Local governments in China have amassed an amazing amount of debt. Dropping revenue and disappointing economic performance is a major challenge, writes financial analyst Sara Hsu in the China-US Focus. “The outlook for local government financials is not positive.”Read More →
Now a massive row of Chinese companies, including Alibaba, are preparing for IPO´s, both at home at abroad, insights in China´s financial industry are more important than ever,
The government wants to allow market forces to decide what financial direction the country is taking, and because more than even capital is owned by Chinese citizens, just looking at what the central government in Beijing is doing, is not longer good enough.Read More →
From a cash country, where transactions were done by moving plastic bags with money between bank branches, China has turned into a leading force in fintech or financiel technology. Mobile payment are standard. Bitcoins and blockchain technology found in China early adopters. Social media have – more than anywhere in the world – adopted payment systems to facilitate online trade.Read More →
Private companies have a hard time getting bank loans, says economist Arthur Kroeber to Barron’s. But that is nothing new, he adds, the problem is that state-owned companies get loans too easy. That division is more important than the level of China’s debts, he adds. “Too much attention has been paid to the debt problem.”Read More →
For a while, China’s Renminbi or Yuan looked like a potential competitor in international markets. But China has lost that opportunity, says economist Arthur Kroeber in OZY. “Who’s going to issue or buy bonds in a market where liquidity can be turned off at the drop of a hat?” he asks.Read More →
Hong Kong’s days as a financial market are not yet numbered, but in the long run, the city has tough problems, says celebrity investor Jim Rogers to RT. Rogers is Singapore-based, an island that hopes to benefit from the downturn of Hong Kong as a recession is looming.Read More →
Hong Kong might have lost much importance as a gateway to mainland China, for the financial markets Beijing still needs a stable Hong Kong, says financial analyst Victor Shih in NTD. The reason Chinese entities are borrowing through Hong Kong is that the financial institutions around the world, including the International Monetary Fund, legally treat Hong Kong as a separate entity, he said.Read More →
US president Donald Trump fired another salvo in the trade war on the story three major Chinese banks participated in breaking the sanctions on North-Korea. A part of Trump’s political game, says Shanghai-based business analyst Shaun Rein in the South China Morning Post.Read More →
China promised to open up its financial industry under the pressure of the ongoing trade war. But the industry was not right away impressed: they had heard this song often enough. Financial analyst Sara Hsu looks at how China is keeping its promises this time and says the country is still underdelivering, she writes in China Focus.Read More →
In its fight against an economic slowdown, China has opened the bank vaults again and pumped more credit into its financial systems, again, says political analyst Victor Shih, author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation to the New York Times. It is an old solution in a country where debts are already at dangerous levels, he says.Read More →
After a lengthy crackdown on shadow banking, this risky financial tool seems to be back in grace as China’s economy is slowing down. It is the pragmatic way China’s financial authorities deal with the economy, financial analyst Sara Hsu says. Shadow banking will be allowed, as long as it works, she writes in China Focus.Read More →
P2P lending used to be one of the darlings of the financial industry in China, but those days are over, describes financial analyst Sara Hsu in a thorough overview of the developments at SupChina. More consolidation of the industry is expected, she adds.Read More →