Asia

Chinese president Xi Jinping held a rare meeting with some of the countries biggest technology leaders on Monday in a sign of Beijing’s growing urgency to prop up the sector amid rivalry with the US. Xi urged attendees to “show their talent” and be confident in the power of China’s model and market in a symposium attended by key names such as Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei, BYD’s Wang Chuanfu, DeepSeek’s Liang Wenfeng and even Alibaba’s once-pariah founder, Jack Ma. Meanwhile, the absence of a key Chinese tech leader from the meet — Baidu founder Robin Li — triggered a sharp fall in shares of the company that was once touted as China’s closest rival to OpenAI. Concern over Li’s absence erased $2.4 billion off Baidu’s market value in hours as the company’s stock plunged as much as 8.8% in ...

HSBC is intensifying its commitment to Asia by scaling back its investment banking operations in Western markets, a move that aligns with its long-term strategy of prioritising growth in the region. According to Reuters, the bank announced plans to wind down its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital markets (ECM) divisions in Europe and North America, reinforcing its emphasis on serving Asian corporate clients. HSBC focuses on AsiaEarlier this month, HSBC chairman Mark Tucker (pictured) led a British business delegation to Beijing, where he spoke at the UK-China Financial Services Summit. Addressing Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Tucker highlighted the importance of continued economic collaboration. The visit came amid HSBC’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties wi...

The Chinese economy has started the year slowly, looking weak with deflationary pressure rising from persistently soft domestic demand. Official data showed factory-gate prices falling for a second straight year in 2024, while consumer prices only rose marginally. A combination of job insecurity, a prolonged housing downturn, debt and tariff threats from the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump has hit demand, even as Beijing ramps up stimulus. The full-year consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.2%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, in line with the previous year’s pace and well below the official target of around 3% for last year, suggesting inflation missed annual targets for the 13th straight year. In December, the CPI crept up 0.1% y...