Stock clearing firm to cut stock settlement fees CHINA’S stock clearing agency said Thursday it will cut or waive certain registration and settlement fees to help revive growth in virus-hit areas and reduce cost of capital. China Securities Depository and Clearing Co. said in a statement it will also reduce the minimum provision payment ratio for stock settlement from 18 percent to 16 percent starting in April. The agency said it is responding to Wednesday’s calls by the State Council to aid the real economy. Shanghai’s foreign trade jumps 22% SHANGHAI saw its foreign trade expand 22 percent to a total of 674.5 billion yuan (US$106.3 billion) in the first two months of 2022, according to data from customs authorities. During the period, the city’s exports rose 24.5 percent to about 279.5 billion yuan, while imports went up 20.3 percent to 395 billion yuan. The European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United States were among the largest trading partners of Shanghai from January to February. Hainan to install 20,000 charging piles SOUTH China’s island province of Hainan plans to install 20,000 new charging piles in 2022, as part of its efforts to further promote clean energy vehicles. By the end of this year, all cities, counties and townships in Hainan must be equipped with charging piles and at least 30 percent of townships in a city or a county must have a charging station with five piles, according to a plan issued by the Hainan provincial development and reform commission. The province will accelerate the pace to build infrastructure for electric vehicles by installing more charging piles in rural areas, residential compounds and highway service centers, said the plan. Baosteel flags lower profitability SURGING prices of alloys, nonferrous metals and energy have “significantly” dented the profitability for Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., the top Chinese steelmaker said. Due to carbon and environmental curbs and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the prices of commodities scaled fresh highs and affected profitability, the steelmaker, known as Baosteel, said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing released Wednesday night. The steel giant noticed that the industry is gradually recovering from the low ebb seen in the fourth quarter of 2021, when production and consumption were sluggish. | 