https://www.scmp.com/rss/318748/feed Powerful, penetrating, weekly analysis that takes readers behind the headlines of major deals and market moves in Hong Kong and mainland China and gives them a fresh perspective on what is really going on. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Alice Li Alice Li China’s dealers of precious metals and gemstones – including gold, diamonds and rubies – must comply from today with a new regulation, as the scope of Beijing’s anti-money-laundering operations widens and authorities move to counter such criminal activity by plugging creative loopholes. Transactions involving precious metals and gems that exceed a certain threshold will need to be reported to the nation’s financial crime watchdog. In this explainer, the Post delves into China’s latest... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3320461/chinas-money-launderers-exploited-gem-loophole-beijing-just-plugged-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3320461/chinas-money-launderers-exploited-gem-loophole-beijing-just-plugged-it?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 11:00:15 +0000 The theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is “Break the Bias”, which asks us to imagine a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. This is the third story in a series about gender equality in China. Felizia Yao, a 27-year-old single project manager from Shanghai, bought herself a diamond ring earlier this year, which came as a shock to some of her friends. “I bought the diamond because I wanted to, and I have the ability to afford it,” Yao said. “No rules stipulate that you can... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170540/chinas-she-economy-booms-young-and-financially-independent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3170540/chinas-she-economy-booms-young-and-financially-independent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Mar 2022 03:00:25 +0000 Chinese stocks are likely to continue falling over the next three to six months as the near-term dynamics in the domestic economic cycle will have to significantly worsen before policymakers forcefully ramp up stimulus, according to BCA Research. Investors should wait for the sell-off to run its course before picking up bargains when credit growth and investments, two major drivers of business activity, show meaningful recovery, it said in a report to clients. The caution follows a week in which... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3159212/chinese-stocks-are-likely-sell-next-two-quarters-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3159212/chinese-stocks-are-likely-sell-next-two-quarters-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Dec 2021 08:20:30 +0000 Sri Lanka has slapped a tax on road accidents in a drastic austerity budget as the country faces a major foreign exchange crisis. “It is proposed to impose a fee on vehicles meeting with accidents,” Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa told parliament on Friday. “Through this initiative, it is expected to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents.” As Sri Lanka braces for a perfect economic storm, will China send a lifeline? Rajapaksa said accidents would be taxed under new proposals to keep the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3155917/sri-lanka-tax-car-crashes-drastic-austerity-budget-raising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3155917/sri-lanka-tax-car-crashes-drastic-austerity-budget-raising?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Nov 2021 13:44:47 +0000 China’s dire demographic situation should help convince policymakers to further open up its capital account to allow citizens to invest more internationally, thereby helping boost the returns of the nation’s massive savings, according to a former director of international payments under China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). China’s foreign exchange reserves currently account for most of its foreign assets and are mainly invested in low-yield US Treasury securities. Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145522/can-china-boost-foreign-asset-returns-ease-impact-economic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145522/can-china-boost-foreign-asset-returns-ease-impact-economic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Aug 2021 14:15:19 +0000 An advertisement from sportswear giant Nike about a girl refusing to accept red packets from her aunt during Lunar New Year has earned praise online. https://www.scmp.com/china/nike-lunar-new-year-ad-praised-highlighting-chinese-tradition-refusing-red-packets/article/3047212?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/nike-lunar-new-year-ad-praised-highlighting-chinese-tradition-refusing-red-packets/article/3047212?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jan 2020 05:12:24 +0000 The toilet is embedded with 40,815 diamonds and is valued at $1.3 million. https://www.scmp.com/china/golden-throne-boasts-worlds-most-diamonds/article/3036840?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/golden-throne-boasts-worlds-most-diamonds/article/3036840?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2019 09:43:57 +0000 A Hong Kong borrower secured a loan of HK$250,000 (US$32,000) from money lenders only to be told later that more than 70 per cent was to be deducted as a service charge. The man was among the victims of unscrupulous practices revealed by the Consumer Council on Thursday as the watchdog released a study on borrowing with an analysis of more than 300 complaints against money lenders. The complainant, dubbed “C”, received a call from a man who claimed to be a “bank employee” and was then introduced... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3030555/borrower-who-was-hit-72-cent-service-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3030555/borrower-who-was-hit-72-cent-service-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Sep 2019 14:04:53 +0000 Billionaire investor and philanthropist Robert Smith was giving the commencement speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta, when he deviated from his prepared remarks to make an announcement: “My family is going to create a grant to eliminate your student loans!” “Everyone started crying and jumping for joy,” said a spokesperson for Smith, who asked not to be identified. “It was him speaking from his heart.” It is hard to estimate the cost of Smith’s gift to the 2019 graduates of the all-male... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3010870/billionaire-us-investor-robert-f-smith-pledges-pay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3010870/billionaire-us-investor-robert-f-smith-pledges-pay?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 May 2019 21:02:20 +0000 The People’s Bank of China has issued a new set of notes and coins. The notes have sharper colors and are better protected against counterfeiting, but will have similar designs to the old tender – former Chinese leader Mao Zedong’s portrait remains their main image. Check them out in the video above. https://www.scmp.com/business/peoples-bank-china-releases-new-set-notes-and-coins/article/3008686?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/peoples-bank-china-releases-new-set-notes-and-coins/article/3008686?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 May 2019 08:54:40 +0000 Billionaires made more money in 2017 than in any year in recorded history. The richest people on Earth increased their wealth by a fifth to US$8.9 trillion, according to a report by Swiss bank UBS. The fortunes of today’s super-wealthy have risen at a far greater rate than at the turn of the 20th century, when families such as the Rothschilds, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts controlled vast wealth. The report by UBS and accountants PwC said there was so much money in the hands of the ultra-rich... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2170348/china-making-two-billionaires-every-week-worlds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2170348/china-making-two-billionaires-every-week-worlds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Oct 2018 07:03:53 +0000 “I would rather cry in a BMW than smile on a bicycle” – that was one Chinese woman’s take on the ideal mate when she appeared on a matchmaking TV show. Many viewers were shocked by her materialistic response in 2010, but the sense that money can buy love persists today. A Chinese man who recently gave his girlfriend a gigantic heart-shaped bouquet of “flowers” made from 334,000 yuan (US$52,300) in banknotes triggered a heated online debate on the danger of equating love with money. How to make... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/2153073/lonely-hearts-beware-when-money-talks-it-language-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/2153073/lonely-hearts-beware-when-money-talks-it-language-love?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Jul 2018 02:45:53 +0000 Only 35 per cent of Hong Kong investors completely trust the financial services industry, making them the most sceptical in Asia, according to a survey by the CFA Institute.  Furthermore, only 7 per cent of respondents believe that financial advisers always put clients’ interests first – the smallest proportion out of all markets surveyed, and far lower than the 35 per cent global average.   “Hongkongers feel that they are the last group of people whom their advisers would put first,” said Nick... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2142834/just-third-hongkongers-trust-financial-advisers-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2142834/just-third-hongkongers-trust-financial-advisers-survey-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Apr 2018 23:02:39 +0000 Chinese people, like most others, love money. But to be more precise, we take great joy in scrupulously balancing between saving money and spending within our means. This attitude has been extolled as a virtue. In fact, it’s become so ingrained in our psyche that no matter where or how we are brought up or how we are educated, when it comes to handling money, being sensible and frugal is second nature to us. An ‘ideal’ retirement will take HK$5.11m in savings, up 18pc from last year: Allianz... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2138956/if-youre-chinese-then-being-shameless-savvy-saver-likely-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2138956/if-youre-chinese-then-being-shameless-savvy-saver-likely-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Mar 2018 09:29:44 +0000 Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, has been ordered by the Federal Reserve to bolster its protections against money laundering. The Fed found “significant deficiencies” in safeguards at the Chinese bank’s New York branch, the US regulator said in an enforcement order released on Tuesday. The company agreed to submit plans to fix its compliance programmes within 60 days, the Fed said. No financial penalty was imposed. ICBC failed to properly report... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2137097/icbc-ordered-fed-boost-money-laundering-safeguards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2137097/icbc-ordered-fed-boost-money-laundering-safeguards?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Mar 2018 02:41:43 +0000 Despite being one of the world’s most well-developed, modern and vibrant financial centres, Hong Kong is also home to long-established informal methods of dealing with money. These create fascinating underground economies that operate outside the stock exchanges and towering skyscrapers home to many of the city’s international financial institutions. Many of these local moneylending systems have been in use for centuries, ranging from household loan clubs to the garish, neon-lit pawn shops... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2129741/how-hongkongers-have-relied-loan-clubs-pawn-shops-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2129741/how-hongkongers-have-relied-loan-clubs-pawn-shops-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jan 2018 09:30:30 +0000 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 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 Four years after a crunch hit China’s money market, the People’s Bank of China remains haunted by it, and those fears could hinder Beijing’s efforts to stave off a real financial meltdown. What happened this week four years ago gave China possibly its closest taste of a financial crisis as the overnight borrowing rate between banks surged to 30 per cent. The squeeze occurred partly because the PBOC was trying to exit a super-loose policy by reducing a cheap credit supply. The resulting shock was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2099620/four-years-after-chinas-cash-crunch-has-mother-pboc-spoiled-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2099620/four-years-after-chinas-cash-crunch-has-mother-pboc-spoiled-her?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jun 2017 08:21:49 +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 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 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 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 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 Capital inflows by mainland Chinese investors into the Hong Kong stock market is expected to hit 200 billion yuan (HK$229.1 billion) next year and account for almost 20 per cent of the estimated annual equity turnover in the city, analysts from UBS Securities said on Monday. “The biggest opportunity for the Hong Kong bourse next year will be the southbound money flows from mainland China,” said Lu Wenjie, the market strategist for UBS Securities. The total size of the southbound flows might have... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2043705/capital-inflows-mainland-chinese-investors-hk-bourse-hit-200?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2043705/capital-inflows-mainland-chinese-investors-hk-bourse-hit-200?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Nov 2016 12:50:39 +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 Beijing’s latest efforts to crack down on capital outflows by making it harder for mainlanders to buy insurance products abroad are unlikely to make much difference, according to analysts and industry insiders. They argue that the new measures might even worsen the problem by prompting mainland residents to transfer cash abroad through alternative underground channels. State-run media reported on Monday that China’s insurance industry regulator had recently launched a probe into illegal sales of... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/2041956/beijings-latest-crackdown-capital-outflows-may-just?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/2041956/beijings-latest-crackdown-capital-outflows-may-just?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Nov 2016 07:28:05 +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