Invest in Chinese diapers, now!

ELIZABETH GLASSANOS/FP Original

Passport blogged earlier about how the rare Year of the Golden Pig could usher in a baby boom in the relatively small country of South Korea. But what about enormous China, where tens of millions of couples likely believe that the Golden Pig can shower their offspring with good fortune?

Now, some numbers are coming out on the scope of the phenomenon:

According to forecasts by the Shanghai population and family planning committee, the city will see over 137,000 babies born in 2007, almost double the number in 2006. Beijing has also announced it expects 150,000 babies to be born in 2007, compared with 129,000 last year.

Chinese hospitals are already straining under the baby boom, and preschools are still struggling to cope with an influx of youngsters born in 2000, the auspicious Year of the Dragon. It's going to get pretty crowded in an already crowded China. So in the end, the Year of the Golden Pig may bring more good fortune to the Chinese diaper industry than anyone else.