, Canada and Dubai this year. CCB Asia has 41 branches and one private banking center in Hong Kong. Its wholly owned subsidiary China Construction Bank (Macao) has eight branches.

• Shanghai-based fund manager Yinshu Capital plans to set up a bank, as Chairman Wang Feng said the government wanted to encourage private investment in the banking sector. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) published a guideline at the end of last month, giving private investors equal status with state-owned counterparts in banking investment. Wang said Yinshu envisioned setting up a Western-style lender that could offer quality services to clients.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Chinese investment in Europe triples

Chinese direct investment into Europe tripled in 2011 to USD10 billion, according to a new study that estimates Chinese companies are in the early stages of a global shopping spree that could see them spend as much as USD250 billion to USD500 billion in the region by 2020. Although total Chinese outbound direct investment (ODI) is still small compared to the size of its economy, most analysts believe the country is on the verge of ramping up its spending abroad, with Europe seen as one of the most attractive markets, according to a study by Rhodium Group, the Financial Times reports. Chinese ODI is expected to reach USD1 trillion to USD2 trillion between 2010 and 2020 and the study expects around a quarter of that will go to Europe through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) or greenfield investments. Chinese companies are most interested in buying European technology, brands and high-end manufacturing. Separate studies by A Capital, a private equity firm that helps Chinese companies invest abroad, support Rhodium Group’s estimate. “At current growth rates and without a change in Chinese government policy we expect an additional USD800 billion in outbound Chinese direct investment in the five years from 2011 to 2016,” said André Loesekrug-Pietri, Chairman of A Capital. Europe was the number two destination for Chinese

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outbound direct investment in the first quarter of 2012, after South America. Chinese investment to Europe reached USD1.7 billion in the first quarter and represented 83% of all outbound Chinese non-resources deals. “Our dataset shows a profound post-2008 surge [in Chinese outbound investment to Europe] which the official data sources are missing,” said Thilo Hanemann, Research Director at Rhodium Group and co-author of the report. “The absolute values remain small compared to Europe’s total inward FDI stock, but the change in trend line is what matters.” The report estimates that Chinese direct investment in Europe averaged less than USD1 billion each year from 2004 to 2008 but then tripled to around USD3 billion in both 2009 and 2010 before tripling again to almost USD10 billion last year.

State-owned companies accounted for 98% of all deal value in the first quarter, a new high and up sharply from 53% in the first quarter of 2011, A Capital estimated in its quarterly Dragon Index on China's outbound investment. Resources and energy deals accounted for 92% of the total, up from just 24% a year earlier. The dominance of state-owned firms in the first-quarter figures “show more difficulties for private firms to seize large opportunities in an environment characterized by both volatility and strong competition for good assets,” A Capital said in the report. South America was the top destination for investment during the first quarter, at 43% of total foreign merger-and-acquisition activity by Chinese companies. So far, the top five Chinese private investors in Europe are Geely, Huawei, Lenovo, Sany and Wolong Group. Chinese investment has created 45,000 jobs in the EU.

Tsingtao and Japan's Suntory in beer venture

Tsingtao Brewery and Japan's Suntory have agreed to jointly produce and sell beer in eastern China. China is the world's biggest beer market with an annual consumption of 45 million kiloliters in 2010, twice that of the United States. Suntory's rival Asahi already holds a 19% stake in Tsingtao. Tsingtao and Suntory will have an equal stake in the joint venture, which will pool their production and distribution networks in Shanghai and Jiangsu province. Suntory will inject CNY1.35 billion of cash for a 50% stake, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. “By combining their assets, the joint venture will get a 30% market share in eastern China,” said Katherine Song, Beverage Analyst at Sinopac Securities. But the joint venture is unlikely to help Tsingtao's earnings in the near term. “The combined joint venture will bring limited earnings accretion to Tsingtao this year, yet there would be potential synergy from pricing power given the dominant market share,” a Merrill Lynch report said. Total beer sales in Shanghai dropped from 726,000 tons in 2008 to 509,000 tons last year.

• China is to simplify the procedure for expats to acquire permanent resident status as part of the country’s efforts to attract foreign talent, the Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security said. A new policy document would be released soon.

• Pudong New Area is to launch a pilot program to allow foreign investment in the elderly care sector to help the city cope with the needs of its rapidly greying population. By the end of last year, Shanghai had more than 600 elderly care homes with about 100,000 beds, but that was only enough to accommodate 3% of Shanghai seniors.

FOREIGN TRADE

Foreign trade improves in May

China's foreign trade rebounded more strongly than expected in May. Exports rose 15.3% from a year earlier to USD181.1 billion last month, up sharply from 4.9% growth in April and 8.9% in March, the General Administration of Customs said. Imports grew 12.7% to USD162.4 billion, also much quicker than April’s 0.3% gain and March’s 5.3% increase. The Customs said May’s trade value of USD343.5 billion reached a historical high with both exports and imports producing a new record. The trade surplus stood at USD18.7 billion last month, a bit more than April’s USD18.4 billion. “Better-than-expected trade performance in May suggested that China’s economy has stabilized and it will start to rebound soon,” said Zhou Hao, Economist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. Last month, China’s shipments to the United States, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations jumped 23%, 13% and 28.1% respectively, while exports to the European Union also turned around to 3.4% from the negative reading in April. Imports of iron ore, crude oil and soybean all increased, indicating that recovery in domestic demand is on the way, analysts said. In the first five months, China’s foreign trade expanded 7.7% to USD1.51 trillion and had a surplus of USD37.9 billion. “The

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data is better than expected, but not really a surprise,” said Dr Liao Qun, Chief Economist of Citic Bank International. According to Liao, export and import figures are lagging indicators, as these figures reflect the situation six months ago rather than that of the month in question. Zhang Yansheng of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the better-than-expected trade data did not mean that the fundamental economic trend in China had changed, saying China still faced rising costs and increasing trade frictions with other nations.

IPR PROTECTION

Better protection for Chinese fonts needed

The need for better protection of Chinese character fonts in the Copyright Law was a hot topic at the three-day United States-China Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference in late May, which drew more than 100 participants, including judges from the two countries, intellectual property lawyers and company representatives. Enhancing copyright protection and tightening the crackdown on piracy are highlights in amendments to the draft of the Copyright Law now under public review, said Wang Ziqiang, Director of the National Copyright Administration’s Department of Policy and Regulations. Fonts should be classified as computer software and protected by the Copyright Law, said Ni Guangnan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in his speech to the forum. If one typeface is original and can be “conceptually” separated from the character itself, it should be eligible for copyright protection, said Zhang Jin, Professor at the China University of Political Science and Law. Whether Chinese character fonts are eligible for copyright protection or not has been the focus of an unsettled lawsuit filed by Beijing Founder Electronics Co five years ago, complaining that California-based software developer Blizzard Entertainment used its typefaces in the game World of Warcraft without approval. Though the sum of compensation in the Copyright Law is likely to double to CNY1 million, it will not be appropriate for all cases, said Zhang Ping, Professor at the Intellectual Property Law School of Peking University.

• The Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC), a coalition of international businesses, announced China’s 2011 Top 10 intellectual property protection cases on May 25 in Beijing during a ceremony to mark its 12th anniversary. The year’s top cases included Hangzhou Customs’ efforts in stopping a large operation pirating LG electrical appliances, a crackdown on fake medicine in Henan province, stopping patent infringement on mass-produced deep fryers in Guangdong province, and cross-border trade in copycat cosmetics.

MACRO-ECONOMY

Social security agreements negotiated

Social insurance payments for foreigners in China and Chinese citizens working overseas will be simplified under international agreements currently being discussed. “We’ve held three rounds of talks with Japan and one round with France, and we have also held initial discussions with Sweden and Belgium,” said Xu Yanjun, Deputy Director of the Social Insurance Administration under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Xu said 11 countries, including Finland, Singapore, Denmark, Spain and Switzerland, have expressed their willingness to negotiate with China since a regulation, which stipulates that all foreigners working in China will be covered by social security, took effect on October 15, 2011. Germany and South Korea have already signed reciprocal agreements with China. It normally takes a year or two to complete the negotiations and sign the deal, Xu said.

China's economic performance improves

China's economic performance stabilized in May following April’s sharp deterioration — although it remained weak and consumer prices grew at the slowest rate in nearly two years. Industrial production last month expanded 9.6% from a year earlier, up 0.3 percentage point from April’s figure, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. Fixed-asset investment increased 20.1% to CNY10.89 trillion in the first five months, almost the same as the growth of 20.2% in the first four months. Retail sales gained 13.8% to CNY1.67 trillion in May,slower than the 14.1% pace a month ago. “Except for retail sales, industrial production and investment’s data came out as we had expected,” said Helen Qiao, Managing Director at

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Morgan Stanley Research. “They confirmed growth is stabilizing after the downside surprise in April.” But disappointing retail sales growth indicated a sizable deterioration in domestic demand, said Zhou Hao, Economist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. Another unexpected figure was consumer prices, which rose at the slowest pace in 23 months. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) expanded 3% from a year earlier last month, compared with 3.4% growth in April. Food costs, which make up nearly one third of the basket, increased 6.4% in May, compared with 7% year-on-year growth in April and contributing the most to the CPI slowdown. The Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped 1.4% last month, extending losses for a third month and deepening from April’s 0.7% fall. “The data confirms that inflation is no longer the top priority,” said Li Maoyu, Analyst at Changjiang Securities Co. “The slower growth pace of consumer prices is another reflection of weakening domestic demand and may invite policy-makers to launch more supporting measures.” To support growth, China has rolled out a set of stimulus measures, including subsidies for energy-efficient consumption, expansion of private investment in previously state-dominant sectors, faster approval of new investment projects and acceleration of tax reform. Last week, the central bank also announced an interest rate cut, the first since December 2008, the Shanghai Daily reports.

• China's non-manufacturing activities in private and export-oriented firms unexpectedly strengthened in May. The HSBC and Markit Economics’ Business Activity Index hit a 19-month high of 54.7 in May from April’s 54.1. “The growth in service activities picked up in May thanks to sustained gains in new business,” said Qu Hongbin, Chief Economist for China at HSBC. State-owned service enterprises however reported that their activities weakened last month. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index of China’s service sector hit 55.2 in May, down 0.9 point from a month earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

• At the end of 2010, China's capital stock stood at about USD14 trillion, HSBC estimated, less than a third of the value of the capital stock of the United States, which came to almost USD45 trillion. In per capita terms, the discrepancy is even more pronounced. HSBC estimates that China's capital stock per worker is just 15% of South Korea's, and only 6% of the level in the United States, indicating that China should still continue to invest in infrastructure.

• A conference in Chongqing on the development of privately-owned enterprises suggested 39 measures that could boost the growth of the private sector. The sector's share of the gross domestic product of Chongqing is expected to reach 65% by 2015 and 70% by 2020, up from 61.7% at present. Measures included increasing the number of areas open for private investment and lowering taxes.

• While economic growth in China is projected to moderate to 8.3% in 2012, there is a low risk of a hard landing, according to the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012 mid-year report.

• Shanghai will allocate another CNY2 billion as financial support for small and micro-sized businesses, adding to an earlier CNY3 billion extended last September. “The small businesses are important in maintaining a relatively quick economic growth and powering innovation in the city,” said Jiang Zhuoqing, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai government. “But their difficulty to get financing has become a bottleneck in accelerating the development of these firms.” Shanghai had around 346,200 small and micro-sized businesses by the end of 2011, employing 54.6% of the city’s total workforce.

• 80% of Chinese companies want greater regulatory supervision to tackle fraud and corruption compared to only 69% globally, a survey by accounting firm Ernst & Young has found. The survey, conducted between November and February, involved senior executives of 1,758 of the largest companies in 43 countries, including the U.S., China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Europe. 56% of Chinese respondents thought local regulators were willing to prosecute corruption, compared with 27% globally.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

China to simplify M&A anti-monopoly reviews

China might streamline anti-monopoly reviews for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) this year to facilitate transactions, Shang Ming, Director of the Ministry of Commerce Anti-monopoly Bureau, said in an address at Peking University. Shang said these “fast-track” procedures, still

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under discussion, will only apply to cases with simple markets and small market shares. Shang said the market share threshold would not be “very high”. China’s anti-trust investigation process has been criticized for being too slow. Shang explained that the increasing plans of global companies to expand their businesses in China, as well as a lack of human resources and procedures that don’t distinguish among the types of deals, have contributed to the slow pace of clearances. The number of M&As submitted to the Ministry for review surged from 17 in 2008 to about 200 last year. Shang said only about 20 employees in the Bureau have had to handle all 450 or so cases over the past four years. “Standing laws require all the cases, simple or complicated, to go through the same procedures before clearance,” he added. Changes in these procedures could mean faster approvals, analysts said. Merger Attorney Wang Junlin said statistics show that about 59% of M&As underwent further investigation from 2008 to 2010 during which companies have to wait up to 120 days before the authorities clear the deal.

• Chinese firms are expected to increase their merger and acquisition activities this year as they seek opportunities arising from Europe's sovereign debt crisis, according to Fang Jian, Managing Partner at global law firm Linklaters. Last year, Chinese firms' overseas acquisition deals reached a record of USD42.9 billion, up 12% from 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In all, 207 overseas acquisition deals were signed last year, up 10% from 2010. 44 deals were with European firms, up from 25 such deals in 2010, according to PwC.

PETROCHEMICALS

Deliveries speeded up through Central Asia-China Pipeline

Turkmenistan has transported more than 30 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas to China in more than 900 days using the Central Asia-China Pipeline, an amount making up a fifth of the gas China used last year. Of the 30 BCM, about 10.7 BCM came from the CNPC (Turkmenistan) Amu Darya River Gas Co, while Turkmenistan’s Natural Gas Konzern supplied the remaining 19.3 BCM, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said. China has imported about 18.4 BCM of natural gas through the country’s first cross-border pipeline in the past two years, according to Duan Zhaofang, Natural Gas Researcher at the CNPC Research Institute of Economics and Technology. The pipeline has been moving gas at a faster pace since around the start of the year, which will help to relieve China’s gas shortage and eliminate pressures arising from negotiations with Russia, Duan said. PetroChina, CNPC’s listed arm and the country’s largest supplier of natural gas, plans to import 24.1 BCM of natural gas from Central Asia this year or 86% of its total imports, according to Zhou Jiping, Vice Chairman of PetroChina. The company imported 13.3 BCM of natural gas last year, of which more than 85% came from Central Asia. China is also in talks with Russia to import 68 BCM of gas a year using two pipelines. An agreement on pricing was however not reached during Russian President's Vladimir Putin's visit to Beijing last week. China’s demand for natural gas should expand 13% a year through 2017, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

• The government cut fuel prices for the second time in as many months in response to the recent decline in crude oil prices. The reduction of CNY530 per ton for gasoline and CNY510 per ton for diesel, or nearly 6%, is the largest since late 2008 when the current pricing system was introduced by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Fuel prices should be lowered by CNY620 per ton to fully reflect the change in the crude basket, which had fallen by about 10% since the last revision on May 10, according to C1 Energy.

REAL ESTATE

Property sales on the rise again

Property sales in 34 out of 40 large cities monitored across the country have seen a month-on-month increase from April to May, according to a SouFun report. Sales of new houses in Guangzhou saw the largest rise, at a hefty 52%. Large cities such as Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen all achieved a growth rate above 30%. Combined sales in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen nearly doubled to 40,000, compared to 21,000 in April. China Vanke Co, the country’s largest property developer whose sales are often deemed a barometer of the country’s property market, also recorded an increase in sales in May from

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April, as well as from a year earlier. The company said its sales in May totaled CNY10.72 billion in value, a 19% increase from the CNY9.01 billion of sales it reported in May 2011, and 44.1% higher than the CNY7.44 billion it reported in April. Beijing is one of more than 30 cities to have rolled out or fine-tuned policies in the property sector aimed at boosting the market since the second half of 2011. These policies have included: more favorable interest rates for first-time buyers, loosening of the upper limit for house buyers who use low-interest provident fund loans, and transaction-related taxes and fees reduction. More favorable policies in only five cities, including Shanghai and Wuhu of Anhui province, have been canceled by the central government. Ge Ling, Director of Centaline China Property Research, said the trimming of interest rates has encouraged some first-time buyers to accelerate their purchasing plans. Analysts are optimistic that the current rise in sales is expected to continue in June, but added that there was little hope of any significant price cuts. Statistics from China Real Estate Index System showed that average housing prices in 100 large Chinese cities fell at a slower pace month-on-month in May, slipping by 0.31% from April, the China Daily reports.

Greentown China sells stake to Hong Kong developer

Debt-laden Greentown China Holdings has become the first mainland developer to bring in new shareholders from Hong Kong to raise cash. Greentown, based in Hangzhou, announced it would sell a total of HKD5.1 billion of shares and convertible securities to Hong Kong's Wharf (Holdings). The Hong Kong developer will hold 24.6% of Greentown and become the second-largest shareholder. If the company converts the notes, its shareholding will increase to 35.1%. DTZ's research shows 22 out of the top 30 developers listed in Shenzhen and Shanghai recorded negative cash flow in the last quarter of 2011. The gearing ratio of 13 developers was over 70%. With this acquisition, Wharf surpassed New World China to become the Hong Kong developer with the largest land bank on the mainland. Wharf owned 12.2 million sq m by the end of last year, while Greentown held 40.98 million. New World China owned a land bank of 18 million sq m. The gearing ratio of Greentown was 216% at the end of last year, indicating an excessive degree of borrowing.

• Eight land parcels totaling nearly 200,000 sq m were auctioned in Shanghai in one day last week, the most offered in a single day so far this year following a quiet land market in the first five months. The plots were sold for CNY2.59 billion. The sales of land for residences hit CNY4.76 billion between January and May in Shanghai, down 80% annually. Plots for office/commercial uses were sold for CNY3.44 billion, an annual plunge of 71%.

• The purchases of previously-owned properties rose 12.5% monthly to 16,000 units in Shanghai in May, Century 21 China Real Estate said, which was close to 16,400 units bought in March, the highest monthly volume in more than a year. Existing homes smaller than 90 sq m took up nearly 70% of the city’s total deals sealed last month while previously-owned homes costing no more than CNY1.5 million accounted for over 72%.

• Changsha plans to build the world's tallest building in Wangcheng district within seven months, according to a proposal signed by the district government and Broad Group. The 220-floor skyscraper will be able to accommodate more than 30,000 people.

• Beijing has reiterated its determination to keep austerity measures in place to bring down property prices, as sales volumes rebounded sharply and more and more cities start discreetly easing curbs introduced in 2010. A Spokesman for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development ruled out any change to the austerity measures introduced to crack down on property speculation and bring down runaway prices. The comments were a response to recent media reports claiming that the government planned to ease its restrictions.

• Real estate developers are to be charged a 20% fee if they hoard land plots and leave them idle for more than a year but less than two years, while plots left untouched for more than two years will be reclaimed by the government, the Ministry of Land and Resources said. Effective from July 1, the fee will be levied nation-wide. A document released earlier showed that plots involving 918 projects with a total area of 58.93 million square meters have been found idle in 43 Chinese cities.

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RETAIL

East Dawning set to expand abroad

Chinese style fast food chain East Dawning, part of Yum! Brands, is looking for international expansion. The chain has 30 restaurants in eight Chinese cities selling a domestic menu that includes pork rice, plum juice and tea. David Novak, Chairman and Chief Executive of Yum!, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, said that after two decades of exporting Western-style fried chicken and pizza to China it was time to begin taking Chinese fast food dishes to America. “I would love to see East Dawning become the first global brand that emanates from China. But the first task is to make it a big success here. All of us in China know we have huge potential with East Dawning,” Novak said in Shanghai. Yum! is also planning to double the number of its restaurants in China by 2020. “If you look at China you see the No 1 retail and restaurant opportunity of the 21st century. We are still on the ground floor,” said Novak in a speech at Fudan University to mark the publication of his book “Taking People With You: The Only Way to Make Big Things Happen”. KFC and Pizza Hut are already in 800 cities in China, the only country in the world where the group beats McDonalds, with its eateries outnumbering its rival’s by a ratio of three to one. Part of its success is due to adapting its menus to suit local tastes by offering congee at KFC or rice dishes at Pizza Hut, the Shanghai Daily reports.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

University entrance exam less popular

Since 2008, the number of high-school students signing up for the national university entrance examination has declined every year as a growing number choose to study abroad. This year, 9.15 million have signed up for the two-day examination, 190,000 fewer than last year and 1.4 million below the record number in 2008. Over the past four years, the enrollment has declined every year. Some analysts have warned that this could force some universities to close. They say the reckless expansion of universities since the late 1990s has contributed to the problem. Furthermore, the number of Chinese between 18 and 22 years of age will fall by about 40 million over the next decade due to the one-child policy. Tertiary education institutions have made 6.85 million places available this year, lifting the post-examination admission rate from 57% in 2008 to more than 75%. According to an education web site, the number of secondary school pupils leaving to study overseas has risen by more than 20% annually since 2007, and it is expected to hit 430,000 this year. Cheng Fangping, Professor at Renmin University, says a degree from a Chinese university, particularly from a less prestigious college, no longer guarantees a decent job and is no longer as valuable as it was two to three decades ago. Only 12 provinces saw a surge in the number of students taking the university entrance examination this year, as the nation’s colleges plan to enroll 6.85 million students, 100,000 more than in 2011.

• Shanghai's newest university, Shanghai Science and Technology University, will start to recruit postgraduate students next year and will recruit undergraduate students in 2014. Established by the Shanghai government and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the university aims to be a top producer of scientists and engineers.

• China is expected to launch three astronauts into space aboard the Shenzhou-IX spacecraft this week – possibly on June 16 – to dock with the orbiting experimental module Tiangong 1. The crew might include China's first female taikonaut. China completed its first space rendez-vous in November when the unmanned Shenzhou VIII docked with the Tiangong 1 by remote control. Tiangong 1 was launched on September 29.

STOCK MARKETS

China National Nuclear Power gets go-ahead for a listing this year

The green light for an IPO by the nation's largest developer of atomic energy came just one week after Premier Wen Jiabao's cabinet endorsed a five-year safety plan for nuclear facilities, adding weight to growing evidence that China is determined to keep developing nuclear energy. According to the report it submitted to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), the China National Nuclear Power Co will use the IPO proceeds to fund CNY174 billion in projects based in Zhejiang, Fujian and Hainan, though it did not specify the offering size. If the company were to raise CNY174 billion from the listing, it would be the largest in history,

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beating the record of USD22.1 billion that was set by Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) in 2010 via a dual Hong Kong and Shanghai listing. Beijing suspended approvals for nuclear reactors following the disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant during the earthquake and resulting tsunami in March of last year. Analysts expected National Nuclear to issue the IPO in the middle of this year.

• Average daily turnover on the Hong Kong stock exchange for the first five months of the year fell 21% year on year to HKD59.1 billion. Over the past 12 months the Hang Seng Index has fallen 21.3% and by the end of May HKD3.9 trillion had been wiped off market capitalization.

• Global investment banks seeking to establish joint ventures following Beijing's recent policy liberalization have found there are few choices of local partners. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) plans to give them a list of only about 20 local securities firms to choose as partners, mostly mid-sized Chinese brokerages focusing on one region rather than the entire national market.

• The Chinese government has curtailed access to information often used by short sellers to evaluate Chinese companies, which could further cloud an often murky market for foreign investors. The State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has made access to its data more difficult. Last year, amid pressure from short sellers, auditors resigned from dozen's of firms, citing problems with financial reporting, and in some cases auditors backed away from financial results they had previously backed.

• The listing committee of the Hong Kong stock exchange has censured Zhejiang Glass for breaching listing rules and Chairman Feng Guang Cheng for failure to make his company comply with listing rules and failure to cooperate with the stock exchange's investigation. It also censured several directors.

• A year after Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) rolled out its guideline for firms to issue yuan-denominated shares, there are still no issues. Under the model, listing candidates would be allowed to sell shares denominated solely in yuan as well as in the currency and the Hong Kong dollar. Apart from new IPO firms, listed firms would be allowed to issue new shares denominated in yuan via private share placements or right issues. But a year on, no company has taken the yuan IPO route.

TRAVEL

Chinese airlines recruiting foreign cabin crew

All Chinese airlines are recruiting foreign flight attendants as they expand their traffic internationally. Air China, for example, currently employs the highest number of foreign attendants at around 40, with an expected 50 more South Korean staff waiting for work permits, before coming to China for three months of pre-job training. China Southern Airlines also said that flight attendants from India and Central Asia have been employed, with more to come, as well as others from Australia, France and the Netherlands. China Eastern Airlines said it has a target of more than 100 foreign flight attendants, after 20 were taken on board from Germany and France this year. A Spokesman for Hainan Airlines explained that foreign flight attendants normally work on the routes between China and their own countries, improving basic communications but also proving invaluable if problems arise during flights. Figures show that Chinese airlines are flying more foreign passengers as they expand their international reach. Air China, for instance, carried 7,121,880 international passengers last year, a 2.55% increase on 2010. The carrier also added eight international and inter-regional routes in 2011, up from five in 2010. China Southern Airlines also added three new international routes in its summer-autumn flight plan (March to October), a 27.2% growth in international transport compared to the same period in 2011, the China Daily reports.

Big spending planned on urban railways

The Chinese government plans to spend CNY3 trillion to build 6,100 kilometers of urban railway from 2011 to 2020. Recently, 28 cities have received official approval to build rail lines. Sinohydro late last month won a CNY16.85 billion contract to build metro line No 7 in Shenzhen, while China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) signed an agreement with the government of Qingdao, Shandong province, to speed up subway construction. Since

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2008, CRCC has won more than CNY15 billion of contracts in Qingdao for roads, rail, tunnels, bridges and metro lines. Between 2011 and 2015, CNY1.2 trillion would be invested in building 2,500 km of urban railway, according to the China Urban Mass Transit Association. “The opportunities for urban rail development in China are excellent,” said Li Guoyong, Counsel of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). “We are seeing growth of China's urban rail market, but the high-speed rail and inter-city rail markets have slowed down,” said Massimo Di Chio, Asia-Pacific Sales Manager of Microelectrica Scientifica. At the end of last year, the country had 1,700 km of urban railway lines in 13 cities. But Lu Yuan, Professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, warned that “a lot of [transport] hubs have problems.” One example is the high-speed train station in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. The West Jinan railway station lies along the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, the nation's longest and most expensive high-speed rail link. Although the high-speed train station was operational, it lagged behind in building metro and bus stations and other facilities due to lack of funds, Lu said. During the 12th Five Year Plan, from 2011 to 2015, Beijing planned to have 42 hubs built, the NDRC's Li Guoyong said. “The development of comprehensive transport hubs is necessary to change the development direction of the nation's transportation, in order to improve efficiency,” he added.

• Construction on what would be the world's highest commercial airport, at an elevation of 4,410 meters, began in Daocheng county of Sichuan's Garze Tibetan Autonmous Prefecture. Upon its completion next year, the Daocheng Yading Airport is expected to offer routes to Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Guiyang and Xian.

• Tibet had 1.45 million tourists in the first five months of the year, an increase of 25.7% from the same period last year, Xinhua reports. Tourism revenue was nearly CNY1.5 billion. In May alone, the region had 900,000 visitors as it entered its peak travel season.

• Airbus (Tianjin) Final Assembly Co (FALC), Airbus SAS’ only final assembly line outside Europe, said it is ready for customers from outside China, three years ahead of schedule. Monthly output will also be increased from three to four Airbus A320 family aircraft by December. FALC will deliver an A320 to AirAsia Group — its first foreign customer, in December. The 88th A320 family aircraft assembled by FALC was delivered to Shenzhen Airlines Co last week. FALC’s target is to deliver 38 A320 family aircraft to customers this year. 11 Chinese airlines now operate 87 A320 family aircraft assembled in Tianjin.

• Problems of illegal construction practices, safety and quality have surfaced in the planned Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge. A joint venture of Dragages Hong Kong, VSL (subsidiaries of French conglomerate Bouygues Construction) and China Harbor Engineering recently won the HKD12.9 billion design-build contract, the largest ever awarded in Hong Kong. Under the contract, the joint venture will build a 9.4 km section of the bridge from Lantau to the boundary of Hong Kong territorial waters.

• China CREC Railway Electrification Bureau Group General Manager Liu Zhiyuan is under investigation, suspected of taking bribes. In its 52-year history, CREC has provided electricity to 26,000 km of railway, accounting for 80% of the total, and it has also been involved in 80% of the nation's operational high-speed railway lines.

• China Southern Airlines Co began flying between London Heathrow Airport and Guangzhou, the first flight from Britain to the capital of Guangdong province. The airline also said it plans to have 110 flights a week going to Australian cities by the end of 2015, up from 42 now. China Southern carried about 600,000 passengers to Australia in 2011.

VIP VISITS

SCO Summit held in Beijing

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met ahead of the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Both countries are strengthening their ties particularly in the energy sector, aiming to raise bilateral trade to USD100 billion by 2015 from USD83.5 billion last year. The Russian President led a large delegation of business executives to China including Gazprom’s Alexei Miller, oil pipeline monopoly Transneft’s Nikolai Tokarev, and oil major Rosneft’s Igor Sechin, who before a government reshuffle was Russia’s top negotiator in energy talks with China. Negotiations over

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the price of Russian gas in the long-term supply contract were however not on the agenda. China Investment Corporation (CIC) signed a memorandum with the Russian Direct Investment Fund over the official launch and basic principles of a USD2-4 billion China-Russia Investment Fund. No less than 70% of funds will be invested in commercial projects in Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States, while no more than 30% will be put into Chinese projects related to Russia. The two Presidents set a goal of more than doubling bilateral trade from USD83.5 billion last year to USD200 billion in 2020. China and Russia signed more than 10 key commercial contracts. Putin also said the two countries are speeding up development and research on commercial aircraft and helicopters. The commercial contracts also included Russia building two nuclear power plants in China, and more cooperation in the electricity, tourism and energy sectors.

ONE-LINE NEWS

• Liu Zhuozhi, former Vice Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, appeared at Beijing's No 1 People's Intermediate Court, charged with taking bribes totaling more than CNY8.17 million over at eight years, mainly involving coal mine resources in Xilingol League.

• Until recently, few in the art world had even heard of China's auction houses. Today, they are among the world's biggest by revenue, posing a serious challenge to the likes of Sotheby's and Christie's. Though still much smaller in size than their foreign rivals, China's auction houses now account for five of the world's top 10 by revenue, according to industry association Conseil des Ventes. The two biggest, Beijing Poly and China Guardian, rank only just behind Christie's and Sotheby's. Beijing is now the world's biggest art market, with 27% of global auction revenues.

• A suggestion by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that retirement ages be extended has been opposed by 74% of internet users who responded to an online survey by the People's Daily.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Webinar: Online Brand Protection in China: Domain Name Strategy

The China IPR SME Helpdesk is organizing a webinar on online brand protection in China. With more than 384 million 'netizens', China connects more people to the internet than any other country. Although the internet is an attractive business and marketing platform for many European SMEs working with or in China, it is also an ideal platform for infringers to sell counterfeit products and commit fraud without revealing identity or origin of operation, meaning that they can operate anonymously. This webinar will address the following:

• What is a domain name strategy?• Which domains should be registered?• How to register domains in China?• How to monitor for infringements and counterfeit sales?• How to make a complaint/recover a domain name and take down a website?• New Top Level Domains - .com and .net in Chinese?• IP protection in relation to social Media, blogs and search engines?

Join China IPR SME Helpdesk expert, Jannick Skou, on Tuesday 19 June 2012 for: “Online Brand Protection in China: Domain Name Strategy”

This free, 45-minute webinar presentation and 30 minute Q&A session on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 10.30 am Brussels time (9.30 am London, 4.30 pm China) will take you through a range of simple, cost-effective measures to protect your intellectual property and your business in China. Please see the short two-page Quick Start guide (www.china-iprhelpdesk.eu/docs/webinar_series.pdf) for more information on Helpdesk webinars.Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/895856038

FCCC Newsletter No 275, June 11, 2012 Page 15

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Your banner at the FCCC website or newsletterCompanies interested in posting a banner/an advertisement on the FCCC website, FCCC weekly newsletter or bi-weekly sectoral newsletters are kindly invited to contact the FCCC at: info@flanders-china.be

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Membership rates for 2012:● Large enterprises: €875● SMEs: €350

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FCCC Newsletter No 275, June 11, 2012 Page 17

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The FCCC Newsletters are edited by Michel Lens, who is based in Beijing and can be contacted by e-mail michel.jc.lens@gmail.com or mobile phone +86-13901323431. Disclaimer: the views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the FCCC or its Board of Directors.

FCCC Newsletter No 275, June 11, 2012 Page 18