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
- Anger at Xi’an Lockdown Spreads in China — Account of woman who lost her unborn baby in the eight month of pregnancy after being denied medical attention prompts outcry.
- China’s Capital Meets Own Clean-Air Standards for First Time as Olympics Approach — Beijing’s concentration of fine particulate matter has fallen 63% from 2013 levels, though it remains almost seven times the WHO-recommended levels.
The Financial Times
- The Big Read: the fallout from the Evergrande crisis — The crackdown on real estate ordered by Xi Jinping is putting growing pressure on local governments and many companies.
- Japan and Australia sign defence pact in face of more assertive China — Deal to promote joint military exercises cements ties between two close US allies.
- Hospital officials in China’s Xi’an sacked for refusing entry to pregnant woman — Neglect of mother who was turned away and had a miscarriage seen as one of several excesses of city’s Covid lockdown.
- Taiwan to support Lithuania with $200m fund after dispute with China — Investment plan follows harsh measures taken by Beijing against the Baltic state.
- China rushes to develop an mRNA vaccine as doubts grow over local jabs — Older inactivated virus technology in domestic shots less effective against infection than foreign rivals.
The New York Times
- Xi’an Is China’s Biggest Covid Challenge Since Wuhan — Xi’an, a city of 13 million people, has been on lockdown since Dec. 22, the longest in the country since the early days of the outbreak in Wuhan.
Caixin
- Caixin Explains: What China’s New Cybersecurity Review Rules Mean for IPOs — Final regulations unveiled Tuesday fueled speculation the authorities may exempt mainland companies seeking to sell stock in Hong Kong from the review procedure.
- China’s Property Market Set for Gloomy Year After 2021 Ends in a Funk — Some analysts say home sales will fall again this year and more developers will default on their debts.
- Minmetals Expects Strong Profits From Boom Year for Metals — The state-owned giant estimates profit will rise 10% as revenue hits the 800 billion yuan mark for the first time.
South China Morning Post
- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam slams officials for attending birthday party of over 100 guests including suspected Covid-19 patient, vows ‘appropriate actions’ — A birthday party attended by top Hong Kong officials who might have mingled with a suspected Covid-19 case has sparked fears of a Covid-19 cluster emerging embarrassingly within the establishment.
- China’s pandemic-hit businesses see tax cuts and fee reductions extended in bid to kick off new year on a high note — China will continue to ease the burdens of taxes and fees on businesses in the service industry and other sectors that have been crippled by the pandemic and suffered job losses, in a bid to kick off the year’s first quarter with more stable economic prospects, according to Premier Li Keqiang.
- China may delay its much-feared property tax amid price slump in nation’s real estate industry — China’s property tax could be another casualty of the slump in the housing market, with analysts expecting the government to hold off on expanding trials of the levy because of a real estate-led economic slowdown.
Bloomberg
- Hong Kong Officials Under Fire for Partying Despite Covid Threat — Hong Kong’s push to reimpose strict Covid-control measures suffered an embarrassing setback after it emerged 10 government officials had gone to a large party attended by a person believed to have Covid.
- Tencent-Backed Tuhu Said to Move Planned U.S. IPO to Hong Kong — A Chinese online car-services platform backed by investors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. is shifting its proposed initial public offering to Hong Kong from the U.S., people with knowledge of the matter said.
- Winter Olympics Boost China’s Supplier Shares Despite Boycotts — China’s investors are not letting a growing diplomatic boycott dampen their optimism ahead of Beijing’s Winter Olympics next month.
- China Seen Delaying Property Tax Trials Until Market Improves — China’s property tax could be another casualty of the slump in the housing market, with analysts expecting the government to hold off on expanding trials of the levy because of a real estate-led economic slowdown.
Reuters
- China bans most exclusive copyright deals for digital music platforms — China’s copyright authority said on Thursday digital music platforms are not allowed to sign exclusive copyright agreements except in special circumstances, amid a regulatory crackdown on monopolistic behaviour in the country’s private sector.
- HSBC edges out of China sin bin with new deals — News on Wednesday that HSBC could soon take a greater stake read more in its Chinese securities joint venture came just a week after Beijing approved it taking full ownership read more of its jointly-owned mainland insurer. While China’s approvals process is often hard to read, the two moves and other developments imply a difficult period for the Asia-focused lender is near an end.
- Finding China’s Moderna is a financial long shot — With foreign jabs yet to be approved, Shenzhen-listed Walvax Biotechnology and its smaller partner look promising. Their feverish valuations leave little room for error.
Other Publications
- The Economist: Could China’s north-east be home to its next banking disaster? — The economy is struggling, and its banks are under stress.
- The Economist: Hong Kong’s new legislature is a mockery of democracy — And its media are losing any independence.
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: China’s New AI Governance Initiatives Shouldn’t Be Ignored — The government’s three approaches will profoundly shape how algorithms are regulated within China and around the world.
- Nikkei Asia: Alibaba and Tencent rule another Chinese market: video calls — Zoom, Microsoft and Huawei struggle to compete with duo’s vast user bases.