DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ China’s youths throng bargain basements as economy bites: ‘The first floor is too expensive’
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-06 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesMin Li doesn't go to the mall often. The name of the game for Chinese youth in 2024 is trading down. Anything not in the basement floors is considered to be "in heaven," signaling it's out of reach. Citizens shopping for Mid-Autumn Festival gifts at a shopping mall in Yantai, East China's Shandong province, Sept 25, 2023. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images) Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images"The name of the game for Chinese youth in 2024 is trading down.

Persons: Min Li doesn't, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, She's, Shaun Rein, Rein, Jia Miao, Jia, Chung Chi, Miao Organizations: Future Publishing, Getty, Apple, China Market Research Group, Starbucks, China Market Research, Weibo, Citizens, Publishing, New York University Shanghai, MyCOS Research, NYU Shanghai, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, McKinsey, China's, China News Service Locations: Yantai, East China's Shandong province, Weibo, East China's Shandong, Covid, NYU Shanghai China, Shanghai, Guangzhou

☆ McDonald's raises China bet, bucking Western firms' derisking trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A woman sits on a swing attached to a giant sign of McDonald's, outside its themed exhibition in Beijing, China December 4, 2023. One advantage for McDonald’s: its majority partner in the China business, CITIC, provides top-level political cover, said Jason Yu, greater China managing director of market research firm Kantar Worldpanel. McDonald's China, Carlyle Group and CITIC declined to comment. Other consumer-facing U.S. firms, including Starbucks (SBUX.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Coach owner Tapestry (TPR.N) and sportswear giant Nike (NKE.N), have remained similarly dedicated to the China market. Although the McDonald's China menu would be familiar to U.S. consumers, there are nods to local tastes, including taro pie, rather than apple.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, McDonald's, Jason Yu, Kantar, Yu, Carlyle, Wallace, Greg, Euromonitor, Ben Cavender, Casey, Kane Wu, Deborah Sophia, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Group, Carlyle Group, Starbucks, Apple, Nike, Research, Investment, China Market Research, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, U.S, Hong Kong, Macau, Yum China, Russia, Shanghai, Bengaluru

☆ Exclusive: China to name finance veteran Zhu as new forex chief, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The building of State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is pictured in Beijing, China, January 11, 2017. Zhu's appointment to lead the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is expected to be announced as soon as this week, said one of the sources. Zhu, 55, would also be named a deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), which oversees the foreign exchange regulator, said the source. Zhu will take over the forex regulatory head role from Pan Gongsheng, who has held the post since 2016 and who was named the central bank governor in July. An engineering graduate from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Zhu has also been a deputy central bank governor, and vice governor of Sichuan province in southwestern China.

Persons: Jason Lee, Zhu Hexin, Zhu, Pan Gongsheng, Goldman Sachs, Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Organizations: Administration of Foreign Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, CITIC Group, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, People's Bank of China, Communist, Reuters, SAFE, Bank of Communications, Bank of China, Shanghai University of Finance, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, HONG KONG, Sichuan, outflows, Hong Kong

☆ Carlyle’s Big Mac China dish is hard to match
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Carlyle (CG.O) may be lagging its peers in the United States. But in China, at least, the buyout firm is finishing a meal that will be hard for others to find. That’s less than the private equity outfit run by Harvey Schwartz was hoping for, but is tasty enough. Given geopolitical tensions and China’s weak economic growth, Carlyle has done well to secure a hassle-free exit. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Carlyle, repurchasing, Harvey Schwartz, ByteDance, Jack Ma’s Ant, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, HK, X, Walmart, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, United States, China, People’s Republic, Hong Kong, Macau, McDonald’s, Rome

The deal to acquire investment firm Carlyle's (CG.O) 28% holding in the burger chain's China business, which also includes its stores in Hong Kong and Macau, will see McDonald's stake rise to 48%. Since 2017, the number of McDonald's stores in China has doubled to 5,500 and the country has become its second-largest market. McDonald's made an unsolicited offer for Carlyle's stake in the China operations in recent weeks and the deal was struck quickly, said the sources. Reuters reported in August that Trustar Capital was planning to raise a continuation fund that would allow the Chinese private equity firm to sell down its stake in McDonald's China. In contrast to McDonald's, U.S. meat and processed food maker Tyson Foods (TSN.N) plans to sell its China poultry business, sources have said.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's, Carlyle, Trustar, Jim Sanderson, Reckitt, Kane Wu, Granth, Deborah Sophia, Roxanne Liu, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, HK, CITIC, Trustar, Northcoast Research, Reuters, Tyson Foods, Primavera Capital, Thomson Locations: Bretigny, Paris, France, China, Hong Kong, Macau, CITIC, U.S, McDonald's China, British, Bengaluru, Beijing

☆ McDonald’s is investing more in China to tap ‘tremendous opportunity’
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald’s has struck a deal to ramp up its stake in its China business to just under 50% and expressed confidence in its growth prospects in the world’s second-largest economy. The deal to acquire investment firm Carlyle’s 28% holding in the burger chain’s China business, which also includes stores in Hong Kong and Macau, will see McDonald’s stake rise to 48%. Since 2017, the number of McDonald’s stores in China has doubled to 5,500 and the country has become its second-largest market. In contrast to McDonald’s, US meat and processed food maker Tyson Foods plans to sell its China poultry business, sources have said. British consumer goods maker Reckitt Benckiser in 2021 sold its China infant formula and child nutrition business to investment firm Primavera Capital.

Persons: McDonald’s, “, ”, Chris Kempczinski, Carlyle, Trustar, Jim Sanderson, Benckiser Organizations: Northcoast Research, Tyson Foods, Primavera Capital Locations: China, Hong Kong, Macau, CITIC, British

☆ McDonald's increases its minority stake in China business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Customers wait for their takeout food outside a McDonald's restaurant during the May Day holiday on May 1, 2022 in Beijing, China. McDonald's is buying Carlyle's stake in its China business, increasing its minority share from 20% to 48% ownership. The fast-food giant sold off control of its restaurants in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in 2017 for $2.1 billion. At that time, Citic, a state-owned investment firm, took the majority stake, while private equity giant Carlyle bought a 28% stake. Citic still retains its 52% stake in the business.

Persons: Carlyle, McDonald's, Citic, Chris Kempczinski Locations: Beijing, China, Hong Kong, Macau

The McDonald's company logo stands on a sign outside a restaurant in Bretigny-sur-Orge, near Paris, France, July 30, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 20 (Reuters) - McDonald's (MCD.N) said on Monday it would acquire investment firm Carlyle's (CG.O) 28% stake in a partnership that manages its business in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, as the burger chain looks to simplify its structure in the region. Reuters reported in April that Carlyle was discussing various options with financial advisers for its stake in McDonald's China, including setting up a continuation fund for the asset. There was "no better time to simplify our structure" given the benefits of China's long-term potential, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski said. Reuters reported in August that Trustar Capital, formerly known as CITIC Capital, was also planning to raise a continuation fund that would allow the Chinese private equity firm to sell down its stake in McDonald's China.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Carlyle, Chris Kempczinski, Jim Sanderson, Granth, Deborah Sophia, Anil D'Silva, Shounak Dasgupta, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, CITIC, HK, Reuters, CITIC Ltd, Northcoast, Thomson Locations: Bretigny, Paris, France, China, Hong Kong, Macau, McDonald's China, Bengaluru

☆ China moves to clean up Huarong’s “bad bank” brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of China Huarong Asset Management Co is seen at its office in Beijing, China, April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Nov 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - What’s better than cleaning up your battered brand? That’s the view of China Huarong Asset Management (2799.HK), one of the country’s four so-called bad banks created after the 1997 Asian financial crisis to buy soured loans from state-owned lenders. Late on Wednesday, it renamed itself “China CITIC Financial Asset Management” after its top shareholder, state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC group. Now that Huarong has taken up the CITIC brand, the state’s support of the bad bank has more at stake if its troubles don't go away.

Persons: Thomas Peter Acquire, Lai Xiaomin, Huarong, Yawen Chen, Francesco Guerrera, Thomas Shum Organizations: Asset, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Asset Management, HK, Financial, Management, CITIC Ltd, CITIC, X, Goodyear, Alstom, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Rights SINGAPORE, Huarong, CITIC's Hong Kong

☆ Some Chinese institutions borrow at 50% rate as liquidity squeezed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The highest overnight rate for pledged repo - a short-term financing business - hit 50% on Tuesday, according to official interbank data, although the average rate remains modest at roughly 3.6%. Two-day repo rates jumped to as high as 30%, and the highest rate for seven-day repos was 12%. Several traders at small lenders were still seeking to borrow money in later afternoon trading when contacted by Reuters. The brokerage attributed the cash shortage to a "record supply" of government bonds, as well as restricted channels for banks to borrow money. The average seven-day repo rate - a widely watched indictor of short-term borrowing costs in China - remained modest at 2.0765% on Tuesday, meaning many institutions can still borrow money at relatively low rates.

Persons: Thomas White, repos, Fan, Ming Ming, Ed Osmond, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Guolian Securities, Reuters, Caitong Securities, Citic Securities, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: China

A man stands near a screen showing news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) building on the Financial Street in Beijing, China July 9, 2021. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has told brokerages to stop offering securities trading from offshore accounts such as Hong Kong to new mainland investors, according to a Sept. 28 notice issued by its Shanghai unit. Activities now considered illegal include cross-border securities broking, securities lending, fund sales and investment consulting, according to the notice. The use of offshore brokerage accounts in Hong Kong entails converting yuan to other currencies. They can also use some foreign brokerage platforms outside mainland China if they have funds parked in offshore locations.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Tingshu Wang, brokerages, Shujin Chen, Guotai Junan, Selena Li, Zhen, Julie Zhu, Sumeet Chatterjee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: China Securities Regulatory Commission, REUTERS, Reuters, outflows, Jefferies, Citic Securities, HK, Haitong Securities, Hong Kong, Futu Holdings, Fintech Holding, May, Hong, Stock, Hwabao Securities, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Shanghai, outflows

☆ Nomura is merely first in line for new China risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

After all, Nomura is a minnow in China, ranking 82nd in investment banking in the country by net revenue in 2021, data from Dealogic shows. Like most of its more successful global investment banking peers, Nomura has an eye on deepening its business in China. It acquired a license for a majority-owned securities joint venture, Nomura Orient International Securities, in 2019. Follow @ugalani on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAuthorities in China have barred Charles Wang Zhonghe, China investment banking chair at Nomura, from leaving the mainland, Reuters reported on Sept. 25 citing two sources with knowledge of the matter. Beijing’s investigation into Cong, former president of China Renaissance Holdings, resulted in the investment bank’s founder Bao being taken away by Chinese authorities in February.

Persons: Charles Wang Zhonghe, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wang, Bao Fan, hasn’t, Xi Jinping, Banks, Cong Lin, Bao, Cong, Nomura’s Wang, Antony Currie, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Financial Times, UBS, HK, China Securities, Nomura, Commercial Bank of China, China, Apple, Nomura Orient International Securities, Authorities, China Renaissance Holdings, ICBC, Commercial Bank of China Ltd, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, Hong Kong, It’s, Singapore, People’s Republic

☆ Chinese state firms' help to troubled shadow bank does little to address investor concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The involvement of two Chinese state-owned financial firms in Zhongrong International Trust Co's operations and management may diffuse risk at the troubled shadow bank but does little to ease concerns about missed payments, analysts and investors said. It was not immediately clear whether the support by the two firms was engineered by the Chinese authorities, but Beijing has previously bailed out troubled financial firms by roping in state entities to contain broader contagion risk. The agreement allows the two financial firms to "provide professional services for operations and management" of Zhongrong, it said, adding the move would not impact its debt ownership and legal relationship in trust products. That would further dampen investors' confidence in trust products." "It's good news and at least provides some clarity," said Zhang, who is an investor in a Zhongrong trust product and gave only his surname due to sensitivity of the matter.

Persons: Zhongrong, They'll, Zhang, Xu, I've, Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: Trust, Citic Trust, CCB, Citic Group, China Construction Bank, National Financial Regulatory Administration, People's Bank of China, Citic, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing

☆ Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk biography is already taking off in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A Citic Press book stand advertises for the release of the Chinese version of Walter Isaacson's new Elon Musk biography. BEIJING — Walter Isaacson's new biography of Elon Musk hit the Chinese market Tuesday, several hours ahead of the U.S. release due to a time difference that puts Beijing 12 hours ahead of New York. A day earlier, publisher Citic Press Group raised the book's selling price to 79 Chinese yuan ($10.84), up from 59 yuan previously, according to Chris Sun, lead translator of Isaacson's book into Chinese. Citing conversations with the publisher, Sun said a rare, urgent additional printing was done during the pre-sale period and that the work was Citic Press' "highest-level confidential project" of the year. The Shenzhen-listed company reported revenue from operations of 872.65 million yuan for the first half of the year, up 2.9% from a year ago.

Persons: Walter Isaacson's, Elon, BEIJING — Walter Isaacson's, Elon Musk, Chris Sun, Sun, Citic Organizations: Press, BEIJING, Beijing, Citic Press, CNBC Locations: New York, Shenzhen

Lead market dynamics are currently tepid at best due to weakness in the automotive sector, which accounts for around 70% of total demand in the form of lead-acid batteries. But some of that surplus would be very welcome right now in Shanghai, since the local market is in the grips of a vicious short squeeze. ShFE price, stocks and market open interestBIG SHORTThis Shanghai lead squeeze has been building for a couple of months. ShFE time-spreads were already tightening up in July against a backdrop of low exchange stocks and rising open interest. After exporting surplus metal for two years, the Chinese market seems to be struggling to find enough to deliver into the Shanghai squeeze.

Persons: Darren Whiteside, that's, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Shanghai Futures Exchange, London Metal Exchange, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Bogor, Jakarta, Indonesia, Shanghai, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, London

☆ Exclusive: Brazil's Petrobras plans China subsidiary in push to boost ties, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Marta Nogueira | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prates said Petrobras aims to open the Chinese subsidiary next year, after getting formal approval. "It's important to them," Prates said in a phone interview during a business trip to China. "It is an interesting signal, saying that in the same way that we have a Petrobras America, we will have a Petrobras China, because both countries are equally important to us," he added. Prates said Petrobras China subsidiary would allow Petrobras to operate and participate in projects as partner even in other countries, including in Africa. Petrobras wants to increase its share of China's oil imports to 15% from the current 5% in the next 10 to 20 years, Prates said.

Persons: Sergio Moraes, Jean Paul Prates, Jair Bolsonaro, Prates, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, didn't, Marta Nogueira, Gabriel Araujo, Brad Haynes, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Petroleo Brasileiro S.A, REUTERS, DE, Petrobras, PETR4, Reuters, Petrobras America, White House, HK, CITIC, China Development Bank, Bank of China, Thomson Locations: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, DE JANEIRO, SA, China, Petrobras China, United States, Beijing, Africa

☆ China communications firm Guodong raises $150 mln from Middle Eastern sovereign fund
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Guodong Network Communication Group, a Chinese communications infrastructure and service provider, has raised $150 million from a Middle Eastern country's sovereign wealth fund, the deal's adviser China Renaissance said on Tuesday. The statement did not identify the sovereign wealth fund. A China Renaissance spokesperson declined to comment, while Guodong didn't immediately respond to a Reuters request to comment. Guodong, founded in 1997, has 40,000 communications base stations and provides data centres that can support cloud computing in China, according to its website. It has received funds from investors including Morgan Stanley, the investment arms of top Chinese investment banks CICC and CITIC and a sovereign wealth fund from Abu Dhabi, said the website.

Persons: Guodong didn't, Ji Xiaoling, Morgan Stanley, Roxanne Liu, Kane Wu, Rashmi Organizations: Communication, China Renaissance, Thomson Locations: Eastern, China, U.S, Abu Dhabi

Aug 28 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The Asian economic calendar is light, with only Japanese unemployment and the latest industrial production, trade and inflation figures from Vietnam on tap. Trading volumes should return to more normal levels with UK markets open again. Fellow real estate developer China Resources Land publishes half-year results on Tuesday, while Evergrande shares trade for a second day after Monday's long-awaited reopening. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Gina Raimondo, Terry Gou, Josie Kao Organizations: Stock, financials Bank of China, Garden, Land, U.S . Commerce, Washington, Apple, Monday, . Commerce, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Beijing, Vietnam, China, Ukraine, Japan

☆ Trustar plans to raise fund to manage McDonald’s China stake -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Chinese private equity firm Trustar Capital is planning to raise a so-called continuation fund that would allow it to sell down its stake in McDonald's China, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. That plan would be achieved by Trustar, formerly known as CITIC Capital, transferring some equity interest in McDonald's China from its private equity (PE) fund into the continuation fund, a new investment vehicle that would manage the asset. Currently, Trustar owns 42% of the business, while Carlyle and CITIC own 28% and 10% respectively, according to McDonald's China. Carlyle has also been considering options for its stake in McDonald's China, including setting up a continuation fund, Reuters has reported. "McDonald's China will continue to leverage the capital and other resources from CITIC (Trustar), Carlyle, and McDonald's Corp to achieve the future milestone of 10,000 stores," said McDonald's China.

Persons: Trustar, Mubadala, Carlyle, CITIC, Kane Wu, Yantoultra Ngui, Sophie Yu, Sumeet Chatterjee, Mark Potter Organizations: Trustar, Trustar's PE, McDonald's Corp, CITIC, HK, Carlyle Group, Reuters, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, McDonald's China, China, Trustar's, Abu, Chicago, CITIC, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing

HONG KONG, July 18 (Reuters) - China's CITIC Securities (600030.SS) plans to move dozens of bankers from its offshore platform CLSA in Hong Kong to the mainland to cut costs and meet Beijing's call to bridge income inequality in the financial sector, people with knowledge of the matter said. The move comes weeks after CITIC cut pay across its investment banking division, lowering base salaries of mainland-based bankers by up to 15%. The move would result in a 25% to 50% base salary reduction because dealmakers in Hong Kong are normally offered higher pay than mainland peers, according to the second person. Wall Street banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) have cut some investment banking jobs in China over the last 12 months. ($1 = 7.1729 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Selena Li and Xie Yu in Hong Kong; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: CITIC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Selena Li, Xie Yu, Jamie Freed Organizations: CITIC Securities, CLSA's, Bankers, JPMorgan, Australian, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, CLSA's China, Beijing, Canadian

☆ Bolivia seals $1.4 billion lithium deals with Russia's Rosatom, China's Guoan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Daniel Ramos | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LA PAZ, June 29 (Reuters) - Bolivia has signed lithium agreements with Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom and China's Citic Guoan Group, the South American country's government said on Thursday, as it looks to develop its huge but largely untapped resources of the battery metal. Bolivia's iconic salt flats are home to the world's largest lithium resources at 21 million tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but the country has long struggled to ramp up industrial production or develop commercially viable reserves. Russia's Rosatom, which bid via its Uranium One Group unit, confirmed the news, saying it would invest $600 million in the project, its first large-scale lithium venture overseas, with planned annual capacity of 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate. The deal with Uranium One Group was for feasibility and pre-investment studies, he said, adding multiple tests with Russian technology on the salt flats had shown a lithium recovery rate over 80%, with a purity of around 99.5%. Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Additional reporting by Maxim Rodionov; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Franklin Molina, Molina, Russia's, Rosatom's, Kirill Komarov, Citic, Daniel Ramos, Maxim Rodionov, Adam Jourdan, Richard Chang Organizations: LA, Guoan, American, Energy, . Geological Survey, Tesla, BMW, Uranium, Thomson Locations: LA PAZ, Bolivia, United States, America, La Paz, Pasto Grande, Uyuni Norte

China's top graft-busting watchdog earlier this year vowed to eliminate ideas of a Western-style "financial elite" and rectify the hedonism of excessive pursuit of "high-end taste". Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS) and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) (601939.SS) plan to cut some allowances of employees at the banks' headquarters from this year, two sources familiar with the matter said. Domestic rival China International Capital Corp (CICC) (3908.HK) last month cut this year's bonuses for investment bankers by 30%-50% from a year earlier, Reuters has reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Besides anti-corruption crackdown and "common prosperity" drive, financial firms are also reining in the flashy lifestyle of their staff to make sure they are not violating the Communist Party's ideology, said industry officials. China's securities regulator and the central bank cut the budget allocation for employee salaries in 2023, following reforms ordered as part of a broader drive to reduce income disparity, Reuters reported last month.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, CCB, Xin Sun, Sun, Xie Yu, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Ziyi Tang, Binbin Huang, Rong Ma, Sumeet Chatterjee, Lincoln Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, Securities, Reuters, China International Capital Corp, HK, Party, King's College London, Thomson Locations: China, HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ Several Chinese lenders cut yuan deposit rates from Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - Several Chinese commercial banks cut interest rates on a range of yuan deposits from Monday, following their larger peers in a coordinated move to ease pressure on profit margins. The deposit rate cuts follow a similar move by China's biggest state lenders on Friday and marks the second such industry-wide cut within a year, with previous action taken in September. Analysts expect the deposit rate cuts will provide more room for a further cut soon by the central bank in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to expand credit and boost investment spending. The lenders cut rates on two-year time deposits by 10 bps points, and three-year and five-year time deposits by 15 bps points. The rate cuts will help ease pressure on lenders' profit margins as savings held in banks had ballooned when the economy slowed during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Persons: Yi Gang, Ziyi Tang, Ryan Woo, Sonali Paul Organizations: China's, China Merchants Bank Co Ltd, China Citic Bank Corp, China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd, People's Bank of, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Banks, China, People's Bank of China, Shanghai

☆ China IPOs are uncoupling from Wall Street too
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Increasingly it is detaching from Wall Street too. Nonetheless, the Shanghai Stock Exchange will hold a hearing for the deal on Friday, per Refinitiv’s IFR. Syngenta is a pillar in Beijing’s strategy to shore up food security and will use the deal to pay down debt. The landmark IPO coincides with signs that Wall Street’s small position in the market is shrinking further. Syngenta’s blockbuster IPO will be an awkward new milestone for Wall Street already facing life in China’s second tier.

Persons: Beijing’s, It’s, Dealogic, Xavier Niel, Pete Sweeney, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Agricultural Bank of, Shanghai Stock Exchange, HK, BOC, Citic Securities, Twitter, Brookfield, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Agricultural Bank of China’s, Hong Kong, China’s, Una

☆ China's top investment bank CITIC cuts base salary by up to 15% -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG/BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - China's CITIC Securities is cutting pay across its investment banking division, lowering base salaries by up to 15%, two sources said, in a rare move in the country's financial sector as Beijing pushes to bridge income disparity. The country's top investment bank by market value has also yet to pay bonuses to bankers for work done last year, the two sources close to the matter said. China's well-heeled financial dealmakers over the past year have been getting a crash course in austerity with pay cuts and perks reined in as their state-owned employers respond to the "common prosperity" drive. CITIC Securities' domestic rival China International Capital Corp (CICC) (3908.HK) last month cut this year's bonuses for investment bankers by 30%-50% from a year earlier, said two separate sources with knowledge of the matter. Besides remuneration cuts, some investment banks have asked staff to avoid displays of wealth such as uploading photographs to social media of expensive meals or overseas trips, industry sources have said.

Persons: China's, CICC, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Roxanne Liu, Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: CITIC Securities, China International Capital Corp, HK, Reuters, China's, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, Beijing, China, CICC, Hong Kong

Search resuls for: "Citic"

25 mentions found