Citi to form China securities venture

2011-06-01 15:01:40

Citigroup Inc is expected to sign an agreement this month with China's Oriental Securities Co to set up an investment banking venture, the Securities Times reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

It's not just the speed of the trains

2011-06-01 14:51:11

My first trip to Beijing was to work at China Daily, and it started with a bus. My hometown, Nantong city in eastern Jiangsu province, had no rail connection.

On track for high speed

2011-06-01 14:50:45

Board any of China's high-speed trains and you'll step into a clean and comfortable cabin worthy of airlines. More important, the trains will whisk you to your destination almost as quickly as propeller-driven aircraft. These trains cover the 1,069-km journey between Guangzhou and Wuhan in about three hours, while the 120-km trip between Beijing and Tianjin is done in half an hour.

Passenger turnover trails off the rails

2011-06-01 14:50:28

The length of China's railway network soared from 49,900 km in 1980 to 91,000 km by the end of 2010, making it the world's second longest. Its passenger and cargo transport facilities have also ranked among the top. Despite the railway's growth, its role in the nation's economic development is trailing off compared to other transport means.

Investor protection vital for market to move forward

2011-06-01 14:49:21

It has been 20 years since the birth of China's stock market, which has experienced wild ups and downs. Looking back, I think we should reflect on what kind of market it has developed into, what role it has played in China's economy and what we should do next.

Time to fasten your seat belts

2011-06-01 14:48:42

It may be disappointing that I'm not going to talk in this column about whether it's time to buy into China's stock market when the market looks cheap after a recent derating. I have to admit that, despite being one of the first journalists who began reporting on China's financial and stock markets more than two decades ago - when the Chinese stock market was set up - I have never bought a single share.

A 20-year rollercoaster ride

2011-06-01 14:48:27

Jiang Zhikang's foray into China's fledgling stock market in the early 1990s was not only risky but required great patience. "I lined up at the small trading counter for a whole night in order to buy the stock subscription certificates,"Jiang, 62, says. "I thought that owning stocks may be better than just putting my money in a bank account."

Shopping changes from chore to choice

2011-06-01 14:47:25

Zhou Qiyuan does not like shopping. His distaste for shopping spans many years. "There was nothing to shop for in the late 1970s and early 1980s," says the 65-year-old Beijing resident. "It was all about getting coupons, standing in long queues, choosing from the few goods that were available and, more often than not, being bullied by salespersons."

From a seller's to a buyer's market

2011-06-01 14:47:02

Looking back on 30 years of retailing, it is difficult to fathom that China would emerge as the face of a global retail revolution. It was a time when China was just shaking off the shackles of a planned economy and the retail sector was strictly regulated. In other words, it was a different time and a different era.

Miracle is product of pragmatism, hard work

2011-06-01 14:33:18

Zhuozhou is a small city 60 kilometers southwest of Beijing. I learned about the town not because it was home to emperors, or their tombs, but due to a farmer who knocked on my door when I was about 9.

The Cherokees that sparked revolution

2011-06-01 14:33:13

During the 1980s, one of the major seeds of change sprouting from China's new market economy was the all-new motoring industry.

Foot off the brake

2011-06-01 14:30:29

Among China's first drivers were newspaper photographers, who took advantage of the faster form of transport to follow fire trucks and zoom to action hot spots. Veteran China Daily photographer Wu Zhiyi and former China Daily employee Chen Xiong can remember Beijing in the 1980s when driving a car in the capital was a sheer delight. There were sunny blue skies, very few cars and no traffic jams.