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☆ 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

☆ Jack Ma: Alibaba founder’s ‘Ma’s Kitchen’ is betting on the food business in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Michelle Toh | Eric Cheung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“Ma’s Kitchen” has registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million), the system showed. 22 Arts and Culture, of which Jack Ma has 99.9% ownership, according to Qichacha, a corporate data provider in China. The new firm has not publicly provided details on its business model, or what kind of food it will sell. The Jack Ma Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Jack Ma seen in Shanghai in 2018.

Persons: Taipei CNN —, Jack Ma, ”, Ma’s, Ma, —, Ben Cavender, Aly Song, Cavender Organizations: Taipei CNN, National Enterprise, and Culture, Euromonitor International, China Market Research, CNN, “ Locations: Hong Kong, Taipei, Hangzhou, China, Shanghai

[1/4] Couples prepare to get their photo taken during a wedding photography shoot on a street, in Shanghai, China September 6, 2023. "The traditional Chinese wedding industry is probably in for tough times." "People are more inclined to go for a simple and niche wedding," said Chen, adding that a decade ago, it was common for couples to spend millions of yuan. 'NICHE, NICHE, NICHE'The economic downturn has hit the middle class, and the youth, the hardest, resulting in high jobless rates and low household spending. Our strategy has been to stay niche, niche, niche," said Wang.

Persons: Aly, Yuan Jialiang, Ben Cavender, Frank Chen, Chen Feng, Chen, Chow Tai Fook, It's, Xueyi, Jewel Wang, Vera Wang, Wang, Oscar de la, Carolina Herrera, Casey Hall, Xihao Jiang, Farah, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, China Market Research, Daxue Consulting, COVID, Jewellery, HK, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Xi'an, Hong Kong

But there are new good deals all the time, you just have to go out to find them." That's what deflation looks like in China. As witnessed by Japan in the 1990s, deflation - if prolonged - can weigh on economic growth. "Good deals are needed to get consumers through the door so there is a lot of pressure on these businesses to find margins," said Ben Cavender, managing director at China Market Research Group in Shanghai. Restaurant worker Dong went to a wet market in central Beijing around lunchtime on Thursday, but did not buy anything.

Persons: Gao Yi, Ben Cavender, Zhu Danpeng, Joey Wat, Dong, Sophie Yu, Marius Zaharia, Sam Holmes Organizations: China Market Research Group, Guangdong Provincial Food Safety, Alliance, HK, KFC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, Japan, Shanghai, Guangdong

☆ Elon Musk: CEOs flock to China as risks to trade and investment rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

To drum up business, Chinese leaders have urged foreign companies to invest more in the country, promising them an open and level playing field. “The interests of the United States and China are intertwined like conjoined twins,” he was quoted as saying by the foreign ministry. Over time, “there will be less trade” between China and the United States, Dimon predicted. The move was seen as retaliation for restrictions the United States has imposed on Chinese chipmakers. The interests of the United States and China are intertwined like conjoined twins.

Persons: Elon, Laxman, Jamie Dimon, Qin Gang, Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk, ”, Warren Buffett, Dimon’s, Dimon, That’s, Bain, “ who’s, ” Michael Hart, Ben Cavender, Nick Marro, Tim Cook, Cook, Marro, ‘, ” —, Sophie Jeong, Martha Zhou Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Tesla, Starbucks, JPMorgan, Apple, Samsung, Aramco, Volkswagen, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Foreign, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters, China’s Foreign, Shanghai’s Communist Party, Bloomberg, Group, American Chamber of Commerce, CNN, British, of Commerce, China Market Research Group, US, Micron, Economist Intelligence Unit, “ Companies, China Development Forum Locations: Hong Kong, China, Beijing, United States, Shanghai, Taiwan, Washington, New York, American, Xinjiang

☆ PDD, Shein, Binance: These hugely successful companies were born in China. They don't want you to know that
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Hong Kong CNN —Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, doesn’t want to be called a Chinese company. “Our opposition in the West bends over backward to paint us as a ‘Chinese company,’” he wrote in a blog post last September. Zhao has been vocal about how he feels his firm is misrepresented as a "Chinese company." The same concern could, in theory, apply to any Chinese company. TikTok CEO Shou Chew testifying before US Congress in March.

"I don't have the brain for stock investments, and I am waiting to redeem mutual fund products once they break even. The interest in precious metals is a worrying indicator that China's efforts to revive its economy via domestic spending, after years of strict COVID curbs, may not be working. Households savings grew by 9.9 trillion yuan in the January-March period, after rising a record 17.8 trillion yuan in 2022. In 2021, they grew by 9.9 trillion yuan. "Economic fundamentals, risk aversion and the recovery of domestic consumption all drive the investment demand for jewellery and precious metals," said Pang Xichun, research director at Nanjing RiskHunt Investment Management Co.

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