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
- The Risks and Rewards of Playing Chicken With China — China has ways to confound speculators betting on Evergrande contagion—thanks to a broader, murkier regulatory toolkit than most foreign investors know.
- U.S. Bans China Telecom Over National Security Concerns — FCC says company is subject to Chinese government’s control.
- U.S. Takes Bitcoin Mining Crown After China Crackdown — More than a third of the global computing power dedicated to mining bitcoin is now drawn from miners in the U.S.
- Seagate Broke Export Curbs by Supplying Huawei, Senate Republicans Say — The data-storage product provider sold Chinese company hard-disk drives, according to report; Seagate says it complies with regulations.
The Financial Times
- China’s hypersonic weapon test close to ‘Sputnik moment’, says US general — Mark Milley says Washington paying close attention after confirming test of ‘very concerning’ nuclear-capable system.
- Hong Kong/HKEX: uncertain position in the eyes of Beijing weighs on listings — Status as both a listing destination and finance hub is at the mercy of China.
- China urges property developers to pay international debts — Economic planning agency statement comes days ahead of new Evergrande payment deadline.
- Evergrande founder loses $25bn as Xi crackdown hits big tycoons — China rich list shows property magnate’s personal fortune shrank 70% over past year.
- China tech stocks rebound on hopes peak regulatory risk has passed — Sightings of Alibaba founder Jack Ma abroad fuel recovery over past month.
The New York Times
- U.K. Moves to Attract Financing for Nuclear Plants — The government wants to bolster electricity supply and ease dependence on foreign developers like China.
Caixin
- China Moves to Blunt Power of Futures Market Over Coal Prices — Prices immediately fall as Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange raises margin requirements and transaction fees to make trading less attractive and reduce volume.
- Two Wealthy Chinese Regions Vow to Wipe Out Implicit Government Debt — Shanghai and Guangdong pledge to clear all their off-balance-sheet liabilities, though neither offers a deadline.
- BYD to Raise Battery Price 20% as Lithium Costs Soar — Surging demand for electric vehicles contributes to quadrupling of lithium prices in China this year, putting battery makers in a profit squeeze.
South China Morning Post
- Evergrande crisis: a third of China’s developers may face pressure with US$84 billion in debt maturing by end of 2022, S&P warns — A third of China’s property developers could see their liquidity “acutely strained” in the worst case scenario as weaker sentiment and new government regulations weigh on their funding sources, with a “real” risk of default as some US$84 billion in debt is set to mature by the end of next year, according to S&P Global Ratings.
- China amends Anti-Monopoly Law for the first time amid tech crackdown, increasing penalties and regulatory control — China is amending its Anti-Monopoly Law for the first time since it came into force in 2008, beefing up antitrust penalties in an explicit push for more control over the digital sector.
- China updates rules on real-name registration online in crackdown on schemes to revive banned user accounts — China’s internet watchdog is updating regulations on how users of domestic online platforms identify themselves, making it harder for censored social media accounts to be revived, as Beijing intensifies efforts to clean up the nation’s cyberspace.
- Beijing short video ad agency backed by ByteDance and Xiaomi files for IPO in Hong Kong — Online ad agency Uju Holding files for Hong Kong IPO with the aim of raising up to HK$1.1 billion. The company’s three per cent share in China’s online short video marketing market makes it the second-biggest player in the field.
Bloomberg
- China Agrees on Plan to Cap Coal Price to Ease Power Crisis — China plans to limit the price miners sell thermal coal for as it seeks to ease a power crunch that’s prompted electricity rationing and even caused a blackout in a major city last month.
- Ping An Profit Falls on Investment Returns, Sales Slowdown — Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s largest insurer by market value, posted a 31% drop in third-quarter profit as stock-market declines weighed on investment returns and slower economic growth sapped premium income.
- DOJ Curbs Trump-Era Zeal for China Spy Probes as Cases Sputter — The Trump administration went all-in on what it called its “China Initiative,” with the Justice Department prosecuting Chinese and Chinese-American researchers it said were stealing U.S. secrets while hiding their links to the government in Beijing and the People’s Liberation Army.
- Goldman Backs China Bulls With Its 50 ‘Common Prosperity’ Stocks — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has spotlighted 50 China stocks that stand to benefit from President Xi Jinping’s “common prosperity” campaign, bolstering the view that Beijing’s regulatory shakeup is also bringing opportunities.
Reuters
- China developers propose debt restructuring, maturity extension to regulators-sources — Some Chinese property developers have proposed extending their offshore bond maturities or undertaking a debt restructuring to regulators, sources said.
- China regulator says will step up efforts to build ‘civilised internet’ — The head of Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) Zhuang Rongwen said such efforts were crucial to build a “modern socialist country”, given that China had over 1 billion netizens and was the world’s largest digital society.
- TikTok tells U.S. lawmakers it does not give information to China’s government — An executive at TikTok faced tough questions on Tuesday during the video-sharing app’s first appearance at a U.S. congressional hearing, saying it does not give information to the Chinese government and has sought to safeguard U.S. data.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asia: China ride-hailer T3 raises $1.2bn as rivals pounce on Didi’s woes — 2-year-old startup joins race to snag market share from embattled company.
- Nikkei Asia: China’s COSCO raises stake in top Greek port Piraeus to 67% — Shipping giant says it aims to expand key foothold in Belt and Road initiative.
- Quartz: China’s Xie Zhenhua is the most important person attending COP26 — The now 71-year-old climate negotiator has been a crucial figure in China’s climate policy shift toward making binding commitments, without which the global climate effort would be pointless.
- MIT Technology Review: How Alibaba tracks China’s delivery drivers — The food delivery service Eleme, owned by Alibaba, built a Bluetooth tracking system to make “instant delivery” a reality.