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 Executives Sell at the Right Time, Avoiding Billions in Losses — A review of regulatory filings finds that insiders at Chinese companies sold large stock holdings just before sharp declines.
- HSBC Lifts Stake in China Securities Venture to 90% — Bank buys a bigger holding in HSBC Qianhai Securities from its state-owned partner.
- Salad Days are Over for Asian Tech—and Not Just in China — Sea Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest internet firm, has pulled out of India’s e-commerce market as it seeks to prioritize profits over growth.
- China’s Services Sector Posts Steepest Decline Since Pandemic’s Start — Activity has dropped as authorities have locked down major cities in an effort to stamp out the largest Covid-19 outbreak in two years.
- Shanghai Workers Sleep at the Office as China Extends Covid-19 Lockdown — Amid sudden quarantines, staff at banks, trading venues and investment firms take to cots and sleeping bags to ensure business continuity.
- John Lee, Former Policeman, Poised to Be Hong Kong’s Next Top Official — City’s No. 2 official, regarded as a hard-liner on national security, says he intends to stand for chief executive.
The Financial Times
- China’s zero-Covid policy risks causing agricultural crisis and food shortages — Farmers lack fertiliser and labour ahead of crucial spring season due to strict lockdowns.
- Chinese traditional medicine company’s shares surge on Covid outbreak — Value of owning family’s stake in manufacturer rises to $4.5bn after Hong Kong promotes treatment.
- Hong Kong stock exchange takes aim at boardroom ‘boys’ club’ — Companies listing on bourse must have at least 1 female director by July.
- Biden announces US, UK and Australia co-operation on hypersonic weapons — Expansion of trilateral security pact is response to rapid expansion of Chinese military.
- Hong Kong hardliner joins race to become city’s next leader — Ex-security chief John Lee played crucial role in crackdown on city following pro-democracy protests.
- ‘Singaporeans must benefit’: expats fleeing Hong Kong meet rising resentment — City-state’s reputation for openness being undermined by locals who want to clamp down on immigration.
The New York Times
- John Lee, Who Led Crackdown on Hong Kong Protests, May Lead City — John Lee, who spent his career in Hong Kong’s security services, is likely to continue Beijing’s emphasis on political stability above all else.
Caixin
- Huawei Deepens Bet on Batteries With Investment in Lithium-Ion Alternative — The investment in HiNa Battery Technology Co. Ltd., a Jiangsu province-based company that develops sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and industrial energy storage, was made through Huawei’s venture capital arm Shenzhen Hubble Technology Investment Partnership.
- Shanghai Reverses Covid Separation Policy to Let Families Stay With Their Infected Kids for Treatment — The move comes after local health authorities came under fire online for separating children who tested positive for Covid-19 from their parents.
South China Morning Post
- China urged to fully fund Argentina’s US$8.3 billion nuclear plant as debt tightens — A belt tightening deal with the IMF has prompted Buenos Aires to ask Beijing to rework February agreement that has Argentina picking up 15 per cent of the bill.
- No 2 official John Lee formally resigns, paving way for bid as Beijing’s preferred candidate — A source said Beijing’s liaison office had informed Election Committee members on Wednesday morning that Lee would be the only candidate backed by the central government.
- Hong Kong national security police arrest 6 accused of acting with seditious intent by disrupting court hearings — The six suspects were said to have deliberately been nuisances during hearings at various courts in December and January.
Nikkei Asia
- China’s Big Oil to pour cash into boosting domestic output — Capital spending to rise to highest level in 8 years amid energy security drive.
- U.S., U.K., Australia announce cooperation on hypersonic weapons — AUKUS to expand beyond development of nuclear submarines.
Bloomberg
- HSBC Increases Stake in China Brokerage Venture to 90% — HSBC Holdings Plc raised its stake in its Chinese securities venture to 90%, giving Europe’s largest bank a firmer foothold as it pushes to expand in the world’s second largest economy.
- BlackRock Among Investors to Pare Losing China Property Bets — The biggest investors in China’s junk property bonds reduced their exposure for the first time in months, a turning point after they previously doubled down through distress and default risks.
- EU’s Top Diplomat Calls Summit With China’s Xi a ‘Deaf Dialog’ — The European Union’s foreign policy chief described a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “deaf dialog,” casting doubt on how much cooperation the Asian nation will offer to end the war in Ukraine.
Reuters
- Shanghai to start another round of citywide COVID tests — Shanghai will ask all 26 million residents to take another round of COVID-19 tests, a city official said on Wednesday, adding that lockdown curbs would continue until the exercise is complete.
- China Kintor’s COVID drug candidate cuts hospital, death risk in trial — China’s Kintor Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday its potential COVID-19 treatment proxalutamide effectively reduced the risk of hospitalization and death in a clinical trial involving outpatients with mild to moderate symptoms.
- Argentina wants China to fully fund $8.3 billion nuclear plant amid cash shortfall — Argentina is pushing China to fully finance a new $8.3 billion nuclear power plant in the country, as the government grapples with high debt levels and looks to bring down its fiscal deficit as part of a recent deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Other Publications
- The Washington Post: For the rising stars of Taiwanese political satire, China is a joke — The focus on China as an object of ridicule has intensified in recent years as Taiwanese commentators sound the alarm about Xi’s campaigns to smother dissent and flex Chinese military power.
- Quartz: Chinese state media are using H-1B visas to bypass US journalist visa restrictions — Even newsrooms in the US rarely sponsor foreigners for this visa. But media outlets with Chinese state ties have been taking ample advantage of it—exploiting it, even.
