China property curbs may trigger short-term home buying rush

China’s property-related shares fell by the most in nearly five years on Monday on plans to tighten curbs on the housing market, though some economists predict a near-term spike in existing home prices, at least until local governments work out how to implement the changes.

The plans, announced by the cabinet late on Friday, include the stricter implementation of an existing 20 percent capital gains tax on home sales, strengthening restrictions on home buying and increasing loan rates for those buying a second home in cities where prices are rising too quickly.

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Clement Tan and Yimou Lee, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/oQP_mNKgr50/

China to dismantle bloated rail ministry: sources

China is likely to dismantle its sprawling, scandal-plagued Railways Ministry into operations and commercial arms that will be supervised by different agencies, two sources said, part of an overhaul of the bureaucracy as a new set of leaders takes charge in Beijing.

The restructuring is aimed at ending long-standing inefficiencies and addressing the ministry’s reputation for insularity and corruption, they said.

“The Railways Ministry will be demoted (in status),” said one of the sources.

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Lucy Hornby and Benjamin Kang Lim, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/HtQVJI4ZqXU/

Japan Auto Makers Post Lower China Sales

Japanese auto makers posted falling sales in China in the first two months of the year, but the slowing pace of the decline suggests the impact of a territorial dispute between the two countries is leveling off.

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday its China sales dropped 14% to 174,000 vehicles in the January-February period, while Honda Motor Co. reported a 4% fall in China sales to 79,272 vehicles over the same period.

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Rose Yu, Wall Street Journal via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/Dz8QG97nefw/

45 arrested in Hong Kong on charges of smuggling baby milk formula

Think Hong Kong is joking about the baby food? Better think again.

Customs officials in Hong Kong arrested 45 people on Friday and Saturday on charges of trying to smuggle baby milk powder across the border into China, multiple media outlets reported. The arrests came after an emergency two-can limit on exports of milk formula, launched in February, was made permanent Hong Kong law on Friday.

The South China Morning Post quoted Hong Kong’s secretary for security, Lai Tung-Kwok, as saying that customs agents had arrested 26 Hong Kong residents, 18 mainlanders and one foreign passport holder at border crossings. Lai added that authorities had seized a total of 115 cans of milk powder, with a street value in China of about $4,500.

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John Hannon, Los Angeles Times via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/9qE9raDrY9A/

China moves ahead with North Korea trade zone despite nuclear test

China appears to be pressing ahead with plans to invest in a North Korean free trade zone in a sign that its recent nuclear test has not soured its economic ties with its only major ally.

While Beijing has not made clear whether the test would disrupt its investment plans for the Rason economic zone, an official at the zone’s joint management office told Reuters that all previously announced Chinese projects for the zone remain on track, including a power line from China to ease acute electricity shortages there.

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Charlie Zhu, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/7hqUNzAL-dA/

China defense spending seen rising as territorial rows deepen

A series of territorial disputes with its neighbors will ensure China boosts defense spending when it reveals this year’s military budget ahead of the annual parliamentary sitting next week, security experts say.

After almost three decades of sharply increased military outlays, an increasingly assertive China now has the firepower to challenge rivals claiming strategically important and resource-rich territory in the East China and South China seas.

The Chinese navy, now second in size only to the U.S. fleet in terms of raw numbers, has become a genuine blue-water force and is conducting almost continuous patrols and exercises in these contested waters.

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David Lague and Terril Yue Jones, Reuters via CHINA US Focus http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChinaUsFocus/~3/9f8JD7ZJKJ0/