BizChina

Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc. (OTCBB:WITM) (the "Company") reports that its joint venture with London Mining Plc, China Global Mining Resources (CGMR), is in the process of completing the next phase of required funding for acquisition and development for its iron ore business in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In a mid-summer issue of Shukan Economist, a Japanese business weekly, Japan-made products on the Chinese Taobao e-commerce rankings were listed like a snapshot, giving revealing insights of Chinese consumer desires, suspicions and behavior patterns.

As the powerful Chinese economy created disposable income for larger numbers of Chinese consumers, interest in imported goods purchased online skyrocketed, especially Japanese products known for quality and workmanship. On e-commerce sites like Taobao, part of the giant Alibaba Internet B2B/B2C empire, “top ten” products are usually cheap and small in size, so the consumer benefits are easy to understand.

In order to understand the future trajectory of China’s domestic consumer market, it’s important to gain an understanding of the historical context of consumerism in China. Karl Gerth is a professor at the University of Oxford who teaches modern Chinese history with an emphasis on consumer culture. He brings a truly unique perspective combining both a deep understanding of contemporary Chinese modern history with actionable business insight for the present day and beyond.

Investors and traders in China’s main financial district in Shanghai are talking about the following before the start of trade today:

*The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a third day yesterday, losing 0.6%. U.S. losses were led in part by IT-related companies such as Cisco, and Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. The continuing decline in U.S. shares may add to worries that slowing global economic growth will harm China’s economy and corporate profits.

*The U.S. dollar closed at a one-and-a-half-month high against China’s currency yesterday. A rising dollar may weigh on shares in China. One concern: a serious global downturn could lead investors to seek a safe haven in the U.S. dollar and U.S. assets and reduce holdings in Chinese assets.

*China Mobile and Xinhua News Agency will work together to set up an Internet search engine, creating a competitor in China to Baidu and Google. Baidu, whose shares trade on the Nasdaq, declined by 1.9% in the U.S. in overnight trading. China Mobile’s U.S.-traded depositary shares gained 2.7%.

*China United Network Communications and unlisted Huawei Technologies are working together to develop 3G telecommunications products for the automobile industry.

*Lipper said Thursday that China’s mutual funds had positive returns in July. Stock funds led the way, gaining an average of 9.2%. The best-performing stock fund was the Everbright Pramerica’s small and medium sized company fund.

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