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.
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The Financial Times
- China raises scrutiny of financial holding groups ahead of Ant IPO — Cabinet passes rules requiring non-bank companies in sector to apply for licences.
- Laos faces sovereign default as forex reserves dip below $1bn — Finance ministry asks China for advice on restructuring its debt.
- Hong Kong: Beijing cracks down while the financial centre thrives — Ant Group’s IPO will take place against a backdrop of the dismantling of the territory’s pro-democracy movement.
- US puts new restrictions on Chinese diplomats — Tensions between Washington and Beijing are rising ahead of US election.
- Citi/China: joint custody — Fast growth makes Chinese custody more exciting than the western version.
The New York Times
- India Bans 118 Chinese Apps as Indian Soldier Is Killed on Disputed Border — The Indian government is blocking Chinese apps from its huge domestic market to strike back against China amid a tense border standoff.
Caixin
- South China Province Conjures Up White Knight to Save Kangmei Pharmaceutical — Guangdong government establishes special purpose vehicle to stave off collapse of leading drugs manufacturer saddled with 33.3 billion yuan of debt.
- Update: China Moves to Ease Foreign Access to $15.4 Trillion Bond Market — Draft regulations propose to simplify applications for foreign bond investors and unify investment rules as part of a long-pursued opening-up strategy.
- CICC Slashes Planned Mainland IPO Size Back to Original Plan — Hong Kong-listed Chinese investment bank drops plan to triple number of shares it will offer on the Shanghai exchange without offering an explanation.
- Pricey Shenzhen Aims to Put 60% of Its People in Public Housing — Southern megacity’s plan to boost share of its population in government-subsidized homes faces one problem — not enough homes.
- Electric Vehicle Startup Li Auto Hits Monthly Delivery Record — Chinese electric carmaker Li Auto reported strong deliveries for August, as the country’s automobile market looks like it is on the road to recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.
- More Than Ant – Four Chinese Fintech Companies To Watch — After the boom and bust of an earlier generation of financial technology startups, many centered on peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, a new generation of better regulated fintechs is taking their place.
South China Morning Post
- Remembering Hong Kong’s unsung role in Shenzhen’s glory – 40 years on, have fortunes reversed? — Two years before Shenzhen was named mainland China’s first special economic zone in 1980, Hong Kong industrialist Cheng Ho-ming arrived to start working with a state-run wig factory.
- Australia’s export surge to China tails off amid rising trade tensions and lower iron ore production — Australian export growth to China slowed sharply in July as trade tensions continued to rise, with iron and coal shipments falling after a strong performance in the first half of the year, the latest trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday showed.
- Chinese-Australian entrepreneurs tap deep knowledge of local markets for success, study finds — Businesses run by Chinese-born Australian entrepreneurs have been some of the most successful in selling products to China because of their strong connections to the Chinese market, a new report has found.
- China’s Sinochem boss hits out at anti-globalisation forces after US puts state firm on watch list — The chairman of one of China’s largest state-owned multinational conglomerates has said his belief in free trade has been shaken by the fast deteriorating US-China relationship, just days after the Trump administration placed his company on a blacklist that may lead to sanctions.
- Booming domestic travel demand during summer holidays proves to be a bright ray of sunshine for China’s aviation sector — Recovery in China’s domestic aviation industry picked up speed last month boosted by summer travel demand as life returned to normal after the coronavirus pandemic was brought under control in the mainland, but there was no such luck for the global airline sector.
- Hong Kong’s days of ‘cash is king’ may be in peril as fears of Covid-19 infection boost digital payments — The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace at which Hong Kong is turning into a cashless society as fear of contracting the deadly disease has prompted people to shop online or pay by phone, transaction data and industry players suggest.
- Dissident Ning Xianhua sues Verizon, claiming Yahoo’s handover of private data to China led to prison and torture — A US-based Chinese dissident has sued the Verizon Communications subsidiary that owns Yahoo, citing allegations that former Yahoo executives handed over private user data to the Chinese government, resulting in the activist’s detention and prosecution.
- China’s cabinet approves two new nuclear power plants in push to boost economy, cut pollution — China has given the green light to the construction of two new nuclear plants after granting no new approvals for more than a year, as the country continues to follow its old playbook of increasing infrastructure investment to boost the economy and employment, while improving future energy security amid escalating geopolitical tensions.
- As US-China decoupling threat mounts, Beijing looks to open up market for foreign services trade — China says it is speeding up the drafting of a so-called negative list for cross-border trade in services as part of national efforts to open up key areas of the economy to foreign businesses amid mounting pressure of economic decoupling from the United States.
- US-China decoupling prompts Beijing to relax rules for foreign investors in onshore bond market — China is tweaking its foreign exchange rules to make it easier for overseas institutional investors to buy onshore bonds, as Beijing steps up efforts to offset financial decoupling from the United States.
Bloomberg
- U.K.’s Premier League Ends China Soccer Coverage Agreements — The U.K.’s Premier League terminated a 650 million-pound ($861.6 million) agreement for the broadcast of English soccer matches in China amid growing political tension between the two countries.
- Hong Kong Mogul Jimmy Lai Acquitted in Intimidation Case — Hong Kong media baron Jimmy Lai, one of the most prominent critics of China’s crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement, was acquitted of a charge of intimidating a reporter from a tabloid that rivals his Apple Daily.
- How a Politician’s Death Deepened the Czech Rift With China — Pressure on a Czech politician over plans to visit Taiwan grew so great that it contributed to his death, according to his family. Now his replacement has gone ahead with the trip — widening a rift between China and what was once one of its biggest cheerleaders in the European Union.
- Beijing Pushes Its Big Banks to Weakest Health in a Decade — Warning signs are flashing for China’s $45 trillion banking industry, just when Beijing needs it the most to keep the world’s second-largest economy on its recovery path.
- China Said to Plan Broad Chip Sector Support to Fight Trump — China is planning a sweeping set of new government policies to develop its domestic semiconductor industry and counter Trump administration restrictions, conferring the same kind of priority on the effort it accorded to building its atomic capability, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
- China Now Rivals Ireland in the Big League of Aircraft Leasing — The number of China-based aircraft lessors that rank among the top 50 globally jumped to 13 from nine in a six-month period even as the coronavirus pandemic decimated travel.
- China Investor Hunting for Next Moutai Wins Big on Cocktails — In his search for the next Kweichow Moutai Co., Zhu Liang discovered a cocktail maker that has helped his flagship fund post a 72% return this year.
- Why China’s Debt Defaults Are Picking Up Once Again: QuickTake — Chinese companies are facing a reality check after years of ramping up debt. A deleveraging campaign that President Xi Jinping began in 2016 to curb risks in financial markets led to a crackdown on unregulated lending — so-called shadow banking — and tighter rules on asset management.
- Tencent’s WeChat Is China’s Everything App, and the ‘We’ Is Increasingly Suspect — TikTok may have started the Chinese app security debate, but WeChat has policed the messages and chatter of its users to toe the Communist Party line.
- Decoupling with U.S. Would Cut China’s Growth to 3.5%: Study — The worsening conflict between China and the U.S. has damaged bilateral trade, but a complete decoupling between the two largest global economies would be even more damaging to China’s long-term growth prospects, according to Bloomberg Economics.
- JPMorgan Set to Boost Stake in China Securities Venture to 71% — JPMorgan Chase & Co. is poised to raise its ownership in its Chinese securities joint venture to 71%, bringing it a step closer to becoming the first foreign bank to attain full ownership of a firm as the country opens its $49 trillion financial market.
- China Can Easily Cut Off More of Australia’s Commodities Exports — Australia, the most China-reliant economy in the world, is bracing for further disruptions to its commodities sector amid tensions with Beijing that’ve already jolted beef, wine and barley producers.
Reuters
- Students return to class in Wuhan, but parents and teachers wary of coronavirus risk — Tears and excitement from students greeted teachers on the first day of school after seven months in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but parents and teachers warned that while the coronavirus has retreated, no one could afford to let down their guard.
- Taiwan denounces China’s ‘vulgar threats’ towards Czech speaker — China’s “vulgar threats” over a visit by the Czech Republic’s senate speaker to Taiwan are like a cold, unwelcome winter wind and contrast with the courteous words the speaker offered while in Taiwan, a senior Taiwanese politician said on Thursday.
- China strongly opposes India banning Chinese mobile apps: commerce ministry — China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday it strongly opposed India banning Chinese mobile apps.
- Nissan’s China sales slow in August when Toyota, Honda surge — Japanese automaker Nissan Motor said on Thursday its sales in China fell 2.4% in August from a year earlier, while rival Toyota Motor and Honda Motor sales surged in the world’s biggest auto market.
- China offers coronavirus vaccine candidates to aviation industry workers: notice — China has offered experimental coronavirus vaccines to aviation industry workers, according to a regulatory notice seen by Reuters, in a push to inoculate high-risk groups to prevent a possible resurgence as economies reopen.
- Solomons province pushes for independence in ‘China switch’ fallout — The large Solomon Islands province of Malaita said it will conduct an independence referendum after rejecting the Pacific nation’s decision last year to cut its association with Taiwan and establish formal ties with China.
Xinhua
- China’s upbeat service sector signals rising domestic demand: Financial Times — China’s service sector expanded in August, indicating “improved domestic demand as the country’s economic recovery continues to gather pace,” said the Financial Times in a recent report.
- Interview: CIFTIS to facilitate service trade between China, Eurasian countries, says expert — The upcoming China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) will build a more convenient service trade cooperation platform for China and Eurasian countries, a senior Chinese expert on international trade told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Other Publications
- Economist: Can Japan Inc navigate the rift between China and America? — Japanese companies cannot afford to anger either a big market or a big ally.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China dominates bidding for Myanmar solar power plants — Myanmar is expected to announce the winners of tenders for a raft of solar power plants ahead of general elections in November and following a process whose onerous conditions threw obstacles in front of international companies, except, somehow, those from China, from where more than half of the bids came.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China officials run for cover as Xi Jinping prepares another brutal purge — Rival Youth League sends coded messages to prepare for the coming storm.
- The Diplomat: Inside China’s Belt and Road Tangle — Far from being a strategic masterplan, the BRI is a chaotic enterprise that contains the seeds of its own negation.
