In the month of July, the national retail sales of hotel and restaurant business reached 92.3 billion yuan, up 18% on the same period last year. From January to July this year, the national retail sales of hotel and restaurant business amounted to 673.67 billion yuan, demonstrating an 18% climb and a growth rate 2.5 percentage points higher than the same period last year.

From February to July, 488 foreign-invested ventures engaged in hotel and restaurant business were endorsed, down 19.3% from the same period last year. Contract value of foreign investment reached 1.64 billion US dollars, up 1.1% year-on-year (up 46% for the single month of July), and actual use of foreign investment reached 45 million US dollars, up 4.9% (up 133% for the month of July).

In terms of different enterprises categories, from January to July, hotels and restaurants above designated size chalked up 200.45 billion yuan, up 18.6%, with a growth rate 0.6 percentage point higher than the industrial average and accounting for 29.7% of the total hotel and restaurant retail sales. The hotels and restaurants below designated size achieved 473.22 billion yuan, up 10.2%, with a growth rate 7.8 percentage points lower than the industrial average and accounting for 70.3% of the total retail sales of the industry.

SHANGHAI'S benchmark stock index surged 5.3 percent yesterday to a new high, making the biggest daily jump this year.The turnaround, which tracked similar recoveries in international markets, followed a sharp decline on Friday as credit woes in the United States triggered global sell-offs.The upsurge on the local market was led by banking, real estate, steel and petrochemical shares.

Analysts believes the market will fluctuate in the coming days, however, as a new pilot program announced yesterday would allow retail investors to invest foreign currency in Hong Kong shares.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and foreign currency B shares, rose to 4,904.86 yesterday, an increase of 248.28 points from the previous session.

Turnover in Shanghai-listed securities amounted to 146.1 billion yuan (US$19.2 billion), compared with 136 billion on Friday.

The upbeat sentiment was evident across China. The CSI 300 index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two stock bourses, rose 258.84, or 5.6 percent, to 4,885.43, the biggest gain in nearly two years.

Shares of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest lender, climbed 9.75 percent to 7.09 yuan while Bank of China shares rose 5.9 percent to 6.1 yuan.

The main note of uncertainty is what will happens after the China Foreign Currency Regulatory Committee said individual investors could invest in Hong Kong, aiming to diversify investment using the country's ample foreign currency reserves.

A Singapore government minister on Friday praised China for its continued economic growth over the past years, saying that China now represents a huge market for businesses all over the world. 　

Speaking at a business forum, Lim Hwee Hua, minister of State for Finance and Transport, said that Asia is still the most dynamic and fastest growing region in the world, and the growth continues to be propelled by the strong expansion of China and India, of more than 8 percent over the past few years.
China is already an integral part of the global supply chain as it has become one of the world's largest trading nations and producer of information technology, the minister said.

The minister believed that the businesses are able to participate in the rapid economic growth of China and India as they are living in a globalized world, which allows goods, services and capitals to flow freely and easily across national borders.

Experts from across the Lloyd’s and London markets are set to unveil a suite of new contract wordings for the marine market in the coming weeks and months.

As the growth of maritime trade continues, underwriters and brokers in London have been working for the past two years on new contract clauses and wordings to replace those which in some cases are over 40 years old.

The London Market Joint Hull Committee began a root and branch review of the hull construction wordings in 2003, and is now close to releasing the finalised clauses.

The market’s Joint Cargo Committee has also been working on the standard cargo clauses which are used as the basis for insurance contracts across the world.

The Lloyd’s market is also looking to utilise the electronic data which is now in the market to produce more detailed statistics that will enable underwriters to price risks more effectively.

This article is provided for general information purposes only and is subject to the full terms and conditions on our website. Any policies referred to in this article will be subject to separate terms and conditions and this article should not be regarded as a substitute for referring to those terms and conditions.

It is learn that, Nanning of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will carry out a special action to fight against Internet infringement and piracy in Internet Café.

This action will focus on the download of software and music works and the behavior of deleting or changing the administration of electronic information, investigate the production and sale of tools and equipments which are adopted to elude or damage the technical protection measures, and further purify the environment of copyright protection.

In accordance with related judicial interpretation, the Internet Café which downloads or promulgates music works without authorization will bear criminal responsibility if the case is serious.

At present, the special action has launched the pre-investigation and the activity will end on September 30.