Int’l firms adapt to China’s changing retail landscape – and more of Today’s China Real Estate Links | June 3, 2013

Here is a list of the day’s latest China real estate news collected from around the web:

• Int’l firms adapt to China’s changing retail landscape
  

  Foreign retailers in China are changing their strategy in the nation amid fierce competition, rising costs and consumers’ changing demand, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said on Thursday.

  Both foreign retailers and their local counterparts are facing heated competition as China’s retail market keeps expanding. The recent closures and mergers among foreign retailers, especially in the home appliance and building materials retail sectors, are the result of “normal” competition, Shen told a news briefing.

• China May Inflation Forecast at Around 2.5 Per Cent

  China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is likely to grow 2.5 per cent in May from a year earlier, slightly up from the 2.4 per cent recorded in April, the Bank of Communications (BOC) has forecast.

  The official CPI for May is due to be released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on 9 June.

  The BOC expects the CPI, a main gauge of inflation, to rise at 2.5 per cent for the second quarter year on year, and inflation to be mild throughout the year.

• China official manufacturing PMI rises to 50.8 in May

  China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in May from 50.6 in April, an official survey showed on Saturday, indicating a slight pick-up in China’s manufacturing activity.

  The PMI reading, published by the National Bureau of Statistics, was stronger than market expectations of 50.1 in a Reuters poll.

  A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity while a reading below that level points to a contraction.

  A sub-index measuring new orders inched up to 51.8 in May from 51.7 in April, indicating stronger demand for Chinese goods.

• Pilot reform to improve data credibility
  

  Revamped system to make data on fixed-asset investment more accurate

  The central government’s fixed-asset investment reform trial in four regions across the nation will greatly improve the credibility of the nation’s economic indictors, an expert said on Friday.

  “Fixed-asset investment plays a key role in driving China’s economic growth, so working on the pilot reform of fixed-asset investment and ensuring accuracy of the data is significant for improving our country’s ability to exercise macro control,” said Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics, at a meeting in Xi’an, Shaanxi province.

This list is updated daily, so tune in again tomorrow for more up to date information.