Beijing powers up into car wars battleground 24 Apr 2024 The city’s auto show returns, with some 700 exhibitors, for the first time since the pandemic. Foreign brands from Volkswagen to Toyota have to show how they can defend themselves as China’s BYD and new threats like Xiaomi chase market share at home and abroad.
China trading-data restrictions are self-defeating 23 Apr 2024 The Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses will cease real-time updates of when overseas investors buy and sell shares. It looks like a ploy to shore up market sentiment. Reversing the decade-long practice, though, will decrease market transparency and undermine shareholder confidence.
Chinese stocks have found a bottom 23 Apr 2024 After a $5 trln crash, there are early signs of healthy buying. In this Exchange podcast, Herald van der Linde, HSBC head of equity strategy, Asia Pacific, unpicks the shifting sentiment of Chinese households and implications for the rest of the region’s capital markets.
ESG is ghost at global retailers’ annual feast 19 Apr 2024 LVMH, Amazon and peers gathered in Paris for the industry’s yearly shindig. The growth areas in the $30 trln sector are Shein-style cheap garments and the Middle East. Both jar with retailers’ previous focus on environmental, social and governance factors.
Guess what: Boeing can be spelled without G and E 17 Apr 2024 Instead of investing in a new model, the 737-maker embraced the gospel of Jack Welch and returned $60 bln to shareholders over a decade. McDonnell Douglas suffered a similar fate before infusing Boeing with GE’s toxic ethos. It’s not too late to excise it and build another plane.
Germany engineers sharper China-EU autos debate 17 Apr 2024 Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed Janet Yellen in using his visit to the People's Republic to warn against industrial overcapacity. But he also has reservations about Brussels’ potential EV protectionism. That suggests the bloc may yet take a more nuanced look at BYD and peers.
Microsoft’s G42 deal puts UAE in America’s AI tent 16 Apr 2024 The $3 trln software giant is paying $1.5 bln for a minority stake in Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence group G42. Microsoft gets years of cloud storage business. But it also implies an end to the Gulf state’s effort to be a neutral AI counterparty to China and the US.
China is a tale of at least two economies 16 Apr 2024 GDP growth comfortably beat expectations, with robustness in manufacturing and green shoots in others like catering. Yet near-zero inflation and sluggish lending point to broader problems, while real estate’s woes endure. It complicates Beijing’s search for suitable stimulus.
Hong Kong’s latest problem is a 99% nosedive 10 Apr 2024 That’s how much shares in cement maker China Tianrui fell in 15 minutes, erasing some $1.9 bln of value. It’s not the first such plunge on the city’s bourse, and at present outsiders can only guess at its cause. It’s a reminder that governance and transparency still need work.
Airbus obsessives have a shaky grasp of history 9 Apr 2024 The $140 bln pan-European group is flying high as rival Boeing stutters. Now carmakers and others are wondering if similar collaboration could help them face down overseas competitors. But Airbus’s idiosyncrasies and convoluted road to success make copycat plans pie-in-the-sky.
China’s overcapacity is here to stay 9 Apr 2024 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Beijing not to hobble Western firms by flooding markets with cheap exports. It’s a valid concern: banks are lending more to industry amid weak local demand. But China’s growth target means its factories have to keep churning out goods.
Blackstone dodges worst of Asia’s exit angst 8 Apr 2024 It plans to float more businesses in India this year, including a diamond certification firm at up to 6 times the value it paid last year. Apart from being one of the region’s biggest private equity investors, it is one of the least exposed to China. That strategy is paying off nicely.
Next Chinese trade war could benefit the planet 8 Apr 2024 As Beijing floods the world with cheap green goods, the West will put up trade barriers. That will delay the energy transition in the United States and EU. But the glut of EVs, solar panels and the like will speed it up in China and much of the Global South.
Wanda’s mall deal bags petrodollar safety net 2 Apr 2024 Wang Jianlin has found the hottest new shoppers in town. ADIA and Mubadala are taking control of his mall unit for $8.3 bln, alongside existing owners led by buyout firm PAG. Gulf money is emerging as an important lifeline for buyers and sellers in China.
Xiaomi enters China’s EV race in fine form 2 Apr 2024 The smartphone maker run by Lei Jun logged 90,000 orders in 24 hours for its debut vehicle and buyers face a seven-month wait. Investors cheered, adding 16% to the group's $48 bln market value. Competition is cutthroat but there's always room for strong upstarts.
LNG angst seeps from consumers to producers 27 Mar 2024 A few years ago, supplies of liquefied natural gas were scarce and prices sky-high. Extra capacity arriving this decade means there could soon be a price-sapping glut. Big suppliers like Qatar and Shell have long-term contracts that can ease the pain, but only up to a point.
BYD is unscathed in China’s electric-car wars 27 Mar 2024 The world’s largest EV maker founded and led by Wang Chuanfu is winning market share and accelerating its profit margins. That suggests the $86 bln company can keep cutting prices and investing overseas despite reporting its slowest quarterly profit growth in two years.
Alibaba sends out SOS on Hong Kong’s market 27 Mar 2024 The Chinese e-commerce giant ditched plans to list its logistics unit in the city and offered to buy out minority shareholders including Singapore's Temasek at a $10 bln valuation, half the mooted worth six months ago. It points to more pain for owners of unlisted Chinese assets.
Ping An and Vanke look made for each other 26 Mar 2024 Pressure is mounting on China's financial giants, including the $90 bln insurer, to support the beleaguered property developer. That is a big ask for Ping An, whose own earnings just slumped 23%. Still, helping Vanke could limit the pain for its own hefty property exposure.
China and foreign CEOs dance ever trickier tango 25 Mar 2024 Premier Li Qiang welcomed 100 bosses from giants like Apple to a Beijing business confab. Yet Tim Cook is shifting iPhone supply chains elsewhere, while China is pressing ahead with phasing out overseas tech like chips. The increasingly uneasy relationship is primed for missteps.