No quick Cuts in Savings Rates
China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said yesterday (Feb 10th) that China will not be able to reduce its savings rate quickly and that changes in the exchange rate would not necessarily reduce it either. Zhou said that China has made relentless efforts to cut its savings rate, but it will not work in the short term as it is the result of deep-rooted social and cultural factors. Zhou also called for reforming the international currency regime, making it more diversified and less dependent on the US dollar.

China to Allow Equity Investment for Commercial Banks
An official report released yesterday ( Feb 10th) said China's banking regulator is drafting new rules to allow the nation's commercial banks to make equity investments in the first half of 2009. Trials of equity investments will begin with China's Big Four commercial banks, namely the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and the Agricultural Bank of China. These new rules on equity investments are part of the 4-trillion-yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package issued last November in an effort to protect the country's investment and export-driven economy.

China Automobile Sales Past US in January
The first time, China has over-taken the US in the number of cars sold last month (January), according to statistics issued yesterday (Feb 10th) by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).  In January, China sold 735,500 vehicles, 14.35 percent less year-on-year but still far more than in the US where sales plummeted 37 percent last month, down to 656,693 vehicles. Although bad news for the environment, these figures show that a series of industry and market support measures adopted by the government have begun to take effect, which include tax cuts when purchasing vehicles and subsidies to farmers to replace outdated trucks with modern vehicles.

(Photo from :sohu.com)