Good Morning. Welcome to The Wire’s daily news roundup. Each day, our staff gathers the top China business, finance, and economics headlines from a selection of the world’s leading news organizations.
The Wall Street Journal
- TikTok Maker Seeks to Strike Balance as China, U.S. Step Up Geopolitical Pressure — The Chinese maker of TikTok, the popular short-video platform, said it would pull its app out of Hong Kong amid concerns about a new national-security law, its second market exit in as many weeks
- China Orders Up a ‘Healthy Bull Market,’ and Stocks Oblige — China’s stock market is taking cues from bullish state media again. Last time, that didn’t end well.
- Chinese Developer Fails to Repay Bondholders — Shenzhen-listed Tahoe Group said it was hit by a property downturn worsened by the coronavirus and didn’t repay yuan bonds worth about $214 million.
- Google, Facebook and Twitter Suspend Review of Hong Kong Requests for User Data — Google, Facebook and Twitter are among tech companies that have suspended processing requests for user data from Hong Kong law-enforcement agencies following China’s imposition of a national-security law on the city.
The Financial Times
- Merkel comes under fire at home for China stance — Chancellor criticised for her failure to take a tougher line on Beijing’s Hong Kong clampdown.
- China’s support for US dollar can no longer be relied upon — If flows reverse, then European assets, in particular, are set to benefit.
- Global stocks gain as Chinese rally drives optimism — Wall Street ends up sharply after investors bet on economic rebound from pandemic.
- Chinese internet pioneer Sina gets $2.7bn buyout offer — Chairman’s bid could lead to group delisting from Nasdaq after 20 years.
- Luckin Coffee investors oust founder — Charles Zhengyao Lu removed as chairman but still has significant influence, say shareholders.
Caixin
- China Forex Regulator Appoints Three-Decade Veteran as New Deputy Chief — Wang Chunying was watchdog’s chief economist and director of department that monitors cross-border capital flows.
- Former ICBC Branch Head Took Almost $20 Million in Bribes — Prosecutors accused Gu Guoming of abusing his positions to help individuals and companies get loans and project contracts.
- Hanergy Unit Could Be Pushed Into Bankruptcy — A Beijing judge is reviewing whether to force the hand of Hanergy Mobile Energy on request from a third-party who may be one of the former solar energy highflyer’s creditors.
- Tencent’s PUBG Mobile Game Hits $3 Billion Milestone — Chinese gaming giant Tencent has hit a new milestone with its hugely popular battle royale title “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG Mobile) doubling its lifetime revenue to more than $3 billion in just over seven months.
South China Morning Post
- Tech and scientific workers overtake finance professionals as highest-paid jobs in China — Compensation levels in China’s finance sector continue to lose ground to the tech industry, with the latest example being scientists and researchers who are now better paid than financial professionals, according to a recent report.
- Hongkongers, spooked by Beijing’s new national security law, are scrubbing their digital footprints — Hong Kong officially adopted a new national security law imposed by Beijing on July 1. Internet users worried of falling afoul of the new law are using encrypted messaging apps, scrubbing their social media posts and installing VPN software.
- China’s forex reserves rise to US$3.112 trillion in June — China’s foreign exchange reserves rose less than expected in June as the yuan strengthened and global asset prices rebounded amid a recovery in economic sentiment.
- China’s exporters turn to the domestic market, but can it offset coronavirus demand shock? — A lipstick maker in the Chinese city of Yiwu used an online sales platform in some 17 different overseas languages to woo Spanish, Russian, Saudi Arabian, Korean, Japanese, Turkish, and Vietnamese clients, but until this year, had largely ignored the domestic market.
- Coronavirus: Chinese consumers less willing to splurge, casting shadow over second quarter rebound — Alex Shi had been eyeing a 400 yuan (US$57) rice cooker online for weeks, but she eventually abandoned the purchase after considering her cash balance for the rest of the year.
Bloomberg
- Chinese Students Fear Deportation Under Revised U.S. Visa Rules — Hundreds of thousands of Chinese students enroll at U.S. colleges and universities each year, and right now, a lot of them are concerned.
- U.S. Units of Chinese Companies Got American Bailout Funds — Chinese companies including conglomerate HNA Group Co. and affiliates of a state-owned defense giant were among recipients of the billions of dollars in coronavirus-relief loans handed out by the U.S. government.
- China Stock Euphoria Is Too Much for Trading Apps to Handle — Several trading apps of key Chinese brokers are struggling to keep up as millions of the country’s mom and pop traders race to seek a quick buck in a surging market.
- Foreign Firms Give Up Hong Kong Office Space, Lifting Vacancies — Multinational companies surrendered more office space in Hong Kong last quarter as the economy deteriorated amid the pandemic, pushing the city’s vacancy rate to the highest in 15 years, according to Cushman & Wakefield Plc.
- China Rally Will Struggle to Drag Global Stocks Along for Ride — Investors betting the recent surge in Chinese shares could help give the global equity rally a leg up shouldn’t pin all their hopes on the Middle Kingdom.
- All Eyes on China’s Unstoppable Stocks After $460 Billion Rally — China’s equity market is firmly in the spotlight after an almost unprecedented rally that helped lift global stocks to a one-month high.
- Arrested Under New Law, Hong Kong Protesters Get Swabbed for DNA — As Hong Kong sees life change rapidly under a new security law, protesters have quickly learned that actions that weren’t worthy of police attention a little more than a week ago could now warrant an arrest, DNA sample and search of their home — in addition to the possibility of jail time.
- In China, Selling Online or E-Sports Player Now Counts as a Job — China has broadened the definition of a job to include more flexible forms of work for fresh graduates, as the government struggles with high unemployment due to the coronavirus downturn.
- China Tries to Cool Down an Easy-Money Financial Trade — Companies borrowing to put money into a hot financial product called structured deposits may be holding back a recovery.
- Google Couldn’t Help This Chinese Games Startup Beat Tencent — Once high-flying Chinese game-streaming platform Chushou TV has shuttered, becoming the latest casualty in a market increasingly dominated by Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Reuters
- China’s June passenger car retail sales down 8% year-on-year: CPCA — China’s passenger car retail sales dropped 8% in June from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said on Monday.
- China slams U.S. as it joins global arms trade treaty at U.N — China on Monday joined a global arms trade treaty spurned by the United States, taking a swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration by accusing it of bullying, unilateralism and undermining efforts to combat global challenges.
- U.S. trade groups urge China to increase purchases of U.S. goods, services — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and over 40 trade associations on Monday urged top American and Chinese officials to redouble efforts to implement a Phase 1 trade agreement signed by the world’s two largest economies in January despite pandemic-related strains.
- Cambricon to raise $367.8 million in IPO amid Chinese chip fever — AI chipmaker Cambricon Technologies Corp said it will raise 2.58 billion yuan ($367.76 million) in its Shanghai initial public offering after pricing the listing at 64.39 yuan a share.
Xinhua
- China launches three chemical options on Dalian Commodity Exchange — The trading of options for three major chemicals, namely polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), were launched Monday at the Dalian Commodity Exchange in northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
Other Publications
- The Atlantic: Why China Wants Trump to Win — From Beijing’s perspective, while a Democratic presidency may restore a more predictable form of American diplomacy, that may not best serve Chinese interests. In fact, four more years of Trump—though likely packed with annoyances and disputes—might present tantalizing opportunities for China to expand its influence around East Asia and the world.
- The Economist: As students prepare for China’s college-entrance exam, a scandal brews — To reduce the risk of infections, the gaokao is taking place under tight restrictions.
