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☆ Exclusive: Xi Jinping tells Bill Gates he welcomes U.S. AI tech in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates delivers his speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, August 16, 2022. Xi also discussed Microsoft's (MSFT.O) business development in China during their meeting in Beijing, one of the sources said. When asked for comment, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation directed Reuters to the post. His meeting with Gates comes as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest point in decades, with AI a key flashpoint. Microsoft is a backer of OpenAI, whose chatbot ChatGPT ignited a global AI buzz last year that has spread to China.

Persons: Bill Gates, Kim Hong, Xi Jinping, Xi, Gates, Melinda Gates, Jason Neely, Jan Harvey Organizations: Microsoft Corp, National Assembly, REUTERS, U.S, Microsoft, Melinda Gates Foundation, Reuters, Information Office, chipmaker Micron, LinkedIn China, Thomson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, HONG KONG, China, Beijing, China's, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ Micron warns of bigger revenue hit from China ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company said it now expects an impact on about half of its revenue from China-headquartered firms, which equates to a low-double-digit percentage of its total revenue. It had neither provided details on what risks it had found nor what Micron products would be affected. It also added that several customers, including mobile manufacturers, were being contacted by Chinese government representatives about the future use of Micron products. Micron's revenue from companies headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, including direct sales as well as indirect sales through distributors, accounts for about a quarter of its total revenue. ($1 = 7.1218 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sanjay Mehrotra, Chavi Mehta, Shailesh Organizations: Micron Technology, Micron, Cybersecurity Administration, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Beijing, Washington, Hong Kong, Xian, Bengaluru

☆ US slaps sanctions on Iranian, Chinese targets over Tehran's missile, military programs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. China has been a major buyer of Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions designed to choke off these exports. Washington targeted centrifuge sales to Parchin Chemical Industries (PCI), dual-use metals sales to its intermediary, P.B. Co., Ltd, which the Treasury accused of selling centrifuges and other equipment and services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to PCI with P.B. Sadr and PCI, as well as the other companies, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Persons: Davoud Damghani, Brian Nelson, Sadr, Zhejiang Qingji, Daphne Psaledakis, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Arshad Mohammed, David Brunnstrom, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: . Treasury, Armed Forces Logistics, Terrorism, Financial Intelligence, United Nations, Parchin Chemical Industries, PCI, Zhejiang Qingji, P.B, Treasury, Hong, Hong Kong Ke.Do International Trade Co, Qingdao Zhongrongtong Trade, Co, Thomson Locations: United States, Iran, China, Hong Kong, Beijing, U.S, Washington, Tehran, New York, . Sadr, Zhejiang, Zhejiang Qingji Ind, Sadr, Qingdao

☆ Tiananmen Square masacre anniversary: vigils go global as authorities in China and Hong Kong stamp out remembrance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I think it’s sad to say that what Beijing and Hong Kong are doing is trying to erase history and the memory,” said Kevin Yam, a former lawyer in Hong Kong, who will be attending a ceremony in Melbourne, Australia, where he now resides. “Hong Kong has been carrying the torch for commemorating the Tiananmen massacre, keeping the legacy alive. When the museum was shut down, with the Hong Kong alliance’s leaders in prison, we knew it was a critical moment,” he said. Thousands gathered at a candlelit vigil in Hong Kong on June 4, 2017, to mark 28 years since China's bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown. “It is true that the commemorations around June 4th have expanded and become more global since it has become impossible to do anything in Hong Kong,” he told CNN.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Hong Kongers, ”, Kevin Yam, Zhou, Zhou Fengsuo, Wang Dan, Hong Kong’s, “, Hong Kong, Isaac Lawrence, Chris Tang –, –, Louise Delmotte, Richard Tsoi, Catherine Henriette, Jens Galschiot, Anthony Kwan, Kongers Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Reuters, CNN, Hong, People’s Liberation Army, Authorities, Getty, Victoria Park, Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong Alliance, Police, . Police, of, Los, “, Britain –, London Locations: Hong Kong, China, Victoria, Beijing, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, United States, Canada, Melbourne, New York, York, “ Hong Kong, Hong, AFP, Tiananmen, Berlin, Danish, Germany, Los Angeles, Boston, Norway, Causeway, Britain, Nottingham, Manchester, London

☆ Asian shares mixed as China growth worries crimp U.S. debt ceiling optimism
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Ankur Banerjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) eased 0.20% but was set to eke out a gain of 0.19% for the week. Data in the week underscored that China's economy lost momentum at the beginning of the second quarter, stoking worries over the wobbly post-COVID-19 recovery. Investor attention has been firmly on the negotiations over U.S. debt ceiling and increasing hopes that a deal could be reached sent U.S. shares higher overnight . Hawkish rhetoric from Fed speakers continued with Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard saying inflation was not cooling fast enough to allow the Fed to pause its interest-rate hike campaign. U.S. crude fell 0.14% to $71.76 per barrel and Brent was at $75.78, down 0.11% on the day.

☆ Audits of Chinese Companies Are Highly Deficient, U.S. Regulator Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The PCAOB oversees audit firms that review the financial statements of companies listed in the U.S. Photo: Alyssa Schukar for The Wall Street JournalThe Public Company Accounting Oversight Board found significant auditing deficiencies in its first ever set of inspections in China and Hong Kong, saying that local affiliates of KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers missed the mark on auditing U.S.-listed companies in the region. The U.S. audit watchdog last fall completed its first set of inspections of China-based audit firms after years of Chinese regulators refusing to allow such reviews on national-security concerns. After PCAOB staff returned from Hong Kong, the regulator in December said it obtained full access to inspect the firms.

☆ Stocks stumble as investors' nerves show ahead of US inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, May 10 (Reuters) - Stocks were struggling to advance in Asia and the dollar was firm on Wednesday ahead of U.S. consumer price data that could damage hopes for interest rate cuts later this year if inflation fails to show much of a decline. Overnight the S&P 500 (.SPX) fell 0.5% and S&P 500 futures were steady in the Asian morning. A firm U.S. dollar pushed the euro back below $1.10 to $1.0971. Treasuries were broadly steady overnight, though debt-ceiling brinkmanship is warping the bills market as investors avoid bills maturing early in June. The dollar was also firm at 135.14 yen and has lifted slightly from recent lows on the Aussie , kiwi and sterling .

☆ Audits of Chinese companies by KPMG and PwC full of holes, US watchdog finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —US inspectors, after receiving access to auditors’ books for the first time, discovered significant shortcomings in audits of companies based in China and Hong Kong that are listed on US stock exchanges. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) said Wednesday that it uncovered major “deficiencies” after checking the work of KPMG Huazhen, which is headquartered in mainland China, and PwC’s practice in Hong Kong. Deficiencies were found in 100% of the audits by KPMG Huazhen reviewed and 75% of those from PwC Hong Kong. US regulators had long lobbied for this access, worried that Chinese firms listed on Wall Street were misrepresenting their financial heath. The breakthrough meant that more than 160 Chinese companies avoided being kicked out of the world’s biggest stock market, as US regulators threatened if they weren’t able to inspect their audits.

☆ Geopolitics is shrinking India’s risk premium
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

They are lured by a country whose potential as an alternative investment destination to China increasingly outweighs the local challenges of doing business. India’s $3 trillion economy is forecast to grow by 6.5% this fiscal year, continuing to outpace the rest of the world. Executives and investors also see a business-friendly government that is likely to remain in power for the next half-decade. Morgan Stanley analysts and strategists expect India to become the world’s third-largest economy and stock market before the end of the decade. The India risk premium is rapidly disappearing.

☆ Hong Kong police seize statue in "incitement to subversion" probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jessie Pang | Thomson Reuters | Jessie Pang Joined Reuters In After An Internship. She Covers Hong Kong With A Focus On Politics | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, May 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong police seized an exhibit on Friday in connection with what they said was an attempt to incite subversion, with media reporting it was a statue commemorating Beijing's Tiananmen Square crackdown on democracy protesters in 1989. Hong Kong had traditionally held the largest annual vigils in the world to commemorate the crackdown. The two-tonne copper Pillar of Shame was first exhibited at a Tiananmen Square commemoration in Hong Kong in 1997, the same year Britain handed the city back to China. In 2021, the University of Hong Kong dismantled and removed the statue "based on external legal advice and risk assessment for the best interest of the university". It is not clear if the Tiananmen Square vigil will take place this year.

The visit is Dimon's first to mainland China since the pandemic gathered pace in 2020 and closed the world's second-largest economy for almost three years as it enforced some of the world's most stringent restrictions. He will also visit Hong Kong in early June after the Shanghai trip, two of the sources added. Dimon visited the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong to meet the bank's staff and clients in November 2021. A JPMorgan spokesperson in Hong Kong declined to comment on Dimon's visit to mainland China and Hong Kong. Reporting by Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ JPMorgan's Dimon reportedly making first mainland China visit in four years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, is planning his first visit to mainland China in four years as the American bank prepares to host three conferences in Shanghai at the end of May. The visit is Dimon's first to mainland China since the pandemic gathered pace in 2020 and closed the world's second-largest economy for almost three years as it enforced some of the world's most stringent restrictions. He will also visit Hong Kong in early June after the Shanghai trip, two of the sources added. Dimon visited the Asian financial hub of Hong Kong to meet the bank's staff and clients in November 2021. A JPMorgan spokesperson in Hong Kong declined to comment on Dimon's visit to mainland China and Hong Kong.

☆ Hong Kong c.bank raises interest rates after Fed hike
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signalled it may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fallout from recent bank failures and monitor the course of inflation. HKMA said Hong Kong interbank rates, which have been rising over the past few months, will likely rise further with the Fed latest rate hike. The public should therefore carefully assess the interest rate risk when taking out mortgages or making other borrowing decisions. "After China and Hong Kong markets have returned to normalcy post COVID-19, investment sentiment in the real estate market has improved, consumption power has risen. The Hong Kong property market has rebounded by 5-6% year-to-date," Yue said, adding other economic factors also play a part.

☆ North Korean bank official charged in crypto laundering conspiracies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, a Washington, D.C., district court unsealed two federal indictments charging a North Korean bank official for his alleged role in cryptocurrency laundering conspiracies. The alleged actions are in violation of current sanctions against North Korea by both the U.S. and United Nations. The recently unsealed indictments represent a broader pattern in recent years of North Korean workers using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools to illegally gain remote employment and redirect revenue to North Korea. Nearly every month so far this year, North Korea has run tests of its intercontinental ballistic missiles, the latest taking place in mid-April. "We will continue to work to disrupt and deter North Korean actors and those who aid them by following the money on the blockchain and shining a light on their conduct."

☆ Carlyle eyes fresh backers for McDonald's China arm - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group Inc (CG.O) is considering bringing in fresh backers for its investment in McDonald's Corp's (MCD.N) China operations, seeking a valuation of $8-$10 billion for the business, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Carlyle, which controls McDonald's China along with Trustar Capital, could sell down part of their stakes in the fast-food giant in the deal while still retaining control, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. In 2017, the U.S fast-food chain agreed to sell most of its China and Hong Kong business to CITIC and Carlyle for up to $2.1 billion. Trustar Capital is a private equity affiliate of CITIC Capital Holdings. Carlyle, McDonald's and Trustar did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

☆ China protests U.S. sanctioning of firms dealing with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Beijing on Saturday protested U.S. sanctions against additional Chinese companies over their alleged attempts to evade U.S. export controls on Russia, calling it an illegal move that endangers global supply chains. "The U.S. should immediately correct its wrongdoing and stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies. China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," it added. However, Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Friday said China won't sell weapons to either side in the war, responding to Western concerns that Beijing could provide outright military assistance to Russia. "Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible attitude," Qin said at a news conference alongside visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.

☆ Young people in Greater China are blowing their paychecks every month — even if they don't have to
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Goh Chiew Tong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

"Yue guang zu" ("moonlight clan") refers young singles in Greater China who go broke at the end of each month, or live paycheck to paycheck. Hsu belongs to a group of people in Taiwan, typically young and single workers, called the "yue guang zu" — the so-called "moonlight clan." Eric Hsu Civil engineerBut when a serious knee injury took him out of work for two weeks without pay, Hsu realized he was unable to support himself. "Young people would rather give up that dream and spend money on things they are guaranteed to get today." After his experience, he canceled his credit cards two years ago and committed to saving one third of his salary each month.

☆ Gold at over one-year peak as weak U.S. data buoys demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday to touch their highest levels since March 2022 after weak U.S. economic data spurred safe-haven demand and expectations that the Federal Reserve might loosen its monetary policy trajectory. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,022.09 per ounce, as of 0355 GMT. Gold prices rallied 2% to cross $2,000 per ounce on Tuesday after another round of weaker U.S. economic data pointed to a slowing economy. Data showed U.S. job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting the labor market was cooling. Gold is traditionally considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, but higher interest rates dim the appeal for non-yielding bullion.

☆ Shares and bonds ride high after soothing euro zone data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Government bonds have gained as much as 5%, gold is 8% higher, while oil is down and the dollar has barely budged. The euro zone inflation numbers showed consumer prices rising 6.9% in March after an 8.5% increase in February, representing the sharpest deceleration since Eurostat started collecting data in 1991. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) also jumped 1% on Friday，as inflation data for the capital Tokyo highlighted broadening price pressures. The euro , which hit a one-week high against the dollar overnight on sticky German inflation data, dipped back under $1.09 again after the euro zone data but was still set for a 3% monthly rise. U.S. crude futures were flat at $74.40 per barrel, while Brent crude futures slipped 0.1% to $78.52 per barrel.

☆ Australia's biggest pension funds cut China exposure, buy fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) - Two of Australia's largest pension funds pulled money out of Chinese stocks and boosted positions in the country's fossil fuel sector in the final six months of 2022, according to filings published on Thursday. Both funds collectively increased their shareholdings in Woodside Energy Group (WDS.AX), Australia's largest independent natural gas producer, by roughly 14 million shares. The disclosures come just days after activist investors accused the big Australian pension funds of failing to push fossil fuel producers like Woodside hard enough to decarbonise. The figures reveal pension funds pulling back from China during the back half of 2022, a time when investors across the developed world were reconsidering exposure to a country still subject to strict COVID lockdowns. Aware Super said in a statement it had a "relatively small exposure" to China mostly via external managers.

REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, March 21(Reuters) - The organisers of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of Asia's leading contemporary art fairs, said on Tuesday they are bullish on art market prospects in the region, with China and Hong Kong now having lifted all COVID lockdown restrictions. The annual fair, which also has iterations in Basel, Paris, and Miami Beach, runs from March 23-25 in Hong Kong. "Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Asian art market has also remained resilient, with Greater China accounting for 20% of worldwide sales by value and ranking second as the second largest regional art market in the latest edition of the Art Basel," Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz told reporters. Leading international galleries at Art Basel this year include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lehmann Maupin, Victoria Miro, Pace, Perrotin, White Cube and David Zwirner. We haven't really changed the process of the show since 2013," said Angelle Siyang-Le, the director Art Basel Hong Kong.

☆ Baidu stock rebounds after falling sharply in wake of demo of ERNIE chatbot, its ChatGPT-style service
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Hong Kong CNN —Shares in Chinese search giant Baidu rebounded sharply a day after it unveiled ERNIE Bot, its answer to the ChatGPT craze. Its Hong Kong shares fell 6.4% after a public demonstration of its bot failed to impress investors. The reversal came after the company said more than 30,000 businesses had signed up to test out its chatbot service within two hours of its demonstration. Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li presenting the company's AI chatbot, ERNIE Bot, in Beijing on March 16. But its stock slumped on Thursday because the demo was “pre-recorded, and not live, which makes investors skeptical about the robustness of the ERNIE Bot,” according to Pau.

☆ Apple supplier unlikely to resume full India operations for two months after massive fire
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters —Most of the fire safety equipment at Apple supplier Foxlink’s facility in southern India was not functional, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday, a day after a massive blaze forced production to be halted. Foxlink was engulfed in a massive fire on Monday that led part of the building to collapse. A second source familiar with the developments said that Foxlink was a key supplier for Apple in India, and “there could be potential supply chain disruptions for iPhones made in India, or shipped from India”. Last year, the data indicates Foxlink exported around 7 million USB-C to lightening cables from India, and in January shipped 1.6 million units. The incident is the latest problem to hit Apple suppliers in India, from where it is increasingly ramping up manufacturing and exports.

☆ How McDonald’s won over China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Shawn Baldwin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

McDonald's is one of the world's largest restaurant chains, drawing 60 million customers daily at more than 40,000 locations worldwide. The fast food giant plans to open 1,900 new restaurants this year, almost half of them in China, McDonald's CFO Ian Borden told analysts on an earnings call in January. McDonald's got its start in China in the early '90s. Today, the chain has more than 4,500 restaurants in mainland China and Hong Kong with considerable room for growth. Even still, China is McDonald's second-largest market by store count, behind the U.S.

Losses were limited by oil supply concerns after Russia halted exports to Poland via a key pipeline. That positive economic data helped global stock markets to rebound, yet shares remained near six-week lows as investors braced for interest rate hikes in the United States and Europe. Adding to global oil demand worries, rising Sino-U.S. tensions hammered equity markets in China and Hong Kong while investors awaited policy signals from the upcoming National People's Congress. On Monday, Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said it started pumping oil from Kazakhstan to Germany via Poland through the Druzhba pipeline, while halting deliveries to Poland. Russia announced plans this month to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March versus February, exceeding previously mooted production cuts of 5%.

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