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
- Covid-19 Heightens U.S.-China Rivalry, New Report Says — The World Economic Forum report says the pandemic risks widening income disparities world-wide.
- About China’s Booming* GDP — *Good data mask dangerous imbalances that are growing worse.
- Battle of the Robots Still Favors Japan and Europe—For Now — Chinese robotics companies took market share last year amid the disruptions of the pandemic.
- Chinese Investors Pull More Than $3 Billion From Funds That Missed Out on Ant IPO — Five mutual funds had touted access to Ant Group’s blockbuster initial public offering before the financial-technology giant’s listing was called off.
The Financial Times
- Evergrande shares soar as early bond repayment eases debt worries — World’s most indebted property group has been under scrutiny as China tries to contain leverage.
- Chinese university to open Budapest campus as Orban tilts to Beijing — Move comes amid concerns about future of academic freedom in Hungary.
- Tripling of China-Europe shipping costs threatens goods supply — Prices at record high fuelled by shortage of containers and recovery in consumer demand.
- Zoom spy claims a warning for multinationals in China — Alleged surveillance highlights security threat from Chinese state.
- China’s rebound masks long-term challenges — Economic growth still relies too much on exports and investment.
- European stocks edge higher as China’s growth beats forecasts — Economic and human cost of new Covid-19 variants weigh on investor sentiment.
- Chinese broadcaster sues Premier League in escalation of Covid dispute — PPLive Sports retaliates after receiving $215m legal claim last year.
- Genus profit upgrade pushes shares to record high — UK animal genetics group enjoys sustained Chinese demand for its pig and bull semen.
The New York Times
- A Child of China’s Gilded Elite Strikes a Nerve Over Wealth and Privilege — The youngest daughter of the founder of the telecommunications giant Huawei debuted a documentary, a magazine cover and a music video — and the response was savage.
- China Expands Grad Schools as the Young Seek Jobs — The government is expanding university capacity, but some young people worry that the option will only postpone a crisis stemming from a shortage of well-paying work.
Caixin
- In Depth: Dishonest Drugmaker Shows How Hard It Is to Combat Cross-Border Fraud in China — Investors’ interests remain inadequately protected despite progress in such cases.
- Bank of China President to Leave for Same Role at World’s No. 2 Bank — Wang Jiang, 57, will occupy a position that has been vacant for two months.
- China’s Central SOEs See Sharp Slowdown in Profit Growth — Net profits rose 2.1% in 2020, decelerating from 10.8% growth the previous year.
- China Awards $9.02 Billion of New Foreign Investment Quotas — Mutual funds get 90% of new authorizations as total of government-approved overseas investment rises to $125.7 billion.
- China’s Housing Sales Hit Record in 2020 as Post-Lockdown Demand Surged — Recovery in residential market may not be sustained this year amid fresh government curbs on property loans.
- China’s Economy Isn’t ‘State Capitalism,’ Banking Regulator Says — Watchdog’s Chairman Guo Shuqing explains that this is a ‘big misunderstanding’ and that private enterprise plays a major role.
- China Aviation Giant Is Latest SOE to Target External Investor — State-owned AVIC aims to develop more subsidiaries ‘worth hundreds of billions of yuan’.
- Hong Kong Mulls HK$3 Billion Rescue for Struggling No. 2 Theme Park — The goal is to revamp the money-losing waterpark with fresh funding and a plan to open it up to third-party contractors.
- China’s Biggest Windfarm Operator Seeks Backdoor Listing in Shenzhen — Hong Kong-listed Longyuan is eying an expected higher valuation on the mainland bourse.
- Charts of the Day: STAR Market Powers Up China’s Microchip Sector — Semiconductor investments in China soared to 140 billion yuan in 2020, more than quadruple the previous year, as Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style board hosted 32 deals.
- Exclusive: Game Executive Murder Suspect a ‘Breaking Bad’ Fan, Tested Poisons on Pets, Sources Say — Xu Yao, believed to be the main suspect in the death of Yoozoo Games chief Lin Qi, had set up a lab in Shanghai after buying poisons on the dark web, several sources told Caixin.
- Chinese Panel Maker BOE to Raise $3 Billion Through Share Sale — Chinese display panel maker BOE Technology has announced plans to raise as much as 20 billion yuan ($3 billion) by selling shares to a group of investors.
- Foxconn Gains Approval to Produce Laptops and Tablets in Vietnam — Apple supplier Foxconn has reportedly obtained a license for one of its units to build a plant to make laptops and tablets in Vietnam, as the Taiwanese company moves some of its production lines to Southeast Asia and other regions to avoid higher U.S. import tariffs imposed on certain Chinese-made products.
- Kuishou IPO Could be Only Weeks Away — The TikTok-like Kuaishou could be preparing to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as Feb 5, people close to the deal told Caixin. The expected IPO could raise as much as $5 billion and make it the first major short-video platform to go public.
- Chinese Edtech Platform Jiliguala Nets $100m Series C from Tencent, Others — Shanghai-headquartered online English learning platform Jiliguala on Monday announced the completion of its nearly $100-million Series C round from investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent.
South China Morning Post
- China’s military uses new all-terrain vehicle to get supplies to troops in Tibet — China’s military has a new all-terrain vehicle to help deliver supplies to troops in high-altitude regions like Tibet, according to state media.
- Chinese leadership says country must use its strengths to curb pro-independence forces in Taiwan — Beijing has pledged to use what it sees as its political and economic strengths to contain pro-independence forces in Taiwan, identifying it as a key task for the Communist Party’s centenary year.
- Pinduoduo worker deaths reignite debate on 996 and the dark side of China tech’s overwork culture — The dark side of working for China’s booming technology industry is under the spotlight again amid public criticism of social commerce giant Pinduoduo in the wake of two employee deaths, with many fearing the infamous 996 culture has become worse and not better due to pressure from the pandemic.
- Cheng Xue of soy sauce producer Haitian is China’s top earner with US$10 billion wealth, displacing tech executives from Hurun list — Cheng Xue, the vice-chairwoman of Foshan Haitian Flavouring, has displaced dozens of technology executives as China’s highest-paid corporate chieftain, according to the inaugural Hurun China Richest Professional Managers 2021 report.
- Xi Jinping to discuss coronavirus-era challenges with Merkel, Suga and Modi at virtual Davos — Chinese President Xi Jinping will join global leaders next week at a virtual meeting organised by the World Economic Forum that will focus on the economic, environmental, social and technological challenges facing the world amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Switzerland-based institution said on Monday.
- China’s first carmaker FAW joins the rush to ditch petrol guzzlers in a 30 billion yuan venture with Audi to produce electric cars — China’s very first carmaker is entering the fray to assemble electric cars, as it joins the shift towards electrification in the world’s largest automotive industry, where one in every five vehicles will be powered by electricity by 2025.
- Coronavirus highlights ‘urgent’ need for China’s digital currency, says state-owned bank — The economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic have increased the urgency for Chinese companies to adopt the use of a digital currency, Guo Weimin, chief scientist at the Bank of China, said on Tuesday.
- China’s national security screening rules for foreign investments enter force — China’s new rules for vetting foreign investments on national security grounds came into effect on Monday, with lobby groups warning that it could put a dent in Beijing’s plans to attract more international investors.
- As coronavirus, US-China tensions add to global economic uncertainties, Asia looks to be a key growth engine — The evolution of the global coronavirus pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the United States and China will continue to reverberate throughout the world for some time, even after the virus is brought under control and bilateral tensions ease, experts have warned.
- China braces for another record year of bond defaults as cash-starved developers breach central bank’s red lines for borrowings — China’s corporate defaults may set a record this year when a trio of the central bank’s debt limits kick in this month, as they crimp the ability by borrowers to use loans to repay their outstanding debt.
- Indian sailors stranded due to China-Australia dispute allowed to leave Chinese coast — A group of Indian sailors stranded off the Chinese coast for seven months, caught up in a trade dispute between China and Australia, have been allowed to leave for Japan, union officials said on Monday.
- Coronavirus pandemic got Hong Kong to embrace e-commerce, and ‘trend looks likely to stay’ — Hong Kong finally jumped on the e-commerce bandwagon over the past year as social-distancing measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic kept residents at home, with industry leaders saying they expect the changes to stick – even in a post-coronavirus world.
- Hong Kong fourth wave: jobless rate hits new 16-year high of 6.6 per cent with city deep in coronavirus fight — Hong Kong unemployment hit a new 16-year high of 6.6 per cent in the final quarter of last year, with the city deep in its struggle against a fourth wave of coronavirus infections which has ravaged the economy and so far showed no signs of easing.
- Explainer: How does Hong Kong’s Tracker Fund avoid being caught between US sanctions and doing its job? — The Tracker Fund, the largest exchange-traded-fund (ETF) in Hong Kong, was in the spotlight last week after its manager State Street Global Advisors Asia made a dramatic U-turn over whether it should comply with US sanctions against Chinese stocks in its portfolio.
- Coronavirus: with higher unemployment figures on the horizon, Hong Kong businesses are bracing for a gloomy start to 2021 — Unemployment in Hong Kong is poised to hit new highs amid the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic, with various industry leaders predicting a gloomier economic outlook for the year and the city’s catering sector bracing for its jobless rate to reach as high as 18 per cent.
- TikTok sister app Douyin launches payment service, picks up deal for Spring Festival Gala — TikTok sister app Douyin has become the exclusive advertising partner of China Central Television (CCTV) for the Spring Festival Gala, according to sources familiar with the matter, as the ByteDance-owned short video-sharing platform introduced its own mobile payment service.
- Trump orders assessment of security risks of Chinese drones in final broadside before he leaves office — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing US agencies to assess any security risks from Chinese-made drones in American government fleets and to prioritise removing them.
Bloomberg
- Johnson Fuels G-7 Fears of Rival Alliance to Counter China — Boris Johnson’s plan to host an expanded Group of Seven summit in June is worrying some other members who fear the U.K. may be trying to reshape the forum of wealthy nations via the back door.
- VW Goes Head-to-Head With Tesla in China With New Electric SUV — Volkswagen AG has set the starting price of its first locally built all-electric sports-utility vehicle with its Chinese partner FAW Group Co. at 199,900 yuan ($30,800) after subsidy, descending into the mass market as a growing number of players jostle for share.
- China Evergrande Soars After Redeeming $2 Billion Bond Early — China Evergrande Group shares have had their best start to a year since 2012 after the developer said it plans to redeem a $2 billion convertible bond early, passing a liquidity test as it looks to substantially cut debt.
- China’s Virus Flare-Up Before Holiday Stokes Oil Demand Fear — The resurgence of Covid-19 in China has led to lockdowns and calls for citizens not to travel during the upcoming Lunar New Years holidays, stoking concern that oil and fuel demand will take a near-term hit.
- As WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers, China Fills Void on Vaccines — For months, the World Health Organization has called on countries to come together to ensure a fair distribution of Covid-19 vaccines among rich and poor nations. Now it’s starting to lose patience.
- China’s Stock Rally Cools as Traders Shift Cash to Hong Kong — Chinese stocks saw losses accelerate Tuesday afternoon, with the CSI 300 Index closing at the lowest in nearly two weeks as mainland investors rotated into Hong Kong-listed shares.
- Hong Kong Stocks at 20-Month High as Record China Cash Floods In — Hong Kong stocks closed at the highest level since May 2019 as mainland investors continue a record spending spree in the city.
- China’s Car-Chip Shortage Could Persist for as Long as a Decade — China’s automotive-chip shortage could persist for as long as a decade, but it has little to do with the current supply glitches snarling production, according to the official who oversees the nation’s key new energy vehicle technology development platform.
- China’s Wide Income Gap Undercut Spending as Growth Recovers — China’s successful control of Covid-19 made it the only major economy to have grown last year, but wide income inequality and still weak consumer spending reflects an unbalanced recovery.
- China Sovereign Fund Revamps Overseas Investment Committees — China’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund is restructuring how its decides on international investments as it tries to boost efficiency and make better progress on a goal of increasing the share of private assets in its global portfolio.
- Cisco Gets Conditional Approval From China for Acacia Deal — China’s State Administration for Market Regulation issued a conditional approval of Cisco Systems Inc.’s purchase of Acacia Communications Inc., removing a regulatory hurdle that had nearly torpedoed the deal.
- Philippines Allows Sinovac to Hold Covid Vaccine Trials — The Philippines has allowed China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. to hold clinical trials in the Southeast Asian nation for its coronavirus vaccine, which President Rodrigo Duterte prefers to be inoculated with, officials said.
- China’s Madoff-Like GDP Growth Isn’t the Real Concern — The economy’s suspiciously strong growth is understated if anything. Deleveraging is the real concern.
- China Top Financial Watchdog Blasts ‘State Monopoly’ Accusation — China’s top financial regulator dismissed claims the nation is distorting its economy through “state monopoly capitalism” as pressure grows on China to align more with global trade rules.
- Scion of Singapore’s Richest Clan Strives to Salvage China Deal — Pressure is mounting on an heir to Singapore’s biggest family fortune as he seeks to salvage the troubled property investment at the center of an ambitious expansion into China.
- Johnson Seeks to Stave Off U.K. Tory Rebels Over China’s Uighurs — Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a “tight” vote in Parliament as lawmakers from his Conservative Party plan to rebel and press for British judges to determine if China’s Muslim Uighur minority is suffering genocide.
- China in Talks With Kenya for Debt Relief After Paris Club Deal — China is in talks with Kenya on a debt-service suspension deal, its embassy in Nairobi said, days after the Paris Club agreed to delay $300 million in payments by the East African nation.
- Sinovac Steps Up Defense of Shot After Confusing Data — China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. defended the efficacy of its Covid-19 shot, saying the vaccine that’s being rolled out from Indonesia to Brazil despite inconsistent data readouts is more effective in preventing the disease if the two-dose regime is administered over a longer time frame.
- Hong Kong Experts Back Pfizer Shots, Clearing Way for Approval — A panel of experts said they have recommended that Hong Kong approve the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine for use, clearing the way for a regulatory greenlight as the city tries to stamp out a winter outbreak that appears to be worsening.
- China’s Growth Beats Estimates as Economy Powers Out of Covid — China’s economy roared back to pre-pandemic growth rates in the fourth quarter as its industrial engines fired up to meet surging demand for exports, pushing the full-year expansion beyond estimates and propelling its global advance.
- China Calls U.S. Covid Lab Claims ‘Lies,’ ‘Conspiracy Theories’ — China accused the U.S. of spreading “lies” and “conspiracy theories” after the Trump administration said it had new information suggesting the coronavirus might have emerged from a Chinese laboratory.
- H.K. Activist Blasts HSBC CEO’s Explanation on Account Block — Former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui stepped up his criticism of HSBC Holdings Plc as Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn reached out to him personally to explain why the lender froze his accounts after he fled the city for self-exile in the U.K.
Reuters
- TikTok owner ByteDance launches Douyin Pay, mobile payment service for China — Beijing-based ByteDance recently launched its own third-party payment service for Douyin, the Chinese version of its hit short video app TikTok, as it presses to expand into the e-commerce business in China.
- Biden intelligence pick to call for tough scrutiny of China, source says — Avril Haines, a former White House and CIA official whom President-elect Joe Biden chose for the top U.S. intelligence job, will tell Congress on Tuesday that she will continue tough U.S. scrutiny of China and press spy agencies to help resolve the COVID-19 crisis, a Biden transition official said.
- Breakingviews – Corona Capital: Chinese M&A, Logitech, Lindt — Corona Capital is a column updated throughout the day by Breakingviews columnists around the world with short, sharp pandemic-related insights.
- Trump orders assessment of security risks of Chinese drones — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing U.S agencies to assess any security risks from Chinese-made drones in American government fleets and to prioritize removing them.
- ‘One village, one policy’: China keeps it local to battle COVID wave — China is using localised tactics to battle a wave of COVID-19 outbreaks, an approach that avoids the sort of widespread shutdowns that devastated the economy last year but is also sowing uncertainty ahead of the Lunar New Year travel season.
- Chinese regulator approves Cisco’s $4.5 billion Acacia deal — Cisco Systems Inc’s purchase of Acacia Communications Inc has been approved by China’s antitrust regulator on condition that the companies ensure fair competition, the watchdog said on Tuesday.
- China’s Geely teams up with Tencent on smart car tech — China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which owns Volvo Cars and holds 9.7% of Daimler, said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Tencent Holdings Ltd to develop smart vehicle cockpit and autonomous driving.
- China says opposes U.S. suppressing Chinese companies — A spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Beijing opposes the United States suppressing Chinese companies after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered an assessment of security risks from Chinese drones.
- China to support economic recovery, avoid ‘policy cliff’ – state planner official — China will provide necessary policy support for the economic recovery this year, to avoid a “policy cliff”, as small firms remain hard-pressed amid the pandemic, a senior official at the state planner said on Tuesday.
- Breakingviews – Breakdown: Evergrande’s rejig offers measure of Xi — China’s most-indebted property developer is scrambling as officials push an aggressive cleanup of the bubble-prone sector. The ongoing pain of $25 billion Evergrande, with businesses spanning theme parks to electric vehicles, is a vivid measure of how far President Xi Jinping will go to reallocate capital and de-risk the economy.
- Departing EXIM chief urges Biden team to counter Chinese lending dominance — The head of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) on Monday urged the Biden administration to keep pushing to neutralize Chinese export subsidies and help U.S. companies compete, building on gains made under Donald Trump.
Xinhua
- China central bank vows consistent policies to keep housing prices stable — China’s central bank will keep its regulation on the real estate sector consistent to promote the sector’s healthy and stable development, an official said Friday.
- China establishes fast IPR service centers to boost industry upgrade — China has established or is working to establish 25 service centers to provide fast responses to intellectual property rights (IPR) issues, the country’s IPR authorities announced on Tuesday.
- China’s civil air transport sector achieves 10 consecutive years of safe flight — China’s civil air transport sector created a new record in flight safety by maintaining 10 consecutive years of safe flight operation as of the end of 2020, according to data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
- China’s passenger car sales expand in December 2020 — China’s passenger car sales continued to grow in December 2020 thanks to the steady recovery of the country’s vehicle market and industry, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
- China’s alcohol-making industry posts rising profits in first 11 months of 2020 — China’s major alcohol companies saw profits rise 8.6 percent year on year to 151.53 billion yuan (about 23.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 11 months of 2020, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
- StanChart chairman sees China as major force driving global recovery — China will be a “major force contributing to the global economic growth” in the post-COVID-19 era, Jose Vinals, group chairman of Standard Chartered PLC, said Monday.
- China’s central SOEs see profits rise 2.1 pct in 2020 — Net profits of China’s centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) expanded 2.1 percent year on year in 2020 to 1.4 trillion yuan (215.77 billion U.S. dollars), with around 80 percent of central SOEs reporting rising profits, official data showed Tuesday.
Other Publications
- Nikkei Asian Review: China and Pakistan fall out over Belt and Road frameworks — Deadlock over interest rates for major rail project stalls annual summit.
- CNBC: Foreigners poured money into China as the world struggled with the coronavirus pandemic — In the capital city of Beijing, foreign investors claimed more than a third of commercial real estate deals last year, property manager JLL said Thursday.
