Invest Beijing Newsletter

April 2007

 

Beijing Investment News and Policies

 

 

 

Landmark property law adopted

China's parliament, the National People's Congress, adopted two landmark laws -- the property rights law and the enterprise income tax law last month at the closing ceremony of its annual session.

 

The corporate income tax law was adopted as a key signal of a phase-in end of superior treatments to foreign investors for two decades. The law is due to take effect on January 1, 2008.

 

Experts say the law marks an adjustment of China's policies toward foreign investment in the current times. The law, which sets unified income tax rate for domestic and foreign companies at 25 percent, came after years of criticism that the original dual income tax mechanism is unfair to domestic enterprises. Apart from increased income tax, foreign companies will also be wiped from some other tax incentives, including pre-tax reduction and tax rebate for re-investment, in the future, insiders say. China is gradually taking back preferential policies toward overseas-funded businesses, which has been levied the same tax as their domestic counterparts in the use of urban land from January 1 this year.

It only took less than a minute for the nearly 3,000 NPC lawmakers to pass the much-revised bill, which had gone through a lengthy legislation process of more than 13 years and a record seven readings, by an overwhelming majority as the NPC concluded its annual full session in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. The lawmakers applauded warmly after NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo announced the voting results. A total of 2,799 lawmakers voted for the law and 52 against. Thirty-seven abstained and one didn't cast vote.

The 247-article law, which is due to come into effect as of October 1, 2007, stipulates that "the property of the state, the collective, the individual and other obligees is protected by law, and no units or individuals may infringe upon it".  This is the first time that equal protection to state and private properties has been enshrined in a Chinese law, which analysts say marks a significant step in the country's efforts to further economic reforms and boost social harmony. Observers said the laws are the fruit of China's reform and opening up and will in turn stimulate the reform and opening-up of the country. Wang Shengming, vice-director of the Commission of Legislative Affairs of the NPC Standing Committee, said the property law showed the spirit of reform and opening up of China, since it protects the order of the socialist market economy and grants equal protection to public and private property.

Overseas capital gives 5.6% to real estate firms in Beijing

Overseas funds contributed 5.6 percent to the total capital inflow in the 344 overseas-funded real estate companies in Beijing in 2006, according to a report from the Beijing Bureau of Statistics. These firms, 204 of which were registered in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, saw an overall influx of 68.75 billion yuan (8.8 billion U.S. dollars) last year, including overseas capital of 3.13 billion yuan. The primary capital source was deposits for earnest-paid orders and bank loans, which accounted for 42.3 percent and 19.9 percent respectively of last year's total capital inflow. The 344 firms built projects worth 26.7 billion yuan last year, which was 15.5 percent of the total investment in the capital city's real estate sector. Meanwhile, they reported profits of 4.99 billion yuan on the basis of 32.33 billion yuan of business volume. (Xinhua News)

IBI Activities

 

 

 

Site-research at Changping District Proved to be a Full Success

On Apr. 25, 2007, Invest Beijing International (IBI) in collaboration with relevant chambers of commerce organized an exclusive site-research tour at Changping District of Beijing. More than 90 participants from 45 foreign companies attended this informative and valuable event.

 

This event is aimed at recommending relevant investment projects and business opportunities to foreign firms and businesspersons, and offering an accessible platform for foreign companies to know about Changping, develop their business and invest in Changping. Multi-level promotional activities were seen at this event, such as investment climate presentation, projects and business opportunities recommendation, business networking, and on-site visits to industrial zones and companies, etc.

 

As an service platform of city image promotion and project-fund match-making, IBI initiated and successfully organized series of site-researches at Shunyi, Tongzhou and Daxing districts in 2006, which were widely welcomed and highly appreciated by participating companies. In 2007, IBI will continue to organize such on-site visits to other districts and counties of Beijing on basis of the full success of Changping event.

Changping site-research Project Briefing

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is from Invest Beijing International

For detailed information, please visit www.bjinvest.gov.cn

Or send email to IBICN@bjinvest.gov.cn

Tel: +86 10 66415368; Fax: +86 10 66411022

7/F, Block A, Tianyin Mansion, No. 2 Fuxingmen South Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100031, China