Reuters (August 22)
The “boom-to-bust saga” of China Evergrande Group drew closer to the end with its formal “delisting from the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday,” which as the largest by market value and volume in recent years.” For investors, “the journey has been anything but grand.” After achieving a $9 billion market cap in its 2009 IPO, Evergrande rocketed ahead, growing “more than five-fold to $51 billion eight years later only to plummet to earth,” with it’s current value approximately $282 million and creditor claims of approximately $45 billion. “The company’s journey from stock exchange darling to a pariah in the financial markets is a cautionary tale of unbridled debt-fuelled expansion in the world’s second-largest economy.”
Tags: Boom, Bust, Cautionary tale, China. Evergrande, Creditor claims, Debt-fuelled, Delisting, Expansion, Hong Kong, Investors, IPO, Market value, Pariah, Stock exchange, Volume
Financial Times (June 8)
“Donald Trump’s gyrations on trade policy have not broken global financial markets just yet — but what is happening in Hong Kong shows they are feeling the strain.” For over a month, Hong Kong’s interest rates remained fixed at just above 0%, which is peculiar, “Its currency is pegged to the US dollar” so this presents a prime arbitrage opportunity, which is going untaken. “This little episode reveals a disturbing fragility. Markets may appear to be taking all of the Trumpian disruption in their stride, but when a dislocation of this sort persists for more than a month, it is a warning sign. Watch out for trouble ahead.”
Tags: 0%, Arbitrage, Broken, Currency, Dislocation, Dollar, Fragility, Global financial markets, Gyrations, Hong Kong, Interest rates, Peg, Strain, Trade policy, Trump, U.S.
South China Morning Post (June 3)
“Hong Kong companies favour markets closer to home and in Southeast Asia to grow their businesses because of higher tariffs and other trade barriers in the US and Europe, according to a survey by HSBC, with many expressing confidence about their expansion plans.” Following the disruption of Trump tariffs, the new pivot is being “supported by Hong Kong and Beijing’s efforts to forge stronger ties with markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East as US-China trade ties remain tense.”
Tags: Businesses, China, Companies, Confidence, Disruption, Europe, Expansion plans, Hong Kong, HSBC, Markets, Middle East, Pivot, Southeast Asia, Survey, Tariffs, Trade barriers, Trump, U.S.
South China Morning Post (May 9)
“Hong Kong must wake up to the dangers of US port and shipping threats “ While the world obsesses about Donald Trump’s tariffs, “a quieter but potentially more lasting confrontation is taking shape that could remake global trade infrastructure.” The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) recently “concluded an investigation into China’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors” and “its impact on the global trade architecture could be just as profound. If Hong Kong is “to remain a serious player on the international stage, we must respond with urgency, clarity and conviction” to measures that could include “per-voyage service fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-controlled vessels calling at US ports, as well as proposed tariffs on Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes and other key port equipment” while requiring that LNG carriers be US-built, “phasing out Chinese-made ships from the trade.”
Tags: China, Confrontation, Dangers, Global trade, Hong Kong, Infrastructure, Maritime, Per-voyage service fees, Port, Ship-to-shore cranes, Shipbuilding, Shipping threats, Tariffs, Trade Representative, Trump, U.S.
Traders Magazine (September 25)
“Compliance and risk leaders need to reorient their processes and technology to align with how traders trade in today’s markets.” Many legacy systems are “decades out of date, designed in a time when you had to keep an eye on one financial instrument or venue at a time.” Insider trading can occur through economically related securities and a rising number of ”social media-related market manipulation cases” are facing regulators in India (SEBI), Hong Kong (SFC) and the U.S. (SEC). “Market operators and financial institutions must… innovate their practices to ensure market integrity while creating value and opportunities.”
Tags: Compliance, Economically related securities, Financial instrument, Hong Kong, India, Legacy systems, Market manipulation, Processes, Risk leaders, SEBI, SEC, SFC, Social media, Technology, Traders, U.S.
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
