157 « Week In China

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WiC 157 (Jul 6, 2012)

Economy, Talking Point What two of Changsha's biggest firms tells us about China's slowing…

The mayor of Changsha this week compared his city with Detroit. Some might consider this an unfortunate choice. As recently as 2010, TIME magazine ...

China Consumer It already has 14,950 shoe shops. Belle now wants to increase…

Move over, Christian Louboutin. The French shoe designer’s red soles and towering heels might have become fetish footwear in many markets. But in ...

Chinese Character The rapid rise and faster fall of Chinese tycoon Wu Changjiang

"For, everywhere, no trace of him can be seen,” is a famous line penned by Xin Qiji, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty. It describes recent events ...

Banking & Finance, Rise of the RMB Why Hong Kong banks are excited about new Qianhai Bay scheme

Most politicians hope for a honeymoon period of at least a few months when they first take office. So it will have been a disappointment for Hong ...

Economy Troubled borrowers are causing financial contagion in Zhejiang

In December 2011, the Jiangsu branch manager at a little-known construction company, Zhejiang Tianyu, was arrested for illegal fundraising. The ...

Economy Another rate cut as HSBC’s PMI data stokes slowdown concern

The People’s Bank of China is getting pretty good at springing surprises on the market. Yesterday it cut interest rates again. The central bank cut ...

China Tourist Budget hotels start to feel the pinch

In the 1950s a new sort of hotel started appearing next to exits on US highways. They were budget hotels with names like Comfort Inns, Motel 6 and Days ...

Entertainment Chinese cooperate with North Koreans to make new movie

Kim Jong-il – North Korea’s recently departed Dear Leader – was a huge film buff. Keen enough, in fact, to order the kidnapping of Shin Sang-ok, ...

Entertainment How China's biggest rock festival ended in chaos

One of the music world’s most iconic events takes place in Pilton in Somerset. That’s the venue for the Glastonbury Festival, an open air concert ...

Society Chinese mull law to make parental visits mandatory

Chinese society has traditionally prided itself on its notion of filial piety and jinglao, or respect for the elderly. But a survey ...

Planet China While they were competing at the Euro 2012 championships, many of…

While they were competing at the Euro 2012 championships, many of the world’s top footballers won’t have realised that they have been battling it ...

Cartoons Now available in China… the iPad

It turned out to be a lot cheaper than dealing with Sir Paul McCartney. As we detailed in WiC140, Apple is no stranger to trademark disputes, having ...

And Finally Should a temple be part of a listed company?

When is a temple not a temple? It is a question taking on commercial significance in China, following news that a temple is to become an asset in a ...