HANGAR LAUNCHING: As a part of the new international airport in Kunming, Yunnan Province, the framework of a hangar is completed on May 30. It will be used for aircraft maintenance and can hold seven Boeing 737 airplanes (QIN QING)

New Pension Program

The State Council said on June 1 a new pension program will be launched in July to benefit unemployed urban residents.

The social pension system will be implemented in 60 percent of China's cities and townships by the end of this year before being introduced nationwide next year. All unemployed urban residents over the age of 16, excluding students, are eligible for the program.

Insured residents over the age of 60 will be able to receive a basic monthly pension of at least 55 yuan ($8.46) after paying fees to join the program. Other qualified urban residents over the age of 60 will receive monthly endowments of varying amounts according to price fluctuations and the economic status of the areas they live in.

Land Trade Check

The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said it will check land transactions completed since the beginning of the year to monitor unusual price fluctuations and prevent rebounds in residential land prices.

Local governments at or above the county level should check land transactions completely since January and report before June 30 about land transactions of unusually high prices, said the MLR.

The MLR previously ordered local governments to submit reports on those lands auctioned with the premium rate exceeding 50 percent and the total value or per square meter prices hitting record highs.

Simplifying Procedures

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange announced on May 28 that it will simplify procedures regarding the management of capital accounts in a bid to encourage trade and investment.

According to the new regulation, which became effective June 1, companies will not need to register with the local foreign exchange authority for deferred payment under the trade credit registry regulation. They will also not be required to register when they need to reverse the exchange for advance payment.

Foreign exchange remittance at home following the sales of state-owned stakes in overseas-listed companies can be directly conducted at designated banks.

Local foreign exchange bureaus are also granted the right to approve and set the quota regarding bill of exchange guarantees by some designated banks.

Further, the new regulation will raise the benchmark ratio from 30 percent to 50 percent for advance payment under trade credit arrangements.

Lenovo's EU Ambition

Lenovo Group Ltd., China's biggest personal computer maker, looks to buy a controlling stake in Medion AG, a multimedia and consumer electronics maker, to double its market share in Germany.

The purchase will be Lenovo's biggest acquisition since it acquired IBM's PC business in 2004.

Lenovo estimated that after the acquisition, it will be the third largest PC company in Germany, which is Europe's largest PC market. Lenovo will have more than 14 percent of the German and 7.5 percent of the Western European PC market.