Apple 'failing to protect Chinese factory workers'

Poor treatment of workers in Chinese factories which make Apple products has been discovered by an undercover BBC Panorama investigation.

 It found standards on workers' hours, ID cards, dormitories, work meetings and juvenile workers were being breached at the Pegatron factories.

Apple said it strongly disagreed with the programme's conclusions.

Exhausted workers were filmed falling asleep on their 12-hour shifts at the Pegatron factories on the outskirts of Shanghai.

One undercover reporter, working in a factory making parts for Apple computers, had to

China trade data well below expectations

Trade data from the world's second largest economy, China, came in well below expectations on Monday, heightening fears of a sharper slowdown.

China's exports rose 4.7% in November from a year ago, compared to market forecasts of  8.2% jump.

Imports fell 6.7% in the same period against predictions of a 3.9% rise.

The surprise slump in imports led the trade surplus to hit a

China manufacturing activity hits six month low

Activity in some of China's factories and workshops hit a six month low in November, a fresh survey has shown.

The preliminary data from lending giant HSBC, called the purchasing manager's index (PMI), measures a number of variables including new export orders.

It showed that factory output contracted in November for the first time in six months.

China's manufacturing sector is a key driver of its economy, which is key to global growth.

The preliminary PMI reading came in at

Microsoft pips Sony to launch Xbox One in China

Microsoft has launched the Xbox One in China - becoming the first major console maker to enter what could be a massively lucrative market.

The first consoles were sold in Shanghai, priced at 4,299 yuan ($699, £430). Sony and Nintendo are yet to launch their respective products.

In January, the Chinese government lifted a 14-year ban on consoles, made because of worries over content.

However, many popular titles, such as Call of Duty, will still be banned.

Only 10 games were available to buy on the Xbox One's release - but Microsoft has said 70 titles are in the pipeline.

Beating its rivals to the market may give Microsoft a much-needed sales boost. Its console is currently being outsold by Sony's PlayStation 4 in all major markets.

But Piers Harding-Rolls, a games analyst from

China uncovers $10bn fake trades

China has uncovered $10bn (£6.1bn) worth of fake trades as part of a nationwide crackdown on companies.

The currency regulator said 15 fraud cases had been handed over to the police for prosecution.

Companies sometimes falsify transactions as a way of GETTING MONEY in and out of China.

"Fake trade deals can do severe harm to ...the overall economy" said Wu Ruilin, deputy head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE).

"They not only increase the pressure of hot money inflows, but also provide illegal channels for cross-border capital flows," he added.

Blame has also been placed on

Nigeria's Export to China Rises by 117.9%

The Consul General of the Peoples Republic of China, Mr. Liu Kan, yesterday placed the trade volume between Nigeria and China in the first six months of 2014 at $11.76 billion.

Kan who spoke in Lagos at the 65th anniversary of the founding of his country, also noted that Nigeria's export to China during the period rose by a significant 117.9 per cent, higher than all the export from Nigeria to China in the whole of the previous year, 2013.

"In the first half of the year, the trade volume between China and Nigeria reached $11.76 billion, among which the import from Nigeria to China increased by 117.9 per cent, which surpassed the total for last year," Kan stated.

Noting that Nigeria now is the biggest export market for China, and the third largest partner in Africa, the envoy said, the advantages of the Nigeria economy attract more

China considering replacing central bank head

Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan may lose his job, the Wall Street Journal reported, in a reshuffle that follows internal battles over economic reforms.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is considering replacing Zhou, the paper reported, quoting officials with knowledge of the plans. (on.wsj.com/1uZtmyj)

The top contender to head the People's Bank of China is Guo Shuqing, a former banker and securities regulator who is currently governor of eastern Shandong province, the paper said.

Xi wanted more allies in top positions in the government, military and

Alibaba founder Jack Ma tops China rich list

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has become China's richest person following his company's record listing, according to a wealth survey by the Hurun Report.

Mr Ma tops its annual rich list with a fortune of $25bn (£15bn), followed by Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin.

Internet billionaires account for five of China's 10 richest people this year, eclipsing property tycoons who have traditionally dominated the list.

The list also includes the head of Tencent, Pony Ma.

Other tech titans on the list include the co-founder of Chinese search group Baidu, Robin Li, and the founder of online retailer JD.com, Richard Liu Qiangdong.

Mr Liu, who is ranked 10th on the super-rich list, also saw his company listed in New York in August this year.

Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf said the list shows "the entrepreneurial spirit that has caught China seems not to be abating".

"Jack Ma is the

Alibaba shares surge in their NY stock market debut

Alibaba's shares opened significantly above their initial price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, a sign of the excitement surrounding the Chinese internet giant.

Shares in the company made their debut in the US at $92.70 (£57), after being priced at $68 late on Thursday.

More than 100 million shares were traded in the minutes after the stock was launched - more than Twitter.

The NYSE was festooned with the orange and white logos of the company to herald its arrival on public markets.

The company raised nearly $21.8bn in its share sale, indicating strong investor appetite for China's e-commerce giant.

In opening at $92.70 per share, Alibaba is now valued at $227bn - making it significantly larger than Amazon and Facebook.

Investors are eager to get a piece of

GlaxoSmithKline fined $490m by China for bribery

China has fined UK pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline $490m (£297m) after a court found it guilty of bribery.

The record penalty follows allegations the drug giant paid out bribes to doctors and hospitals in order to have their products promoted.

The court gave GSK's former head of Chinese operations, Mark Reilly, a suspended three-year prison sentence and he is set to be deported.

Other GSK executives have also been given suspended jail sentences.

The guilty verdict was delivered after a one-day trial at a court in Changsha, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Chinese authorities first announced they were investigating GSK in July last year, in what has become the

Alibaba set to price shares as investors gear up for flotation

Chinese online giant Alibaba is expected to set the price of its shares later in what could be a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO).

Alibaba could raise between $22bn (£13.5bn) and $25bn when it lists its shares in New York.

The previous record IPO was set by Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1bn listing in 2010.

Alibaba said in an official filing on Monday that it expected to price its shares at between $66 and $68 a share.

The increase suggested demand for the firm's shares is high.

The listing could give Alibaba a total value of about

China's central bank said to inject $81bn into system

China's central bank is said to be injecting 500bn yuan ($81bn; £50bn) into the five biggest state-owned banks to counter slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is reportedly giving each bank a $100bn low-interest loan over three months.

The move may be the first of several stimulus measures, analysts say.

It is aimed at lifting business confidence and investment following a string of weak economic data.

China's economy showed more evidence of a slowdown with industrial production and foreign direct investment hitting multi-year lows in August.

The five lenders said to be receiving the stimulus are the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications.

The move was

China's inflation cools to four-month low

China's consumer inflation rate rose 2% in August from a year earlier, below the government's target of 3.5% and marking a four-month low.

The country's official consumer price index (CPI) figure is its main inflation gauge and the August figure compares with a rise of 2.3% in July.

Lower prices for pork, a Chinese staple, contributed to the monthly CPI reading, state news agency Xinhua said.

Pork prices dropped by 3.1% during the period.

However, the cost of fresh fruit rose by

China’s low price offering threatens cassava business

The low price tag put on Nigerian cassava chips by China is frustrating Nigerian exporters of the commodity. This development is impeding the successful execution of the cassava chip export contract entered by Nigeria and China.

Chinese importers, it was learnt, are offering Nigerian exporters $250 per tonne instead of $400 it goes for in Europe and $350 in Israel. Business advisory services officials at the Bank of Agriculture have advised Nigerian cassava chips exporters that if the contract price is less than $400 per tonne, the business will not be viable.

Financial Vanguard gathered that the Bank of Agriculture team suggested that exporters should explore European markets that offer $400 or Israel that offers $350 as against China’s $250 offering.

The contract for the export of cassava was negotiated

WTO rules against US in trade spat with China and India

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has found the United States violated global trade rules when it imposed tariffs on products from China and India.

In response to a 2012 complaint, the WTO said the US improperly imposed tariffs on Chinese steel and solar panels.

In a separate ruling, it said the US must change the way it imposes tariffs on India steel products.

The US is embroiled in several