China2
of these innovative -- although untried -- financial instruments combining the features of stocks and bonds.
According to Xingming Fang of Chengdu's Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, an enterprise can issue TPRs equivalent to as much as 40% of its assets and sell them to individuals or other firms. To attract buyers, enterprises are compelled to offer investors interest rates much higher than those prevailing for bonds. They also guarantee to pay a fixed interest rate when the enterprises buy back the TPRs at the selling price in two or three years. Investors can sometimes convert their TPRs into share equity or sell them at a profit through one of the two property exchanges now operating in Chengdu. Some 16 enterprises have sold TPRs worth 300 million yuan to date, with at least 15 more firms waiting in the wings.
While enterprises selling TPRs are subject to rudimentary oversight by officials of the two property exchanges now operating, the absence of generally accepted accounting standards and the vagaries of the Chinese legal system make TPRs a risky investment. Firms are required to publish basic financial information and to specify when and how payments of interest and principal will be made, but the reliability of these data and guarantees has yet to be seriously tested.
Indeed, there are strong grounds for skepticism about this new investment vehicle. Three years ago, the Voice of America reported that Chengdu was home to the largest "black" stock market in the world. Hardened by that market's sharp fluctuations, the city's investors know the risks of speculation. But with the repayment rate for bonds below 50% among Chengdu's firms, there is no escaping the fact that the much higher interest rates offered by TPRs suggest huge risks.
http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/2002/8/28_1.html
1. China's Economic Policy Reinforces Poverty in Tibet
New report released for UN World Summit on Sustainable Development
JOHANNESBURG & MONTREAL, August 28, 2002: (CTC) -- China's economic
policies are reinforcing poverty, inequality and underdevelopment in Tibet,
reveals a new report released today by the Canada Tibet Committee (CTC).
Poverty by Design: The Economics of Discrimination in Tibet, uses
China's own statistics to challenge claims that the occupation of Tibet is
motivated by
economic and social development for the Tibetan people. Instead, the
report exposes systemic economic discrimination, imposed through central
policies that violate fundamental human rights principles.
Poverty by Design: The Economics of Discrimination in Tibet is written by
development economist Andrew Fischer. Its release is scheduled to
coincide with the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) which
began this week in Johannesburg. The report will be launched today at the
WSSD during a reception hosted by the Tibet delegation.
"It is time for western governments and international development
agencies to face the fact that China's presence in Tibet is not
benevolent", said Thubten Samdup, President of the Canada Tibet Committee.
"When they participate in China's development strategies for Tibet, they
risk contributing to discrimination and endemic poverty in Tibetan
communities".
Poverty by Design: The Economics