Chinese shoppers are still going strong – retail sales up 16% YoY – but for awhile they weren’t stuffing their carts with as much electronics as they used to. So it’s no surprise that Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd. said net income fell to Rmb964.6 million in the first nine months ended Sept. 30, from Rmb1.59 billion a year earlier. It expects a boost in Q4 as government rebates for electronics spur sales in big cities.<< MORE >>

Looks like China is in the process of drafting some rules/guidelines to prevent redundant investment in LCD panel factories after a rush of announcements in the past few months, according to Xiao Hua, director of the Information Division at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. (MIIT) Problem is, it may be a little late for that, given that at least $10 billion in projects have already been announced.<< MORE >>

So it looks like TCL is going into the LCD panel business, confirming earlier reports about a partnership with the Shenzhen government to build a 8.5G plant for Rmb24.5 billion ($3.6 billion). The offspring will be christened Shenzhen Huaxing Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: Just what the world needs – another LCD panel plant. … Didn’t anybody tell these folks the industry is dealing with some serious overcapacity?<< MORE >>

There’s so much (rehashed) news about solar in China this week that I’m reaching for the sunscreen. First Solar’s prez is here, signing important-looking documents with commemorative pens that confirm something we already knew months ago – that it’s building the world's largest solar farm, roughly the size of Manhattan, in the northern autonomous region of Inner Mongolia. The Ministry of Finance also re-announced (with a bit more detail) that it is spending Rmb20 billion ($2.93 billion) on 294 solar power projects with total generating capacity of 642 megawatts over the next 2-3 years. And did you hear about those clever guys at Suntech, opening a manufacturing plant in the US? Great PR.<< MORE >>

After nearly a month of investigation, the solar lovers at China's Ministry of Science and Technology now believe all this worry about overcapacity in the China PV poly market is a bunch of hooey probably made up by solar incumbents who have a vested interest in spreading rumors and misinformation to undercut solar carpetbaggers looking to raise money for factories and get their slice of sunshine. Confused? So were we.<< MORE >>

All the rage is of medical reform in China, but you won’t see any barefoot doctors getting their hands on this piece of kit. As noted in the headline, GE has won SFDA approval for a high-end CT scanner (featuring its Gemstone Spectral Imaging feature) and will roll it out in trials in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and a few other cities.<< MORE >>

No surprise there, really. Word from the inside is that he "resigned" the day after Richard Chang also "resigned" -- for personal reasons, of course. Unless you have been on Mars, you know that Marco Mora has long been at the center of SMIC's troubles with TSMC because of his blatant attempts (and apparent success) in getting former TSMCers to bring over a few trivial trade secrets, whose worth appears to have been a not so trivial $375 million (and a few heads.)<< MORE >>

China's largest telco equipment maker is promising four or five TD-SCDMA handsets this quarter, among which the low-priced (cheap) T2211 will be Rmb1000. Huawei, as well as cross-town rival ZTE, have started cranking out some pretty decent mid-range smartphones recently (think T-Mobile's Pulse), but when they go cheap, it, well, looks cheap. So while we are optimisitc about the TD-based Ophone, we don't think sub-Rmb1000 TD phones will do much for China Mobile.<< MORE >>

In case you missed it, Suntech Power Holdings Co. and state-owned Huadian New Energy Development Co., Ltd. (HNE) are partnering up for the first large-scale solar plant in Jiangsu Province. They’re in a rush to get the 10MW plant up and running so they can take advantage of one of Jiangsu’s feed-in-tariff policy that provides Rmb2.15/kWh for ground-mount solar projects completed in 2009. << MORE >>

I've always enjoyed my interviews and occasional run-ins with SMIC’s Richard Chang. He’s a good man, and a good salesman for selling the Chinese on the dream of a having their own foundry powerhouse. In the end, however, it was only a dream. So far, the only thing about SMIC that’s been profitable and positive is its associated international school. Perhaps that a hint at what sort of future Richard should pursue.<< MORE >>