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Category: Ningbo Business
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Published: Tuesday, 03 July 2012 10:00
Statistics show, Ningbo companies have exported 9,210 batches of Ningbo-made products to Africa over the first five months. The trading volume reaches 430 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent and 26 percent respectively.
Given the huge African market potential, it is significant for Chinese companies to transform and upgrade themselves and take diversified strategy to seize the opportunity. In the first five months in 2012, 1,778 Ningbo companies sold their products to Africa, including tea, air conditioning, canned foods, wire and cable, textiles, and small home appliances. As the stable African countries usually show higher purchasing power, South Africa becomes the top importer, with a trading volume of 91 million USD. Next to South Africa are Egypt and Algeria, with a trading volume of 59,850,000 USD and 40,910,000 USD respectively.
Ningbo companies are showing increasing confidence in the African market. Currently, Ningbo has established trade relations with 50 countries and regions out of the 54 African countries. In Ningbo, Cixi outnumbers the other districts and counties with a trading volume of 150 million US dollars, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year. Yinzhou District and Yuyao follows Cixi, with a trading volume of 92.7 million USD, 8650 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 90 percent and 85 percent respectively.
The biggest impact on Ningbo's exportation to Africa is war. During the first half of 2012, the civil war broken out in Mali has negative effect on the trade of its neighboring countries. Mauritania, a traditional tea distribution center imported tea worth 3.93 million USD from Ningbo, a decline of 52 percent year-on-year. In contrast, Egypt, in the wake of its civil war, has seen a growing export volume, which stood at $ 59,840,000, an increase of 37 percent year-on-year
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Category: Charity Ningbo
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Published: Tuesday, 03 July 2012 09:59
Ningbo Charity Federation (NBCF) held its annual charity day this Tuesday and raised a total of 1.795 million yuan, which includes 240,000 yuan from 83 organizations and 1.555 million yuan from 7,496 personal donors.
The top company donor is Ningbo branch of Zhejiang Tobacco Company which donated 100,000 yuan. Meanwhile, staffs of Bank of Communications donated a total of 99,635 yuan, making the largest group donation. Next to Bank of Communications are staffs of Ningbo Supply and Marketing Cooperative and Ningbo bank of Construction Bank, each donating 72,655.5 yuan and 70,000 yuan respectively.
The portion of individual donations keeps rising. Twenty-seven donors contributed 70,026 yuan, or an average of 2,594 yuan per capita. The figure includes 20,000 yuan from a resident named Ying Yun, and 10,000 yuan from another resident named Wang Jueqing, 10,000 yuan from an anonymous donor, and 5000 yuan from the 94-year-old Hong Zhuqing.
Meanwhile, the title sponsorship of many small charitable founds has attracted people's attention. Twenty-five individuals (households) became title sponsor of charitable foundations by donating 1.08 million yuan. Up till now, NBCF has received 731,000 yuan. Ms. Li, the largest personal donator, set up a foundation named "Sunny Fund" by donating 500,000 yuan. Setting up small charitable foundation is a new program launched by NBCF. Anybody who donates 10,000 yuan or more can create a charitable fund and choose a name for the fund. These funds are used to help needy students, poverty-stricken people, the disabled, and the elders, and in other social welfare undertakings. A donor can choose one type for his or her fund and NBCF will help to set up the fund according to the donor’s wish
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Category: Health News
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Published: Tuesday, 03 July 2012 09:59
Ningbo kicks off a pilot reform in its 24 public hospitals today. The move will prohibit public hospitals from making profit from drug sales.
The pilot program involved 24 government-run hospitals in Ningbo as well as its five sub-cities including Cixi, fenghua, Yuyao, Xiangshan, and Ninghai.
The reform means public hospitals will return to its nature of serving the public rather than making money. Wang Renyuan, director of Municipal Health Bureau, said the involved 24 public hospitals will not be allowed to make profit from drug prescriptions, which means all the drugs, except traditional herbal medicine, are to be sold at government controlled prices. Another measure scheduled for trial is that the hospitals are required to fix a drug catalogue to ensure that the proportion of essential drugs and health care drugs in prescription. This will effectively curb the practice of hospitals' relying on drug sales for income and thus establish a reasonable, effective and optimized medical service system.
It is estimated that the move will cause 20 percent, or 370 million yuan income loss to the public hospitals. The economic losses will be compensated for by a rational increase of medical care service fee, including surgical fees, treatment fees, care fees, consultation fees, examination fees, and ward bed fees. However, the increase rate should be lower than the markups it charges on drugs and should be covered by medical insurance for employees, medical insurance for urban residents and the new rural cooperative medical insurance.
Insiders believe the reform will ease the public complaint of soaring medical bills and stop public hospitals from operating with profits from drug sales. Besides, the adjustment of medical service will better represents the value of physicians' work and help to improve the quality of medical care.