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☆ Davos 2023: Trip.com hopes China overseas travel capacity back to normal by Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Travel website operator Trip.com Group Ltd (9961.HK) is working with airlines and airports to encourage recovery in China's cross-border travel capacity and hopes levels will return to normal by the third quarter, its CEO Jane Sun said on Tuesday. "Domestic travel for Chinese people travelling within China has already recovered to 2019 levels very rapidly," Sun told Reuters on the sidelines of the forum in the ski resort of Davos. At least one study has also pointed to some hesitancy over outbound travel among Chinese residents. The pandemic had reshaped demands from Chinese travellers, Sun said. Trip.com is one of the world's largest online travel agencies with over 400 million users, most of them in China.

"We had such a hard time, and I would rather have more Chinese people come than the government restricting their entry so I can do business." "Tour bus operators who have had their vehicles idly parked for over three years are now gearing up for (bus) inspections," said Thai Tour Bus Association President Wasuchet Sophonsatien. Thailand, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the most-searched destinations. Yue Hua Entertainment Korea, which manages Tempest, did not respond to a request for comment. "The pandemic outbreak on the mainland is still vigorous and needs time to recover, while domestic consumption remains weak on the mainland."

☆ China’s reopening has gotten Wall Street excited. Here’s how the pros are playing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Over the past week, a host of Wall Street banks have turned increasingly bullish on the world's second-largest economy and have upgraded their outlook on Chinese stocks. Morgan Stanley expects China's GDP to grow by an "above-consensus" 5.4% in 2023, on the back of a "fast-tracked" reopening and more proactive policy easing. Meanwhile, UBS says Chinese stocks look increasingly attractive. How to play the reopening Against this backdrop, analysts have named a slew of both Chinese and global stocks they think will benefit most from China's reopening. Bank of America's domestic reopening beneficiaries include consumer stocks such as alcoholic beverage makers Kweichow Moutai and Tsingtao Brew , airline stocks including China Southern Airlines , as well as online travel platform Trip.com .

☆ Chinese travelers say new restrictions are 'unfair' — but they're angry at some countries more than others
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

But it's not out of spite, said several Chinese travelers who spoke to CNBC. 'I think it's unfair'Reactions from Chinese travelers who spoke to CNBC were varied, ranging from indifference to confusion to anger. Last week, the European Union recommended that its members require Chinese travelers to take Covid tests before entering. Rein said Chinese travelers are now headed to Singapore and Thailand because "both countries are welcoming us." Of the top destinations Chinese nationals searched after the border reopening announcement, those are the only two that haven't imposed new restrictions on incoming Chinese travelers.

☆ How the end of China's travel lockdown could boost online retail powerhouses like Shein
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As of January 8, Chinese citizens may travel out of the country freely for the first time in years. The change could boost Chinese e-commerce powerhouses like Shein and Alibaba. Though there are plenty of dedicated cargo flights in and out of China, more than half of air cargo worldwide travels in the belly of passenger planes. Chinese online retailers stand to benefit even more, said Brian Bourke, chief commercial officer of Seko Logistics, a freight forwarding company that manages transportation for Shein, among other US and Chinese e-commerce giants. Cheaper air cargo rates are likely to encourage even more investment in speed from Shein and others.

Although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies, industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023, according to analysts. Elsewhere in the world, Cambodia, Mauritius, Malaysia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, South Korea and Philippines are also likely to benefit from the return of Chinese tourists, according to research by Capital Economics. Saxon said he expected China’s outbound international travel to fully recover by the year end. “Generally, individuals are pragmatic and countries will welcome Chinese tourists due to their spending power,” he said, adding that countries may remove restrictions quickly when the Covid situation improves in China. “It will take time for international tourism to get going, but it will come rushing back, when it happens.”

Meanwhile, World Health Organization officials met Chinese scientists on Tuesday amid concerns over the accuracy of China's data on the spread and evolution of its outbreak. China reported five new COVID-19 deaths for Jan. 3, compared with three a day earlier, bringing the official death toll to 5,258, very low by global standards. British-based health data firm Airfinity has said about 9,000 people in China are probably dying each day from COVID. Bookings for international flights from China have risen by 145% year-on-year in recent days, the government-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing data from travel booking platform Trip.com. But there are signs that an increase in travel from China could further spread the virus abroad.

☆ Alibaba, other China ADRs surge as Ant Group capital plan approval fuels hope for relaxing scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alibaba has faced growth challenges amid regulatory tightening on China's domestic technology sector and a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. Chinese tech stocks that trade in the U.S. jumped Wednesday morning after Chinese officials approved an expanded capital plan from Ant Group. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba jumped more than 6% in premarket trading after the news, as did stock of JD.com . The moves come as investors are seeing signs of a more relaxed Chinese regulatory environment. Correction: Chinese tech stocks that trade in the U.S. jumped Wednesday morning.

Reuters Graphics3/ RE-EMERGING MARKETSWhisper it, but the emerging markets (EM) bulls are back after 2022 delivered some of the biggest losses on record. Credit Suisse particularly likes hard currency debt and DoubleLine's Jeffrey Gundlach, AKA the "bond king", has EM stocks as his top pick. Economists polled by Reuters expect headline U.S. inflation to decelerate to 3.1% by the end of 2023. Valentine Ainouz, fixed income strategist at the Amundi Institute, predicts the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield will end 2023 at 3.5% from around 3.88% currently. Reuters Graphics5/ EQUITIES: SELL NOW, BUY LATEREquity investors hope a V-shaped year for the global economy will see stocks end it comfortably higher.

☆ Chinese Rush for Exit as Beijing Ends Zero-Covid and Opens Its Doors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Raffaele Huang | Rachel Liang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SINGAPORE—Moments after China said it would reopen its borders to international travel for the first time in almost three years, sales of air tickets out of the country soared, as people leapt at the chance to put the stifling restrictions of zero-Covid behind them. Top of the getaway wish list were regional destinations a short hop away, with Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan favorite choices. Bookings more than tripled from the day before, data from travel company Trip.com Group show.

☆ Here are the countries Chinese tourists want to visit the most
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Travelers check in at Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport in on Dec. 12, 2022, after China relaxed domestic travel restrictions. Within half an hour of China's announced policy change, searches for travel abroad surged to a three-year high, the travel booking company said. Macao and Hong Kong also made the list, which did not include any countries on the European continent. Authorities also said they would allow Chinese citizens to resume travel, without providing details on timing or process. During the pandemic, Beijing prevented Chinese citizens from getting passports or leaving the country unless they had a clear reason, typically for business.

☆ China is reopening after zero-Covid. But there's a long road ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In major cities Shanghai and Shenzhen, Friday morning rush hour traffic was extremely light, according to Baidu data. Subway ridership in major cities as of Thursday remained well below the normal range, according to Wind Information. "It will be the first time in nearly three years that mass migration will resume in China as families congregate." As for foreign direct investment into China, Hart said he expected it would take about a year after travel fully reopens for such investment to start recovering. Hainan hotel bookings last week rose by 20% from the prior week, Trip.com said.

☆ China’s sudden ‘reopening’ reveals new challenges as infections soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Yuxuan Zhang | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Mainland China's swift rollback of many Covid-related restrictions has been unexpectedly sudden, revealing a new set of economic challenges. “Surging Covid infections may offset the positive impact of the easing in the near term." "The rapid surge of infections in big cities might be only the beginning of a massive wave of Covid infections," the analysts said. Get through winter firstSocial activity remains subdued amid the surge of infections and below-freezing weather in northern cities. Management at Chinese travel booking site Trip.com were also reserved in how soon domestic travel would rebound.

☆ China domestic searches for hotels surge after easing restrictions - KAYAK
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Travel website KAYAK, owned by Booking Holdings Inc (BKNG.O), said domestic searches for hotels within China surged last week, after the country loosened its COVID-19-related restrictions. KAYAK on Friday said searches for hotels jumped more than 100% over the past two days compared to last year and over 50% compared to 2019, in a market where travel companies have struggled with Beijing's zero-COVID policy. "I anticipate the world's second biggest travel market will fully reopen soon after almost three years," said KAYAK Chief Executive Steve Hafner in a statement. Searches on other travel platforms such as Trip.com also surged last week as the public cheered China's easing travel curbs. Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Fed will raise rates again. But it’s playing with fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The Federal Reserve is all but guaranteed to announce Wednesday that it will once again raise interest rates. The Fed bumped up rates by three-quarters of a percentage point in the past four meetings (June, July, September and November). The more widely watched Consumer Price Index data for November comes out Tuesday, just a day before the Fed announcement. Jones still thinks the Fed will raise rates by only half a point this week and may look to hike them just a quarter point in early 2023. It seems likely that the Fed will cut its GDP target and raise its expectations for the jobless rate and consumer prices.

HONG KONG, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The pandemic has helped Chinese authorities to keep a lot of money at home. With expectations rising for a full reopening of the country, including its international borders, capital outflows could be Beijing’s next headache. The People’s Republic supposedly has strict controls with cross-border cash transfers for citizens capped at $50,000 per year. Even so, jet-setting travellers splurged $255 billion abroad in 2019, boosting hotel revenue in Thailand and designer handbag sales in Paris. With pent up demand for spending overseas likely to be high, China might be tempted to look for benefits from keeping its borders shut.

☆ China's reopening from Covid won't be a straight path forward
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty ImagesBEIJING — As mainland China relaxes many of its stringent Covid controls, analysts point out the country is far from a quick return to a pre-pandemic situation. Mainland China's daily Covid infections, mostly asymptomatic, surged to a record high above 40,000 in late November. Looking ahead, it's pretty clear that China's Covid policy is about to cross a turning point, said Bruce Pang, chief economist and head of research for Greater China at JLL. That means there may be a surge in Covid infections, and China's policy will never go back, Pang said. Goldman Sachs analysts expect China's reopening — defined as a shift away from lockdowns — to come in the second quarter of 2023, according to a separate report on Wednesday.

☆ Dow has worst week since September as investors look ahead to CPI, Fed meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The next day, Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to announce a decision on the next stage of rate hikes. But what's still a question mark is how high the Fed will take rates up, and for how long, given the current economic slowdown. The yield on the 10-Year Treasury moved higher this week amid renewed expectations the Fed will need to raise interest rates higher than expected. ET: Consumer price index FOMC meeting begins Wednesday, December 14 After the bell: Lennar (LEN), Trip.com (TCOM) FOMC meeting ends; rate decision at 2 p.m. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Critical inflation report could be the key to the week ahead, as the Fed meets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Inflation and a hawkish Fed "I think the data can influence his press conference and how hawkish he is," said NatWest Markets' John Briggs. "If you get a higher CPI report on the back of that, it could create some significant market instability ahead of the Fed meeting." Recession fears "If you're more worried about recession than inflation, that means you bring in more bond buyers than sellers," he said. Retail sales, industrial production, and the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey as well as the Empire State manufacturing survey are released Thursday. Import prices 2:00 p.m. Fed statement and projections 2:30 p.m. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell briefing Thursday Earnings: Adobe, Jabil 8:30 a.m.

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Searches on Chinese travel sites surged and social media platforms were flooded with delight and relief on Wednesday as the public cheered the biggest loosening of some of the world's strictest COVID policies. CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM, EXHAUSTIONThe news was also welcomed by foreign business groups, many of which had become increasingly outspoken about the damage the zero-COVID policy was having on China's economy and the operations of their companies. "Timely implementation will help stabilise China’s economy and get life back to normal," the European Chamber of Commerce in China said of the 10 measures announced on Wednesday. It also urged China to roll out mRNA vaccines for domestic use as part of a vaccination drive with the elderly a priority. Reporting by Sophie Yu and Martin Pollard, Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morgan Stanley turns bullish on China stocks, giving them serious upside potential
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Morgan Stanley has turned bullish on China stocks for the first time in nearly two years as the country embarks on a "clear path set towards reopening." It had held its equal weight rating on Chinese stocks since Jan. 2021 and was last overweight on China in March 2020. Morgan Stanley also gave the major Chinese stock indexes large potential upsides. Morgan Stanley recommended investing in offshore Chinese stocks. Stocks set to benefit Morgan Stanley highlighted a list of stocks it said are set to benefit from the easing in China.

☆ Hedge funds bought the dip in Chinese stocks — here are their favorite ADRs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hedge funds bought the dip in Chinese stocks last quarter after many technology names sold off amid political uncertainty, according to Goldman Sachs. U.S. hedge fund ownership of Chinese ADRs increased modestly during the third quarter after declining for four straight quarters, according to Goldman. At the start of the fourth quarter, 20% of equity hedge funds had a long position in at least one Chinese stock, the firm said. Alibaba remained the most popular China ADR among U.S. hedge funds, and it's the only Chinese stock to be included in Goldman's Hedge Fund VIP list . Brad Gerstner's hedge fund Altimeter Capital bought $69 million worth of Pinduoduo last quarter, according to a filing.

☆ JPMorgan says these global travel stocks are poised to pop as China eases Covid restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It added that the uncertain economic outlook hasn't yet eaten into leisure travel spending — with the International Air Transport Association continuing to see strong forward international air travel bookings. The bank's key picks to play the sector are Beijing Capital International Airport and Shanghai Airport. Other airline stocks that are among JPMorgan's picks include Air China and Qantas Airways . Other stocks that could take flight Apart from airport and airline stocks, China's reopening would also benefit hotels, restaurants and leisure sectors , according to a Goldman Sachs note from Nov. 6. These stocks include casino operators Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China , food chain Yum China , as well as Trip.com .

HONG KONG, Nov 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Naspers (NPNJn.J) has a new Tencent (0700.HK) quandary. In June, they launched an open-ended plan to gradually sell Tencent shares and use the proceeds to repurchase stock in both companies. The problem, however, is that Tencent stock has underperformed that of Naspers and Prosus. Over the same period Naspers shares rose 6% while those of its Dutch subsidiary are down 19%. “The Naspers Board and Prosus Board reiterate their continued confidence in Tencent's long term prospects and continue to believe that the share repurchase programme is in the best interests of Prosus, Naspers and their respective shareholders," they said in a statement.

☆ China is easing its Covid measures. Here’s how market pros are playing it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China announced a shortening of its quarantine requirements last week, while simplifying travel rules and adjusting its monitoring regime. China has stood firm on its zero-Covid policy even as countries around the world adopt a "live with the virus" approach. Fund manager Brian Arcese believes the market reaction reflects the "underlying fundamentals that earnings will really start to improve." Meanwhile, Arcese, who is a portfolio manager at Foord Asset Management, said the firm has a China exposure of about 20%. It should benefit from the re-opening of China as tourism gradually recovers to pre-Covid levels," he added.

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