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☆ In the Arts, Is It Breaking Big, or Selling Out?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Farah Nayeri | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 11-foot sculpture looks like something out of a comic strip: a luxury handbag perched on skinny legs and matched with high-end sneakers. The work is by the Austrian-born artist Erwin Wurm, and it represents accessories from the collections of Lanvin, the French fashion house. “Desire” (the title of the sculpture) was commissioned by Lanvin and unveiled in Beijing in early April. “I made this piece because it fit into my series,” Wurm, 69, said in a phone interview, referring to his “walking bag” sculptures, which parody women’s contemporary passion for handbags. “I reduce females to long legs and shoes and handbags.

Persons: Erwin Wurm, “, ”, Lanvin, ” Wurm Organizations: Shanghai —, Fosun Foundation, Fosun Locations: Austrian, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ China FDI: Foreign investors are really frustrated with country’s economic challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —The world’s second largest economy is struggling to attract foreign companies and investments, despite Beijing’s efforts to address its myriad economic challenges, according to new data from China. A gauge of foreign direct investment (FDI) into China has slipped into the red for the first time since 1998, underscoring the country’s failure to stem capital outflows. It suggests foreign companies may be taking their money out of the country, instead of re-investing in their operations. Direct investment liabilities include profits belonging to foreign companies that have not yet been repatriated or distributed to shareholders, as well as foreign investment in financial institutions, according to the government. Late last month, China’s legislature approved one trillion yuan ($137 billion) in sovereign bonds to support the economy.

Persons: Refinitiv, Ant, “, Xu jingbai, ICHPL, Xi Jinping, ”, ” Carlo D’Andrea, Shanghai —, JP Morgan, Tesla Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, Commerce Ministry, Vanguard, BlackRock, CNN, Bloomberg, China, European Union Chamber of Commerce, People’s Bank of, HSBC, American Chamber of Commerce Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, outflows, People’s Bank of China

☆ Chinese EV maker Nio releases a smartphone it expects at least half of its users to buy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio launches a smartphone at an event in Shanghai on Sept. 21, 2023. He told CNBC that among Nio users from which the company makes a profit, more than half are iPhone users, while the other half uses flagship Android phones from Huawei and other brands. Nio is the first high-end Chinese electric car brand to release its own smartphone, which Li said the company developed in about a year. Huawei also sells its in-car software to other electric car companies such as Avatr and BAIC's Arcfox. He pointed out that the Nio phone app has 600,000 active users a day, about 1.5-times the number of car users.

Persons: Evelyn Cheng, William Li, Li, Nio Organizations: CNBC SHANGHAI, CNBC, Huawei, Apple Locations: Shanghai, China, Europe, Germany

☆ Huawei says applying 5G technology to business was more difficult than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou reacts as she leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver, Canada, August 10, 2021. SHANGHAI — Huawei's Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou said Wednesday that applying 5G technology to business was more difficult than she had expected. One of the expectations for 5G connectivity is that beyond faster mobile phone connections for individual consumers, the technology can better enable self-driving vehicles and factory automation. Meng said the challenges of bringing 5G to business was underestimated and that it's completely different than previous 2G, 3G or 4G generations. Meng was speaking at a keynote session at the Shanghai Mobile World Congress on Wednesday, where she spoke broadly about the benefits of 5G to consumption and the economy.

Persons: Meng Wanzhou, SHANGHAI —, Meng Organizations: Huawei Technologies, Shanghai Mobile Locations: Vancouver, Canada, SHANGHAI

☆ Dyson doubles down on Singapore and ramps up hiring globally
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Nessa Anwar | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The company is trying to hire another 2,000 engineers globally, according to Dyson's director of upstream robotics, Kashyap Chandrasekar. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav robot vacuum is displayed at the company's headquarters at St. James Power Station in Singapore in May 2023. Lauren Choo | CNBCAnother Dyson device that has garnered attention, due to its futuristic look, is the Dyson Zone — headphones that double as a wearable purifier. Dyson's global investment planSince its inception in 1991, founder Sir James Dyson has been set on pioneering new technology. The company currently has a £2.75 billion investment plan divided across Singapore, the U.K. and the Philippines.

Persons: Dyson, John Churchill, Kashyap Chandrasekar, Lauren Choo, Churchill, We'll, Sir James Dyson, they're Organizations: Robotics, James Power, CNBC, Dyson, St Locations: St, Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, Malaysia, Shanghai, Batangas

☆ Dimon calls for Washington-Beijing engagement in first China visit since 2021 controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday called for "real engagement" between policymakers in Washington and Beijing, as Sino-U.S. relations continue to fray. Speaking at the JPMorgan Global China Summit in Shanghai — in his first visit to China since his 2021 apology for joking that JPMorgan would outlast the Chinese Communist Party — Dimon said that security and trade disputes between the world's two largest economies over are "resolvable." "You're not going to fix these things if you are just sitting across the Pacific yelling at each other, so I'm hoping we have real engagement," Dimon said, according to Reuters. In November 2021, Dimon expressed "regret" over remarks that JPMorgan would outlast China's ruling party, seeking to limit damage to the bank's growth ambitions in the country. The comments that invoked Beijing's ire came shortly after JPMorgan won regulatory approval to become the first foreign company to establish full ownership of a securities brokerage in China.

Persons: Jamie Dimon, Chinese Communist Party — Dimon, Dimon, JPMorgan Organizations: JPMorgan Chase, Company, Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs, Capitol, JPMorgan Global China Summit, Chinese Communist Party, Reuters, East, JPMorgan, Top U.S Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, Beijing, U.S, Shanghai —, China, West, Top, South China

☆ In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Elizabeth Paton | Keith Bradsher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This time last year, Shanghai — China’s capital of fashion and luxury — was in the throes of a ruthlessly enforced Covid lockdown. The city’s glittering high-end malls and avenues lined with flagship stores stood practically empty. Ms. Zhang, who works for a consulting firm, used to buy six handbags a year. “I change my handbag every day,” Ms Zhang added. “I felt that everything was meaningless during the Shanghai lockdown, so we should enjoy the present moment in time.”

☆ Chinese EV giant BYD says self-driving tech is more valuable for factories than cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BYD's new luxury brand Yangwang is selling its first model, the U8, for more than 1 million yuan ($160,000). SHANGHAI — Fully autonomous driving is "basically impossible" and the technology would be better applied to manufacturing, according to Chinese battery and electric car company BYD . Many electric car and tech companies are working on self-driving technology. But BYD, by far the largest domestic seller of electric cars in China, has taken a different view. "We think self-driving tech that's fully separated from humans is very, very far away, and basically impossible," Li Yunfei, a spokesperson for BYD, said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

☆ Nio says it won't join the 'price war' and slash prices like Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

watch nowSHANGHAI — Chinese electric car company Nio will keep its prices high rather than cut them, CEO William Li told CNBC in an interview. "For us, we will certainly not join the price war," Li said, claiming Nio's products and services are worth the price. Tesla , Elon Musk's car company, this year slashed prices in the U.S. and China. New energy vehicles — which includes hybrid and pure electric — saw penetration of passenger car sales reach 34% in March, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Within that market, Nio said it delivered 31,041 vehicles in the first quarter, up by 20.5% year-on-year.

☆ Tesla to Build Factory in Shanghai for Large-Scale Batteries
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI — Tesla will build a factory in Shanghai to manufacture its large-scale energy-storage batteries known as the Megapack, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. Tesla, which is owned by Elon Musk, will break ground on the plant in the third quarter of this year and start production in the second quarter of 2024, Xinhua reported. The new factory will complement Tesla’s existing plant in Shanghai, where it makes electric vehicles, and it will initially produce 10,000 Megapacks a year, equal to around 40 gigawatt-hours of energy storage, to be sold globally, Xinhua said. With the new plant, Tesla will take advantage of China’s dominant battery supply chain to increase output of its Megapacks, and to lower their costs, in hopes of meeting the rising global demand for energy storage as the world shifts to using more renewable energy.

☆ China new home sales rise sharply in March - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 3 (Reuters) - China's new home sales rose sharply in March, as a slew of support policies boosted a pickup in demand across the board in 14 surveyed cities, a private survey showed on Monday. The sales of new homes rose 55.7% month-on-month, up from growth of 31.9% in February, according to data from the China Index Academy — one of the country's largest independent real estate researchers. Tier-one cities — including the nation's capital Beijing and the commercial hub of Shanghai — rose the fastest, jumping 73% last month. Sales in tier-two cities and tier-three cities grew 54.7% and 28.6%, respectively. Prices of new homes in 100 Chinese cities rose at the fastest pace in nine months in March, a separate survey by the researcher showed on Saturday.

☆ Xpeng expands assisted driving tech coverage to Shanghai, something Tesla doesn’t offer in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI — Chinese electric car company Xpeng announced Friday it will be rolling out its latest assisted driving software to users in the metropolis of Shanghai, something its U.S. rival Tesla does not offer in China. Previously the technology was only available for Xpeng drivers in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The company already offers assisted driving on highways in China. But the company has tried to make its assisted driving technology a selling point for consumers. "Tesla doesn't really pump Autopilot in China and they don't offer Full Self Driving (FSD) in China, whereas Xpeng really leaned into its NGP as a difference maker for the China market," said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based advisory firm Sino Auto Insights.

☆ They Poured Their Savings Into Homes That Were Never Built
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Isabelle Qian | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. Homeowners atop one of the unfinished apartment towers call for construction to fully resume.

SHANGHAI — Patients are crammed into hallways, stairwells and lobbies, and still the sick keep coming. After international criticism that it had not been transparent about the severity of the outbreak, the Chinese government said last weekend that it had recorded 60,000 Covid-related deaths since Dec. 8. But that figure covers only those who have died in hospitals, suggesting the true death toll could be much higher. “My father had no symptoms but still died,” one 31-year-old woman said outside a hospital in central Shanghai. On the day my father moved into the hospital, almost all patients in the emergency department died.”

Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. Taibbi has an exclusive podcast deal with Musk's friend and Twitter investor David Sacks via his podcasting platform, Callin. Taibbi and Weiss both write newsletters on Substack, which is partly funded by Andreessen Horowitz, a co-investor in Twitter with Musk. Musk has even gone so far as to say that Twitter, which he now owns and leads, interfered with U.S. elections. During a Twitter Spaces discussion, Musk suggested more files would be released regarding how Twitter handled the 2020 presidential election, the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and the Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ Covid protests escalate in Guangzhou as China lockdown anger boils
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

TwitterSocial media posts said the clashes took place on Tuesday night and were caused by a dispute over lockdown curbs. China Dissent Monitor, run by U.S. government-funded Freedom House, estimated at least 27 demonstrations took place across China from Saturday to Monday. In Zhengzhou, the site of a big Foxconn factory making Apple iPhones that has been the scene of worker unrest over Covid, officials announced the “orderly” resumption of businesses, including supermarkets, gyms and restaurants. Data on Wednesday showed China’s manufacturing and services activity for November posting the lowest readings since Shanghai’s two-month lockdown began in April. Chinese stocks were steady, with markets weighing endemic economic weakness against hopes that the public pressure could push China to eventually reopen.

In this article EXPE Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTTravelers headed to Hong Kong no longer need to quarantine in a hotel upon arrival. The news came the day after Hong Kong lost its No. Expedia's search data for accommodations in Hong Kong increased 50% over the weekend, compared to the week before the announcement. Pang Yiu-kai, chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, acknowledged on Tuesday that the eased rules are "expected to initially attract mainly business travelers, family visitors and returning Hong Kong residents." The easing of Covid-19 measures in Hong Kong spurred hope among residents of China that they could soon see relaxed rules as well.

☆ Housing might be struggling in China but there are green shoots in commercial property
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Commercial property is a bright spot in Chinese real estate, in contrast with the doom and gloom of the residential housing market. Likewise, property group CIFI Holdings posted a 23% year-on-year drop in home sales in China for the first half, but reported a 69.5% lift in its property investment revenue. While some investors sold assets to stay liquid, Spiro said the commercial sector generally has more supportive government and fiscal policies. All in all, the Chinese commercial property sector's resilience lies in its ability to rebound faster than its residential counterpart. Down but not outBut unlike housing, the commercial sector is rebounding particularly after lockdowns ended and government incentives kicked in, CBRE said.

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