Last year, I already foretold that this will happen.... didn't know it would be so much faster..!
As such, I say PRCs will eventually find coming to SG to work not worthwhile...
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China couples wed earlier to beat rising costs
September 12, 2007
CHINA'S economy is booming. And so are costs.
And this has forced young unmarried couples to change their wedding plans.
The rising consumer price index (CPI) growth is forcing some of them to bring forward their wedding dates,the Shanghai Youth Daily said in a recent report.
MsLiang and her fiance had planned to get married next year, but they decided to tie the knot this November.
HIGHER WEDDING COSTS
She told the China Daily that she is concerned that the cost of hosting the wedding will be much higher than what they are now. With the rise in CPI, the cost of food is sure to go up.
Another indication of couples changing their plans come from wedding planners. They say that they have received more orders in the second half of this year, compared to the first half, according to the report.
'Couples who brought forward their wedding dates might be feeling the coming economic pressure,' said MrWang Huiqun, director of Chuanqi Wedding Culture Communication Centre in Shanghai.
Mr Cao Zhonghua, president of the Shanghai Wedding Association, said that some hotels which provide wedding dinners, accept reservations from their clients.
But they did not inform them of the prices when receiving deposits from them, which may bring the possibility of price hikes.
HOUSING PRICES INCREASE
Since the end of this April, some housing prices in Shanghai went up 20 per cent.
Housing prices in Shanghai average 11,000 yuan ($2,230) per square metre.
Figures from the National Development and Reform Commission said that prices of fresh vegetables and cooking oil continued to rise nationwide this August, in 36 big and medium-sized cities.
The CPI - a key gauge of inflation - hit a 10-year monthly growth high of 5.6 per cent in July.
It rose by an average of 3.5 per cent in the first seven months of the year.
Of which 2.9 percentage points were contributed by rising food prices.