economy

Foreign Firms to Float on Domestic Stock Exchange

China plans to allow foreign firms to be floated on domestic stock markets in order for them to widen their financing channels， announced Ning Jizhe， deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission， in a regular policy briefing meeting held at the end of 2016.

Foreign firms will be able to go public on the main board， the SME board， the ChiNext board and be included on the National Equities Exchange and Quotation system. They will also be allowed to issue corporate and convertible bonds and use financing instruments from non-financial enterprises in China， Ning stated.

Ning explained that the policy emphasizes equal treatment of domestic and foreign investors when bidding for government contracts， protecting intellectual property and seeking financing channels. It also prohibits additional restrictions and scrapped the minimum registered capital requirement for foreign-invested firms.

The new policy is part of government efforts to level the playing field for foreign firms， in order to attract more foreign investment and promote the opening-up of China’s economy.

Extracurricular Tutoring Bonanza

China’s elementary and secondary school extracurricular tutoring market reached nearly RMB 800 billion （US $115 billion） in 2016， according to an industry report released by the Chinese Society of Education at the end of last year. The report said around 137 million elementary and secondary school students were enrolled in extracurricular tutoring institutions last year.

The report details the huge boom in China’s elementary and secondary school extracurricular tutoring operations since the 1990s due to growing recognition and demand by parents.

However， the report also cautions that there are problems that should not be ignored. One major problem is that many institutions focus solely on profits， and do not prioritize teacher training or improving the quality of the teaching.

Among the parents interviewed， nearly one third said that they were concerned about the professional quality of the tutors. Of the teachers interviewed， 83.9 percent hold a bachelor’s degree and 63.1 percent have a degree in education. About 40.8 percent of them have three to five years teaching experience and about 29.5 percent have less than two years’teaching experience.

At the end of last year， Bloomberg published an article saying that some start-ups in China match underpaid teachers in the U.S. with Chinese parents willing to pay more. American instructors are recruited to teach English， math， science and other subjects to Chinese children online.

World’s Largest Outbound Tourism Market

China is now the world’s largest outbound tourism market and the world’s fourth largest tourist destination， China National Tourism Administration （CNTA） revealed at the end of last year.

According to CNTA figures， China’s tourism industry accounted for 10.8 percent of the national economy in 2015. That year， the country’s total tourism revenue hit RMB 4.13 trillion； there were 117 million outbound travelers. Chinese tourists visit 151 countries and regions. Chinese passport holders are granted visa waivers or visas on arrival to 57 countries and regions.

Chinese tourists， known for their strong purchasing power， have become the new engine to boost the global tourism sector. Data show that China has been world’s biggest spender on outbound travel for the last four years in a row.

To meet the demand of more sophisticated Chinese tourists， some Chinese tourism companies formed partnerships with foreign counterparts to better tap into the potential of the market. In last December， Fliggy， an online platform with the Alibaba group， reached an agreement with VisitBritain whereby Fliggy will help to promote British cultural experiences and travel amongst Chinese Internet users.

Forestry Sector Creates 60 mln Jobs

China will increase its forestry output to RMB 9 trillion （around US $1.3 trillion） by 2020， said Zhang Jianlong， director of the State Forestry Administration， at the end of last year.

It is estimated that nearly 60 million people will be employed in the forestry sector. About 60 percent of China’s poor live in mountainous， forest and desert regions. The development of forestry can raise the income of a large workforce， helping them escape from poverty.

China has become the world’s biggest producer， trader and consumer of forest products. Output grew from RMB 409 billion in 2001 to 5.94 trillion in 2015 C over 13 times that of 15 years ago.