A whistleblower from one of China’s most powerful banks says its shady dealings highlight how Hong Kong’s financial system is increasingly at the mercy of Beijing.
Listen to SupChina editor-at-large and Sinica podcast host Kaiser Kuo read this article.
The roadshow kicked off on a steamy autumn morning in Singapore. Over the course of two days, CLSA, a Hong Kong-based brokerage firm, hyped up a $250 million, three-year bond deal for CEFC China Energy Co., a huge oil and gas firm.
It was 2016, and CEFC was flying high. The company was fresh off a deal to take a stake in a Kazakhstan oil and gas company and a Czech Republic-based bank, plus the company was in the process of developing a massive oil reserve in Hainan, an island province of China.
CLSA was tasked with finding investors for CEFC’s dollar-denominated bond. And during the roadshow, bankers pushed its growth story: the company had more than $40 billion in annual revenue, 30,000 employees and had been recognized as “China’s Most Influential Company” and an “Asia Excellence Brand.” The company was also portrayed as being “closely aligned with
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
With traditional information gathering inside China nearly impossible these days, many researchers are using creative methods to mine the Chinese internet — and they're finding diamonds. From what's happening in Xinjiang to the PLA's use of AI to China's new nuclear capabilities, these researchers are defying the perception that China is a black box.
The business consultant talks about the full complexity of human trafficking, how companies can 'leave' responsibly, and the very fast-evolving picture of sanctions.
