Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY 29August2015

BUSINESS A25
US group urges China to open insurance, securities markets
JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer
BEIJING (AP) — An Ameri-
can business group urged
China on Friday to allow
more access to its insur-
ance and other service
industries, saying foreign
skills could help develop its
volatile stock markets and
cope with disasters like the
recent chemical explosion
in Tianjin.
Opening largely closed
banking, logistics and
other markets wider to for-
As markets drop, question is: will the Chinese still shop?
SYLVIA HUI
DAVID McHUGH
Associated Press
BICESTER, England (AP) —
The designer outlet mall of
Bicester Village is set in the He came from Shanghai
English countryside near
Oxford, but it might as well
be in China.
Quiet Mandarin chatter fills
the air. Most of the shop-
pers are Chinese — and so
are half the sales assistants. cially abroad — have be-
In the Burberry store, many
try on the brand’s signature
trench coats, which go for
at least 600 pounds ($925)
after discounts. Some
punch numbers into their
smart phone calculators
to work out the exchange
rate; more take photos of
the goods on offer, likely to
message friends at home
for a nod of approval.
Japan reports inflation, household spending soften in July
ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
TOKYO (AP) — The back-
drop to the wild drama in
financial markets over the
past few weeks is a less dra-
matic but more daunting
reality: the deep-seated
challenges for sustaining
long-term growth, espe-
cially for aging economies
like Japan’s.
Japan released data Fri-
day showing its economy
has yet to escape the dol-
drums more than two years
after Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe launched an unprec-
edented effort to jolt the
country out of its deflation-
ary rut. Core inflation ex-
cluding volatile food prices
flat-lined at its lowest level of monetary stimulus.
eign competitors would
support the communist
leadership’s effort to nur-
ture service industries and
reduce reliance on trade
and investment to drive
economic growth, the
American Chamber of
Commerce in China said.
The group’s deputy chair-
man, Lester Ross, pointed
to China’s stock market
plunge and the Aug. 12 ex-
plosion in Tianjin that killed communications technol-
at least 145 people, and
said bringing in more glob-
“I don’t know too much
about designer labels. My
friends tell me what to get,”
says Andy Cao, clutching
about six shopping bags.
to Europe with a group of
about 30 colleagues to
shop and do some sight-
seeing. Over the past de-
cade, Chinese customers
— at home but most cru-
come a powerful market
force in the global trade in
expensive clothes, jewelry,
watches, perfumes, drinks
and handbags.
But the stock market plung-
es of the past few days on
the Shanghai exchange
have raised the question:
Will the drop in the Chinese
economy be worse than
expected? And how will it
in more than two years in
July and household spend-
ing also slowed, the gov-
ernment reported.
Unemployment edged
down to 3.3 percent and
household incomes rose
5.4 percent in real terms,
thanks largely to semi-
annual bonus payments.
Such trends are leading
economists for forecast the
economy will return to ex-
pansion after a 1.6 percent
contraction in annual terms
in April-June.
But the middling vital signs,
and worries over China’s
ability to stoke its own
growth, may raise pressure
on the Bank of Japan to up
its unprecedented barrage
Saturday 29 August 2015
al expertise could help to commerce and logistics. tries to private and foreign
develop financial markets The report is part of an an- competition.
and reduce the impact of nual series but its release Despite promises of reform,
disasters.“Our hope, frank- comes at a time when foreign service business-
ly, is that the downturn in stock market turmoil and es are “pessimistic about
the market will encourage unexpectedly weak ex- the regulatory environ-
the Chinese government to port and manufacturing ment,” said the chamber
open faster,” Ross said at a data have fueled concerns chairman, James Zimmer-
news conference. about the health of China’s man.
In a report, the chamber economy. That has prompt- Ross said China’s insurance
also cited potential oppor- ed urging from economists industry, with a history of just
tunities in fields including for Beijing to move faster 35 years, lacks the experi-
engineering, health care, on promised reforms aimed ence of foreign insurers at
at making the economy spotting potential risks and
ogy, legal services, real es- more productive by open- encouraging policyholders
tate, entertainment, online ing state-dominated indus- to reduce them.q
Shoppers carry designer label branded bags at Bicester Village designer outlet centre, in Bices-
ter, England. Chinese customers have become a powerful market force in the global trade in
expensive clothes, jewelry, watches, perfumes and handbags, but nobody knows how the recent
turmoil in Chinese financial markets will impact on the sales of designer brands.
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
affect the Chinese shop- services group MainFirst away from the very high
per? John Guy, a luxury in London, says there has end of prestige brands, for
goods analyst at financial been some shift in demand example for watches.q
The central bank is spend- The main Nikkei 225 stock economy to improve its
ing trillions of yen (billions index climbed 2.8 percent competitiveness as prom-
of dollars) a month on as- on Friday, though it was still ised by Abe in early 2013.
set purchases intended to down more than 6 percent “In hindsight, it is clear that
push inflation higher and for the week. BOJ Gov. there has been a lack of
end years of deflation, or Haruhiko Kuroda said in a incentive and impetus to
chronic price decreases. speech to the Japan Soci- make change happen,”
The aim is to get con- ety in New York this week he said.Kuroda acknowl-
sumers and businesses to that the bank is keeping edged concerns over the
spend more money and a close eye on potential risks from weakening de-
spur growth, but so far the risks and will “make adjust- mand as exports to China
inflation rate remains far ments without hesitation as and other emerging mar-
from the official 2 percent necessary.” He pointed to kets stall. But he and other
target, and the spending rising machinery orders and Japanese officials insist the
that accounts for most of construction starts — and economy is still heading
Japan’s economic activ- the first hike in the price for a “moderate recov-
ity has remained lackluster of ketchup in Japan in 25 ery.” And while households
despite modest increases years — as evidence the remain frugal, relatively
in some workers’ wages. monetary easing is bearing solid retail sales could car-
It is unclear if the recent gy- fruit. Still, he acknowledged ry on into a much stron-
rations in share prices will widespread disappoint- ger showing for August,
have a spillover effect on ment with Japan’s prog- says Masamichi Adachi of
spending. ress so far in revamping its JPMorgan.q