Commentary

Coface conducted a corporate credit risk management survey in China, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Over 1000 companies in mainland China participated in the survey. It reveals that great improvement in both credit sales and overdue payment among mainland China companies has been observed in industries such as building & construction, textile and clothing, automotive/transportation and household electric/electronics, which is largely due to the government’s stimulus package after over 1 year’s implementation. But this might not necessarily be good news for Singaporean companies intending to extend their businesses to mainland China. The survey also revealed enterprise’ concern on 2011 economic outlook. Thanks to the high cost of raw material, industries such as building and construction, textile and clothing might face difficulties in the coming year. In the meanwhile, on the threshold of a new Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government will implement a new stimulus package, subsequently lead to a shift of the preferential policies among different industries, making the investment landscape in China a different story. The 12th Five-Year Plan will be implemented in 2011. More than 4 trillion Yuan will be spent in the coming five-year period to provide financial support, including tax cuts and exemptions, to nine key industries - new energy, new materials, information technology, biology and new medicine, energy conservation and environmental protection, aerospace, marine, advanced manufacturing, and hi-tech services industries. The government aims to shift China from “the global factory” to “the global market”. Therefore, the new plan accents on creativity and advanced technology, to help Chinese companies depend less on foreign technology. Companies with a focus on advanced technology rather than the traditional outsourcing manufacturing model will enjoy more benefits from the new Five-Year Plan.