Jack Ma tops latest rich list

Jack Ma (R), board chairman of Alibaba Group, waves as he arrives at the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 19, 2014. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma Yun has supplanted property tycoon Wang Jianlin at the top of the Hurun China Rich List 2014 released on Tuesday, after the e-commerce giant completed the world's largest-ever IPO with its listing on US stock markets.
A 38 percent rise in Alibaba's stock on the first day of trading rocketed Ma and his family into the No.1 position with a fortune of 150 billion yuan ($24.3 billion), five times larger than in 2013.
Wanda Group's Wang, who was crowned the richest man in China last year, fell to second with a net worth of 145 billion yuan, a 7 percent rise over a year earlier.
China's economic slowdown has not hindered its super-rich's accumulation of wealth. There are 1,271 entrepreneurs on this year's list, up from 1,017 on last year's list, although the barrier to entry remains unchanged at 2 billion yuan.
Some 819 members on the list have seen their wealth grow in the past year, compared with 674 last year, mainly due to a boom in Chinese equities and the Chinese government allowing new stock listings after a one-year hiatus, according to the Hurun Report, the organization that compiled the list.
"It has been an amazing year for China's best tycoons despite the jitters about the Chinese economy," Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, told a media briefing in Beijing.
Five new faces have appeared in the Top 10 of this year's list, including Alibaba's Ma, online retailer JD.com's CEO Liu Qiangdong and smartphone maker Xiaomi Technology's CEO Lei Jun. They have replaced real estate tycoons such as Evergrande Group's Xu Jiayin and Country Garden's Yang Huiyan.
"The list vividly reflects that China's industrial structural adjustment and Chinese authorities' efforts to stimulate the vitality of the private economy have worked," said Wang Zhongming, secretary-general of the Chinese Research Institute on Non-State-Owned/Private Economy.
The IT industry has seen the biggest boom, with half of the list's top 10 working in the sector. Entrepreneurs from the manufacturing and real estate sectors, although still making up almost half of the 1,271-strong list, have lost momentum, with their fortunes either growing more slowly or shrinking.
"Property developers used to easily gain exorbitant profits amid the booming property market, but slowing property sales and weakening market sentiment have now squeezed their profits," Yan Yuejin, a researcher with the E-House Real Estate Institute, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
China's super-rich are also seeking political status to go with their wealth. A total of 174 entrepreneurs on the list have political appointments, 14 more than last year. Among the Top 50, 40 percent have senior political appointments, higher than any other country and a "very Chinese characteristic," Hoogewerf told the Global Times.
"The richer they are, the more likely they have a senior political appointment, such as a deputy to the National People's Congress or a member of the [National Committee] of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee, partly due to their contributions to job creation and tax bases," Hoogewerf said.
"We also found a growing number of China's fuerdai (second-generation rich) holding positions in local people's congress or political consultative committees," he added.
However, some super-rich have been stripped of political appointments or been placed under investigation amid China's anti-corruption campaign. According to the Hurun Report, 18 entrepreneurs from last year's list are in varying degrees of trouble with the authorities. Eleven of those 18 still made this year's list.
"China's anti-corruption campaign has sent a clear signal that those who made their fortunes through monopoly, corruption or stealing State assets will be punished, which is encouraging entrepreneurs to get rich in a more transparent fashion," Wang told the Global Times.
Fang Wei, ranked 74th on this year's list with a fortune of 15.5 billion yuan and chairman of steel maker Fangda Group, was dismissed from his post as deputy to the 12th National People's Congress, the Xinhua News Agency reported on June 27, without specifying a reason.
Huang Hongming, a property tycoon on this year's list, was placed in criminal detention in November 2013 due to alleged bribery of a former official in Jieyang, a city in South China's Guangdong Province, according to the provincial procuratorate.
The Hurun Rich List is calculated using public information issued by listed companies. For non-listed companies, the valuation is based on a comparison with their listed equivalents using prevailing industry price/earnings ratios.
However, its accuracy and authority has been challenged, due to the fact that its publishing organization receives sponsorship from individual companies, as well as its sharp divergence from a similar ranking released by Forbes magazine.

“Mansion of One Night Stand” spotted opposite university in C China

A building accommodating over ten hotels was spotted opposite the gate of a university in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province. It is reported that the business in all the hotels here are booming. With numerous shop signs of different hotels, the building was dubbed “Mansion of One Night Stand”(开房大厦) by Internet users.

A building accommodating over ten hotels was spotted opposite the gate of a university in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province. It is reported that the business in all the hotels here are booming. With numerous shop signs of different hotels, the building was dubbed “Mansion of One Night Stand”(开房大厦) by Internet users.

A building accommodating over ten hotels was spotted opposite the gate of a university in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province. It is reported that the business in all the hotels here are booming. With numerous shop signs of different hotels, the building was dubbed “Mansion of One Night Stand”(开房大厦) by Internet users.

A building accommodating over ten hotels was spotted opposite the gate of a university in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province. It is reported that the business in all the hotels here are booming. With numerous shop signs of different hotels, the building was dubbed “Mansion of One Night Stand”(开房大厦) by Internet users.

Interview: SCO important instrument for stability, development: Chinese ambassador to Russia

MOSCOW, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The 13-year-old Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has become an efficient and constructive regional mechanism to maintain stability and promote development of its member countries, said Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui.
Political trust and friendship among SCO member states are steadily reinforced by the all-around cooperation in such areas as security, trade and culture, Li said in a recent joint interview with Moscow-based Chinese reporters.
The SCO has become more and more actively involved in regional and international affairs and its international status and influence has risen, he said.
Li said the organization is further consolidated by the latest consensus on the legal documents about SCO expansion. At a foreign ministers' meeting in July, two draft documents were passed in principle and will be submitted for approval at the SCO summit on Thursday and Friday. If approved, the two documents will mark the completion of the legal framework for SCO expansion.
Founded in Shanghai in 2001, the SCO groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It also embraces Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan as observers, and Belarus, Turkey and Sri Lanka as dialogue partners.
The ambassador praised the SCO for its open-door policy and inclusiveness, which, he said, are important to attract more countries.
Li called for closer bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fight against the "three evil forces" of separatism, terrorism and extremism, transnational organized crime, cybercrime and drugs, as the region is facing a more complicated security situation.
Anti-terrorism has always been and will be a top priority of the SCO, the ambassador said. The "Peace Mission 2014" joint military drill, which ran successfully at the end of August, was the fifth multinational drill within the SCO framework to enhance defense and security cooperation.
Li noted that all SCO members should play an active role in strengthening the cooperative mechanism of law enforcement and security, enriching functions of SCO permanent organs, as well as promoting the establishment of a center for comprehensive response to security threats and challenges.
The Silk Road Economic Belt, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia in September 2013, has been hailed by countries in the region. Li called on all SCO member countries to promote the "Silk Road Spirit" -- peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit.
The ambassador also hoped that the China-Russia comprehensive and strategic partnership of coordination would further advance despite challenges brought by the ever-changing international political and economic situations.
The bilateral relationship should become a model of peaceful coexistence of countries, Li said.
China is willing to further communicate and coordinate with Russia and Central Asian countries on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt for win-win results, he added.

Fresh sanctions will freeze big foreign oil projects in Russia

Fresh U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Moscow will bring an abrupt halt to exploration of Russia's huge Arctic and shale oil reserves and complicate financing of existing Russian projects from the Caspian Sea to Iraq and Ghana.
On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegas and Rosneft, banning Western firms from supporting their activities in exploration or production from deep water, Arctic offshore or shale projects.
The new measures, designed to put further pressure on President Vladimir Putin over Russia's actions in Ukraine, are a major broadening of the previous sanctions, which only banned the export of high technology oil equipment into Russia.
Projects now in jeopardy include a landmark drilling programme by U.S. giant Exxon Mobil in the Russian Arctic that started in August as part of a joint venture with the Kremlin's oil champion Rosneft.
Now this and dozens of other projects that Rosneft and Gazprom Neft agreed with Exxon, Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, Norway's Statoil and Italian ENI will have to be put on hold.
"Cutting off U.S. and E.U. sources of technology and services and goods for those projects makes it impossible, or at least extraordinarily difficult for these projects to continue...There are not ready substitutes elsewhere," a senior U.S. administration official told a briefing on Friday.
The companies will have 14 days to wind-down activities.
"There is no contract sanctity," the U.S. official said.
Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, is counting on its Arctic and "tight" shale oil reserves to sustain production at around 10.5 million barrels per day, amid declining output at old West Siberian fields.
Valery Nesterov from Russian state bank Sberbank, which was also sanctioned by the EU and the United States, foresaw serious complications.
"What is really worrying are sanctions on tight oil. Russian companies haven't invested enough in research and technology. They were heavily relying on Western technologies and now it is simply too late," he said.
BIGGER THAN SAUDI ARABIA
Key among Russian tight oil reserves are the Bazhenov formations, which are located beneath existing mature west Siberian fields.
They are estimated to contain as much as a trillion barrels of oil - four times the reserves of Saudi Arabia.
Rosneft and Gazprom Neft are working on Bazhenov with Exxon and Shell.
"When we learnt about the first sanctions we decided to speed up work on all fronts to minimise the damage to the company," said a Rosneft source.
Rosneft's chief Igor Sechin, a close ally of Putin, said earlier this month the company had approved a programme to replace all Western technology in the medium-term.
Spokesman Mikhail Leontiyev said Rosneft's lawyers were studying the sanctions and their implications for joint Arctic drilling with Exxon.
Rosneft has a total of 44 offshore deposits in the Arctic and the Black Sea, with estimated reserves of 300 billion barrels. It had planned to develop them with Exxon, ENI and Statoil.
A Lukoil source said the new sanctions were a shock.
"We were really not expecting to end up on the sanctions list," said a source at Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company.
NO CREDIT
Lukoil is the most active Russian company overseas and has assets ranging from deep-water projects off Ghana to shallow-water Caspian Sea activities and giant onshore operations in Iraq. It was planning to drill for tight oil in Siberia with French oil major Total.
U.S. administration officials said on Friday the new measures were designed in such a way as to avoid affecting conventional production or foreign projects by Russian companies.
"Lukoil's operations in the U.S., like for instance their filling stations, should not be affected," the senior U.S. official said.
However, bankers and traders working with Lukoil said the sanctions will further complicate the company's ability to raise funds, including for its foreign projects like deep-water Ghana.
Lukoil was the last Russian oil firm to raise a big Western loan - $1.5 billion including money from U.S. banks - but since July, when Western sanctions were expanded, all lending to Russian energy companies stopped.
"Once you are on the sanctions list, lending becomes close to impossible," said a senior oil trader at a Western trading house, who works with Russian oil firms.
U.S. administration officials said on Friday the new sanctions will further hit the Russian economy on the brink of recession and facing a 13-percent weakening of the rouble and $100 billion (61.5 billion pounds) in capital outflows so far this year.
If the energy companies turn to the central bank for financing, that will only draw down on the state's resources, the U.S. officials said.
Vitaly Kruykov, director of Russian think-tank Small Lettres, said Russia - with forex reserves of $460 billion - had enough internal resources to last a maximum of two years under current sanctions.
"Then Russia will have to go to Asia for financing but God knows what the cost of borrowing will be there. Asian lenders will quickly raise rates," said Kruykov.

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Middle East has two new leaders

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
　　The Middle East has two new leaders, in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The new president of Iran is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The conservative former mayor of Tehran will be fifty years old next year. Iranians elected him in June by a wide majority. On Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed him in office.
　　Mister Ahmadinejad said he will serve the nation honestly and work to help poor people. And he called for an end to the threat from chemical and biological weapons in the hands of major world powers.
　　The United States and the European Union want Iran to permanently halt nuclear work that could be used for bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful use for energy.
　　Mister Ahmadinejad has said that relations with the United States will not cure Iran's problems. The new president is seen as likely to seek new ties with nations such as China, India and South Korea.
　　Iran is the second largest producer in OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The largest is Saudi Arabia.
　　There, Crown Prince Abdullah on Monday became the sixth king since 1932. That followed the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.
　　Abdullah had led the daily operations of the government since 1995, when King Fahd suffered a stroke. The new king is not expected to make any big changes in foreign policy.
　　President Bush says the United States looks forward to continuing what he called the "close partnership" with Saudi Arabia.
　　But tensions have grown since the attacks on America on September eleventh, 2001. Fifteen of the nineteen al-Qaida hijackers were Saudi. Two years ago, Abdullah ordered action against Islamic militants after attacks inside Saudi Arabia.
　　There has also been tension over Saudi support for religious schools that teach what critics consider an extreme form of Islam.
　　There are demands within Saudi Arabia for democratic reform. Earlier this year, Abdullah called for limited direct elections for local councils. Some people think he may call for an elected national assembly and permit women to vote.
　　For several years, low oil prices and heavy spending led to Saudi budget deficits. With oil prices are high, there is more money to deal with economic problems. The unemployment rate was unofficially estimated last year at twenty-five percent.
　　The new king has already chosen his half-brother Prince Sultan as crown prince. Abdullah is in his early eighties; the future king is close to eighty. But some diplomats say the next change in power in the royal family might not happen as smoothly as the one this week.
　　Also this week, there were deadly riots in Khartoum following the death of Sudanese Vice President John Garang in a helicopter crash. He was a former rebel leader in the south. In January he signed a peace agreement with the government after a long civil war.
　　IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

Visa & passport

All foreigners need an entry visa. If part of a group, the tour operator will often obtain your visa for you; group visas will usually be issued for groups with at least 10 members, and the guide accompanying your group will keep the visas. Individual travellers can apply at any Chinese embassy. The procedure is usually straightfor ward and takes about a week.
　　If your visa runs out while in China, it can be extended by the local Public Security Bureau, the police. However, make sure you visit them before it expires, because you will be fined for overstaying your visa.
　　A valid passport is required to enter China. China does not allow entrance if the holder's passport expires in under six months; returning home with an expired passport is illegal, and may result in a fine.
　　It is a good idea to photocopy the page of your passport that contains your photograph, passport number, and other identifying information, along with other important documents such as visas, travel insurance policies, aeroplane tickets, and traveller's check serial numbers, in case you lose anything. Originals are usually preferred to photocopies. However, copies are certainly better than nothing and will often do in a pinch.
　　Information for Chinese Visa Application
　　1. For tourist "L" visas, a letter of confirmation of the tour arrangement made by a travel agency in China or letter of reservation of hotel in Chin is required.
　　2. For group tourist visas, A group comprising at least 5 members; a confirmation letter from a provincial tourist bureau or a government-authorized Chinese travel agency; a name list of the whole group in triplicate and one photo copy of the information page of each passport.
　　3. For visitor / business "F" visa, an official invitation letter with a seal and code from a Chinese Ministry or a provincial government or government-authorized Chinese companies (institutions) is required.
　　4. For work "Z" visa (single entry, no multiple), an employment license or a work permit or an official visa notice from authorized Chinese organizations is required.
　　5. For student "X"/"F" visa (single entry, no multiple), Form JW202 or JW 201 issued by the State Education Commission of China and notice of admission from the receiving university are required. An "X" visa is issued for those who study in China over 6 months and "F" visa for those who study in China less than 6 months.
　　6. When you apply for "Z" and "X" visa, you should provide a "physical examination Record for Foreigner" which can be picked up from the Chinese embassies or Consulate General.
　　7. For multiple entry visitor/business visas (6 months or one year), an invitation letter from government-authorized Chinese organizations is required.
　　8. For transit "G" visa, it is requested to provide a valid visa to or from the next country of destination or a letter of invitation of the visiting country or an air ticket.
　　9. For travel to Tibet, please contact your local travel agency to obtain approval from the Tourist Bureau of Tibet before applying for visa. (Tibet Tourist Bureau, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Telephone: (86-891 633 4313 Facsimile: 86-891-633 4632.)
　　10. Please be sure that your passport should be valid over 6 months with blank visa pages. To applying for multiple entries visas, the validity of the passport must be longer enough. Suggested time to apply for visa is one month before your departure (to avoid expiration of the visa).
　　11 You should provide your original passport, a complete visa application from and one recent passport-size (2x2) photo (full face and without hat).
　　12. For Canadian passport holder, $50 (Canadian Dollars) is charged for a single entry/transit visa, $100 for double entries/transits visa, $150 for 1-6 months multiple entries business visa and $300 for one year multiple entries business visa.
　　13. Seven days are needed for regular processing. An additional $40 rush fee per person is charged for one day service (If you deliver your application before 10:30 am, then you can get your passport between 12:00-13:00), an additional $30 per person for two days service and an additional $20 per person for three days service.
　　14. The applicants can apply by mail or courier, you are requested to provide a self-addressed return envelop with sufficient stamps for registered, double registered or express-post (Do not use meter stamps). If you need to return your passport promptly, please prepare a self-addressed and pre-paid envelop of a courier such as Priority Courier or Federal Express. Except the cost of post and courier, additional $2.00 handling fee per person should be provided.
　　15. The Chinese Embassies and Consulate General will not be responsible for any mishandling by post office or courier.
　　16. Personal checks are not acceptable. Money order or company check should be made to the order of the Embassy or Consulate General of the People's republic of China. Cash is accepted when you come to the visa office in person.
　　17. Persons suffering from mental disorder, leprosy, AIDS, venereal disease, contagious tuberculosis or other infectious diseases shall not be allowed to enter China.
　　18. The Chinese Embassies or Consulate Generals reserves the right to refuse any application and withhold disclosure of the reason. All regulation and cost are subject to change without notice. If you have any question, please write or send fax to the Chinese consulate general or embassy in the area you live.
　　Z-type Visa
　　* Z-type visa is granted to foreigner with permission to work in China .
　　* Z-type visa holder should, within 30 days after the entry, apply for the foreigner residence certificate or the provisional foreigner residence certificate.
　　*Z-type visa could be signed valid for twice or multiple entries.
　　* The certificate for invitation or employment from a Chinese employer, or the letter or telex of visa notification sent by the authorized unit is needed when applying for Z-type visa.
　　* Foreigner applying for more-than-one-year residence in China should submit a health certificate issued by the medical and health department designated by the government