China

China’s Empty Trains: New Year Travel Plummets Amid Economic Crisis
31Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China’s Empty Trains: New Year Travel Plummets Amid Economic Crisis

This year in China, the Spring Festival lacks its usual glitter, bustling markets, and the throngs of travellers returning to their hometowns. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, China's economic situation has deteriorated significantly, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs. Those who are still employed are receiving only half their wages. Consequently, people are spending their limited savings very cautiously. Many have decided not to return home for the Spring Festival. As a result, the number of people traveling by road, rail, and air has been negligible. Some travellers reported that their train cars were completely empty. A passenger found himself alone in an entire first-class train car during the Spring Festival travel rush. Unlike the usual crowded scenes of previous years, t...
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As it increases its stake on Asia, HSBC’s worldwide reputation is at risk.
29Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

As it increases its stake on Asia, HSBC’s worldwide reputation is at risk.

HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker leaned into the microphone at a vast conference table in Beijing, telling British business leaders and senior Chinese officials that he spoke for all UK businesses present in hoping for stronger economic ties.Tucker, chairman of Europe's largest bank, was flanked by UK finance minister Rachel Reeves, who had invited him to lead a delegation aimed at enlisting Chinese support for Britain's growth agenda."It is more important than ever that we accelerate and sustain the forward momentum with a clear focus on the material and mutually beneficial agenda," he told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and others at the opening of the UK-China Financial Services Summit, news footage of the event on Jan. 11 showed.Just a few weeks later, the lender would reveal plans to wind d...
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Outside of China, the Middle East is the region with the fastest-growing renewable energy market.
28Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

Outside of China, the Middle East is the region with the fastest-growing renewable energy market.

But then Masdar, the country’s state-owned renewable energy company, decided to make a splash at a huge trade fair in Abu Dhabi. In front of the UAE president, it announced it would build a $6bn 5 gigawatt solar plant backed with more than 19GWh of battery storage — the largest such project ever attempted.  When it starts in two years’ time, its batteries will give the country a constant output of 1GW, enough to power more than 700,000 homes without having to rely on gas-fired plants when the sun is not shining. “This will transform renewable energy into baseload energy,” said Sultan Al Jaber, the chair of Masdar. “It is a first step that could become a giant leap.” As the UAE was revealing its new solar project, Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, announced a ...
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China’s PMI is unexpected as January manufacturing activity declines and December industrial profits soar.
26Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China’s PMI is unexpected as January manufacturing activity declines and December industrial profits soar.

China’s factory activity in January unexpectedly contracted, in part due to a slow season ahead of the Lunar New year, reversing the growth seen in the previous three months and keeping alive calls for stronger fiscal support to boost the economy. The official purchasing managers’ index for January came in at 49.1, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed, compared with Reuters poll estimates of 50.1. PMI had stayed above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the past three months, coming in at 50.1 in December, 50.3 in November and 50.1 in October, according to the official data. The manufacturing PMI in January tends to be softer, as migrant workers return to hometowns ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 29, said Hui...
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German frontrunner Merz warns companies against China investment
24Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, World

German frontrunner Merz warns companies against China investment

Friedrich Merz, the conservative front-runner in the race to be Germany’s next chancellor, warned domestic companies against making bigger investments in China. “The decision to invest in China is a decision with great risk,” Merz said at a foreign policy event in Berlin on Thursday. “If you take this risk, do it in such a way that it doesn’t endanger the entire company group if you have to write off this investment from one year to the next.” The remarks by Merz, whose conservative CDU/CSU bloc is leading in the polls ahead of the Feb 23 snap election, signal a radical change from the China-friendly course of previous German governments. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Scholz’s three-party government started to implement what it called a de-risking strategy as part o...
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China announces plans to increase financial liberalization.
24Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

China announces plans to increase financial liberalization.

China on Wednesday revealed a guideline, outlining 20 measures to expand financial opening up in the country's pilot free trade zones and a free trade port. These measures, focusing on six areas, aim to better align China's financial sector with international standards and advance institutional opening up of the sector, said the guideline jointly issued by the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Commerce and three other government bodies. According to this document, foreign financial institutions will be granted the same treatment as their Chinese counterparts when providing new financial services not available in the country at that stage. Valid applications filed by financial institutions and cross-border financial service providers concerning financial services will be...
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Singapore becomes a haven for companies and investors fleeing tensions between the US and China.
24Jan mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
China, Market, Singapore, USA

Singapore becomes a haven for companies and investors fleeing tensions between the US and China.

Its reputation of political neutrality — and strength in life sciences — is making Singapore a favoured launchpad for western investors and Chinese startups. Two years ago, Polaris Partners, the investment arm of US pharmaceutical company Polaris, opened an office in Singapore as it started to ramp up investments in the Asian country. “Singapore has an extraordinary ecosystem,” says Amy Schulman, managing partner at Polaris Partners. “It has first rate science that gets a good amount of government support. It has terrific intellectual property protection, and it has organised rule of law system that makes things very appealing.” Singapore’s favourable tax system and English-speaking business community have also made it an ideal jumping off point for international companies se...
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More international financial institutions are expanding their operations in China more quickly, hopeful about more chances.
23Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

More international financial institutions are expanding their operations in China more quickly, hopeful about more chances.

Multiple international financial firms recently announced establishment of their new branch companies in China or latest progress on local business expansion, indicating their growing attention on Chinese capital market. Morgan Stanley announced on Wednesday that its wholly-owned subsidiary futures company in China has officially commenced operations, primarily providing commodity futures brokerage services within China. This is another important milestone for Morgan Stanley's development in China. We will continue to build our comprehensive integrated financial services platform to better serve our domestic and international clients, said Gokul Laroia, CEO of Asia for Morgan Stanley, according to the company's official WeChat account. Morgan Stanley's futures headquarters is loc...
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The “common prosperity” movement in China’s banking industry led to the introduction of salary limitations.
23Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China

The “common prosperity” movement in China’s banking industry led to the introduction of salary limitations.

backed financial institutions in China have already placed annual salary caps on their senior executives, the Post has learned, as Beijing pushes forward with a campaign to narrow the wealth gap. The finance sector has been one of the main targets of China’s “common prosperity” drive, which has seen the industry hit with stricter regulatory supervision, rampant pay cuts and even some lay-offs in the past year.The Post previously reported that China’s state-backed financial institutions were planning to introduce staff salary caps set at 3 million yuan (then US$412,000) last July. Since then, several organisations have already implemented the policy – with some introducing an even lower cap, according to people familiar with the matter.Central government-owned financial institutions hav...
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Trump warns China that further tariffs will be imposed on February 1.
22Jan mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, World

Trump warns China that further tariffs will be imposed on February 1.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that even more tariffs could be coming as soon as next week: This time China was his target, as Trump threatened to unleash a wave of higher taxes on imports from America’s second-biggest trading partner. In an Oval Office press conference that echoed similar off-the-cuff remarks on Monday, Trump said that he is considering a 10% across-the-board tariff on all Chinese goods starting as early as February 1. On Monday, Trump threatened 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada but deflected on China, noting that former President Joe Biden left in place extensive tariffs that Trump imposed during his first administration. It’s unclear what prompted such a rapid change in Trump’s tariff policy, although he had promised as much as a 60% tariff on all g...
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