China ended a 16-month-long anti-dumping investigation on butanol imported from Russia, the United States, the European Union, South Africa, Malaysia, and Japan on Friday, said the Ministry of Commerce.

The ministry ruled that the case was an example of dumping but, as no substantial harm was caused to the domestic butanol industry, no measures would be imposed.

Butanol is an organic chemical product mainly used to make plasticizers and organic solvents.

Source: Xinhuaf 2006, up 16 percent on the previous year.

Analysts say the rapid growth of short-term external debt reflects fast, high-volume cross-border capital flows which are viewed as risky.

External debt is the part of a country's debt owed to creditors outside the country. This includes debt owed to private commercial banks, government or international financial institutions.

Source: Xinhua