The Economist (February 10)
“This year investors in Chinese stocks have been on a hair-raising ride. Even as America’s S&P 500 index reached record highs, markets in China and Hong Kong shed $1.5trn in January alone…. The decline signals a fundamental problem. Investors abroad and at home once saw China’s government as a dependable steward of the economy. Now this trust has seeped away, with severe consequences for China’s growth.”
Tags: $1.5trn, China, Consequences, Decline, Dependable, Economy, Government, Growth, Hair raising, Hong Kong, Investors, Markets, S&P 500, Steward, Stocks, Trust
South China Morning Post (February 7)
“China’s state security ministry has stepped forward to warn those who disseminate ‘short’ views on the country’s economic and market prospects.” Based on this year’s performance, “excessive information manipulation has backfired and frightened away investors” from Chinese stocks on the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges. “To investors, a one-sided story, no matter how good it may look on the surface, is not trustworthy if there’s no counter-balance…. The rational response would be to stay away.”
Tags: ‘Short’ views, Backfired, China, Counter-balance, Frightened, Hong Kong, Information, Investors, Manipulation, Performance, Prospects, Security ministry, Shanghai, Stocks, Trustworthy, Warn
BBC (January 28)
“Debt-ridden Chinese property giant Evergrande has been ordered to liquidate by a court in Hong Kong.” Evergrande initially “sent shockwaves through global financial markets” when it defaulted in 2021. Since then, it has remained “the poster child of China’s real estate crisis with over $325bn (£256bn) of liabilities.” The most recent court decision does not necessarily mean “Evergrande will go bust and collapse,” but it is expected “to send ripples through China’s financial markets at a time when authorities are trying to curb a stock market sell-off.”
Tags: 2021, China, Collapse, Court, Crisis, Debt-ridden, Defaulted, Evergrande, Financial markets, Hong Kong, Liabilities, Liquidate, Real estate, Ripples, Shockwaves
South China Morning Post (January 16)
Disappointing performance has marked Hong Kong’s stock market in 2024. “The Hang Seng Index hit a fresh 14-month low and has lost 2.3 per cent this week on top of a 4.7 per cent loss in the first two trading weeks of 2024.” Investors remain worried about “the strength of the mainland economy” so “it’s possible for the Hang Seng Index to test new lows under selling pressure.”
Tags: 2024, Disappointing, Economy, Hang Seng, Hong Kong, Investors, Mainland, New lows, Performance, Stock market, Trading, Worried
Reuters (October 6)
“It’s getting harder for China Inc to go global, and tougher for global financial advisors to take on the rapidly shrinking pool of related mandates.” Concerns over spying cannot be squelched. Alibaba provides the latest example. “Belgium’s intelligence service on Thursday confirmed it is scrutinising the tech behemoth’s European logistics hub just days after its courier unit Cainiao filed to go public in Hong Kong.” Chinese companies can expect “rising political risks… as they expand overseas. And that, in turn, might make bankers more cautious when taking on deals.”
Tags: Alibaba, Bankers, Belgium, Cainiao, China Inc., Concerns, Financial advisors, Hong Kong, Logistics hub, Mandates, Political risks, Scrutinising, Shrinking pool, Spying
Washington Post (July 1)
July 1 “used to be a day of celebration in the city. Now, it has morphed into a morbid reminder of Hong Kong’s tragic decline under the ever-worsening repression brought on by Beijing.” Hong Kong’s tragedy has great bearing for Taiwan. It “proves that Beijing’s proposal of ‘one country, two systems’ is a delusion — and that any promises Xi makes regarding Taiwan’s continued autonomy under reunification are worthless.”
Tags: Autonomy, Beijing, Celebration, Decline, Delusion, Hong Kong, July 1, Morbid reminder, Promises, Repression, Reunification, Taiwan, Tragedy, Worsening, Xi
The Telegraph (July 1)
“Twenty-six years ago today, Hong Kong was handed over to China on a promise…. Beijing made the commitment, under an international treaty, to protect Hong Kong’s freedoms, the rule of law, human rights, way of life and autonomy.” China has effectively “ripped up its promises. If there is one lesson from the city’s suffering, it is that China cannot be trusted on any commitments it makes to the West.”
Tags: Autonomy, Beijing, China, Commitment, Commitments, Freedoms, Hong Kong, Human rights, International treaty, Promise, Rule of law, Suffering, Trusted
CNN (August 12)
“Hong Kong has recorded its sharpest annual drop in population,” falling from “7.41 million people to 7.29 million, a 1.6% decrease.” Experts attribute the exodus to “strict Covid control measures and a political crackdown that have taken the shine off a financial hub long advertised as ‘Asia’s world city.’”
Tags: 1.6% decrease, Annual, Asia, Control measures, Covid, Drop, Exodus, Experts, Financial hub, Hong Kong, Political crackdown, Population, Strict
South China Morning Post (August 6)
Hong Kong’s “tough Covid-19 measures have lasted too long. They have sucked much of the joy out of everyday life and left the city isolated.” Politics have also lessened Hong Kong’s appeal. “The protests, the national security law, mass arrests and relentless rhetoric have all had an impact.” So many of the best and most “cherished memories of the city…. belong to an era that has ended.”
Tags: Appeal, COVID-19, Era, Hong Kong, Isolated, Joy, Mass arrests, National-security law, Politics, Protests, Rhetoric
The Economist (July 2)
“The pecking order of financial centres is changing.” Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore are all vying as “the map of Asian financial hubs is being redrawn.” Given that, “the region’s two emerging giants, China and India, have partial capital controls,” Singapore stands to “be the main beneficiary—provided it can handle some of the downsides of being a global centre for other people’s business.”
Tags: Asia, Beneficiary, Capital controls, China, Downsides, Financial hubs, Hong Kong, India, Pecking order, Redrawn, Shanghai, Singapore