EASTERN SHANDONG PROVINCE SEES 12.6 INCREASE IN CULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTS
East China's Shandong Province saw its cultural products exports grow 12.6 percent year on year to 653 million U.S. dollars in the first seven months of 2010, the province's commerce department said Monday.
The cultural product exports included straw- and wicker-plaited artware, paintings, instruments, books and magazines. They were mainly exported to Europe, north America, Africa and Asian countries.
The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius was born in Shandong.
LIST OF CHINA'S TOP 500 ENTERPRISES RELEASED
A list of China's top 500 enterprises by 2009 revenues was released Saturday by the China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association.
Sixty-three of the businesses had revenues of more than 100 billion yuan (14.7 billion U.S. dollars). Three of the companies had revenues exceeding 1 trillion yuan -- Sinopec Corp., State Grid and PetroChina.
The lingering affects of the global financial crisis triggered a drop in the companies' revenues and headcount in 2009, noted Liao Rong, who led the compilation of the list.
Most of the 500 companies were from traditional industries, with only a small fraction of them belonging to the modern services or high-tech industries, he added.
Chinese companies still lag behind the world's leading enterprises in terms of management, branding and intellectual property, Liao said.
GANSU PROVINCE TO INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE
Northwest China's Gansu Province will raise its minimum wage from Oct. 1, provincial authorities said Saturday.
The wage adjustment is divided into four categories according to local economic development in different regions. The most developed areas of the province will see the minimum monthly wage rise from 620 yuan to 760 yuan, with minimum hourly pay rising to 7.5 yuan from 6.5 yuan.
In the least-developed parts of the province, the minimum monthly salary will increase from 500 yuan to 630 yuan, with minimum hourly pay increasing from 5.2 yuan to 6.6 yuan.
The current minimum salary regulations came into effect on April 3, 2008.