Much attention goes to the epic battle between China’s internet giants Alibaba and Tencent. But WeChat expert Matthew Brennan does not see why one of their payment systems, Alipay and WeChat Pay, should defeat the other. He sees room enough for both, he tells That’s Magazine.Read More →
Cash was king, not so long ago in China. But as wealth and the middle class increased, mobile payments had an advantage, says business analyst Ben Cavender. Because other payment tools like cards did not have a solid footprint, eager smartphone users adopted mobile payments quickly, he tells That’s Magazine. But: “Realistically, I don’t think cash will go away entirely, but it will certainly be relegated to a less important role.”Read More →
We have seen this before, says financial analyst Victor Shih about the efforts by the financial authorities in China to reduce debts. In 2014 they tried the same, and in 2015, 2016 the PBOC, China’s central bank, started to print money again. When economic growth comes under a certain level, that will happen again, he tells Bloomberg.Read More →
China’s government seems eager to control debts, even when it means a mitigation of economic growth. But the financial stimulus will remain a trusted tool in the country’s financial toolbox, in case growth drops too far, says financial analyst Victor Shih at the Deutsche WelleRead More →
China might have announced drastic reform of its government, state-owned companies are still lagging behind in reforms, argues financial analyst Sara Hsu. Because their access to state funding is unlimited, they keep on creating new debts and have little incentive to improve efficiency, says Sara Hsu at CGTN.Read More →
The first five years of president Xi Jinping’s rule saw many promises on financial and economic reforms. But he fell short on delivering on those promises, says financial and political analyst Victor Shih to Quartz.Read More →
The decision by China’s insurance supervisor CIRC to take over Anbang, did not come as a surprise, says financial analyst Victor Shih to the Washington Post. The move will “inject a dose of confidence,” he added.Read More →
Chinese New Year is ahead and economists have their predictions about the country’s economy ready. Much of their gloomy prospects (Over-investment, too much debt, bubbly markets, faked data, Ponzi-like financial structures) depends on their location, observes business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, according to Bloomberg. Those located in China tend to get the uptick in the economy better than those observing China from afar.Read More →
Economists seldom all agree when it comes to China’s economic future, but there is a widespread optimism about the expected country’s performance for 2018, tells leading economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, to the South China Morning Post.Read More →
Tencent’s WeChat, one of China’s leading data companies, might be easier in sharing data with the government compared to its Western competitors, says WeChat expert Matthew Brennan. But when it comes to sharing data with marketeers, the company is way more restrictive, he tells in Harvard Political Review.Read More →
Ant Financial, Didi Chuxing and Xiaomi made it to the top-3 Chinese unicorns in 2017 on a list of 120 most successful unicorns in Greater China, announced the Hurun Greater China Unicorn 2017 Index last week. Beijing is leading the pack, says Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf, followed by Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou. Keeping up with the amazing growth is tough, Hoogewerf tells AsiaVenturepedia.Read More →
Renowned China expert Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, uses the final edition of the China Economic Quarterly (CEQ) to rub it in. Many journalists and other analysts made a living predicting China’s demise over the past two decades. Kroeber explains why those predictions failed, and not China itself, in the South China Morning Post.Read More →