The View

Daily analysis of the major talking points in the worlds of business and investing with a focus on implications for doing both in mainland China and its key financing hub - Hong Kong.

President Xi Jinping visits Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, in Wuhan, Hubei province. China could react to the trade war by becoming more self-sufficient. Photo: Xinhua

A smarter, stronger China - thanks to Trump

Donald Trump’s trade war on China found an echo around the Western world, where even Hong Kong investment is suspect now. But, on balance, he is doing China a favour by pushing it to become more self-sufficient.

6 Dec 2018 - 10:21pm 11

Workers move imported soybean products at a port in Nantong, Jiangsu province. The US and China have called a trade truce, with the Chinese agreeing to resume buying US agricultural products. Photo: Reuters

The cost of that G20 steak dinner for Xi Jinping

6 Dec 2018 - 11:06am 13

A Chinese flag flutters in front of a Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao refinery. China’s yuan-denominated oil futures, launched in March, have overtaken in volume the dollar-denominated oil futures traded in Singapore and Dubai. Photo: AFP

The rise of China’s petroyuan: from oil futures to the world

4 Dec 2018 - 10:29pm 5

People walk past a stock board in Hong Kong. The 6 per cent rise in the Hang Seng Index last month has got to be one of the most remarkable recoveries this year. But the index is tightly linked to the US and Chinese economies, where uncertainties loom. Photo: AP

Why Hong Kong’s stock market rebound is just a blip

3 Dec 2018 - 10:27pm 5

Haze blankets downtown Los Angeles on November 25, a result of the wildfires that have devastated California in recent weeks. Photo: Xinhua

How rival US and Chinese innovators can find common cause

30 Nov 2018 - 6:17am

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and US President Donald Trump share a moment during friendlier times at a G20 summit meeting in Hamburg, Germany, in July 2017. With tensions between China and the US having escalated into a trade war, all eyes will be on the two leaders at this year’s meeting. Photo: Kyodo

Don’t let Trump-Xi meeting overshadow G20 priorities

29 Nov 2018 - 7:01am 2

A young man helps an elderly woman push a trolley of cardboard sheets she collected for recycling during a rainy day in Hong Kong, in May 2017. A larger proportion of Hong Kong’s elderly than its working-age population live in public housing, a fact not reflected in the city’s poverty line calculations. Photo: Sam Tsang

How Hong Kong’s elderly skew the poverty line

27 Nov 2018 - 10:23pm 5

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on November 2. Global bond and equity markets have this year suffered their sharpest combined loss since the 2008 financial crisis. Photo: Bloomberg

Don’t hold your breath for a meaningful market rally

26 Nov 2018 - 10:40pm 1

A Chinese woman touches a bull statue on display outside a mall in Beijing, in June. Data from the Institute of International Finance for the first week of November showed inflows of US$5 billion into China equities, the largest weekly total in four years. Photo: AP

Is now the right time to jump back into Chinese equities?

22 Nov 2018 - 10:22pm 6

Then US president-elect Donald Trump speaks as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Apple CEO Tim Cook look on during a meeting with technology leaders at Trump Tower in New York on December 14, 2016. Photo: Reuters

Can the business community resolve the trade war?

21 Nov 2018 - 10:30pm 3

A Chinese flag flies in the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai. By easing restrictions on FDI in China, the government shows it understands that a more level playing field for foreign companies is ultimately beneficial for its own long-term prosperity. Photo: Reuters

Amid the gloom, a bright spot in US-China trade talks should not be ignored

21 Nov 2018 - 6:27am 3

The British pound rebounded slightly on November 16, one day after Brexit fears caused its worst one-day performance in two years. Photo: AFP

Markets fear Britain’s pound rendered ‘untradeable’ by Brexit uncertainty

19 Nov 2018 - 10:29pm 3

Traditionally, it’s time for a ‘Santa rally’ in the markets, but will we see one this year?

It’s time for a ‘Santa rally’ in the markets, if history is any guide

15 Nov 2018 - 10:35pm 1

An aerial view of traffic in downtown Shanghai. The Chinese government is adapting quickly and quietly to blockchain, knowing that it can accelerate the next financial revolution. Photo: AFP

In its embrace of blockchain, China is making up for lost time

14 Nov 2018 - 10:49pm

Workers climb scaffolding outside a building in Haikou, Hainan. While there is no doubt that the US has contributed to China’s economic development, the overstretched claim that America rebuilt China can be refuted on many fronts. Photo: AFP

The US did not ‘rebuild’ China. Here are four reasons why

14 Nov 2018 - 6:25am 35

At least four of China’s real-estate-related companies have defaulted on bonds this year, as Beijing maintains its campaign against excessive debt. Photo: Reuters

China’s deleveraging campaign takes a toll on its private sector

12 Nov 2018 - 10:41pm 1

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference at the White House in Washington on November 7. Trump has thus far reacted to the US midterm election results by stressing his party’s success in gaining more Senate seats, rather than its loss of the House of Representatives. Photo: Xinhua

Why the US midterm results haven’t harmed Trump’s re-election chances

8 Nov 2018 - 11:00pm 6

The next annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, looks set to be dominated by discussions of the fourth industrial revolution and its effects on communities around the world. Photo: Bloomberg

Global efforts the only way to make the fourth industrial revolution work

7 Nov 2018 - 11:38pm 1

News of a “very good conversation” on trade between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping has strengthened the yuan-dollar rate. But the Chinese currency’s outlook remains uncertain. Photo: Reuters

How rumours of a Trump-Xi trade deal cloud the yuan outlook

6 Nov 2018 - 10:29pm 1

A trader on the New York Stock Exchange reacts to falling stocks on Friday following Apple's poor forecast. Photo: Bloomberg

Why China’s stimulus measures won’t buoy global markets

5 Nov 2018 - 10:28pm 2

Passengers line up at Cathay Pacific check-in aisles at Hong Kong International Airport on October 29. The airline has announced a data breach affecting 9.4 million customers. Photo: Felix Wong

Why Cathay Pacific deserves praise, despite the data breach

1 Nov 2018 - 10:28pm 22

US President Donald Trump, flanked by blue-collar workers, signs proclamations adding import duties to steel and aluminium imports in March. The Trump administration’s harder line on imports that undercut American manufacturing has proven popular with his supporters but has been slammed by economists. Photo: AFP

Make America great by upgrading its workers, not waging a trade war

31 Oct 2018 - 10:27pm 1

A Facebook employee walks past a sign at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in March 2013. Facebook is an example of a company with a business model built around intangible capital. Photo: AP

How the economy of ideas fuels social inequality

30 Oct 2018 - 10:26pm 5

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference. US President Donald Trump has blamed Powell’s determination to hike interest rates for recent stock market struggles. Photo: AFP

The upside of the stock sell-off: investors are complacent no more

30 Oct 2018 - 9:51am

Tourists take photos on Victoria Peak, Hong Kong. Investors and property groups in Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China and the Gulf have been moving quickly in recent months to stimulate the local proptech ecosystems. Photo: AFP

How Asia can drive the tech revolution in property

23 Oct 2018 - 10:28pm 2

An investor looks at stock price movements on a screen at a securities company in Beijing on October 12. Despite the sharp falls in asset prices in China over the past several months, investors continue to differentiate between the current sell-offs and previous crisis in 2015-16. Photo: AFP

No October crash is imminent, despite stock market volatility

22 Oct 2018 - 10:29pm 5

US President Donald Trump has thus far hesitated to take decisive action against Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) over a regime critic’s disappearance, stressing the benefits of the economic relationship between the two countries and how it contributes to US jobs. Photo: Reuters

Khashoggi disappearance: too much at stake to punish Saudi Arabia

18 Oct 2018 - 10:36pm 18

Hong Kong’s ban on e-cigarettes deviates from the city’s long-standing commitment to free and open markets. Photo: AFP

If vaping is as bad as smoking, why hasn’t Hong Kong banned tobacco?

17 Oct 2018 - 10:39pm 9

A specialist with Lehman Brothers MarketMakers reacts to the fallout from Lehman Brothers declaring bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, as panic began to spread through the financial system, leading to the Great Recession. Photo: AP

How we’re risking disaster 10 years after global financial crisis

16 Oct 2018 - 10:55pm 2

You may also like

Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales begin

Business

Alibaba’s Singles’ Day sales begin

Nov 11th 2018, 3:11am

Smart paint is not just for colour – it can literally make your house ‘come alive’. Photo: Shutterstock

Smart paints to colour our world, capture energy and stay connected

Why hairy crab is all the craze in China

China

Why hairy crab is all the craze in China

Oct 18th 2018, 4:42pm 3

HKT Premier’s IoT One-Touch Control allows you to program your home preferences.

Style

Smart-home tech is making our lives easier – but can we trust it?

7 Dec 2018 - 4:58am

It will take a strategic, decades-long US effort to manage a power rivalry with China, but none appears to be in the cards, Ankit Panda writes

China

How Trump’s partisan policies rubbed salt in wounded China-US ties

6 Oct 2018 - 10:39pm 15

From arms to energy, Russian influence in the region is growing ever greater – and key to Moscow’s route to dominance is its unique relationship with Beijing

Long Reads

Balance Trump, cosy up to China, Koreas: Russia’s play for Asia

24 Sep 2018 - 4:14pm 22

While fans focused on the race last week, others were revelling in a world where there’s a fine line between romance and remittance … and tourism officials weren’t happy about it

Society

How Singapore’s F1 fling with sugar daddies turned sour

26 Sep 2018 - 5:50pm 17

Yoga ball murder victim Wong Siew Fing (left) and her younger sister Wong Siew Fong, aged eight and six respectively. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong

Yoga ball murderer was a manipulative, bullying husband: sister-in-law

24 Sep 2018 - 3:01pm

Jeongja Han, director of Tail Project, a company that specialises in cleaning out and disposing of property accumulated by the deceased, after completing a clean-out job. Pictures: Noriko Hayashi for Bloomberg Businessweek

Post Magazine

Dying alone in Japan: the industry devoted to what’s left behind

24 Sep 2018 - 10:11am

Hung, 66, plies her trade in Sham Shui Po, a popular ground for ‘street stall grannies’. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Hong Kong

‘Street stall grannies’ a sign Hong Kong elderly falling through cracks

22 Sep 2018 - 12:17pm 8

Xiaolongbao : Shanghai dumplings made the old fashioned way

China

Xiaolongbao : Shanghai dumplings made the old fashioned way

Sep 20th 2018, 12:05pm

Tencent has frequently added innovations to WeChat, designed to drive growth and loyalty, the latest being mini programs

Business

The WeChat story: how Tencent's super-app changed China

16 Aug 2018 - 3:39pm 4