Bank customers disloyal: AC Nielsen
AC Nielsen online banking research showed Chinese netizens were suspicious about online banking, and only 20% said they were loyal to the banks they used frequently, a rate far lower than other countries, Guangzhou Daily reported. The research showed only one-fifth of Chinese netizens used online banking twice or thrice every week and only 5% used online banking daily, much lower than global averages; globally, 32% of web users use online banking twice or thrice every week and 14% use online banking daily. The research also showed that only 20% of surveyed Chinese netizens were very loyal to their banks. This is lower than the 58% customer loyalty rate in Canada and the 50%-plus recorded in the Czech Republic, Denmark and France. AC Nielsen surveyed 25,408 netizens in 46 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East.

SASAC to take stronger role in SOE reform
The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Admission Commission (SASAC) recommended in its latest state-owned enterprise (SOE) restructuring report that it would take a stronger role in SOE reform to guarantee restructuring goals were met, the Beijing Times reported. SASAC head Li Rongrong said reforms aimed to reduce the number of SOEs from 157 to between 80 and 100 by 2010. The report also called for a professional trust and custody company to be established to deal with non-performing SOE assets to shorten the asset restructuring cycle and avoid unnecessary losses of state-owned assets. A Shenyin & Wanguo Securities research report forecast the number of SOEs would be reduced by 20 this year and 18 next year. It also predicted that US$387.1 billion (RMB3 trillion) worth of state-owned assets would be listed on the A-share market over the next three years.

Regulators to team up to save farm land
The National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and State Land Inspection are expected to join forces to enforce rules aimed at preventing farm land being illegally used for construction, the China Business News reported. The move comes after new land planning rules due in July 2005 were again postponed. Analysts attributed the postponement to changing state objectives and increased obstruction from local government. Professor Zhang Fengrong of the China Agriculture University, who was a participant in drafting the plan, said local governments were not afraid to lose farm land to construction as they often had development objectives at odds with central policy. Another key drafter, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the current pace of land loss would mean China would not meet its objective of preserving 1.8 billion hectares of farm land by 2020.

Chemical fertilizers hit with export taxes
An export customs tax will be levied on diammonium hydrogen phosphate, a key ingredient in chemical fertilizer, and the provisional tax on phosphorus ore will be lifted from 10% to 20% from June 1, the China Securities Journal reported. The export customs tax on diammonium hydrogen phosphate is believed to be a move to reduce chemical fertilizer exports to guarantee domestic supply. Sources close to the situation said further export tax rebate adjustments and export customs taxes on other products were likely as the government continued to fine-tune foreign trade policy. But Yang Zhiyong, a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Trade Economics at the China Academy of Social Science (CASS) said frequent adjustments would negatively affect some companies. “Adjustments to tax rebates will barely affect the current trade surplus yet it gives companies only a short transition period and some may find frequent changes difficult to tackle,” he said.

Unsafe toy makers to face fines
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said companies selling six categories of toys after June 1 without the appropriate 3C quality certification would face fines between RMB50000 and RMB200000, the Market Journal reported. Most Chinese toys are now exported, with 65% bound for the US and the bulk of the remainder to Europe. In the face of stricter environmental and safety standards abroad, China introduced a quality requirement for toy cars, electrical toys, metal toys, dolls, plastic toys and catapult toys on March 1. Any toy products incapable of obtaining 3C certification would also need to be withdrawn from the market.