HOME>NEWS CENTER>Newsletters

IFF Newsletter Issue 55

TIME:2022-11-03

From the Editor

The latest economic data from China is a mixed bag. While renewable energy capacity grew substantially in the first nine months, factory and services activities in October contracted and profits of industrial firms dropped in the January-September period. The Chinese yuan is the world’s fifth most traded currency according to the latest survey by the Bank for International Settlements.

The UN’s environment agency said there is no credible way to 1.5C in place, one week before this year’s UN Climate Change Conference or COP27. The European Union approves a ban on new combustion-engine vehicles from 2035. And the European central bank raised interest rates again to combat runaway inflation. Meanwhile, Japan unveiled a $200 billion spending package to counter the rising cost of living for households.  

The IFF continues to bring you the latest China news and global development.  

Newsletter
China News
 
//
 
China factory activity contracts in October

China’s factory and services activities contracted in October, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.
The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.2, down from September’s 50.1. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction.
The non-manufacturing PMI, which measures business activities in services and construction sectors, fell to 48.7 from 50.6.

 

//
 
China’s industrial profits drop in Jan-Sept   

Profits of Chinese industrial enterprises dropped 2.3% in the first nine months of the year from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday.

While state-owned enterprises saw their profits rising 3.8%, profits of companies with investment from outside of the Chinese mainland and the private sector dropped 9.3% and 8.1% respectively, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Of the 41 industries surveyed by the NBS, 19 industries including oil and gas mining, coal mining registered growth in the first nine months while 22 industries including car manufacturing and special equipment manufacturing saw their profits decline in the period.

 

//
 
China’s renewable energy capacity grows in Jan-Sept   

The capacity of China’s renewable energy including that of solar and wind grew in the first three quarters of the year, data released by the National Energy Administration showed.

The installed capacity of wind power increased 16.9% while the capacity of solar power generation grew 28.8% from a year earlier.

 
 
//
 
China’s yuan becomes the world’s fifth most traded currency  

The Chinese yuan rose to the world’s fifth most traded currency, up from the eighth place in 2019, a survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) showed on Thursday.
The yuan takes up 7% of global foreign exchange in 2022, according to the 2022 Triennial Central Bank Survey by the BIS.     
The US dollar dominates global foreign exchange with the euro and Japanese yen trailing behind.

 

//
 
China levies consumption tax on e-cigarettes

China started to impose consumption tax on e-cigarettes on Tuesday.
The tax rate for e-cigarette producers and importers is 36% and 11% for wholesalers, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Finance.
 
//
 
China’s cultural sector revenues up 1.4% in Jan-Sept

The operating revenues of China’s cultural industry increased 1.4% from a year earlier, official data showed on Sunday.
The combined operating revenue of major companies in the sector reached 8.65 trillion yuan in the first three quarters of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Newsletter
International News 
 
//
 
‘No credible pathway to 1.5C in place’, UN agency

There is “no credible pathway to 1.5C in place” despite promises governments made at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, said the UN environment agency in a new report on Thursday.
To avoid climate disaster, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) calls for rapid transformation of societies including transformations in electricity supply, industry, transport and buildings sectors, and the food and financial systems.
Current climate pledges by nations leave the world 2.4-2.6C warmer by the end of this century, according to the report.

 

//
 
EU approves ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035

Union reached a deal on Thursday to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035, the Associated Press reported.
The deal asks carmakers to cut emissions of new cars sold by 100% by 2035, which effectively bans the sale of petrol and diesel cars.
New cars sold from 2030 will need to cut emissions by 55%.

 

//
 
Japan unveils $200bn stimulus package

The Japanese government announced on Friday a spending package of 29 trillion yen to combat the cost of living crisis.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the spending plan which includes subsidies for household electricity and gas bills and coupons for pregnant women.
Kishida said the package will boost economic growth by 4.6%.

 

//
 European central bank raises interest rates by 0.75%


 

The European Central Bank raised benchmark interest rates by 0.75% to rein in runaway inflation.

The deposit rate stood at 1.5% after the increase. It’s the central bank’s third interest rate hike in a row, which aims to bring inflation to its target of 2%, the ECB said in a statement on Thursday.

Inflation in the 19-country eurozone reached 9.9% in September, for which the ECB blames soaring energy and food prices, supply chain disruptions and the post-pandemic recovery in demand. 

 

//
 
Flooding has displaced 3.4 million people in West,Central Africa

Flooding in west and central Africa has displaced more than 3.4 million people, said the UN’s refugee agency on Friday.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the worst flood in a decade in the region has displaced more than 1.3 million people in Nigeria with 2.8 million being impacted by the flooding.
UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado said that hundreds of people had died in Nigeria, where floodwaters in the northeast swept through sites for internally displaced people and host communities in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States.

 

//
 
Heatwaves have cost the world $16tn since 1990s  

 
Heatwaves, exacerbated by climate change, have cost the global economy $16 trillion since the 1990s with the world’s poorest suffering the most, according to a study.  
A study published in the journal Science Advances on Friday estimated that extreme heat has cost the world $16 trillion between 1992 and 2013.        
“The true costs of climate change are far higher than we’ve calculated so far,” said Justin Mankin, assistant professor of geography at Dartmouth and one of the authors of the study. 

 

 

 

SHARE: