DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Signage at a residential project developed by Country Garden Holdings Co. in Baoding, Hebei province, China, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. Chinese real estate developer Country Garden Holdings said it expects it will not be able to make all of its offshore repayments, including those issued in U.S. dollar notes. Country Garden warned that this could lead to creditors demanding faster repayments of debt or pursuing enforcement action. Looking ahead, the company expects uncertainty in its liquidity position and asset sales in the short and medium term amid a lack of material, industry-wide improvement in property sales. Chinese property giants such as Evergrande and Country Garden have been plagued by debt problems, hurting consumer confidence in the sector.

Organizations: Country Garden Holdings Co, Garden Holdings, Hong Kong Locations: Baoding, Hebei province, China

☆ JPMorgan hikes EM default forecast as Country Garden drives China contagion fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesJPMorgan raised its global emerging markets corporate high-yield default forecast, largely due to rising contagion fears in China's property sector from a possible Country Garden default. It also raised its Asia high-yield default rate forecast to 10% from 4.1% — that figure drops to just 1%, if China property is excluded. JPMorgan expects China property to account for nearly 40% of all default volumes in 2023, followed by 35% from Russian corporates and 12% from Brazilian issuers. watch nowThe magnitude of the increase in JPMorgan's default risk assessment underscores fears that a Country Garden debt default will have a far broader ripple effect on the Chinese property sector and the broader economy. In the same note, JPMorgan said a Country Garden default could add $9.9 billion to the year-to-date global emerging markets high-yield corporate default tally, taking the total default volume for the Chinese property sector to $17 billion to date in 2023.

Persons: JPMorgan Organizations: HK, Country Garden Holdings Co, Bloomberg, Getty, JPMorgan, China Evergrande Group Locations: Baoding, Hebei province, China, China's, U.S, Asia, Russian

☆ China's real estate market roiled by default fears again
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Two years after Evergrande's debt troubles, worries about China's real estate sector are coming to the forefront again. In late July, its top leaders indicated a shift toward greater support for the real estate sector, paving the way for local governments to implement specific policies. For the last several years, Chinese authorities have attempted to curb debt-fueled speculation in the country's massive — and hot — real estate market. Real estate and related industries have accounted for about a quarter of China's economy. He pointed out that since China started its deleveraging campaign in 2016, it is very unlikely the state would step in to bail out real estate developers.

Persons: Qilai Shen, Dalian Wanda, Liu Haibo, Sandra Chow, Nomura, Chow, Evergrande, Redmond Wong, —, Wong, Vanke, that's Organizations: Country Garden Holdings Co, Bloomberg, Getty, BEIJING, Reuters, CNBC, Country, Asia Pacific Research, CreditSights, Fitch, Saxo Markets Hong, China's, House Research, Stock, Poly Development, Research Locations: Baoding, Hebei province, China, Dalian, Hong Kong, Beijing, Saxo Markets Hong Kong

☆ Factbox: Impact of floods in China after Typhoon Doksuri
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view of damaged cardboard boxes at Baixiang packaging products factory after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/file photoBEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Extreme rain battered northern China after Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in southern Fujian province on July 28, flooding cities including Beijing, killing at least 60 people and causing extensive damage to homes, crops, livestock and infrastructure. Following is a tally of the damage, as reported by state media:BEIJINGAs of 12 a.m. (-1day 1600 GMT) Aug. 9* 33 deaths, 18 still missing* 59,000 homes collapsed, 147,000 homes damaged* 225,000 mu (15,000 hectares) of crops strickenBAODING PREFECTURE IN HEBEIAs of 12 p.m. (0400 GMT) Aug. 5* 10 dead, 18 missing* 4,448 homes collapsed, 7,286 homes damaged* 79,000 hectares of crops affected* 284 bridges and over 550 kilometres of rural roads ruined* 17 billion yuan ($2.36 billion) in direct economic lossesSHULAN CITY IN JILIN PROVINCEAs of 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) Aug. 6* 14 deaths, 1 missingDANDONG CITY IN LIAONING PROVINCEAs of Aug. 1* Four deadHEILONGJIANGAs of 12 p.m. (0400 GMT) Aug. 9* 3.87 million mu (258,000 hectares) of crops stricken* 23,708 homes collapsed or damaged* 149 bridges ruined, 352 culverts, 242,000 metres of roadbed and 1,300 greenhouses destroyedFUJIAN PROVINCEAs of 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) July 28* 262.3 hectares of crops damaged* 52.27 million yuan ($7.25 million) in direct economic losses($1 = 7.2068 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Miral Fahmy, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: REUTERS, CITY, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, Fujian, Beijing, BAODING PREFECTURE, HEBEI, JILIN PROVINCE, LIAONING, HEILONGJIANG, FUJIAN PROVINCE

People ride a boat through a flooded road after the rains and floods brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri, in Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China August 3, 2023. The vast Hai River basin covers an area the size of Poland that includes Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin. On his visit to flood storage areas in Baoding, Ni added that it was necessary to reduce the pressure on Beijing's flood control and create a "moat" for the Chinese capital. "I'd like to know, among all the people living in flood storage areas across the country, how many of them know they are living in such areas?" As of 8:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Friday, Hebei had relocated more than 1.54 million people, including 961,200 from flood storage areas, state media reported on Saturday.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Xi Jinping, Secretary Ni Yuefeng, netizens, netizen, David Kirton, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Beijing, Hebei's Communist, Secretary, Reuters, China Water Resources, Ministry of Water Resources, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, China's, Hebei, Poland, Beijing, Tianjin, Baoding prefecture, Baoding, Xiongan, Ni, Weibo, Bazhou, Shanghai

Evacuated residents have been transferred to makeshift shelters in hotels and schools, according to state media reports. A woman sits next to a flooded road following heavy rains in Zhuozhou, in northern China's Hebei province on August 2, 2023. Jade Gao/AFP/Getty ImagesFlood control zonesSome 857,000 people have been relocated from these areas, state media reported. Under national rules, the cost of properties damaged due to the release of waters in flood control areas will be compensated by 70%. Floods inundate a village in Baoding city, Hebei province, on August 2, 2023.

Persons: Typhoon Doksuri, Jade Gao, ” Yang Bang, Yang, Ni Yuefeng, “, –, Cheng Xiaotao, Shao Sun, Sun, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Ministry of Water Resources, Getty, University of California, CNN, Sun Locations: Hong Kong, China’s Hebei province, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Zhuozhou, China's Hebei, AFP, Hebei province, “, ”, Baoding, –, China, University of California Irvine, North China

☆ China’s Rebound Falters, Tripped Up by Debt and Weak Exports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Keith Bradsher | More About Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

China’s economy is flashing many warning signs. Weak spending is pushing China close to a dangerous trend known as deflation: Consumer prices are flat, and wholesale prices paid by companies are actually falling. “It’s not a strong recovery; the economy is quite weak,” said Wang Dan, the chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China. Some companies are also moving supply chains out of China, which will have a longer-lasting effect on exports, Mr. Fattal said. But a huge accumulation of debt, particularly at the level of local governments, has made that hard to do.

Persons: ”, Diana Choyleva, “ It’s, Wang Dan, Richard Fattal, Fattal, Lou Jiwei, Cui Dongshu, Fu Linghui, Lou, Ms, Wang, Li You Organizations: Enodo, National Bureau, Statistics, Investment, Hang Seng Bank China, National Bureau of Statistics, Administration, Customs, Companies, Workers, China, China Passenger Car Association Locations: Shanghai, London, China, Baoding, United States, Europe

China's health authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on infections among medical staff. A few nurses at the fever clinic were tested positive, there aren’t any special protective measures for hospital staff and I believe many of us will soon get infected," Li added. A post on the Weibo social media platform recounted a recent experience at the emergency ward at Beijing Hospital. "Those who have not been to the emergency department of Beijing Hospital don't know what a mess it has become," wrote a Weibo user called Moshang. Beijing Hospital did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

But the popular traditional Chinese medicine Lianhua Qingwen, used for symptoms like fever and cough, and antigen test kits remained harder to find. Online pharmacies across China have run out of drugs and test kits, prompting the government to crack down on hoarding. Heat was insufficient because of "unstable" coal supplies caused by COVID, state-run Baoding Daily reported, without giving details. "I have no fear" of COVID, said Yang, a farmer who is fully vaccinated and with no underlying diseases. China has reported no deaths since easing the COVID curbs, with fatalities to date around 5,200, versus more than 1 million in the United States.

☆ China is caught in a zero-Covid trap of its own making
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“The new political ecology also provided more incentive for local governments to impose more draconian Covid control measures,” Huang said. Chinese health officials maintain that changing tack now would risk a huge surge in infections and deaths that could overwhelm the country’s fragile health care system. Zhengzhou, a city of 12 million, imposed sweeping lockdown measures last month after identifying dozens of Covid-19 cases. On Wednesday, the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone, where the Foxconn plant is located, announced new lockdown measures. As the winter approaches, experts warn that China could be hit by a new wave of infections – and a new cycle of draconian lockdowns.

Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute estimated in July that stalled projects accounted for 3.85% of China's housing market in the first half of 2022, equivalent to an area of 231 million square metres. But in June 2020, Jiadengbao Real Estate hit the headlines after a court accused its parent company of illegal fund-raising and seized 340 million yuan worth of its properties, including a number of flats in Xiulan County Mansion. Jiadengbao Real Estate did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters. FENCING AND UNDERGROWTHOn a recent day, the main block of buildings at Xiulan County Mansion was surrounded by a tall blue fence while the clubhouse, touted in promotional materials, was covered in a dense undergrowth. "If the government really wants to protect people's livelihoods, and resume construction, we will go back home," Xu said.

Search resuls for: "Baoding"

11 mentions found