In the meantime, the breath-taking pace with which China has made up ground has slowed down significantly. Economic growth there has halved from 14% in 2007 to just under 7% last year. One major reason for this is that the export-oriented growth model has reached its limits. On the demand side, the absorptive capacity of the global market is acting as a constraint.
In the foreign exchange market, the yen is currently traded in the range of 130-133 yen to the U.S. dollar. With regard to corporate finance, private banks are becoming more cautious in extending loans to firms with high credit risks while they continue to be more active in extending loans to blue-chip companies.