2012-02-07

Dividend cuts at Chinese banks; Chinese moms look to USA; Beijing real estate more expensive than NYC

Central Huijin Releases Proposal to Cut Dividend Payouts
If approved, the move would represent the third cut in dividends for ICBC, BOC and CCB since 2009 and is expected to shore up at least 26.36 billion yuan for the three banks. During the past three years, ICBC, BOC and CCB have retained 140 billion yuan in additional capital through the dividend payout cuts.

According to company filings, Central Huijin, the domestic investment arm of China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp., owned 35.43 percent of ICBC, 67.6 percent of BOC, 44.22 percent of ABC and 57 percent of CCB.
Chinese banks have weak balance sheets and the move is designed to strengthen them.

Mainland mums look West after Hong Kong backlash
The fees for non-local mothers giving birth in Hong Kong have surged in the past year. Some Shenzhen agencies are now charging around 200,000 yuan (HK$245,000) to prepare mothers-to-be, including helping them clear customs and make arrangements to stay and receive care in Hong Kong, as well as getting proper birth documents. This is more than many quotes given for arranging births in the US.
Selling U.S. citizenship is a profitable business! Even Saipan is getting in on it:
One agency that specialises in helping mainlanders deliver babies in Saipan, a US island, charges just 70,000 yuan for round-trip tickets to the island, medical services and two months' food and accommodation. The island has not required visas for Chinese tourists since 2009, and the agency claims people born there automatically get US citizenship.

Beijing office rents more expensive than New York
"As the Chinese calendar moves into the Year of the Dragon, prime office rents in Beijing's central business district have risen year on year by 75 per cent, a steeper increase than 2010 [48 per cent]," C&W said in a report on the world's most expensive office locations. Beijing achieved the largest increase last year of any city in the world, it said. With an annual occupation cost of US$130 per sq ft, it ranked the fifth most costly city globally, ahead of New York, Sydney and Paris. Beijing ranked 15th a year ago.

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