https://www.scmp.com/rss/13260/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Groundbreaking! Aggressive! Bold! Several heroic adjectives have been used by the Chinese state media to describe the “mixed-ownership” restructuring of China Unicom, a step in President Xi Jinping’s reform of the country’s state enterprises. It is billed as the fulfilment of his 2012 pledge, made when he became head of the government, to introduce private-sector capital and entrepreneurship into state firms and motivate their staff with share incentives. The reality, however, is different. It... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2108013/baby-step-unicoms-mixed-ownership-trial-anything-cheer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2108013/baby-step-unicoms-mixed-ownership-trial-anything-cheer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Aug 2017 16:01:54 +0000 The fiasco with Hong Kong’s penny stocks had been spreading like wildfire. How did it happen like this? Let’s imagine I’m one of the professional traders whose magic flute has many penny stock investors astray, down the abyss to their personal misfortune. But don’t blame me. I’m no different from the unsupervised child who finds the cookie jar open. I do what every kid does -- I gouge on cookies till I’m stuffed. I work in a securities firm you see, but my boss is no ordinary broker. He’s a... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2102147/confessions-market-maker-hong-kongs-penny-stocks-fiasco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2102147/confessions-market-maker-hong-kongs-penny-stocks-fiasco?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jul 2017 05:35:09 +0000 Mainland Chinese investors were the biggest losers when dozens of Hong Kong’s penny stocks plunged last week, some losing as much as 90 per cent of their value. The crash was serious enough that it made it on to the agenda for discussion between the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission. Three theories stand out to explain the crash. First a little premble: 90 per cent of these penny stocks belong to an Enigma Network of 50 interconnected issues,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101223/here-are-three-theories-explaining-hong-kongs-penny-stock-crash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101223/here-are-three-theories-explaining-hong-kongs-penny-stock-crash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jul 2017 08:37:16 +0000 Reminiscing about Hong Kong’s market changes since the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty had never been Money Matter’s plan, until the arrival of two emails, one from a reader and another from a regulator. Both are responding to an early piece on the change of the Articles of Association by dozens of Chinese state-owned enterprises listed in Hong Kong to make the Communist Party Committee their key governing body. The column questioned why Hong Kong’s market watchdog agencies have not asked... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2100237/capitalism-chinese-characteristics-very-much-here-stay-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2100237/capitalism-chinese-characteristics-very-much-here-stay-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:10:37 +0000 To the creative minds in mainland China, the recent proposal of a new board for start-up companies by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a dream come true. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold, and investors have seen plenty of the exchange’s creativity, which doesn’t quite extend to finding a cure for cancer or building cars than run on ethanol. Imagine you are one of those eager beavers keen to make a quick fortune by listing a too-good-to-be-true business in Hong Kong. You will need some... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099214/hong-kongs-new-startup-board-dream-come-true-all-wrong-reasons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099214/hong-kongs-new-startup-board-dream-come-true-all-wrong-reasons?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Jun 2017 11:21:09 +0000 Liquidity is tight now in mainland China, due to the recent crackdown on profligate lending and graft. All eyes have turned to lending for the quick gain, not the long game. Connections are all that matters. The intricate network that branched out from China Huarong Asset Management, one of the country’s state-owned bad debt managers, is a classic case. Since renaming a listed shell in 2015 as Huarong International Financial, the company has fed the unit HK$11.6 billion in shareholder’s loans... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098170/heres-how-gravy-train-chugs-along-chinas-funding-drought?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098170/heres-how-gravy-train-chugs-along-chinas-funding-drought?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:10:30 +0000 There is little doubt that Paul Chan Mo-Po will stay on as Hong Kong's Financial Secretary for the next five years. The question is why. The accountant didn’t make it in 2012, and John Tsang Chun-wah eventually got the job. Instead, Chan became the Secretary for Development, responsible for Hong Kong’s land and housing. He made little progress while busy fending off scandals of his wife running numerous subdivided flats and undisclosed land ownership in a development zone in the New... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2097181/trusting-accountant-hong-kongs-finances-speaks-volumes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2097181/trusting-accountant-hong-kongs-finances-speaks-volumes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Jun 2017 12:44:48 +0000 A system under one country is creeping not only into Hong Kong’s political life but also the financial one. At least 19 of the Chinese state-owned enterprises listed in Hong Kong are establishing Communist Party committees, and making them a key governing body to “advise” their boards on operational, personnel and strategic matters. The city’s securities regulators have so far done nothing to bring members of these powerful committees under its regulations to protect shareholders’ interest and... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2096224/hammer-and-sickle-are-making-their-way-some-hong-kong-public?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2096224/hammer-and-sickle-are-making-their-way-some-hong-kong-public?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 May 2017 08:40:47 +0000 All sorts of theories have been offered on why Henderson Land Development bought the Murray Road land plot at a world record price. Some say Henderson was bidding for some inconvenient buyers, others that Henderson would soon sell a stake in the plot to mainland peers. That is because the HK$24 billion (US$3 billion) price tag, which implies a yield of only 2.5 per cent, is simply too high for most people to understand. The most interesting explanation offered to Money Matters is to do with... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2095419/why-henderson-lands-uncle-four-spent-record-us3bn-murray-road-land-plot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2095419/why-henderson-lands-uncle-four-spent-record-us3bn-murray-road-land-plot?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2017 00:04:27 +0000 Very few people in Hong Kong’s media industry take Charles Chan Kwok-keung as the genuine controlling shareholder of TVB, given his reputation as the “King of Shell Companies,” and the political importance of the city’s dominant free TV to Beijing. Yet, it was still shocking to see his role spelt out in a contract as the frontman for the Chinese media mogul Li Ruigang, an agreement that’s signed by a venerable list of Who’s Who of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It’s shocking for the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094564/opinion-identity-tvbs-true-controller-lies-bare-all-see?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094564/opinion-identity-tvbs-true-controller-lies-bare-all-see?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 23:30:24 +0000 How to identify and avoid Lao Qian Gu (or a cheater’s stock) in Hong Kong? When a mainland broker like China International Capital Corp issues a report with that title, one knows how bad things have become. What’s worse is that the report is part of the broker’s educational series of the Hong Kong market. The “cheater’s stock” is now considered a phenomenon. The typical operation involves what CICC calls the “downward manipulation”. Now imagine you are the driver. First, you announce some good... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2093674/opinion-all-you-need-know-about-cheaters-stocks-its-lures-its-victims-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2093674/opinion-all-you-need-know-about-cheaters-stocks-its-lures-its-victims-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 May 2017 16:40:53 +0000 Thanks to a new law, Hong Kong’s property prices are unlikely to come down. It is called the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Behind the benign name is a nerve-wracking mechanism that threatens to expose the wealth of the fat cats. Faced with this almost existential crisis, houses are where they seek to hide their riches. To understand their fear, let’s start with the basics. Imagine yourself as a senior government official or a successful entrepreneur who has accumulated a multibillion-dollar... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2090532/fat-cats-scramble-hong-kong-property-new-law-exposes-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/2090532/fat-cats-scramble-hong-kong-property-new-law-exposes-their?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2017 23:00:45 +0000 In China’s corridor of power, what has been said is never telling; what has not, is. The recent dismissal of the Chinese insurance regulator tells us that President Xi Jinping is more interested in getting a firm grip over the country’s financial industry than having a full blown war with the old power brokers of the Communist Party – at least for the moment. Here is what has been said. Xiang Junbo, who has been leading the insurance watchdog since 2011, was removed last week from his job as... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2088559/xiangs-dismissal-shows-xi-picking-his-battles-and-letting-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2088559/xiangs-dismissal-shows-xi-picking-his-battles-and-letting-old?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:00:13 +0000 Let’s just ignore the guessing game of who might be investing in China’s second-largest telecommunications group, in the so-called “mixed ownership” reform of the country’s state-owned enterprises. It’s not going to make an iota of difference. The line was already drawn, as soon as Beijing announced that the share sale will be done by the A-share holding company, instead of the Hong Kong listed unit. Whoever the new private shareholder is -- Alibaba, Baidu or Tencent -- it will be operating in a... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2086755/its-step-forward-three-steps-back-unicoms-mixed-ownership-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2086755/its-step-forward-three-steps-back-unicoms-mixed-ownership-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Apr 2017 00:02:31 +0000 Imagine I’m one of those private entrepreneurs whose business has gone down in flames with spectacular debt. I know the Chinese word for risk is fengxian (風險). Only it has a different definition in my dictionary. I have built from scratch an enterprise that employs tens of thousands of people. Trust me, in China’s corporate jungle, it took more than just luck. Yet, the success can be easily wiped out by a change in policy or the whims of government officials. I had to diversify before my... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2084756/confessions-self-made-chinese-tycoon-whos-too-big-fail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2084756/confessions-self-made-chinese-tycoon-whos-too-big-fail?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Apr 2017 00:16:03 +0000 Pop! Another bubble fuelled by greed and leverage, with Chinese characteristics, has burst. The only difference is the one drowning here is Yang Kai, who until recently was atop the food chain, playing rescuer to those kicking to stay above the water. Like most of the “victims,” Yang thinks big. Before last Friday’s 85 per cent dive in the price of China Huishan Dairy, Yang was on his way to becoming a financial guru. He lent money and his name to small companies. He built apartments and offices... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2082847/how-magic-went-out-huishans-financial-wizardry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2082847/how-magic-went-out-huishans-financial-wizardry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Mar 2017 00:16:33 +0000 With four issuers on the Growth Enterprises Market board shot down by regulators, should one expect Hong Kong’s farmers of corporate shells and price fixers to be in mourning? Not at all. It’s business as usual. They say wherever there’s a rule, there’s a way. The name of the new way is Patience. The story of version 2.0 is best told through the IPOs of two GEM-listed stocks within a week of each other last month. Dadi Education, a consultancy that advises students on overseas studies, sailed... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2080868/roller-coaster-ride-exposes-hong-kong-gems-weaknesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2080868/roller-coaster-ride-exposes-hong-kong-gems-weaknesses?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Mar 2017 00:00:46 +0000 “Crocodiles”, “traitors” and “scarecrows” are the new creatures lurking in China’s corridors of power, the financial one in particular . President Xi Jinping has reportedly lashed out against these three types during the Communist Party’s sixth plenary meeting last October. He didn’t elaborate, but any veteran observer of Chinese business or politics will know who they are. The “crocodiles”are the top families of China’s political elites, and their consigliere making the big bucks in the... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2078801/crocs-traitors-and-scarecrows-abound-lieutenants-are-scarce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2078801/crocs-traitors-and-scarecrows-abound-lieutenants-are-scarce?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:00:58 +0000 “We will not allow you to challenge the bottom line of our regulations, tarnish the industry’s image, or hurt the welfare of policyholders.” Abide by the rules, or “otherwise, we will kick any miscreant out of the industry.” -- Xiang Junbao, Chairman, China Insurance Regulatory Commission(CIRC) Action always proves the true worth of words. In this case, the words of the Chinese insurance regulator barely survived a few hours. Xiang talked tough at a Beijing press conference last week. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2074845/foresea-life-poster-boy-or-scapegoat-chinese-insurance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2074845/foresea-life-poster-boy-or-scapegoat-chinese-insurance?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2017 14:01:51 +0000 Ye Jianming isn’t a name that rings many bells. But it will, considering what he’s achieved so far in a country where the state firms take all. He is the sole private entrepreneur to win a stake in an Abu Dhabi onshore oil concession – which has a lifespan of 40 years – with 4 per cent. British Petroleum and China National Petroleum Corp got 10 and 8 per cent respectively. Why would state giants like CNOOC and Sinopec Group tolerate that? He holds a “full” licence in China’s financial industry –... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2072726/whos-39-year-old-paying-hk14-billion-three-office-floors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2072726/whos-39-year-old-paying-hk14-billion-three-office-floors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Feb 2017 13:15:00 +0000 These days in China, the disappearance of a senior Communist Party cadre barely raises an eyebrow. Talk that China’s insurance regulator Xiang Junbo may be under investigation is, however, different. It’s not only because he decides who gets to sell life insurance in China – the most juicy business in the country – but also because of the deep involvement of political heavyweights in the industry. The rumour, which appeared on Friday in Ming Jing News – a Chinese-language magazine and website... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2070797/whats-short-leash-chinas-insurers-risk-or-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2070797/whats-short-leash-chinas-insurers-risk-or-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Feb 2017 22:01:02 +0000 The money mill that undergirds many of China’s aggressive -- if not reckless -- assets buying in Hong Kong and overseas may be coming to a temporary halt, if the cat has the upper hand this time. In an effort to protect the yuan, the People’s Bank of China issued a directive late last month to rein in cross border borrowing that has been fuelling the mill. On the radar are not only 24 mainland banks but also three overseas lenders -– HSBC, Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank. Before discussing... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2068853/cat-prevails-over-mice-chinas-money-mill-now?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2068853/cat-prevails-over-mice-chinas-money-mill-now?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Feb 2017 23:00:15 +0000 The champagne flowed. Fat red packets were handed out. The Year of Monkey has been good business for owners of listed shell companies, and so too, by all accounts, will be the Year of Rooster. Dark shadows hanging over the trade have cleared since the eve on the Lunar New Year. The acceleration of listing approvals up north had been threatening the value of listed shells in Hong Kong. A downturn in mainland stock markets and well orchestrated finger-pointing in the past two weeks have made... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2066902/its-kung-hei-fat-choi-shell-owners-regulators-dither?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2066902/its-kung-hei-fat-choi-shell-owners-regulators-dither?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Jan 2017 13:26:17 +0000 Don’t be fooled by our regulators’ legal actions and strong words against Li Hejun, the controlling shareholder of the notorious Hanergy Thin Film Power Group. It is the roar of a lion chained down by the regulatory black box up north that makes investigations against mainland corporates impossible. The filing of civil action is telling. Li will not face criminal proceedings amid the thundering queries of whether Hanergy’s numbers and trading prices were genuine. Instead, he will be banned from... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2065049/civil-action-against-hanergy-shows-sfc-just-chained-lion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2065049/civil-action-against-hanergy-shows-sfc-just-chained-lion?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2017 13:09:49 +0000 Li Ka-shing’s game plan is seldom questioned. Cheung Kong Property Holdings’ return to the non-real estate business with its largest ever bid in the Australian energy business is an exception. Didn’t he say a better delineation from the non-real estate business will mean high transparency and better valuation in the 2015 restructuring? Yet, the reality is when a mainland developer like Goldin Financial Holdings outbid five locals for an MTR Corp residential project, Superman Li knows... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2062909/hong-kong-property-has-become-sunset-industry-li-ka-shing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2062909/hong-kong-property-has-become-sunset-industry-li-ka-shing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:15:45 +0000 In late December Money Matters wagered HK$100 that HNA Group would win its third piece of land in Kai Tak. Now, I owe you. The bet erred in its assessment of the risk appetite of mainland corporations, not for over estimating, but under estimating. Their game is far more aggressive than expected. In what was the final land auction of 2016, the Kai Tak site was snapped up by rival K Wah International Holdings, the developer controlled by casino tycoon Lui Che-woo. K Wah pays HK$5.87 billion for... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2060917/mainland-developers-are-money-mills-rely-spiralling-asset-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2060917/mainland-developers-are-money-mills-rely-spiralling-asset-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jan 2017 11:15:30 +0000 Beijing’s tightening of capital outflows is slowing down various overseas investment, but not the interest in acquiring listed investment shells. Indeed, cash rich state-owned enterprises are replacing private entrepreneurs as buyers of these listed entities. Huarong International Financial Holdings is a telling case of the magic a state company can play with a listed entity. In March 2015, China Huarong – the country’s largest bad debt manager by asset size – spent about HK$500 million to... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2059003/three-reasons-chinas-state-owned-enterprises-are-pursing-shell-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2059003/three-reasons-chinas-state-owned-enterprises-are-pursing-shell-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jan 2017 13:18:24 +0000 Money Matters will bet HK$100 on Chinese conglomerate HNA Holding Group putting down another jaw-dropping sum of money to win its third bid for the residential site in Kai Tak. Not that I have a crystal ball or know any insider in the conglomerate. It’s simply a logical deduction from the high leverage asset game mainland Chinese corporates have been playing these days. To understand it, one must know the prime aim of most corporate actions nowadays – get the money out of China. That’s for... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2057416/heres-hk100-bet-hna-will-win-its-third-bid-kai-taks-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2057416/heres-hk100-bet-hna-will-win-its-third-bid-kai-taks-land?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Dec 2016 06:32:01 +0000 The control of China Vanke, the country’s largest property developer, has always been a political matter, not economic or business. So it was too, with the spectacular failure of China Evergrande and Baoneng Group in their pursuit of Vanke. Over the last two weeks, mainland regulators have not only named and shamed Evergrande and Baoneng, but also sent in investigators to study their insurance units. All these have forced their sale of insurance products – a major source of funding - into almost... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2056068/heres-why-evergrandes-pursuit-vanke-failed-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2056068/heres-why-evergrandes-pursuit-vanke-failed-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2016 09:22:35 +0000 George, 20, a fresh graduate, recently got a part-time job – shell farming. It’s not about going into the water at Lau Fau Shan to nurture the oysters suspended under sea. His job is to turn a cookie business into something big enough for listing in the Growth Enterprise Market. He is farming publicly traded shell companies. On top of a regular salary, he was promised 15 per cent of the numbers that he’d managed to “grow” the cookie shop into within a year or two. That will be at least HK$3... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2054277/how-farming-publicly-traded-companies-has-become-part-time-job?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2054277/how-farming-publicly-traded-companies-has-become-part-time-job?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Dec 2016 14:17:22 +0000 How bad will Beijing’s latest tightening of capital exodus be? KYC is what mainland bankers are comparing it to. That’s the short form for “know your client”, a verification process widely used by western banks for new account openings, but one that bankers frown upon because it is cumbersome to manage. KYC also shuts out small and medium businesses while leaving big corporates largely unscathed. This is what you get when bankers are made the frontline gatekeepers in the battle against capital... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2052258/banks-assume-burden-proof-chinas-crackdown-capital-flight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2052258/banks-assume-burden-proof-chinas-crackdown-capital-flight?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Dec 2016 11:11:00 +0000 When Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che-woo complains of difficulty in bidding against mainland developers at government land tenders, one can almost hear a cracking sound. A two-decade long oligopoly is crumbling in. Falling apart is their dominance not only in land purchases but also pricing of flats. Lui must be feeling a bit relieved with the news of Beijing clamping tighter control over overseas investment by mainland companies; though the reality is it won’t last long. Invading the old world are... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2050088/hong-kongs-developer-cartel-beginning-lose-its-grip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2050088/hong-kongs-developer-cartel-beginning-lose-its-grip?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Nov 2016 06:47:44 +0000 What does it takes to triple a nobody stock within two months? Not much. The mention of “One Belt One Road,” two accords with Laos and Djibouti, a 4 per cent free float, and some regulators that let the company say whatever it wants without having to put in much substance will do the job! Chaoyue Group has proven the formula as its market capitalisation ballooned to HK$28 billion. The hike began on September 22 when Chaoyue said instead of property and wine, it would sell “next generation... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2048263/how-triple-stocks-price-concept-low-float-and-regulator?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2048263/how-triple-stocks-price-concept-low-float-and-regulator?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Nov 2016 07:45:45 +0000 A sexual harassment lawsuit directed at its general manager; a whistle-blower discrimination claim by an ousted compliance officer; a US$215 million fine for failure to check money laundering involving Russia, Yemen and Afghanistan. Operations at the Agricultural Bank of China‘s New York branch had been repeatedly cited for problems, but nothing had been done to address them. Not until a tall, beautiful and blonde former chief compliance officer of the branch laid out all the details in open... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/2045229/can-agricultural-bank-china-rein-its-errant-new-york?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/2045229/can-agricultural-bank-china-rein-its-errant-new-york?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Nov 2016 13:33:16 +0000 How serious is Hong Kong about the role of a company secretary? Serious enough to allow one to continue in the job two months after he was suspended from the accountants’ registrar for helping a listed company cheat, using his capacity as a company secretary? On August 23, Au-yeung Keung was disciplined by the Hong Kong Institute of Public Certified Accountants, and had his registration removed for three years from September 16. He still remains the company secretary of China Energine... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2043144/why-does-hkse-stay-mum-energines-choice-company-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2043144/why-does-hkse-stay-mum-energines-choice-company-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Nov 2016 15:12:35 +0000 Jenga is the game I think of, reading the latest announcement by the BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. in changing its company secretary. Players take turns to remove a block from a stacked-up tower and place it on top, waiting for the growing tower to topple with the wrong touch. Only in this case, the tower is our market integrity. The bank has replaced its company secretary with a veteran from the parent company, Luo Nan, who is not qualified under the Listing Rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2041012/hkses-waiver-boc-hong-kongs-corporate-secretary-sets-bad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2041012/hkses-waiver-boc-hong-kongs-corporate-secretary-sets-bad?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Oct 2016 08:13:54 +0000 Shadow banking is synonymous with risk. For 22 years, mainland regulators forbade these companies from a stock market listing. Now, it is knocking on the door of Hong Kong. State-owned Shandong International Trust (SIT) is applying for a public offering which will soon be vetted by the Listing Committee. Ranked 20th in the industry by assets under management, this provincial firm is a nobody. The significance of its listing, if any, is in opening the door to the dozen big guys which are all... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2039095/should-hong-kong-brave-something-beijing-wont-dare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2039095/should-hong-kong-brave-something-beijing-wont-dare?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Oct 2016 15:05:52 +0000 Joseph Lau Luen-hung is a fighter – even serious kidney failure and heart disease cannot stop him. The 65-year-old tycoon, who has lost his hair and a lot of weight, had to be supported by bodyguards when he attended the funeral of his card game buddy Cheng Yu-tung this week. Touching anybody is unthinkable for Lau, a knowngermophobic. Equally unthinkable – to many of his privileged class – is putting up with the suffering of renal failure. Healthy kidneys are easily available for “peanuts”... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2028211/ailing-chinese-estates-boss-joseph-lau-striving-outwit-god?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2028211/ailing-chinese-estates-boss-joseph-lau-striving-outwit-god?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Oct 2016 14:07:00 +0000 Thanks to our unquestioning regulators, Evergrande Real Estate, which has been kicking and paddling to stay afloat in a sea of debt, is finally next to a lifeboat. Last week, the developer said it has signed a cooperative agreement with a company listed in Shenzhen that might result in the injection of its core business into the latter in return for controlling stakes. Though this would do little to trim Evergrande’s 450 per cent gearing - the ratio of its debt to equity capital - the A-share... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2026138/evergrande-finds-lifeline-back-door-listing-thanks-soft-touch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2026138/evergrande-finds-lifeline-back-door-listing-thanks-soft-touch?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Oct 2016 13:20:53 +0000 “Are you free after five?” Any veteran editor or assignment head would remember this clue from Li Ka-shing’s public relations officer. When the question was asked, they would immediately send their reporters to China Building, then the headquarters of Li’s empire, to wait patiently in the lobby. At about five o’clock, the lift would ding and there would be the richest man in Hong Kong. What a coincidence! The journalists would throw some questions his way, but it wouldn’t take long for them to... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2024090/li-ka-shing-wants-his-postal-savings-bank-investment-heard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2024090/li-ka-shing-wants-his-postal-savings-bank-investment-heard?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Sep 2016 13:47:42 +0000 If the merger of China’s two largest steel mills is a showcase of President Xi Jinping’s economic reform, it is showing a bad face. It is a classic case of the good boy bailing out the bad one that would do little for the reduction of excessive capacity while hurting minority shareholders and discouraging the management. Those who talked about synergy and streamlining must realise that the marriage of Baosteel Group and Wuhan Iron & Steel Co (Wisco) is not between No 1 and No 2, but the merger... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2022097/steel-merger-casts-bad-light-chinas-economic-reform?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2022097/steel-merger-casts-bad-light-chinas-economic-reform?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Sep 2016 14:56:45 +0000 There is nothing about Hong Kong’s listing regime that needs fixing. Key opponents to the city’s proposed regulatory reforms have been singing this line in almost every press interview and public forum. Is is true? Money Matters took a look at all the 91 companies listed on the main board in 2014 and their life after listing. That is a much celebrated year for both the Hong Kong Exchange as well as sponsors given the record-making number of listing. The result is not comforting at all. Of them,... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/2020085/reform-needed-when-half-hong-kong-listings-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/2020085/reform-needed-when-half-hong-kong-listings-year?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Sep 2016 12:34:20 +0000 Given that the results of the Legislative Council elections were not on the predicted lines, it came as no surprise when city officials decided to extend the consultations on listing reforms. And not too many would raise any eyebrows if the proposed reforms remain stillborn. The victory of democratic candidates in the accountancy, technology and functional constituencies, despite the huge political and financial resources of their adversaries, has shaken the belief that Beijing can master votes... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2018124/hong-kongs-political-undercurrent-makes-reform-listings-market-look-gloomy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2018124/hong-kongs-political-undercurrent-makes-reform-listings-market-look-gloomy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Sep 2016 16:56:46 +0000 Auditor George had a busy Friday, not due to work but because he was entertaining appeals to make the “correct” decision in tomorrow’s Legislative Council elections. It began with an email from the boss to everyone in the mid-size firm, reminding them to vote. “Filibusters in the legislature are damaging Hong Kong...we call on you to make the right choice,” it said. Then, calls poured in. By 4pm, a dozen acquaintances – chief financial officers, bankers and fellow accountants – have spoken to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2013183/ring-ring-dont-forget-vote-sunday-ce-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2013183/ring-ring-dont-forget-vote-sunday-ce-election?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Sep 2016 14:42:43 +0000 Where is China’s property market heading? Land sales are notching up one record one after another in some Chinese cities. Not surprisingly most of the developers have rung in impressive half-yearly earnings numbers. But beneath the impressive numbers lies a different story, especially when one factors in the views of less glamorous players in the sector like contractors. George is one of them. “We are paying more to win projects,” the veteran industry player said. No, you are not reading some... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2009586/brick-and-mortar-facade-buries-real-truth-about-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2009586/brick-and-mortar-facade-buries-real-truth-about-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Aug 2016 14:59:38 +0000 Hui Ka-yan and his tycoon buddies from Hong Kong love to play “purge the landlord”, the Chinese version of the poker game. For years, it has been a monthly game. The challenge is in winning without holding the top cards. The “gang” is probably experiencing the same thrill in their relatively small and late bet on China Vanke. Given China’s twisted economic conditions, they are holding an unbeatable hand. It does not really matter whether they win control for Vanke, the country’s largest... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2006301/politics-will-decide-whether-evergrande-can-hit-jackpot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2006301/politics-will-decide-whether-evergrande-can-hit-jackpot?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Aug 2016 00:02:18 +0000 When most thought the Hang Fat Ginseng fiasco ended with a change in control, a High Court judgement re-opened the case for the worst. New facts revealed have contradicted various announcements by the company and its ex-chairman Yeung Wing-yat, throwing into doubt not only its new ownership but also the clout of our regulatory regime. The beans were spilled by an expedient partner over money. State-owned Great Wall Pan Asia Investment is seeking an injunction against Yeung selling his assets... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1996532/hang-fat-ginseng-fiasco-reflects-badly-hong-kong-regulators?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1996532/hang-fat-ginseng-fiasco-reflects-badly-hong-kong-regulators?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Jul 2016 08:13:49 +0000 Regulators’ silence on communist presence in listco deafening The listing of state firms overseas has always been a game of pretend. Their profitability is a result of negotiation with the Ministry of Finance. Their share options are either never exercised or go into the government’s pocket. Their independent directors have no say on the reshuffle or pay of senior officers. Now, Beijing is taking off the remaining masque by demanding its state firms put the Communist Party organisation into... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1993277/regulators-silence-communist-party-presence-listed-state-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1993277/regulators-silence-communist-party-presence-listed-state-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jul 2016 09:07:45 +0000 Citic Group Corporation is revising its Articles of Association to specify “the leading status, establishment and operation” of the Chinese Communist Party committee”, it said in a recent report to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Party’s graft fighter. The move, however, sounded the death knell for President Xi Jinping’s planned reforms to give private capital and the market a bigger role in the economy, by co-opting entrepreneurs and career managers to state firms. Citic... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1990174/invisible-hand-market-gives-way-visible-hand-party-chinas-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1990174/invisible-hand-market-gives-way-visible-hand-party-chinas-state?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Jul 2016 10:21:20 +0000 Shirley Yam Shirley Yam The reshuffle that matters to Hong Kong is not about Donald Trump nor Leung Chun-ying; but a little known name, Rebecca Li Bo-lan. She has been heading the 860-strong investigating team at the Independent Commission Against Corruption since June 2015. Last week, the 53-year-old career graft-buster was told to leave her job as its Acting Head of Operations. The move is unprecedented. The commission has given no explanation. Her successor is Ricky Yau who had been moved out from the investigation... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/1987202/hong-kongs-icac-risk-losing-its-independence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/1987202/hong-kongs-icac-risk-losing-its-independence?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jul 2016 08:45:00 +0000