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 Wall Street Journal
- Chinese Regulators Summon Ant Leaders Ahead of Gigantic IPO — Financial technology giant pledges to embrace regulation and promote economic development and stability in China.
- China’s Risky Bet on a Lonely Return to Greatness — Its economy and exports have surged back, but this early success conceals worrying structural shifts in the global political environment.
- Another Alliance Trump Didn’t Break — U.S. and India will share intelligence as the China threat looms.
The Financial Times
- Traders prepare for storm of election-fuelled tumult in China’s currency — Investors step up hedging activity to protect against sharp price swings.
- Jack Ma summons reminds investors that Beijing is still boss — Tough new rules for China’s online finance groups come ahead of world’s biggest IPO.
- Climate change: China’s coal addiction clashes with Xi’s bold promise — The president has set a deadline of 2060 to be ‘net-zero’ for emissions but new coal-fired power plants keep springing up.
- The pesky obstacle to a $40bn takeover — How the chief executive of Arm China could derail a big tech acquisition.
- CSOP’s China bond ETF scoops more than $1bn in assets — Strong inflows since September launch underscore appetite for onshore mainland debt.
- China gears up to fight back in tech war over chips — Beijing seeks to bolster local production and challenge US dominance of semiconductor industry.
- Climate change: how China can achieve its pledge of zero emissions — Transition from fossil fuel could include phased switch to renewables, with opportunities for foreign companies.
- China plays it straight on US election but keeps an eye out for mayhem — Any unrest surrounding the presidential poll will be pounced on by state media.
- China Evergrande shares jump after developer raises $2.2bn — Move helps ease investor concerns over liquidity at world’s most indebted property group.
- Chinese economy outstrips US despite Beijing bashing — China emerging as the engine of global growth amid the Covid pandemic.
- Tory group in push for watchdog to counter Chinese interference — Body would highlight threats across government, business and academia.
The New York Times
- China Envisions a New Hong Kong, Firmly Under Its Control — The government hopes to turn Hainan Island into a financial and shopping destination. Matching the former British colony won’t be easy.
- China Halts Ant Group’s Blockbuster I.P.O. — The Shanghai Stock Exchange postponed the offering one day after regulators summoned Jack Ma and other executives of the fintech firm.
- U.S. Cyber Command Expands Operations to Hunt Hackers From Russia, Iran and China — Building on a 2018 effort, Cyber Command sent teams to Europe, the Middle East and Asia to learn more about how adversaries could threaten the election this year.
Caixin
- Ahead of Ant Group’s Record IPO, China Tightens Online Microlending Rules — Draft regulations are published days before the group’s widely anticipated stock market debut in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
- Former Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Executive Falls Under Probe — The investigation is possibly linked to a fund business connected to Mu Shi’s wife.
- Alibaba Set to Open Central China Headquarters in Wuhan — New facility is expected to cover 300,000 square meters and be completed by 2026.
- Two Pharmacy Chains Dismiss Talk of Merger as ‘Rumor’ — Combining Yixintang and LBX Pharmacy would create China’s largest drug store operator by revenue.
- In Depth: Consumers Give China’s AR Startups a Reality Check — Even as augmented reality makes inroads with companies, getting everyday people excited about the tech is proving difficult.
- Chinese Airline Losses Narrow in Third Quarter — Domestic travel rebounds almost to pre-pandemic levels and results in black ink for some carriers, but international traffic remains frozen.
- China Lowers NEV Sales Target for 2025 — State Council sets target for electric autos at 20% of the market, down from 25% goal set in 2019 draft plan.
- China’s Steel Industry Steps Up Its Fight Against Air Pollution — China has made dramatic air quality improvements in recent years as the government has relocated and retrofitted heavily polluting coal and oil plants.
- Alibaba-Backed AutoX Plans to Test Self-Driving Tech in Four More Cities — Chinese autonomous vehicle startup AutoX is gearing up to test its self-driving technology in four more cities in China as the firm seeks fresh capital to fund its fleet expansion, according to a Reuters report.
- Nio Gains 21% in Three Trading Days on October Sales Surge — Chinese electric carmaker Nio Inc. soared on Monday after the company said it delivered more than 5,000 vehicles in October, doubling its sales over the prior-year period.
South China Morning Post
- China-Australia relations: ban on US$400 million Australian wheat imports looms — China is expected to ban imports of Australian wheat, putting a A$560 million (US$394 million) trade in doubt, with the grain the latest to join a list of new blocks on Australian products, according to industry sources.
- Hong Kong bans retail trading of digital currencies, requires crypto exchanges to be licensed in crackdown on fraud, money-laundering — The Hong Kong government is aiming to ban retail investors from trading in cryptocurrencies and force exchange operators to obtain licences, in a move that promises to end an era of largely unregulated trading of digital assets, according to officials.
- China manufacturing: Stanley Black & Decker shuts Shenzhen factory as costs soar — The Shenzhen factory of Stanley Black & Decker, a major US tool and household hardware maker, has closed up shop and laid off all of its 1,000 workers after 25 years of operations – reflecting the changing business environment in the world’s second-biggest economy.
- Telecoms giant HKBN ratchets up services bundling amid Hong Kong economic slowdown — HKBN, operator of Hong Kong’s second-largest fixed-line telecommunications network, plans to ramp up the bundling of services to its residential and enterprise users, as market competition intensifies amid the city’s pandemic-hit economy.
- Huawei’s global VP of communications, Irishman Joe Kelly dies – Irish Times reports — Irishman Joe Kelly, who spent the last eight years leading communications for Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, has died at the age of 55, according to a report on Monday by the The Irish Times, citing an unnamed company colleague.
- China rejects Nepali opposition claims of border landgrab — China and Nepal denied on Tuesday accusations from Nepali opposition lawmakers that Beijing had seized territory along the Himalayan border between the two nations.
- Hong Kong may sell bills to mop up excess cash sloshing in the city’s financial system after Ant’s record-breaking stock sale — Hong Kong’s central bank is expected to sell extra debt to soak up liquidity as funds return to the financial system following Ant Group’s initial public offering.
- China has sent more satellites into space this year than US and Russia, report says — China has launched more satellites into orbit this year than the United States and Russia, according to an American report, as Beijing steadily advances in aerospace amid growing rivalry with the US.
- China keeps 20 per cent sales target for home-grown electric cars by 2025, calling controversial industrial plan by another name — China’s planners are maintaining their bullish target to spur home-grown brands in the world’s biggest electric vehicle market as they repackaged a controversial industrial plan under a new guise, seizing the opportunity to keep factories churning while competitors lay idle amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Xi Jinping calls for China’s state-owned enterprises to be ‘stronger and bigger’, despite US, EU opposition — An agency led by President Xi Jinping to advance institutional changes in China has approved a new plan to make state-owned enterprises “stronger, better and bigger”.
- Australia sends signal to China as it rejoins US, Japan and India for Malabar naval exercise — After a gap of 13 years, Australian forces joined their counterparts from the United States , Japan and India on Tuesday for an annual naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal in a move widely seen as sending a message to China.
- What Europe’s coronavirus woes mean for the yuan-euro exchange rate — Traders who see further gains for the yuan on foreign exchanges don’t need to focus exclusively on the level of the renminbi versus the US dollar.
- China-India border dispute: PLA looks to private innovators to give troops the edge — The Chinese military has extended its supplier list to include private hi-tech companies to meet the special equipment needs of border troops in the Himalayas during China’s stand-off with India.
Bloomberg
- Corn Rally Sparks Green Fuel Rethink by Chinese Energy Giant — Millions of hungry pigs in China are setting off a chain reaction in the fuel market, causing the biggest oil refiner to rethink its sales strategy.
- Estee Lauder Says Duty-Free Sales in China Are Bouncing Back — Estee Lauder Cos. sees a revival in China’s tourism — a promising sign in a critical growth market for international brands.
- Australia’s Ex-Treasurer Accuses China of ‘Immature’ Reprisals — Australia’s former treasurer Joe Hockey, who helped oversee a comprehensive free-trade agreement with China, has accused Beijing of bullying and immature behavior as the list of Australian goods targeted for reprisals grows.
- Delivery Giant Meituan Said to Weigh Second Listing in China — Meituan is considering a second listing in China as soon as next year after its Hong Kong shares more than quadrupled in the two years since its debut, according to people familiar with the matter.
- China’s Crackdown on Illegal Fishing Rings Hollow — The government is finally taking action at home. But its fishing fleets are still plundering waters around the world.
- $400 Hairy Crabs Selling Out in China as Consumers Splurge — Late in the afternoon on a recent weekday, workers at an aquaculture farm near Shanghai used long pincers to move 300-gram crabs from muddy ponds into small pools of freshwater. By morning, the crabs – their shells cleansed of dirt – will be packed into gift boxes and shipped to customers all over China.
- China to Halt Key Australian Imports in Sweeping Retaliation — China has ordered traders to stop purchasing at least seven categories of Australian commodities, ratcheting up tensions with a key trading partner in its most sweeping retaliation yet.
- Jack Ma Gets a Warning From China on Ant’s Rapid Expansion — China warned Jack Ma and senior Ant Group Co. executives that the fintech giant will face new curbs on its expansion, highlighting growing regulatory risk for the world’s largest initial public offering just days before its trading debut.
- Self-Driving Firm Pony.ai Gets Funding From China Carmaker FAW — Self-driving technology startup Pony.ai struck a funding agreement with carmaker FAW Group, calling it the first strategic investment by a Chinese state-owned vehicle manufacturer into an autonomous-technology company.
- Xi Says Economy Can Double as China Lays Out Ambitious Plans — Chinese President Xi Jinping said the economy can double in size by 2035 and the country can reach high-income status in the next five years as the Communist Party outlined ambitious plans for the nation’s future.
- China Turns to Lobsters, Wine and Coal to ‘Punish’ Australia — What started as a political spat between Beijing and Canberra has become a one-sided trade war that threatens serious disruption for an expanding number of Australian exporters.
- Magic Johnson Selling Gels Shows Why Alibaba Escaped Trump — As Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. prepares to host its biggest and most global shopping marathon ever, its position as a gateway to the world’s fastest-recovering economy is winning points with an increasingly hostile U.S. administration.
- China Guzzles Saudi Arabian Oil While Riyadh Keeps U.S. Flow Low — Last month, the kingdom directed at least 1.8 million barrels a day of crude oil to China, the highest deliveries since a surge in buying back in April and May when prices crashed, tanker-tracking compiled by Bloomberg shows. Meanwhile, daily exports to the U.S. slumped to a paltry 97,000 barrels.
- Spiking Volatility in China Shows Global Markets Are Nervous — China’s currency markets are on edge like never before, a sign of the anxiety afflicting investors globally as they gird for election day in the U.S. and its potentially contentious aftermath.
Reuters
- Volkswagen takes on Tesla with first ID.4 electric models in China — Volkswagen AG launched two ID.4 electric sport-utility vehicle models in China on Tuesday, taking on Tesla Inc in the world’s biggest auto market.
- CEPI to fund development of COVID-19 vaccine candidate by China’s Clover — The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) said on Tuesday it will fund the development of the protein-based S-Trimer COVID-19 vaccine candidate by China’s Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc.
- Analysis: Fin or tech? China’s Ant, biggest-ever IPO, says it’s a tech firm not a bank — China’s Ant Group, about to make the biggest public sale of shares ever, poses a basic conundrum: what kind of company is it – a financial colossus or a tech giant?
- China, Nepal deny Nepali opposition’s landgrab accusations — China and Nepal denied on Tuesday the accusations of Nepali opposition lawmakers who said Beijing had seized territory along the Himalayan border between the two nations.
- China’s Ant expected to double on debut amid pent-up retail demand: fund managers — China’s Ant Group is expected to double its market value on debut, as unmet demand from mom-and-pop investors and an impending inclusion in major global indexes could offset worries about tighter regulations, fund managers said.
- Analysis: Barriers to China-U.S. investments could outlast Trump — President Donald Trump raised barriers for Chinese companies seeking to invest or raise money in the United States that will have a lasting impact even if he does not win a second term, according to dealmakers and policy experts.
- Factbox: U.S. government panel cracks down on Chinese deals — President Donald Trump raised barriers for Chinese companies seeking to invest or raise money in the United States that will have a lasting impact even if he does not win a second term, according to dealmakers and policy experts.
- Hugo Boss dresses down as pandemic spurs casual trend — German fashion house Hugo Boss said on Tuesday it was focused on driving a recovery of its business online and in China and tapping into the trend for more casual fashion that has been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.
- Factbox: What’s new in China’s 2020 population survey versus 2010 census — More than 1 billion Chinese citizens will participate in a once-in-a-decade census that will inform policymakers on demographic shifts in the world’s most-populous but fast-ageing nation, and help shape social and economic policies in the years to come.
- Watchdogs hold talks with Ant as China releases draft online lending rules — China’s central bank and three financial regulators held talks with Ant Group Co Ltd’s top executives and its founder Jack Ma on Monday as Beijing published new draft rules for online micro-lending.
- Column: China’s iron ore market appears in supply-demand sweet spot – Russell — Iron ore appears to have settled into something akin to a comfortable equilibrium, with Chinese stimulus spending keeping demand high, but supply from Australia and Brazil sufficient to maintain a balanced market.
- Global markets under Trump: Build the Wall (Street)!… and China — Donald Trump’s campaign slogan in 2016 could have been ‘build the Wall Street’, but a scan across global markets throws up plenty of surprises, especially in the emerging economies that have been in Trump’s cross-hairs.
- New energy vehicles to make up 20% of China’s new car sales by 2025 — Sales of electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles in China, the world’s biggest auto market, are forecast to rise to 20% of overall new car sales by 2025 from just 5% now, the State Council said on Monday.
- China state banks plan curbs on metals, forex trades if U.S. election fuels volatility — Two major state-owned Chinese banks warned on Monday that they could restrict trading of precious metals and foreign exchange products if this week’s U.S. presidential election fuels market volatility.
- China says will safeguard Chinese journalists’ rights after U.S. visa rule — China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it will take all necessary measures to protect Chinese journalists in response to the United States delaying visa renewals for Chinese reporters.
Xinhua
- China executes first int’l LNG tender transaction on Shanghai exchange — Shanghai Petroleum and Natural Gas Exchange (SHPGX) on Monday executed its first international liquefied natural gas (LNG) tender transaction, a move aimed at enriching the exchange’s international LNG trade services.
- China liquor maker Wuliangye posts strong sales growth — China’s leading liquor producer Wuliangye Yibin Co., Ltd. saw its revenue grow 14.53 percent to reach 42.49 billion yuan (about 6.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three quarters of the year.
- Market exchange rates in China — Nov. 3 — The following are the central parity rates of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, against 24 major currencies announced Tuesday by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System:
- Chinese medicinal material price index up 0.04 pct — The Kangmei Chinese medicinal material price index, a barometer of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) material market, rose 0.04 percent to 1,289.98 points Tuesday.
Other Publications
- POLITICO: Next U.S. president will influence testy Canada-China relations — A big question in Canada is whether there will be a substantial change if Joe Biden wins the White House.
- Nikkei Asian Review: China’s use of digital currency accelerates in trial program — Central bank seeks to work with international agencies on global legal framework.
- Nikkei Asian Review: African nations stare at defaults as debt to China swells — Zambia accused of putting Beijing first in deferment talks with creditors.
- Foreign Policy: Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon Are Flooding the Zone With Hunter Biden Conspiracies — Media properties tied to an exiled Chinese billionaire are behind waves of disinformation in the lead-up to the election.
- CNBC: The growing U.S. deficit raises questions about funding as China cuts U.S. debt holdings — The U.S. deficit is burgeoning and it’s set to grow much bigger with a planned second stimulus package to beat the pandemic fallout.
- The Diplomat: What Is the End Game of US-China Competition? — Could the two sides agree on a modus vivendi? If so, what would it look like?
