(Yicai Global) April 22 -- Hohhot, capital of China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region  will allow fresh and recent graduates to buy houses at half the original  price if they meet certain conditions. Taxes and fees relevant to the  transactions will be borne by constructors and purchasers, respectively,  and such houses are unable to be sold on for five years. The lowest  proportion of the downpayment contribution can be 20 percent if made via  mortgages or housing provident funds.

China's farm produce markets operated normally in the first  quarter, according to Tang Ke, head of the market and informatization  department of the agricultural ministry. Food prices are basically  stable and those of vegetables rose before the Chinese Spring Festival  holiday due to seasonal factors. They have remained high and volatile  since while pork prices have started to climb. 

Nationwide  pork prices had been volatile and fell since the outbreak of African  Swine Fever last August, a trend which continued until February. The  nationwide average wholesale price rose 6.3 percent monthly to CNY19.48  (USD2.9) per kilogram in March, 2.1 percentage points higher than that  of last August and 7.6 percentage points higher annually. The annual  growth rate for pork price in the second half may be more than 70  percent and hit a historic high, according to experts' projections.

China's economic growth calls for more foreign investment,  Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory  Commission, said on April 20. The financial market should also form  relationships for better mutual trust with overseas investors as well as  provide better access for foreign investment to boost China's economy.

As of April 19, some 1,949 companies listed on China's A-share  market have posted their annual results. Some 661 revealed slowing net  profits expansion while 108 made losses for last year. Some 38 of those  108 suffered goodwill impairments totaling CNY13.9 billion (USD2.1  billion). The value of goodwill impairments for Guangdong-based Dongfang  Precision was CNY3.9 billion last year, ranking first for now. 

Five more firms received the go-ahead to list on the Shanghai  tech board on  April 19, bringing the total to 89 while there are 66  under review. 11 of the 84 applicants boast a gross margin of over 80  percent for last year, and 11 are from the biomedicine and information  technology sectors. The gross margin of most applicants was between 20  percent and 50 percent. Suzhou-based Hejian Technology is the only one  with a negative gross margin at -37.4 percent.

China will bring in a penalty for firms producing and selling  counterfeit drugs between 15 times and 30 times the value of the  products illegally made and sold, according to a draft submitted to the  National People's Congress on April 20 for review. The fine will be  between CNY5 million (USD745, 679) and CNY30 million if the value of  goods is between CNY500,000 and CNY1 million.

Editor: Liao Shumin, William Clegg