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☆ Former Chinese central banker took ‘extraordinarily massive’ bribes, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Fan Yifei, a disgraced former Chinese central banker, has admitted making a “huge mistake” in comments aired as part of a documentary by state broadcaster CCTV that alleges he accepted massive bribes from the beginning of his tenure. It described how he had received “extraordinarily massive” payments from executives of various companies in exchange for favors after taking up the PBOC’s second-highest position. “I wanted to possess great power, and at the same time, to be rich,” Fan said in the documentary. “I made a huge mistake.”According to CCTV, Fan accepted payments from businesspeople through his brother’s investment company. In addition to Fan’s case, the CCTV documentary exposed graft at a state-owned energy investment group and at the highest levels of Chinese sport.

Persons: Fan, Xi Jinping, “, Qian Long, Liu Liange, Wang Bin, Tang Shuangning, Tang, Wang Yongsheng, Wang, Li, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, People’s Bank of China’s, Central Commission, Xinhua, Communist Party, National Supervisory Commission, of China, China Life Insurance, China Everbright, China Development Bank, China Daily, soccer team, China’s Twitter Locations: China, Hong Kong, Xinhua, Weibo

☆ China ramps up yuan internationalisation under Belt and Road Initiative
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] A China yuan note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. And funding BRI projects has helped China revitalise the once-stalled process of yuan internationalisation. Another policy bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, signed a yuan-based loan agreement with Saudi National Bank, while Bank of China helped Egypt issue Africa's first yuan-denominated Panda bonds. Beijing also allocated an additional 80 billion yuan ($10.94 billion) to its Silk Road Fund for BRI projects. "Can you do this in a targeted way with MOUs with all BRI countries?

Persons: Thomas White, Vladimir Putin, Xi, Alicia Garcia Herrero, China revitalise, Malaysia's Maybank, Haoxin Mu, Natixis, Garcia Herrero, Samuel Shen, Tom Westbrook, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Initiative, Forum, Asia Pacific, Natixis, China International Capital Corp, China Development Bank, BBVA, Export, Import Bank of China, Saudi National Bank, Bank of, Fund, Thomson Locations: China, Rights SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, Beijing, Russia, Asia, U.S, Ukraine, Africa, Europe, Egypt's, BBVA Peru, Bank of China, Egypt

The individuals' accounts varied but were consistent in describing heightened scrutiny of overseas travel even after China reopened borders in January. Reuters is reporting these measures and the scope of some post-COVID travel curbs for the first time. NEW LIMITSRestrictions on personal foreign travel have long applied to senior government officials and state executives with access to confidential information. MAPPING CONNECTIONSChinese authorities are also scrutinising personal foreign ties, according to a document seen by Reuters, one of the 10 people who discussed travel curbs and three other state-enterprise workers with knowledge of the matter. Thomas said the travel curbs in particular would have implications for China's interactions with the world.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Xi, Neil Thomas, Thomas, Wang Zhi'an, Engen Tham, Julie Zhu, Kane Wu, Xie Yu, Martin Quin Pollard, David Crawshaw, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Asia Society, Center for, State, Information Office, Communist Party, China Construction Bank, China Development Bank, National Council for Social Security Fund, Municipal Eco, Communist, Communist Youth League, Ministry of State Security, U.S . Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Beijing, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Center for China, Washington, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Japan, Italy

BEIJING (AP) — China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns. Called “One Belt, One Road” in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. China became a major financer of development projects under BRI, on par with the World Bank. Chinese development banks provided money for the BRI projects as loans, and some governments have been unable to pay them back. Now, having learned the hard way through defaults, China development banks are pulling back.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, Xi, “, Alessia Amighini, Kevin Gallagher, Sri Lanka, Christoph Nedopil, Nedopil, Colleen Barry Organizations: BEIJING, Initiative, Silk, Italy, World Bank, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, U.S, Export, Import Bank of, Asia Institute, Griffith University, Associated Press Locations: Beijing, Africa, Asia, Latin America, China, Europe, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Pakistan, Italy, “ Italy, Sri Lankan, Zambia, Sri, Import Bank of China, Australia, BRI, Hungary, Milan

It is likely to be the biggest of three funds launched by the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, also known as the Big Fund. Its target of 300 billion yuan ($41 billion) outdoes similar funds in 2014 and 2019, which according to government reports, raised 138.7 billion yuan and 200 billion yuan respectively. China's finance ministry is planning to contribute 60 billion yuan, said one person. Backers of the Big Fund's previous two funds include the finance ministry and deep-pocketed state-owned entities such as China Development Bank Capital, China National Tobacco Corporation and China Telecom. INVESTMENT MANAGERSThe Big Fund is considering hiring at least two institutions to invest the new fund's capital, said the three people.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Florence Lo, China's, Julie Zhu, Kevin Huang, Yelin Mo, Roxanne Liu, Sumeet Chatterjee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: U.S, China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Big Fund, Washington, Information Office, Ministry of Industry, Information Technology, REUTERS, China Development Bank Capital, China National Tobacco Corporation, China Telecom, Big, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, HK, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Memory Technologies, IC, China Aerospace Investment, China Aerospace Science, Technology Corporation, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, BEIJING, China, Beijing, U.S, Japan, Netherlands

☆ Southeast Asia's first high-speed train – a boon or bust for Indonesia's economy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Nyshka Chandran | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

While it could improve overall economic and business productivity, those benefits may be overrun by Jakarta's soaring debt burden as project costs continue to mount. The 142-kilometre train linking Indonesia's capital to Bandung is expected to move at 350 kilometers per hour, driven by electricity with no direct carbon emissions expected during operations. However, escalating costs of the project could push up Indonesia's government debt and overshadow any short-term economic gains. Initially, the train was to be financed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China — a consortium of companies from China and Indonesia tasked with building the rail project. In that scenario, money spent on the train would have been better spent on alternative investments like irrigation projects, he said.

Persons: Joko Widodo, Arief Anshory Yusuf, Jokowi, Sri Lanka's, Mao Ning, Mao, Yusuf Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Initiative, Indonesian, Bandung's Padjadjaran University, Australian National University, PT Kereta, Indonesia China —, KCIC, China Development Bank, Reuters, of Economic, Law Studies, Nurphoto, CNBC Locations: Indonesia, Jakarta, Bandung, Southeast Asia, Indonesian, Surabaya, Japan, Indonesia China, China, Entebbe, Beijing, IDR

☆ 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

July 13 (Reuters) - Qingdao city in China's debt-laden Shandong province has set up a company to bail out its cash-strapped local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), sources said, as regional governments rush to reduce debt risks in a wobbly economy. The government of Qingdao and the China Development Bank did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment. While no LGFV in China has defaulted in the public markets, cases of delinquencies in the private debt market are increasing, worrying Beijing. Tianjin LGFV bonds yield more than 514 bps over government bonds, compared with 200 bps for Shandong bonds, reflecting the elevated risks. Fund manager Zhou said although he is bullish on LGFV bonds, "the first priority is to be absolutely diversified in investment.

Persons: Qingdao's, Xi Jinping, LGFVs, Goldman Sachs, Zhai Jianye, Zhai, It's, Zhou Tingzuo, Ning Yong, Zhou, Samuel Shen, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: Dongdin Industrial Group, China Development Bank, Southwest Securities, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Commercial Bank of China, SS, Shoupu Fund Management Co, Ning Yong Fu Fund Management, Thomson Locations: Qingdao, China's, Shandong, China, Shandong LGFVs, Beijing, Big, Jinan, Weifang, Liaoning, Hunan, Shanghai, Tianjin, Singapore

☆ Indonesia's delayed China-funded rail project beset by fresh problems
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] An electric Multiple Unit high-speed train is seen during Hot Sliding Test in Tegalluar, Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, May 19, 2023, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. China-backed consortium PT KCIC, Mott MacDonald, Umbra, CDB and China's embassy in Jakarta did not respond immediately to requests for comment. PT KCIC was awarded the project in 2015 after lodging a cheaper proposal than a Japanese rival, with completion expected in 2019. The planned 45-minute train ride between Jakarta and Bandung compares with a car journey of two to three hours or the current three-hour rail trip. Locating the stations in central Jakarta and Bandung would have been too costly, ministry official Seto said.

Persons: Antara, Al Farisi, Joko Widodo, Teuku Rezasyah, Mott MacDonald, Mahendra Vijaya, Hario, PwC, Sutanto Soehodho, Seto, Stefanno Sulaiman, Devjyot Ghoshal, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Initiative, Padjadjaran University, Reuters, PT, China Development Bank, CDB, PT KCIC, KCIC, University of Indonesia, Thomson Locations: Tegalluar, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, REUTERS JAKARTA, China, Jakarta, Indonesian, Southeast Asia's, Independence, PwC, CDB, China's

☆ China is waging a war on its financial industry. Some high-profile bankers are ensnared
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Last Friday, authorities opened a similar probe into Liu Liange, former chairman of state-owned Bank of China, the country’s fourth largest lender. And in January, Wang Bin, who headed state-owned China Life Insurance from 2018 to early 2022, was charged by national prosecutors with taking bribes and hiding overseas savings. They include financial giants such as China Investment Corp, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, China Development Bank, which provides financing for key government projects, and Agricultural Bank of China, another large state-controlled lender. “The current financial crackdown is a new wave of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign against the financial sector for consolidation of his power,” said Chongyi Feng, an associate professor in China Studies at the University of Technology Sydney. But the deepening crackdown on the vast financial sector could rattle investors.

JOHANNESBURG, March 27 (Reuters) - Multilateral development banks (MDBs) reluctant to offer debt relief need to shoulder an "equitable burden" in sovereign debt restructurings, a People's Bank of China official said on Monday. But with countries such as Zambia, Sri Lanka and Ghana having defaulted, China has faced criticism for holding up the debt restructuring processes. Jin also said that removing investments in "productive assets" from debt stock calculations in debt restructuring situations "should be encouraged". He acknowledged diverging opinions within China about debt restructuring, which he attributed partly to a lack of experience. "At most 15 years ago, in the multilateral forums China was always on the side of the borrowing countries," Jin said.

☆ China lends Pakistan further $700 mln to shore up FX reserves
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This amount is expected to be received this week by State Bank of Pakistan which will shore up its forex reserves," Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Twitter. A finance ministry official said the loan was in addition to other facilities that China has already extended to Pakistan. China Development Bank did not respond to a faxed request for comment. Addressing his cabinet, he said the government was focusing on austerity as a top priority. China is already Pakistan's single largest creditor with its commercial banks holding about 30% of its external debt.

☆ Indonesia, China agree $1.2 bln cost overrun for high-speed train - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia and China have agreed to a budget overrun to the tune of $1.2 billion for the first high-speed railway project in the Southeast Asian country, an Indonesian government official told parliament on Monday. The project was previously estimated to be $2 billion over budget, raising the total cost to 113 trillion rupiah ($7.36 billion), according to the consortium of Indonesian and Chinese state companies building the railway, known as PT KCIC. "We agreed on the cost overrun figure of $1.2 billion. Further details including an additional loan from the China Development Bank to cover the extra costs are to be finalised within a month, he added. ($1 = 15,190.0000 rupiah)Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

South Africa has been struggling for years to overhaul its state-power company which is plagued by corruption and mismanagement and reeling under a 400 billion rand ($23.3 billion) debt pile. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Reuters last week he was "sharpening his pencil" to provide details, so far scarce, for taking on between one- and two-thirds of Eskom's debt in his Feb. 22 budget presentation. Eskom's debt pile is not just big, it is also complex. Another 15% is international bonds, held by global asset managers such as PIMCO, BlackRock and Fidelity, according to recent filings. Eskom's international bonds could rally if the government takes on two-thirds of the debt, Wolman said, while limiting that to one third or carrying out the debt transfer over a long period of time could be negative.

☆ China's EXIM bank gives Sri Lanka debt extension
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Jan 26 (Reuters) - China's Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) has provided Sri Lanka with a debt extension, China's foreign ministry said on Thursday, confirming a Reuters report earlier this week. EXIM offered Sri Lanka a two-year moratorium on its debt and said it would support the country's efforts to secure a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters. Regional rivals China and India are the biggest bilateral lenders to Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people that is facing its worst economic crisis in seven decades. At the end of 2020, China EXIM loaned Sri Lanka $2.83 billion which is 3.5% of the island's debt, according to an IMF report released in March last year. EXIM is a policy bank tasked by Beijing with lending to governments and key industries globally.

[1/2] A woman takes pictures of the China Development Bank booth at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 3, 2021. Commitments made to 100 developing nations by the Export-Import Bank of China (China EximBank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) have fallen every year since hitting a record in 2016 as the lenders scaled back financing even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. "We expect an overall shift toward lower volume, higher quality investment from China," Kevin Gallagher, director of the university's Global Development Policy Center, told Reuters. Reuters GraphicsWORLD BANK STEPS INWhile Chinese lending has been waning, World Bank lending has ramped up, the study found. Overall, China's commitments were 83% of the $601 billion lent by the World Bank from 2008-2021.

☆ Egypt commits to IMF to slow projects, increase fuel prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Among its pledges is one to slow investment in public projects, including national projects, so as to reduce inflation and conserve foreign currency, without specifying where cuts might fall. The IMF board of directors approved the 46-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) on Dec. 17. Egypt's pound has been allowed to fluctuate more than before since its third devaluation in less than a year last week. Under the facility, the IMF will provide Egypt with about $700 million in the fiscal year that ends in June. Reporting by Patrick Werr, Editing by Aidan Lewis and Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China agreed to form global sovereign debt 'roundtable' -IMF chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Chinese officials have agreed to form a global sovereign debt "roundtable" that would include a wide variety of stakeholders, including private sector creditors, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. China has argued that private creditors and multilateral development banks should be required to accept debt "haircuts" to make the process fair. "We agreed that we should form a global sovereign debt roundtable at the highest level - the key creditors, some of the borrowers, the private sector - with the World Bank, the IMF and the G20 presidency being the co-conveners," she said. The proposed roundtable offered a structure to help improve the debt treatment process and avoid a systemic debt crisis, she said. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in China's Anhui province last week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank.

☆ IMF chief Georgieva cites 'fruitful exchange' with China on debt issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund chief Kristlina Georgieva said she had a "fruitful exchange" with her Chinese counterparts this week on her repeated calls for accelerating debt treatments for countries like Zambia and Sri Lanka. Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass and other financial leaders met in person in China's Anhui province this week with officials from the People's Bank of China, China's finance ministry and its EXIM Bank and China Development Bank. Georgieva said the discussions touched on the common framework for debt treatment set up in late 2020 by China, the United State and other Group of 20 major economies, as well as some specific cases of countries seeking debt relief. Implementation of the common framework process has been halting, with only one country, Chad, having completed the debt treatment process, and its agreement not resulting in any actual reductions of the country's debt. Georgieva said she saw "space for a platform for more systematic engagement on debt issues, where China can play an active role," but gave no further details.

☆ Factbox: Aircraft lessors sue insurers for $8 billion over trapped Russian planes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Aircraft leasing firms are suing dozens of insurers for around $8 billion in a string of lawsuits over the loss of hundreds of aircraft stuck in Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lessors argue the aircraft are covered by policies against war or theft, but insurers point out the planes are undamaged and might yet be returned. Here is a list of claims filed against insurers in London, Dublin and the United States, with the most recent filing listed first. SMBC AVIATION CAPITAL VS LLOYD'S OF LONDONSMBC filed a claim against Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) in the Irish High Court on Nov 28. BOC AVIATION VS 16 INSURERSBOC Aviation has begun legal action against 16 insurers, according to an Irish High Court filing on Nov 3.

China is Sri Lanka's largest bilateral creditor and, with India and Japan, part of official creditor talks to restructure the country's debt. "China will have to play a major role in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process," CARI researchers Umesh Moramudali and Thilina Panduwawala wrote in the report. The island nation's total external debt is $37.6 billion, according to the report. Adding central bank foreign currency debt, including a $1.6 billion currency swap with China, public external debt rises to $40.6 billion, of which 22% is from Chinese creditors. The loan agreements have clauses that "submit the loans to Chinese governing law and arbitration before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission".

☆ IMF strategy chief heads to China, to focus on speeding up debt treatments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. Pazarbasioglu welcomed China's participation in a debt treatment package for Chad, the first country to complete the process under the Common Framework set up in late 2020 by the Group of 20 major economies. All eyes are on Zambia now, whose creditors are still hammering out a debt treatment solution, said Pazarbasioglu, who described Zambia's larger and more complicated debt restructuring as the real test case for the Common Framework. Pazarbasioglu said China was hosting a meeting of the "Premiere Plus," including international financial institutions and officials from China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China. "The problem we have is that we don't have that time right now because these countries are very fragile and dealing with debt vulnerabilities," she said.

☆ China's Silk Road Fund to invest in Indonesian pharma firms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China's Silk Road Fund (SRF) and Indonesia's INA sovereign fund INA invest in two state-owned Indonesian pharmaceuticals companies in a deal worth about 1.86 trillion rupiah ($120 million), a deputy minister said on Sunday. "We hope the investment partnership can improve the pharma firms' digital services, product development and also repair (their) capital structure," he said. SRF was set up in 2014 and is backed by China's foreign exchange reserves, China Investment Corp, the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. In July INA and SRF signed an investment framework agreement under which the Chinese fund aims invest up to 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in Southeast Asia's biggest economy. ($1 = 15,490.0000 rupiah)($1 = 7.1066 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China Development Bank Leasing, ICBC Leasing, CMB Financial Leasing, BOCOM Leasing, CCB Financial Leasing, SPDB Financial Leasing and Jiangsu Financial Leasing on Tuesday signed orders for a combined 300 C919s and 30 ARJ21s at Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai, COMAC said in a statement on Wednesday. As with previous announcements, it was not immediately clear how many were firm orders or expressions of interest, and no delivery dates were provided. Before the latest deals, there had been 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers, according to COMAC's website. COMAC said on Tuesday that China would need 9,284 new aircraft over the next 20 years to meet market demand, 200 more than in its forecast last year. The U.S manufacturer forecast China would need 6,370 single-aisle airplanes to support its growing network of international and domestic routes in that time, while COMAC said that 6,896 such planes would be needed.

Creditors and investors are closely monitoring how China, the world's largest bilateral lender, is managing debt negotiations around the world. The policy bank has extended to Zambia more than half of Chinese loans while a $982 million loan was made jointly with the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Including commercial lending, Zambia government data showed it owed more than a third of its $17.27 billion external debt to Chinese lenders by end-2021. Reuters GraphicsThe bank also leads China's team in Ethiopia's bilateral debt talks, its state finance minister told Reuters last month. In 2018, EximBank agreed to extend repayment on a loan worth at least $2.5 billion for a railway between Addis Ababa and Djibouti by 20 years.

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