PRC Legal Update October 2009
PRC Legal Update
19 October 2009 Number 10
In This Issue
New Laws:
1. Supplementary provisions on the “Measures on the Administration of Foreign-invested Distribution Enterprises of Books,Newspapers and Journals
2. Business Licensing Requirements for Postal Courier (Express Post) Business Issued
3. Circular to strengthen the supervision and management of food additives
General News:
1. Road Link to Chongming District Shanghai Ready to Roll
2. Investment Rise Adds to Signs of Resurgence
Investment Zone Introduction:
Introduction of Wujiang Economic Development Zone
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1. Notice with respect to the supplementary provisions on the “Measures on the Administration of Foreign-invested Distribution Enterprises of Books, Newspapers and Journals
Authority: The Ministry of Commerce
Date of Promulgation: 20/08/2009
Effective Date: 01/10/2009
The Ministry of Commerce has issued a notice with respect to the supplementary provisions on the “Measures on the Administration of Foreign-invested Distribution Enterprises of Books, Newspapers and Journals”:
1. For Hong Kong and Macao service providers establishing enterprises to distribute publications in the mainland, their minimum registered capital shall be consistent with the requirements for domestic enterprises. The minimum registered capital has been lowered from RMB 5 million to RMB 2 million.
2. The Hong Kong and Macao service providers as mentioned in these provisions shall be respectively in line with the definition of “service providers” and relevant provisions as provided in the “Two Agreements”.
3. Other matters in the distribution of books, newspapers and journals invested in by Hong Kong and Macao service providers in the mainland shall still apply to the “Measures on the Administration of Foreign-invested Distribution Enterprises of Books, Newspapers and Journals”.
These provisions shall become effective from 1 October 2009.
2. Standards for the Examination and Verification of the Business Licensing Requirements for Postal Courier ( Express Post) Business
Issuing Authority: The State Post Bureau
Date of Promulgation: 30/09/2009
Effective Date: 30/09/2009
The State Post Bureau has recently published the Standards for the Examination and Verification of the Business Licensing Requirements for Express Post Business.
The Standards provide that enterprises which apply for a business license for express post business must meet the requirements for the legal body of an enterprise; enterprises which apply to operate within a province, an autonomous region or a municipality directly under the central government must have a registered capital of not less than RMB500,000, and those which apply to operate “ international express post” business must have a registered capital of not less than RMB2 million; each applicant must have a service capacity which is compatible with the territorial scope under its application and perfect risk control measures and fund settlement system, etc.
It is also provided that the administrative departments of postal services shall conduct the examination and verification of applications from the date of acceptance, and make the decision to approve or disapprove the application within 45 days.
3. Circular requiring nine authorities including local health departments (bureaus) to strengthen the supervision and management of food additives
Issuing Authority: The Ministry of Health
Date of Promulgation: 06/07/2009
Effective Date: 06/07/2009
The Ministry of Health (MOH) recently issued a circular requiring nine authorities including local health departments (bureaus) to strengthen the supervision and management of food additives, and revealed
that by the end of 2010, newly formulated (revised) standards for food additives would be announced.
The “Notice” provided that food additive manufacturers newly established after 1 June 2009 can engage in the production of food additives only after they obtained a permit for the production of industrial products in accordance with the law.
Those permits for food additive production or hygiene which were obtained before the implementation of the “Food Safety Law” would remain valid within the period of their validity.
Under the requirements as specified in the “Notice”, there must be clear, obvious, easy to distinguish and truthful labeling on the packaging of food additives for operation and use, which should indicate the words “food additive”. No food additive with a label or logo not in conformity with the “Food Safety Law” or the real object is not in line with the contents indicated in its label or instruction can be sold. Food sellers are not allowed to add any non-food substances or food additives in the food sales process
1. Road Link to Chongming District Shanghai Ready to Roll
Traffic will finally begin to flow on 31 October, 2009 over the long-awaited bridge and tunnel network linking Shanghai’s downtown with Chongming Island.
The new road connection will make life easier for the 700,000 people who live in Chongming County and for the countless downtown residents who visit for work and leisure.
It is also sure to spur further development in the county and, when another road link is completed to the north, enhance commerce between Shanghai and northern Jiangsu Province.
Officials announced that the Changjiang tunnel-bridge expressway complex, which cost nearly 12.6 billion yuan (US$1.85 billion) to build, will open to traffic on October 31.
The tunnel-bridge project, which goes by the Chinese name for the Yangtze River, links Chongming Island to the Pudong New Area via the sparsely populated Changxing Island over a 25.5-kilometer toll expressway.
With an 80 kilometer-per-hour speed limit inside the tunnel and a 100-kph limit on the cable-stay bridge, a car ride from Shanghai’s downtown to Chongming Island will take a little longer than an hour. In the past, travelers had to take ferries between the two points on trips that could last for more than two hours. And in bad weather when ferries were cancelled there was no connection at all.
Space has been left for a possible future extension of the city’s Metro Line 9 to the island, though a construction schedule has not yet been approved by national authorities.
The tunnel-bridge complex is also part of a broader plan to establish a fast traffic connection between Shanghai and the northern part of neighboring Jiangsu Province in an effort to boost commercial ties.
An expressway is now being built to connect Chongming Island to Qidong, a Jiangsu city. It is expected to be finished in two years.
2. Investment Rise Adds to Signs of Resurgence
Foreign investment in China rose in September for the second straight month-fresh evidence that overseas investors are betting on the country’s economic recovery.
Foreign direct investment expanded 18.9 percent from a year earlier to US$ 7.9 billion last month, the Ministry of Commerce said on 15 October. It followed a turnaround in August, when foreign investment rose 7 percent to post the first increase in 11 months.
“Market sentiment strengthened alongside growing evidence of China’s economic improvement,” said commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian. “More overseas enterprises are expected to join in the development of China against the backdrop.”
Investment Zone Introduction:
Introduction of Wujiang Economic Development Zone
Location:
1). 9km to Suzhou downtown
2). 80km to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport
3). 125km to Pudong International Airport
Competitive Workshop Purchase Price and Rental:
1). Standard Workshop Purchase Price: RMB 1,000 per square meters
2). Standard Workshop Rental: RMB 12/ month/ square meters
Distinctive Parks and Zones in Wujiang Economic Development Zone
1).Wujiang Export Processing Zone
2).Processing Trade Networking Supervision District
3). Japanese-Invested Industrial Park
4).Korea-Invested Industrial Park
5).Germany-Invested Industrial Park
Pillar Industries:
1). Electronics Information
2). Micro-electronics Technology
3).Machinery Manufacture
4).Automobile Parts
5).type Material
6).logical Engineering Technology
