BizChina

Global pharmaceutical sales may rise 5 to 7 percent next year to $880 billion on soaring demand in developing nations led by China as it becomes the world's third-largest drug market, according to IMS Health Inc.

The 2011 projection compares with this year's 4 to 5 percent growth in drug sales to $840 billion, the research company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, said in a report released on Oct 7. Emerging markets including China and India are expected to expand by as much as 17 percent to $180 billion while growth in the United States market slows.

The world's largest market, the US, is growing at a historically low rate of 3 to 4 percent as patents expire on top-selling medicines and cheaper generic versions become available to consumers, said Murray Aitken, senior vice-president of IMS, in a telephone interview on Oct 6.

Drugs with sales of more than $30 billion are expected to lose patent protection next year, according to IMS.

China's short-term foreign debt jumped 24 percent in the March-June quarter, possibly indicating speculative money inflows in anticipation of a stronger yuan.

The rise, to $343.8 billion, might also be a reflection of lower dollar borrowing costs, according to analysts.

Short-term foreign debt made up 66.9 percent of China's total debt, up from 62.3 percent at the end of March, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Saturday.

In April, the regulator cut the short-term foreign debt quota for 2010 to prevent "abnormal" capital inflows.

During the past 12 years, Chinese scientists have discovered more than 900 locations containing mineral deposits which are estimated to hold 5 billion tons of iron ore, as well as a vast array of other resources, the country's geological authorities said Saturday.

The large number of discoveries, including newly found reserves of iron and copper ores, coal, gas, and other types of raw minerals, came after a major geological mapping was launched in 1999, officials with the China Geological Survey (CGS) said at a press conference held in Beijing Saturday.

The CGS is a government-owned non-profit entity directly under the Ministry of Land and Resources.

After an unexpectedly long sojourn in China, I returned to Silicon Valley for a week. It caused me to reflect on the different business cultures of my two homes; those differences collectively explain much about the continued dynamism of China's economy.

When visiting the U.S., I am always asking myself "where are all the people?" San Francisco downtown feels empty. I went to my bank, amazed to not see a long line of people getting waiting list numbers. I went to a FedEx ( FDX - news - people ) store, amazed to not see a long line of people getting waiting list numbers. I went to the doctor, amazed to not see a long line of people getting waiting list numbers. Medical care demonstrated how the U.S. and China have completely different cost structures. Dental cleaning in the U.S.: $289. Dental cleaning in China: $13. MRI in the U.S.: $855. MRI in China: $11, using a nearly identical machine.