Tax rebate adjustment

The government is likely to reduce tax rebates on exports of high-polluting, energy-consuming and resource-intensive products by an average 2 percentage points in a bid to protect natural resources and steer the country away from low value-added exports.

The tax rebate adjustment policy has been fixed and is likely to be announced within one month, the Guangzhou-based Information Times reported last week, citing an unidentified source. The adjustment will involve the textile, steel, metallurgy, machinery and light industries.

The export tax rebate rate for garments will be reduced from 13 per cent to 11 per cent, and the rate for steel will be lowered to 8 per cent from the current 11 per cent, the newspaper says.

GDP could slow

The country's economy is likely to slow down slightly during the rest of the year, the World Bank said last week, pointing to the central government's moves to rein in growth.

Gross domestic product (GDP) may grow 10.4 per cent for the whole of 2006 as recent macroeconomic control measures are likely to slow down the sizzling economy to under 10 per cent in the second half of the year, the bank says in its latest quarterly report.

The economy grew at a decade-high 11.3 per cent in the second quarter, the fastest since 1996, raising fears among economists that the economy is overheating and prompting the government to take a slew of macro control measures. GDP expanded by 10.9 per cent in the first half.

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