Sanctions by the United States and the United Kingdom on Russian metals will cement China as Moscow’s buyer of last resort for key commodities, and enhance Shanghai’s role as a venue to set prices for materials crucial to the global economy.The London Metal Exchange’s ban...
China watchers calling for Beijing to loosen its grip on the besieged yuan need to be mindful of the risk that it unleashes a chain reaction rocking emerging- and developed-market currencies alike, according to some strategists.Most under threat are the currencies of Asian neighbours such...
Improved retail sales last year appear to have helped retail landlords, as the average retail rent rose 4 per cent in 2023, according to government data. This put shop rents just 10 per cent below the pre-pandemic peak in February 2019, S&P said.Pedestrians cross a...
Bank of Communications (Bocom), one of China’s top state-owned lenders, delivered a cautiously optimistic outlook for its business and the country’s economy even as it posted its slowest earnings growth since at least 2004.Net profit at the Shanghai-based bank rose 0.7 per cent to 92.7...
Rather than take drastic action to silo China from the US and insulate its economy from what already looked like a ticking time bomb, Wang promised his old friend the country would not dump its massive holdings of US treasury bills.Though that news was a...
Japan’s GDP was about 60 per cent of the US’ in 1989 but is just 16 per cent now. Its population is shrinking, the number of marriages fell below 500,000 last year for the first time in 90 years and the median age is nearly...
The PBOC and HKMA initiatives could facilitate the diverse use of Chinese bonds held by Bond Connect investors, such as bridging intraday funding gaps, Hui said in a written reply to the Post.The logo of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is seen at the HKMA...
“This pent-up demand will fade, so demand will return to the average level seen during the years before the pandemic. It is unlikely to go back to a peak of HK$72.7 billion seen in 2016.”Last year’s tally is a significant jump on the three-year Covid-19...
This is not surprising, given Trump’s threat to revoke “most favoured nation” trade status for China and impose a flat 60 per cent tariff on all Chinese imports. According to Bloomberg, that would slash the proportion of US imports coming from China – the...
A gauge of the cost to hedge the Chinese currency which covers the November 5 vote has climbed to the highest since 2017 relative to comparable periods. That is the spread between nine-month implied volatility on the offshore yuan and its six-month counterpart.“Jitters about...