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TOPICS THIS ISSUE:
Guangzhou Lures US$ 529m in Foreign Investment in 1st QuarterGuangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, is attempting to eliminate the negative impact caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the local economy, said the city's Mayor, Zhang Guangning. This has seen the city adopt pro-business measurers to restore foreign investors' confidence in doing business in Guangzhou, which has been one of the most popular cities among overseas investors. In the first quarter of the year, Guangzhou approved 293 new projects involving foreign direct investment, up 49.5% from the same period last year, and the contracts signed involved US$ 743 million of overseas investment, up 5.2%. The inflow of overseas investment into Guangzhou from January to April was US$ 529 million, up 13.8%, and by April had reached a total US$ 30.1 billion. Coupled with the local governments proactive attitude to foreign investment, the World Health Organization, which had issued an advisory against travel to Guangdong on April 2, removed the advisory against travel on May 23. (Source: Business Daily Update) Guangzhou Deals Heavy Blow to Wildlife TradeLaw enforcement officers in Guangzhou have launched thorough inspections of markets, restaurants, train stations and ports to crack down on the trade of wildlife. More than 10,000 wild animals have been seized in recent raids by police and wildlife official at Baiyun Airport as the Guangdong provincial government attempts to heal the scars left by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on its people and economy. The provincial government is also appealing to local residents to adopt hygienic eating habits in an effort to contain the spread of the virus from wildlife to humans. Xinyuan, Chatou, Dongbao and Nanjin markets in the Baiyun district are the four largest wildlife trading centers in Guangzhou with daily market takings exceeding RMB 1,000,000 (approximately US$ 120,000). During a recent inspection tour of the four markets, law enforcement officers seized a total of 267 pheasants, 30 night cranes, 54 foxes, 6 martens, 30 sparrows, 20 turtledoves and 25 kilograms of snakes. The confiscated game has been transferred to the Guangzhou Wildlife Protection Center. (Source: Xinhua General News)
Practicing Lawyers Enter China's Policy Making SectorChina's first batch of government lawyers took their posts early this year in city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, marking the formal entry of practicing lawyers into the country's policy-making sector. "Introducing government lawyers is an important component of the reform to China's lawyer system, and it aims to further ensure governments at various levels exercise their administrative power by law," said Gong Xiaobing, director of the Department of Lawyers and Notarization under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). China resumed its legal practice system in 1979, but since then, practicing lawyers have remained outside the government sector. "With its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its entry into the global economy, China faces an increasing number of complicated legal issues, which create an urgent need for the government to have practicing lawyers providing legal services," said Gong. With China's rapid modernization, lawyers, as legal professionals, will certainly play an increasingly important role in the country's legal construction process, said Gong. Gong said the guidelines of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) set forth a target of establishing a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics as well as a complete lawyer system by the year 2010. "After more than 20 years of practice, it's now time to reform and complete the lawyer system," said Gong. Along with lawyers entering the country's policy-making sector, a pilot program for corporate lawyers has also begun. Government lawyers and corporate lawyers are common in many Western countries, said Gong. "We hope to borrow the advanced experience from foreign countries and complete our own system as soon as possible," he added. At present, the trial of government and corporate lawyers has been carried out in several places, including Beijing, Jilin, Fujian, Hebei and Guangdong provinces. The MOJ statistics show that China now has about 100,000 practicing lawyers and 10,000 law firms. (Source: Xinhua General News) Shenzhen Development Bank Accused of Breaching RulesNewbridge Capital, an American investment firm, has accused the Shenzhen Development Bank (SDB) of failing to properly disclose its decision to disband a transitional management team, as its proposed takeover of the bank continues to fall apart amid an increasingly bitter war of words erupts between the two companies. The transitional management team was installed last year well in advance of Newbridge's purchase of about 20% of SDB. At the time, the agreement had been heralded as a landmark transaction in the brief history of China's financial reforms, as it involved giving up control of a mainland bank to a foreign investor for the first time. After Newbridge's deal with SDB began to fall apart last month, it accused Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank of conspiring with SDB president Zhou Lin to sabotage the sale and sued the Taiwanese bank in a Texas court. In a statement recently released by Newbridge, it said that it only learned last month of a decision taken in January by SDB's board to disband the team. Newbridge has yet to receive a copy of the board's decision or see notice of it in the mainland media, which, Newbridge alleges, are violations of mainland listing regulations. "Certain portions of the bank board's January decision clearly violated the legally binding purchase agreement that Shenzhen Development Bank was party to and therefore negatively affected the interests of its shareholders," a Newbridge spokesperson said. "Shenzhen Development Bank's board of directors should, in strict adherence with listed companies regulations, make its January resolution public." Newbridge said it had "already informed relevant ... bodies of the matter". (Source: South China Morning Post) Guangdong Province is Opening up its Cultural Sector in a Bid to Draw More Foreign InvestmentLocal foreign trade department statistics reveal that contracted overseas investment in Guangdong province's cultural sector totaled US$ 622m, of which US$ 244m had already been utilized. With 90% of the total investment for the sector coming from Hong Kong (SAR), the majority of the capital invested in the 270 projects was introduced into the education and training, conventions and exhibitions, software development, publishing and media, and art design sectors. As the central government gradually opens up its cultural market, Guangdong's provincial government has produced an investment directory to facilitate cooperation between domestic and overseas enterprises. According to local cultural departments, officially recommended projects include the construction of huge recreation parks in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, building and reforming cultural infrastructure facilities such as cinemas, concert halls, opera houses, art galleries and museums, as well as the development of distribution channels for publications and media. The catering industry also received special mention, with the government keen to attract investment in the fast food and coffee house sectors, cultures which are popular in Western countries. (Source: Xinhua General News) China Lawyers, Notaries, Patent, Copyright and Trademark
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