Pilot program aims to attract more foreigners

China's latest pilot program to improve its business climate entails more measures to attract foreign investment and talent, including streamlining job certification, more efficient mechanisms to settle legal disputes and making it easier to enroll children in school.
The program, rolled out in a policy document issued by the State Council last month, outlined a host of measures to upgrade business-related administrative services in six cities — Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, as well as Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, and Guangdong province's Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The six cities will offer diversified, efficient and convenient services to foreign businesses looking to settle disputes, including measures to develop centers that provide one-stop services.

Dispute resolution organizations and arbitration bodies will be encouraged to hire foreign mediators and arbitrators as part of the program.
The six cities will also explore ways to set standards for the certification of top-notch talent, especially those that are severely lacking nationwide. Local authorities will also pilot the establishment of a mechanism that allows expats to practice certain professions on the condition that they have already obtained the relevant qualifications or certificates overseas or from universally recognized international organizations.

The government will consider establishing an evaluation system for talent that is in line with international rules, the policy document said.

It added that the level of service from the international versions of government web portals will be upgraded to help expats better understand investment opportunities, employment and other policies.
Under the program, the government will widen market access for operators of schools for foreign children and allow domestic businesses and Chinese citizens to open schools for them.
Authorities will also increase administrative approval for procedures concerning expats as part of one-stop online services, the document said.

Tencent is giving away $16 billion of its stake in JD.com

Tencent Holdings Ltd. plans to distribute more than $16 billion of JD.com Inc. shares as a one-time dividend.
The payout stirred speculation that Tencent may be preparing to pare its holdings in a plethora of companies, including some of China’s biggest tech names, as it pivots to focus on overseas growth and new arenas such as the metaverse. JD is just one of several Tencent-backed firms -- including Pinduoduo Inc., ride-sharing giant Didi Global Inc. and food delivery giant Meituan -- that have come to dominate their respective spheres, thanks in part to the enormous traffic generated by WeChat’s billion-plus users.

Tencent surged 4.2%, while shares of JD dropped 7% as of the Thursday close in Hong Kong. Still, the sizable JD stock sale may prove to be a one-off move for Tencent, which has been struggling to reassure its shareholders after a turbulent year. A person familiar with Tencent’s management said they have evaluated its portfolio and have no intention of paring down or exiting other investments -- such as Meituan and Kuaishou Technology -- in the coming months. Meituan closed 1.7% lower, paring early losses, while those of Kuaishou and fellow Tencent investee Bilibili Inc. ended near their lows for the day.

腾讯转让京东千亿股份，刘强东重回第一股东！
腾讯发布公告，宣布以中期派息方式，将所持有约4.6亿股京东股权发放给股东。本次派息后，腾讯对京东持股比例将由17%降至2.3%。
同时，京东集团也发布公告称，腾讯目前间接持有本公司已发行股份约17.0%，宣布将向其股东分配其持有的京东集团约4.6亿股A类普通股。
说白了，就是腾讯要把持有的京东股票，发给腾讯的股东。对于这番变动，外界纷纷解读为腾讯“变相减持”。而这轮操作过后，腾讯和京东之间的关系，也将发生一些重大变化。
其一，腾讯不再是京东第一大股东。
其二 ，腾讯总裁刘炽平卸任京东董事。

South Korea pardons disgraced former President Park Geun-hye

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in granted a pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who is in prison after being convicted of corruption, the justice ministry said on Friday, amid a tight presidential race.
Park, 69, became South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office when the Constitutional Court upheld a parliament vote in 2017 to impeach her over a scandal that also landed the heads of two conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, in jail.
She was brought down after being found guilty of colluding with a confidante to receive tens of billions of won to help her family and fund nonprofit foundations she owned.
In January, South Korea’s top court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Park on the graft charges that finalized her downfall, bringing an end to the legal process and for the first time raising the possibility of a pardon.
But Park’s predecessor Lee Myung-bak, who is also imprisoned on corruption charges, was not pardoned.
韩国前总统朴槿惠获特别赦免 已被连续关押1730天
韩媒24日报道，韩国法务部当天宣布，为促进国民团结，前总统朴槿惠获得特别赦免，将于12月31日出狱。

更多精彩，请访问我们的网站www.businesstianjin.com或关注我们的微信公众号：business_tianjin

2021 LATEST EDITIONS

2021 LATEST EDITIONS

Editor's Picks