China Economic Watch: China to See Much Slower Oil Refining Augmentation; Trade Surplus to Shrink to $160b in 2011

China to See Much Slower Oil Refining Augmentation
China's oil refining capacity is expected to expand by 3%, or 36 million tons, in 2012, according to ICIS, a consultancy focused on China's energy information. The growth rate will slow significantly from 12% on average from 2006 through 2010.

China's Trade Surplus to Shrink to $160b in 2011
The value of China's bilateral trade will grow 20% to $3.6 trillion in 2011, with the trade surplus shrinking to $160 billion, commerce minister Chen Demin said.

11m Foreigners Visited China Jan-Nov 2011
China received 11.26 million foreign tourists, who spent $3.9 billion, in the first 11 months of 2011, up 3.4% and 5.6% respectively from the same period a year earlier, according to the National Tourism Administration.

430m Use Mobile Internet in China
Revenue from China's mobile internet market is expected to reach ¥85.1 billion and the number of users is expected to reach 430 million in 2011, Analysys International predicted.

China's Press Publishing Worth ¥1.5t
Output from China's press publication industry will amount to ¥1.5 trillion in 2011, according to the General Administration of Press and Publication.

China to Produce 50m Tons of Dairy Per Year by 2015
China plans to roll out 50 million tons of dairy products annually by the end of 2015, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

China's Gaming Revenue to Near ¥116b in 2011
Revenue from China's gaming industry is projected to total ¥115.8 billion in 2011, according to the Ministry of Culture.

China Halts 3-Month Bill Issuance
China's central bank suspended selling three-month bills for the second week to stem increases in money-market rates as banks hoard cash before the Chinese New Year holiday, Bloomberg reported, citing two traders who declined to be identified because the information is not public. The People's Bank of China will boost the availability of cash by cutting lenders' reserve requirements before the week-long holiday starts on January 23, economists at Barclays Capital and Bank of America Corp predicted.