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Taipei/London CNN —China’s top financial regulators have fined Ant Group — the fintech firm founded by billionaire Jack Ma — about 7.1 billion yuan ($994 million) for breaking rules related to consumer protection and corporate governance. “We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance,” Ant Group said in a statement. Ant Group is an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which was also founded by Ma. In April 2021, Alibaba was fined 18.2 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) — a record for China — for behaving like a monopoly. Separately, China’s financial regulators also announced a fine of nearly 3 billion yuan ($415 million) for Tenpay, Tencent’s (TCEHY) online payment platform, according to information posted on the PBOC website on Friday.

Persons: London CNN —, Jack Ma —, Alibaba, Guo Shuqing, Ma Organizations: London CNN, Ant, China Securities Regulatory Commission, People’s Bank of China, National Financial Regulatory Administration, Ma, Communist Party, China, People’s Bank of, Xinhua, Ant Group Locations: Taipei, London, China, People’s Bank of China

☆ China's choice of PBOC party chief signals financial stability worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Pan, central bank deputy governor since 2012 who turns 60 this month, is not expected to deviate from China's measured pace of policy easing to support the recovery, analysts said. "His professional ability will help safeguard the bottom line of systemic financial risks, especially as the property sector is slowing, and fend off a big systemic crisis." In an unexpected move, the ruling Communist Party appointed Pan as the central bank's party secretary on Saturday, taking over from Guo Shuqing. China has taken a series of steps this year to tighten party control over the country's vast, but largely closed, financial system, including plans to set up the Central Financial Commission to oversee the PBOC and other financial regulators.

Persons: Gongsheng, Jason Lee, Pan, Yi Gang, Gu Tianyong, Guo Shuqing, Yi, Yi's, Zhou Xiaochuan, Zhou, Xu Hongcai, Marius Zaharia, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: People's Bank of China, National People's Congress, REUTERS, outflows, Reuters, cryptocurrencies, prudential, Central University of Finance, Economics, Communist Party, Pan, Street, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Central Financial Commission, China Association of Policy, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, BEIJING

☆ China's central bank gets a new party secretary
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pan Gongsheng was named party secretary of the People's Bank of China on July 1, 2023. BEIJING — The People's Bank of China announced Saturday that Pan Gongsheng, head of the country's foreign exchange regulator, would become the central bank's party secretary. In a country ruled by the Communist Party of China, the party secretary of an institution typically holds the most sway. That institution was absorbed into the National Financial Regulatory Administration in a financial regulatory overhaul announced in March and is set to take effect this year. The administration's party secretary and director is Li Yunze, a rare minister-level appointee of the younger 1970s generation.

Persons: Pan Gongsheng, Gongsheng, Xi Jinping, Guo Shuqing, Li Yunze Organizations: People's Bank of China, Communist Party of China, China Banking, Insurance, Commission, National Financial Regulatory Administration Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China

Pan Gongsheng was appointed Saturday as the new Communist Party chief at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), in a surprise move as Beijing bolsters its drive to arrest the country’s economic slowdown and stem a slide in its currency. Pan currently serves as the deputy governor of the PBOC. “My initial reaction is this suggests Xi [Jinping] is more concerned about China’s economy than before the 20th Party Congress,” Thomas said. Since then, he has spent nearly two decades working at large state-owned banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). After returning to China, he was promoted to deputy governor at the PBOC in 2012.

Persons: Yi Gang, Pan Gongsheng, Janet Yellen, Pan, Yi, didn’t, Guo Shuqing, Neil Thomas, wasn’t, ” Thomas, Xi, Mao, Thomas, China’s, Biden, ” Organizations: Beijing CNN, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Communist Party, People’s Bank of China, Securities Times, CNN, Ant, Asia Society, Center for, Communist Party’s, Committee, 20th Party Congress, Wall Street Journal, Treasury Department, Renmin University of China, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, ABC, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Beijing, P Global, PMI Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, China, Shanghai, Center for China, United States, West

[1/2] Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidHONG KONG/SHANGHAI, March 31 (Reuters) - A flurry of top financial executives have visited China for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic as global financial giants seek to cement their relations with Beijing at the start of President Xi Jinping's new term. International financial institutions and investors are welcome to expand in China, the chairman of the country's securities regulator said. Goldman Sachs' Solomon and Blackstone (BX.N) CEO Stephen Schwarzman met Peng Chun, chairman of China Investment Corporation (CIC), this week, according to official social media posts from the $1.35 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Meanwhile, Chip Kaye, Warburg Pincus's CEO, met Beijing's major Yin Yong during his visit to the city last week, according to a municipal statement from Beijing.

☆ China central bank punts its succession problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That may be because Zhu Hexin, his mooted successor, is known mostly for his stint heading state-owned financial conglomerate CITIC – not a household name outside China - has no detectable international experience. In contrast, Yi is a respected known quantity for domestic and international investors alike, comfortable parleying with global institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Beijing might be keeping Yi for the painful parts of the reorganisation – including massive pay cuts – before retiring him. The so-called sea turtles – Chinese people with overseas market experience and foreign language skills – have been migrating out of government for years. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Meet the 4 men tipped to run China’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The team of Communist Party officials running China’s economy is about to get a major makeover. They include the four men tipped to manage the world’s second biggest economy: Li Qiang as premier, Ding Xuexiang as executive vice premier, He Lifeng as vice premier and Zhu Hexin as the new central bank chief. That puts the 63-year-old in line to succeed Premier Li Keqiang when he steps down during the upcoming congress. Li would be the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say. Stringer/ICHPL Imaginechina/AP/FileThe 68-year-old would succeed Vice Premier Liu He, who led China’s negotiations with the United States during trade talks in 2018 and 2019.

☆ China tightens media control with tiny stakes in two Alibaba units
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesBEIJING — State-backed entities have taken tiny stakes in parts of two Alibaba subsidiaries that oversee a video platform and web browser. The state-backed stakes reflect a progression of government directives over the last decade to increase control of media in China. "So far most of the stakes announced (including in other Chinese companies) seem to be highly concentrated on media companies and media subsidiaries." watch nowSince 2020, business records show state-backed entities have taken 1% stakes in popular social media or short-video apps Weibo , ByteDance's Douyin and Kuaishou . A provincial state media group completed a 1% investment in September, leaving Alibaba's media arm with 99% ownership.

☆ China to allow Didi apps back online, in latest sign of regulatory thaw, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A logo for Chinese ride-hailing platform Didi is illuminated outside company headquarters on Jan. 21, 2022 in Hangzhou, China. Shen Longquan | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesChinese authorities are set to allow Didi Global's ride-hailing and other apps back on domestic app stores as soon as next week, five sources told Reuters, in yet another signal that their two-year regulatory crackdown on the technology sector is ending. Didi has been awaiting authorities' approval to resume new user registrations and downloads of its 25 banned apps in China as a key step to resume normal business since its regulatory troubles started in mid-2021. The one-week-long holiday period in China would help Didi start to attract new clients for the business and work towards bringing it back to normal, added two of the sources. China's central bank will step up support for private firms as part of steps to shore up the economy, while easing a crackdown on tech companies, Guo Shuqing, Communist party chief of the People's Bank of China, told state-owned CCTV on Sunday.

[1/2] The app logo of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is seen reflected on its navigation map displayed on a mobile phone in this illustration picture taken July 1, 2021. Didi has been awaiting authorities' approval to resume new user registrations and downloads of its 25 banned apps in China as a key step to resume normal business since its regulatory troubles started in mid-2021. A lifting of the ban on Didi apps would come as Chinese policymakers seek to restore private sector confidence and count on the technology industry to help spur economic activity that has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay in the return of the apps had cast a shadow over Didi's business plans. That deal is primarily subject to the apps' resumption for official announcement, said the two sources.

The “three red lines” policy on debt ratios has begun aggravating market stress and impairing balance sheets. Those on the wrong side of those lines found themselves almost entirely locked out of credit markets. In short there are now more property firms on the wrong side of the red lines than when the policy was first rolled out, and even the most financially healthy are struggling. They are also mulling letting companies in good financial condition raise debt by more than the current 15% annual limit, per Bloomberg. However, the three red lines remain in place for now.

☆ Alibaba signs cooperation agreement with authorities in China's Hangzhou -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) has signed a cooperation agreement with the government of Hangzhou, the city where the company is headquartered, local media reported on Tuesday. China's internet giants have been in the crosshairs of Chinese regulators for the past two years, but authorities have in recent months given increasing signs that relations between the government and China's tech sector will thaw, which would bode well for the sector's prospectsThe government-backed Zhejiang Daily reported that at the signing event, local authorities formulated specific measures to help develop the online platform economy. The signing comes just two days after Ant Group Co Ltd (688688.SS), the finance company long affiliated with Alibaba, announced Jack Ma had ceded control of the company. The announcemnt caused shares of Alibaba and other Ant Group affiliated companies to soar, as investors interpreted the move as possible cap to a years-long regulatory crackdown on the Chinese tech industry read moreOn Monday, Guo Shuqing, Communist party chief of the People's Bank of China, was quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying that rectification of the financial business of 14 online platform companies has been "basically completed," though he did not name any companies. read moreReporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Beijing Signals Two-Year Internet Crackdown May Be Coming to an End
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Weilun Soon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SINGAPORE—A top Chinese official said authorities have wrapped up investigations into the financial businesses of several internet companies, another strong signal that a two-year regulatory crackdown on China’s homegrown technology giants may be winding down. Guo Shuqing , chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told state media that the government had concluded a campaign to “rectify the financial businesses of 14 platform companies,” with only minor problems left to be resolved. Mr. Guo, also the party secretary of the People’s Bank of China, added in the interview published Saturday that officials would look to provide more support to tech companies and work toward making supervision of the tech sector more predictable going forward.

☆ Ant-linked firms' shares rise after news of Jack Ma ceding control; Alibaba jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Shares of listed Chinese companies that count Ant Group as a major shareholder rose on Monday after announcements that Ant founder Jack Ma is giving up control of the fintech giant following an overhaul. Ant indirectly owns stakes ranging from more than 20% to slightly more than 5% in those companies. Ant said over the weekend that founder Jack Ma will give up control of the company. China's domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control to list. read moreLi Nan, professor of Finance at Shanghai Jiaotong University, however said Ant's inherent problems remain after its change of control.

☆ China c.bank to support private firms, ease tech crackdown - CCTV
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monetary policy in 2023 will focus on expanding demand, especially personal consumption, Guo told state-owned CCTV on Sunday, reaffirming earlier official remarks. Chinese leaders have pledged to increase support for the world's second-largest economy, which was hit hard by COVID-19 lockdowns last year as well as slowing global demand. "Prudent monetary policy will be precise and forceful. China will also promote sound development of online platform companies, Guo said , adding rectification of financial businesses of 14 platform companies have been "basically completed" while a few remaining issues need to be resolved. Authorities will adopt "normalized regulation" afterwards and encourage platform companies to operate in a compliant manner, CCTV said.

☆ China's crackdown on Ant and other tech giants is 'basically' over, top official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s heavy-handed crackdown on tech giants is coming to an end and the country’s economic growth is expected to be back on track soon, according to a top central bank official. “Next, we’ll promote healthy development of internet platforms,” said Guo, who is also chairman of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Mark Schiefelbein/APChina’s crackdown on its biggest tech companies began in 2020 with new regulations on fintech, which forced Ma’s Ant Group to suspend its $37 billion IPO days before its launch. Regulators then targeted the online financial service units of 13 other tech giants, including Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, Bytedance, Meituan, and Didi. Ant Group’s restructuringMajor tech companies in China have struggled under a sweeping regulatory crackdown for months now.

☆ Premarket stocks: Bonds are back, but for how long?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Stocks soared on Friday to their best day in more than a month. But the big turnaround story during the short first week of the year isn’t just about equities, it’s also about bonds. Bonds are particularly sensitive to those increases — as rates are hiked, the price of existing bonds falls as investors prefer the new debt that will soon be issued with those higher interest payouts. This time around, investors are scooping up bonds as they anticipate the pace of Fed interest rate hikes will soon ease. Core bonds, or US investment grade debt, tend to perform well during Fed rate hike pauses.

☆ He Lifeng: China's expected new economic tsar has big shoes to fill
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuters) - He Lifeng, head of China's state planning agency, is likely to succeed the country's economic tsar Vice Premier Liu He in March, but may struggle to maintain his predecessor's policy clout. That paves the way for He's expected promotion as the 70-year-old Liu is due to step down in March. The departing Liu, Xi's top economic adviser and a childhood friend, holds an unusually powerful portfolio: it covers economic policy, the financial sector and trade ties with Washington, overshadowing the role of outgoing Premier Li Keqiang. Some analysts say part of the expanded role that Liu built up during his time as economic tsar could be taken over by other top officials. "If He Lifeng does indeed get the job, his portfolio will overlap with that of the new Premier, Li Qiang," Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics said in a note.

China's strategy aims to win over "swing" countries to score United Nations votes, the diplomat said on Tuesday. Washington said it had taken note of the congress and stressed the importance of keeping open lines of communication. Like many up-and-comers, he is a former subordinate from Xi's days as party chief of the eastern province of Zhejiang. Other pro-reform policymakers excluded from the party's new central committee were outgoing economic czar Liu He, 70, and central bank party chief Guo Shuqing, 66. Also among the newcomers is Ding Xuexiang, who was Xi's chief of staff and named to the new Standing Committee.

☆ China's Premier Li Keqiang left off new party Central Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and three other members of the elite Politburo Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party were excluded from the newly elected Central Committee on Saturday. More than 2,000 delegates to a once-every-five-years party congress in Beijing elected a 205-person Central Committee as well as 171 alternate members. Li Keqiang, 67, Li Zhanshu, 72, Wang Yang, 67, and Han Zheng, 68 - members of the current seven-person Standing Committee - were excluded from the new Central Committee. The Central Committee will convene behind closed doors at its first plenary session, or plenum, on Sunday to vote on the next Politburo, usually comprising 25 people, and its Standing Committee. Vice Premier Liu He, 70, China's economic czar, was also excluded from the new Central Committee.

☆ Factbox: Who's in, who's out of China's new party Central Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Over 2,000 delegates to a twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party in Beijing elected a new 205-person Central Committee on Saturday that will set the course of Chinese policymaking for the next five years. Among the newly elected members of the Central Committee, the largest of the party's top decision-making bodies, was Xi Jinping, 69, who is widely expected to be named general secretary on Sunday, securing a precedent-breaking third term as its leader. Also on Sunday, the Central Committee will vote on its next Political Bureau, or Politburo, usually comprising 25 people, and its Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the pinnacle of power in China, helmed by Xi. Under an unofficial "seven-up, eight-down rule," PSC members who are 68 or older retire during the party congress. However, Premier Li Keqiang, although 67, was also left out.

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 22 (Reuters) - China's central bank chief Yi Gang is likely to step down after he was dropped from an elite body of the ruling Communist Party, with a former central banker a leading contender to succeed him, sources close to the central bank said. Yi is among pro-reform policymakers not named on Saturday as full or alternate members of the party's new Central Committee. Also excluded were outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, 67, economic czar Liu He, 70, and central bank party chief Guo Shuqing, 66. Yin Yong, deputy party chief in the capital Beijing who worked as a deputy central bank governor from 2016 to 2018, is a leading candidate to replace Yi, sources close to the central bank said. Xuan Changneng was named deputy central bank governor on Thursday.

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