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
- Surging Copper Prices Signal Optimism About Global Growth — Global investors are piling into bullish wagers on copper prices, sparking the quickest rally in the industrial metal in years and signaling that many money managers remain hopeful about the economic outlook despite rising coronavirus cases in much of the U.S.
- Outrage Over China’s Treatment of Hong Kong Galvanizes the West — Complaints about China have long piled up in Western capitals, but it took Beijing’s new curbs on Hong Kong’s autonomy to galvanize them around something approaching a common cause.
- Hong Kong’s Endangered Elections — The Communist Party moves to outlaw any political opposition.
The Financial Times
- America’s eerie lack of debate about China — The US is entering an open-ended conflict without much dissent.
- Doubts cloud China’s post-coronavirus recovery — Return to growth expected in Q2 but questions remain about health of economy.
- French luxury group fight sheds light on Chinese investor woes — Fortune Fountain struggles to keep control of Baccarat Crystal after loading up on debt.
The New York Times
- China Vows to Retaliate After Trump Signs Hong Kong Sanctions Bill — Beijing accused the United States of “gross interference in Hong Kong affairs” and promised a response.
- Caught in ‘Ideological Spiral,’ U.S. and China Drift Toward Cold War — Relations are in free fall. Lines are being drawn. As the two superpowers clash over technology, territory and clout, a new geopolitical era is dawning.
Caixin
- Property Developer Tahoe Warns Creditors It Will Default, Again — Debt-laden builder of villas expects first-half loss of more than $200 million.
- In Wake of Fake Gold Scandal, Kingold Defaults on Loans, Sheds Staff — Scandal-hit company fails to pay back 10 billion yuan, lays off hundreds of workers.
- Top Canadian Institutional Investor Bets Heavily on China — CPPIB expects to invest about a sixth of its total portfolio in China by 2025, up from the current 13%.
- Smart Money Flees China’s Stock Market After Quick Profits — As shares drop following recent bull run, a record $2.48 billion of foreign capital pours out of mainland markets, reversing massive influx from earlier in July.
- Carmaker Changan Predicts First-Half Profits After Selling Spree — Series of one-off items contributed to over $285 million earnings, company says.
- New Emissions Standards Power Boom in Truck Sales — China’s commercial vehicle sales rose more than 60% in June ahead of tougher new rules set to take effect next year.
- Trending in China: Wholesale Mask Prices Fall Over 90% and Raw Materials Fall to Fraction of Peak Price — The coronavirus-related mask manufacturing bubble in the first half of 2020 is rapidly bursting, according to an article attracting 35 million views on Weibo Wednesday. According to interviewed manufacturers, producer prices for the ubiquitous face mask have fallen by up to 90% from a high of 1.6 yuan ($0.22) in March, while export prices have dropped from $0.65 to $0.17-0.20.
- Air Conditioner Maker Gree Warns Profit May Drop Sharply in First Half of 2020 — China’s top air conditioner manufacturer Gree has predicted dramatic drops in both revenue and net profit in the first half of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic kept physical stores closed and consumers stuck at home throughout large parts of the country.
South China Morning Post
- Canada faces new pressure to block Huawei from 5G, after UK ban risks marooning Ottawa from Five Eyes intelligence allies — Canada is facing renewed pressure to ban Huawei from its 5G networks, after Britain’s decision to block the Chinese tech firm on Tuesday risked marooning Ottawa from its intelligence allies.
- Star Market technology board second only to Nasdaq, leads Hong Kong in terms of funds raised amid Chinese stock market euphoria — Fundraising on China’s Star Market in Shanghai has rocketed, taking the fledgling technology board into second place globally so far this year in terms of funds raised.
- Online services market expansion to continue amid Covid-19 crisis, industry executives say — A range of online services – from videoconferencing, remote learning and delivery to cybersecurity and video games – is expected to grow and become more deeply entrenched in people’s everyday lives, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt economies around the world.
- China’s unemployment crisis shows no signs of easing as graduates face reality check due to coronavirus — One of a record high 8.7 million graduates who entered China’s job market this summer, the next stage of Rita Zhang’s life has started badly.
- TikTok slapped with fine in South Korea over mishandled user data — ByteDance-owned TikTok has been slapped with a fine by South Korea’s telecommunications authority for mishandling data of underage users in the country, marking the popular short video app’s latest run-in with regulators after disputes in India and the US.
- China cautiously opens up domestic tourism to unleash pent up spending power and bolster the sagging economy — China’s easing of domestic travel restrictions is expected to provide a boost to the mainland’s nearly 6 trillion yuan (US$857 billion) market and save thousands of tourism companies teetering on the brink of collapse after struggling for nearly six months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Bloomberg
- U.S. Companies Can and Will Decouple From China — It’ll take work for corporate America to set up new supply chains and develop new consumers, but then again, the Chinese market took work, too.
- China Signals Clamp Down on Easy Money Amid Asset Bubble Fears — China’s policy makers have sent another warning to property and stock investors in an attempt to prevent the formation of asset bubbles that could dilute their efforts to fund the economic recovery.
- China to Expand Digital Yuan Test to Tencent-Backed Meituan — China’s central bank is planning to test its digital currency on platforms operated by Meituan Dianping, enlisting the food delivery giant backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. in a major step toward the token’s mass adoption.
- China’s $42 Billion Clean Energy Debt Is Only Getting Worse — China has used offers of generous subsidies to amass the world’s largest array of wind and solar power. But there’s a problem: it’s not fully paying them.
- Hong Kong’s Beaten Down Stocks Face Yet Another Blow from Trump — A relentless run of bad news keeps grinding down Hong Kong’s stock bulls. Protests, a global pandemic, a collapsing economy, a crackdown on individual freedoms and now the end of the city’s special status with the U.S.
- Slowdown in Chinese Tech Stocks Shows Beijing’s Fear of Bubbles — Last week China targeted large caps in Shanghai, now it’s letting some air out of high-flying tech startups in Shenzhen.
- Bankers Shocked by 45% China Tax Rate Mull Leaving Hong Kong — Fears of a Hong Kong brain drain are increasing after China moved to tax its citizens’ global income, undermining the financial hub’s appeal to thousands of bankers and other white-collar workers from the mainland.
- Rumor-Stoked Bank Runs Break Out in China Like Never Before — Social media-fueled rumors about banks collapsing are popping up at an unprecedented frequency in China, forcing regulators and even the police to step in to calm depositors.
- How Huawei Landed at the Center of Global Tech Tussle: QuickTake — China’s biggest tech firm, Huawei Technologies Co., has risen to global prominence as a leader in 5G, the much ballyhooed, next-generation wireless technology. It’s also become a major target for the U.S., which has been trying to convince its allies to ban Huawei equipment from their national networks on spying concerns. In a major reversal, the U.K. decided in July to join the boycott, signaling fresh momentum for the American effort.
- China’s Mega Listings Dominate Global Share Sales in 2020 — Asian companies accounted for almost half of the global stock offering haul in the first half of this year, with the three biggest deals all coming from the region as second listings by Chinese firms boosted volumes.
Reuters
- Delisting surges in China as Beijing adopts ‘survival of the fittest’ approach — Having begun delisting 26 companies so far this year, China’s securities regulator is set to remove a record number of firms from the stock exchange, heeding a message from Vice Premier Liu He to ensure the “survival of the fittest”.
- Chinese mutual fund industry sees jump in new funds and inflows — China’s mutual fund industry saw another massive jump in new products and subscriptions in June, suggesting the swift rally in mainland stocks has room to run further.
- SMIC’s Shanghai listing tests if money alone can bring chip dominance to China — China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC is set to follow its staggering $6.6 billion share sale with its Shanghai market debut on Thursday, just as Sino-U.S. tension widens the chasm it wants to cross to reach global leader TSMC, industry insiders said.
Xinhua
- China releases regulation on ensuring timely payments to SMEs — China’s State Council on Tuesday released a regulation on ensuring timely payments to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to a decree of the State Council signed by Premier Li Keqiang.
- China to further support growth of new business models — Chinese authorities on Wednesday unveiled a guideline to support the healthy growth of new business models, in the latest move to boost consumption and create jobs.
- China’s central bank injects liquidity into market — China’s central bank pumped cash into the financial system through open market operations to maintain liquidity in the market Wednesday.
- China to promote NEVs in rural areas — China will hold promotional activities for new-energy vehicles (NEVs) in rural areas this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Wednesday.
- China Southern begins commercial use of domestically developed ARJ21 — China Southern Airlines, the country’s largest air carrier, officially put into commercial operation a domestically developed ARJ21 aircraft on Wednesday, according to the airline.
- More foreign trade ships, cargo on Yangtze River — The number of ships involved in foreign trade and the amount of cargo carried by them on the Yangtze River increased by over 20 percent in June compared with the same period last year, according to Yangtze River Pilotage Center.
- Laos to boost export of agricultural products to China — The Lao government is cooperating with different sectors and entrepreneurs to improve the quality of agricultural products in order to increase exports to China.
- Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.9982 against USD Wednesday — The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 14 pips to 6.9982 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
Other Publications
- BBC: Nissan takes on Tesla in China’s electric car market — The Japanese carmaker is hoping its new all-electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) Ariya will sell well in China. But it faces tough competition from Tesla which has a strong presence in the world’s largest car market.
- Al Jazeera: As China’s economy rebounds, dangers lurk beneath the surface — China faces internal and external challenges; stimulating consumer demand at home may be its biggest one, analysts say.
- Cnet: China’s Tianwen-1 Mars spacecraft: Everything we know about the daring mission — China aims to be the third country to land on the red planet, but its space agency has been tight-lipped over its new mission.
- WIRED: Could Trump Win the War on Huawei — and Is TikTok Next? — In a plot twist, the administration’s assault on the Chinese telecom giant is gaining traction. At heart, the US has an interest in its own electronic surveillance capabilities.
- ArsTechnica: Malware stashed in China-mandated software is more extensive than thought — Three weeks ago, security researchers exposed a sinister piece of malware lurking inside tax software that the Chinese government requires companies to install. Now there’s evidence that the high-stealth spy campaign was preceded by a separate piece of malware that employed equally sophisticated means to infect taxpayers in China.