China Transport & Tourism Monthly Recap

August 15 – Profits from China's civil aviation industry grew 10% year on year to ¥6 billion in July as fuel prices dipped 12% during the month, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said. The amount almost trebled the ¥2.15 billion profit recorded the month before. Passenger and cargo traffic totaled 29.95 million people and 437,500 tons in July, up 9.6% and down 3.4% respectively from a year ago.

August 3 – Cargo traffic at Chinese ports totaled 10.04 billion tons and shipping container traffic totaled 164 million TEUs in 2011, up 12.4% and 12% respectively from the year before, according to the Ministry of Transportation. Eight Chinese port cities were listed the world's top 20.

July 30 – China's Ministry of Railways said it will issue ¥27 billion worth of bonds on July 31 to finance the construction of more than 40 projects. ¥22 billion of the debts will mature 10 years from now and the remaining ¥5 billion will mature in 15 years. The ministry also raised the target for this year's infrastructure investment by ¥64 billion to ¥470 billion in order to spur economy growth. Total fixed asset investment in China's massive rail network will amount to ¥580 billion, up from the original ¥516 billion.

July 26 – More than 130 of China's 180 airports reported losses and all 180 airports reported a combined profit of just ¥4.6 billion last year, according to Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Li said the government plans to build 82 new airports and expand existing ones to supplement each other for synergy and economies of scale, in response to foreign reports that questioned the need to build unnecessary airports.

July 23 – Major companies in the logistics industry saw their revenues and costs grow 14.1% and 14.3% year on year respectively in the first five months. The logistics industry's output expanded 10.3% year on year to ¥1.6 trillion, representing 7.2% of gross domestic product and 16.6% of the service sector.

July 20 – China will deregulate its aviation market by supporting the development of budget airlines, said Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Chinese carriers were urged to lower fees to make air services more affordable. Separately, the National Development and Reform Commission said it is working on rules about opening the nation's low-latitude skies to private aircraft owners.

July 17 – Five Chinese hotels have received a total of $288 million in investments so far this year, according to ChinaVenture. That amount is set to exceed the $311 million seen in 2007, the highest annual amount seen over the past decade.

July 17 – Investment in China's railway infrastructure will likely double in 2H 2012 from the previous six months as part of government efforts to revive a sputtering economy, the second biggest in the world, according to the Ministry of Railways. Railway infrastructure investment fell 36.1% year on year to ¥177.75 billion in 1H 2012.

July 16 – China's civil aviation industry reported over ¥2 billion in gross profits in June, up 10% from a year earlier due to a rebound in demand for air services and continuous falling fuel prices, according to a source from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The aviation industry posted ¥1.37 billion in the red last month in the wake of a depreciating Chinese currency and lackluster demand. Air passenger and cargo traffic totaled 25.3 million people and 429,000 tons in June, up 8.8% and down 41.5% respectively from a year earlier, according to the insider.

July 16 – More than 38.5 million mainlanders traveled overseas in 1H 2012, up 19.8% from the same period a year ago, according to figures from the Ministry of Public Security, which oversees outbound tourists. The top five destinations were Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. The top five sources of incoming foreign tourists, which were up 4.6% year on year in number, were South Korea, Japan, the US, Russia and Malaysia.

$1 = ¥6.35