China

8Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

In charts: the changing picture of China’s outbound study

Disruption to the upward trend From 2010 to 2019 the number of outbound Chinese students grew at an average annual rate of 9.5%, making the country the biggest source of international students globally. However, this rapid growth was disrupted by the pandemic that emerged in 2020. The virus (and China’s subsequent restrictive policy) caused profound damage to the country’s student mobility. The number of outbound students plummeted by 36% year on year in 2020, according to a report by the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), a think‑tank.  Although the number of outbound students has been climbing after the initial hit from the pandemic, it remains well below the potential trend that would have manifested had the pandemic not occurred. In the meantime, the picture of...
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5Jul By Online DeskNo Comments
China

The MTBE market in China fell in June as supply outweighed downstream gasoline demand.

The MTBE (Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether) market in China faced bearish sentiments and experienced a period of significant downtrend during June 2024, resulting in low prices. This decline was attributed to high operating rates of feedstock Methanol which eased the production costs and low downstream demand from gasoline impacting both the supply and demand sides of the equation. During June 2024, the MTBE prices declined by 4.1% when compared to May 2024 to settle at USD 930/ MT FOB Dalian, China amidst supply outpaces demand by the revival of idle production capacity during this timeframe. While some MTBE production facilities like Qixiang Tengda and Maoming Shihua resumed operations in June, their operating rates remain low. This indicates a cautious approach from producers despite the res...
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<strong>Poor performance of Chinese stock exchanges reflects uncertainty and a lack of confidence</strong>
3Jul mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Poor performance of Chinese stock exchanges reflects uncertainty and a lack of confidence

Shanghai Stock Exchange and Hang Seng index have been struggling to perform for the past few years despite intervention by the Chinese government, which has led to frustration among investors. These Chinese stock exchange indices have experienced sharp declines thanks to brutal selloffs amid uncertainty and a lack of confidence in the market. Investors have blamed the Beijing government for failing to take necessary steps to stabilize the market.[1] The growing disinterest can be gauged from recent developments at the Hang Seng exchange. The decline in fundraising from the new listing has been lowest in the past two decades. A total of 26 companies raised USD 1.5 billion through Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the first half of 2024, which is 35 percent less compared to the correspond...
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30Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, Singapore, USA, World

Review of climate-related financial disclosure regimes around the world

1. Australia On 27 March 2024, the Australian Government released the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (Cth) (Bill) outlining the implementation of the country’s proposed mandatory CRFD regime. The Bill contained only minor amendments to the original exposure draft developed by the Treasury at the start of 2023. The Bill is currently before Parliament, where it has passed the Lower House without amendment and is expected to pass the Upper House by the end of June or early July 2024. It is proposed that the reporting requirements will be phased in over the next few years across three groups of corporations. These groups will be determined based on whether companies meet at least two of the three criteria pertaining to re...
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30Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

China’s economic conundrum under Xi Jinping

China faces an economic challenge rooted in a struggling real estate sector and a strategic shift towards high-end industries, exacerbated by President Xi Jinping's emphasis on national security and distrust of market forces. Despite some arguing that China's economic predicament is not as dire as it seems, concerns persist about its ability to rebound from significant economic downturn if it continues its current economic policies, indicating a possible struggle to regain momentum. China’s economic predicament is rooted in a struggling real estate sector and a strategy predicated on a shift towards high-tech industries. President Xi Jinping’s prioritisation of national security and scepticism of market forces is exacerbating the problem and leading to tensions between political will a...
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29Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market

Shehbaz Sharif’s Chinese treasure hunt

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded his recent high-stakes five-day official visit to China on 8 June 2024. His delegation included the ministers for foreign affairs, defence, finance, and trade, along with over 100 Pakistani businessmen, and most importantly, the Army Chief General, Asim Munir, underscoring the visit’s strategic significance. The urgency of this trip was driven by Islamabad’s efforts to secure a new credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which hinges on the approval of China, Pakistan’s largest bilateral lender. Pakistan’s budget, usually presented on 10 June, was also kept on hold until Sharif’s return from Beijing. This visit highlights Islamabad’s increasing dependence on China amid a deepening deb...
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28Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

Plenum priorities that could reshape China’s economic future

The Chinese Communist Party's (CPC) third plenary session in July 2024 is an opportunity to enact major structural reforms. The CPC should prioritise reforms to untie household consumption from housing, add a redistributive role to state fiscal functions and ensure the land-based model of finance for urban development yields to a central transfers and local taxes-backed one. The CPC must shrink the housing sector’s footprint on growth and consumption, shift from indirect to direct taxes and plug the structural revenue deficits that have pushed local governments to raise cash from opaque, off-budget mechanisms. The third plenary session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) 20th Central Committee in July 2024 comes at a critical juncture for an economy beset by profound challenges. ...
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27Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

China Mid-year Outlook 2024 : Waiting for policy

What we think This July there are two important meetings in China that may provide further insight into the macro outlook: the Third Plenum and the Politburo meeting. The two policy areas we’ll closely watch are domestic demand and fiscal reform. The economy appears to be at an inflection point. The resilience of the manufacturing sector is a bright spot, while other parts of the economy look mixed, but could start to improve. Investment implications We retain a relatively cautious view on offshore China markets. The downside is limited, but the upside is capped by a mixed macro backdrop and earnings that have yet to show meaningful upside. We expect the A-share market to be relatively more resilient thanks to lower exposure to geopolitical risks (and foreign outflows), limited F...
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27Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, World

China and global development: what to read in June 2024

Welcome to the June 2024 edition of our China and Global Development round-up. This month, I have curated a selection of resources that delve into the Belt and Road Initiative’s role in promoting structural transformation, the evolving dynamics of Africa-Asia relations, the EU and China’s distinct development approaches in Africa, and the New Development Bank. Read 1: The Belt and Road and dynamics of structural transformation Along with my colleagues Lorena Lombardozzi and Rhys Jenkins, I have edited a special issue on “China’s Belt and Road Initiative and dynamics of structural transformation”. This project stemmed from our observation that while there is a lot of discussion about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and international development, they rarely engag...
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26Jun By Online DeskNo Comments
Asia, China, Market, USA, World

China and the renminbi dominate US foreign exchange concerns

Unexciting Treasury report should focus more on dollar strength The US Treasury released its latest foreign exchange report last week. It has not garnered much excitement. Dollar strength poses a bigger foreign exchange question for the current international economic juncture than other currencies, but the report does not devote enough discussion to this. Further, the external positions of key surplus countries raise more nettlesome structural bugs than foreign exchange developments. Nonetheless, several salient themes are well explored, while other parts miss their mark. What are the hits and misses? The hits The first hit is the Treasury’s discussion of the Chinese economy and external position. The report documents China’s efforts to resist renminbi depreciation a...
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