Business Briefs

Dairy Industry Back on Track Following eight years of tightened regulation and an industry overhaul， Chinese dairy products are emerging from the shadow cast by high-profile safety scandals. The quality of domestic milk products has improved substantially， according to the Dairy Association of China （DAC） in August. It was the first DAC report released to the public. Official spot checks last year showed 99.5 percent of dairy products were up to standard and no illegal additives， such as melamine， had been detected for seven consecutive years， the report said. Some major indicators， including nutrient content， exceeded the standards of the United States， Europe and Australia.

E-commerce Education Chinese online-to-offline （O2O） giant Meituan & Dazhongdianping has announced it will set up a college to train e-commerce personnel. The college， named Internet Plus University （IPU）， is the first of its kind in the e-commerce sector to focus on developing business models， technology and skills to promote Chinas “Internet Plus”strategy. It will integrate the companys training departments to establish several schools to train internal staff and business partners on upgrading e-commerce.“E-commerce platforms should not only focus on marketing and transactions， but also expand to other upstream services，” according to Wang Xing， CEO of the company， noting that the essence of Chinas“Internet Plus” strategy is improving efficiency and reducing costs across all sectors by integrating the Internet with more industries.

Free Fund Transfers Twelve Chinese commercial banks have announced the creation of an Internet finance alliance， allowing customers to enjoy online cross-bank fund transfers without being charged. Under the framework， “mobile banking and personal online banking services will no longer charge clients fees for money transfers，” regardless of the amount. The agreement also highlights the importance of interconnectivity of bank accounts， in order to attract more customers， by boosting account security， facilitating business or product innovation， as well as combating fraud. China CITIC Bank is assuming the presidency of the alliance， to create a more open platform together with China Merchants Bank， Shanghai Pudong Development Bank， China Everbright Bank， Huaxia Bank， China Minsheng Bank， China Guangfa Bank， Industrial Bank， Ping An Bank， Hengfeng Bank， China Zheshang Bank and China Bohai Bank. The five state-owned banks are not part of the alliance.

Promoting Urbanization China has made significant progress in shanty-town renovation and building affordable housing and public transportation， said Zhao Chenxin， a spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission in August. By the end of June， the country had met 66.9 percent of its annual shanty-town renovation target， 8.2 percentage points higher than in the same period last year. As for affordable urban housing projects， 97.9 percent of the annual target had been reached as of the end of June， Zhao said. In the first half of 2016， city and intercity railway networks grew rapidly. Rail transit in 25 cities reached a length of more than 3，300 km， and another 3，800 km is under construction in 37 cities. The intercity traffic network has hit 1，250 km. According to Zhao， China will strive to foster new pillars of economic growth and deepen international cooperation in its urbanization drive.

Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect The Chinese Government has approved plans to connect the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges， Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in August. It allows investors on the Chinese mainland and those in Hong Kong to trade selected stocks on each others exchanges. “The rollout of the Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect after that between Shanghai and Hong Kong marks another concrete step for Chinas capital market toward one that is more law-based， market-oriented and global. It will generate many positive outcomes，”Li said. The Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect will help investors to share more of the dividends from economic growth on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong and promote closer partnership between the two markets while shoring up Hong Kongs role as an international financial center. The scheme will be launched at a proper time this year after the regulatory rules and technical preparations are completed.

First Financial Makerspace Chinas first makerspace dedicated to financial startups opened in Chengdu of Sichuan Province. The finance incubator， Financial Dreamworks Chengdu， will target players in financial technology and services such as hedge funds， digital currency and peer-to-peer lending， according to Miao Wei， General Manager of the centers sponsor， Chengdu Financial City Investment & Development. Part of a strategic partnership between the company and the Chengdu branch of the Peoples Bank of China， the makerspace is another step toward the capital of Sichuan Province becoming the financial center of central and west China. Chengdu has the highest number of financial institutions in the region. China started to promote makerspaces with guidelines and policies in early 2015 as a way of supporting mass entrepreneurship.