MNI China Press Digest, Oct 9: Investment, Tax, Property

     BEIJING (MNI) - The following lists highlights from the Chinese press for

Tuesday:

     It is an exaggeration to say that foreign investors are moving their

investment out of China, Economic Daily said in a front-page commentary. It is

normal for foreign investment to move in or out of China, the newspaper said.

Some companies are merely restructuring their investments in China and have

transferred capital to other parts of China, the commentary said, while others

that choose to close their factories are making standard business decisions.

Foreign investors are in fact more confident about investing in China, as

official data showed high-tech investment in China has been rising fast, it

said.

     The State Council has decided to improve its export tax rebate policies to

reduce the burden for enterprises and to maintain steady growth of foreign

trade, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Goods that have a current export

tax refund rate between 15% and 13%, will now be refunded by 16%, Xinhua said.

Those with 9% refund rates will now see 10% or even 13% in refunds, while goods

with 5% refund rates will now be refunded by up to 6% or some 10%, Xinhua said.

However, products with high energy consumption, high pollution, or resource

products, as well as those in the list for cutting overcapacity, will see no

changes in their export tax rebate rates, Xinhua noted.

     Over the past seven-day-long National Day Holiday, the property market

experienced a pullback from its peak, the newspaper 21st Century Business Herald

said, citing analysts. Beijing recorded a total of 235 new commercial housings

and 44 second-hand commercial housings in sales during the Holiday, according to

Centaline Property Agency. Other first-tier cities -- Shanghai, Guangzhou and

Shenzhen -- have recorded total sales of 645, 656 and 226 new homes,

respectively, continuing the downturn of more than a year, the newspaper said,

citing Centaline; More than 10 major real estate developers have offered

discounts in over 50 key cities around the country, according to the 58 Anjuke

Institute. It is expected that the downward trend of housing prices will be

expanded to more cities in the fourth quarter, Anjuke noted.

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: iris.ouyang@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: wanxia.lin@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86-10-8532-5998; email: beijing@marketnews.com

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