tawandamusarurwa
Manyika Kangai
China removes Covid-19 testing requirement for travellers
China will no longer require a negative Covid-19 test result for incoming travellers as of this past Wednesday. The announcement was made by China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a regular press conference on Monday. Since January 8, China opened its borders on a large scale and stopped testing and quarantine for incoming travellers, and lifted restrictions on the number of international passenger flights. Passengers were required to submit a health declaration stating that they had undergone a Covid-19 test with negative results within 48 hours prior to boarding. China has now lifted the last entry requirement related to the Covid-19 pandemic nearly eight months after reopening.
China’s SOEs increase revenue and profits
China’s State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and State holding enterprises saw their revenues and profits grow in the first seven months of 2023, according to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday. Revenues hit 47,72 trillion yuan (about US$6,64 trillion), up 4,3 percent year-on-year, while profits reached 2,73 trillion yuan (about US$380 billion), an increase of 3,9 percent from a year earlier. The companies paid 3,44 trillion yuan (about US$478,64 billion) in taxes and fees during the period, down 2,9 percent year-on-year. The asset-liability ratio of SOEs was 64,7 percent at the end of July.
China cuts taxes on stock trading
China halved the 0,1 percent stamp duty on stock transactions on Monday to invigorate the capital markets and boost investor confidence, according to the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration. In April 2008, Chinese securities regulators slashed the levy from 0,3 percent to 0,1 percent, and in September that year, the stamp duty was levied unilaterally on the seller, spurring bull runs. Cutting the stamp duty is conducive to reducing market transaction costs and easing the tax burden on investors, especially medium and small ones. There are more than 220 million individual investors in China’s stock market and small and micro investors holding shares less than 100 000 yuan (about US$13 917) accounted for 87,87 percent.
China’s BYD breaks into top 10
Chinese carmaker BYD, the world’s largest electric-vehicle maker, ranked among the top 10 auto companies globally for the first time, with vehicle sales in the first six months this year exceeding Mercedes-Benz and BMW. BYD released its first-half-year report on Monday, which showed 260,12 billion yuan (about US$35,66 billion) of revenues, up 72,7 percent, and a net profit of 10,95 billion yuan (about US$1,5 billion), up 205 percent year-on-year. BYD’s global new vehicle sales grew 96 percent on the year to 1,25 million cars in the first half of 2023, putting it in 10th place, behind Japan’s Suzuki Motor. The Chinese carmaker, which stopped making fuel-powered cars in 2022, ranked 16th in sales last year and did not even make the top 20 in 2021.
China has over a billion internet users
China’s internet users totalled 1,079 billion by June 2023, an increase of 11,09 million since December 2022, according to the statistical report on China’s internet development released by the China Internet Network Information Centre on Monday. China’s internet penetration reached 76,4 percent. Regarding digital infrastructure improvements, the report disclosed that by June 2023 China had 30,24 million registered domain names, 767 million active IPv6 users and broadband access points totalled 1,11 billion. The country’s total length of fibre optic cables reached 61,96 million kilometres. Regarding internet applications, as of June 2023, the user scale of instant messaging, internet videos and short videos stood at 1,047 billion, 1,044 billion and 1,026 billion, respectively.
*Manyika Kangai has over 15 years of experience in facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. Feedback Muvambi SA (Pty) Ltd / +27743487997/ www.muvambi-sa.co.za
Online Reporter