DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

[1/5] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. After securing an unprecedented third term as president earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first overseas trip to Moscow to meet his "dear friend" Putin. China "will be more cautious with its words and actions about Russia", said Shanghai-based international relations expert Shen Dingli. It was unclear if Yang's article was written before the Wagner rebellion and he did not respond to requests for an interview from Reuters. Other China-based academics, however, said Beijing would not change its stance on Russia as a result of the incident.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Shen Muhui, Alexander Neill, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Qin Gang, Putin, Shen Dingli, Yang Jun, Michal Meidan, Martin Quin Pollard, Yew, Tian, John Geddie, Alex Richardson Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, REUTERS, Moscow, U.S, Foreign, NATO, Beijing's China University of Political Science, Law, Reuters, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, European Union, Putin's, Australian National University, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, China, Ukraine, Beijing, BEIJING, China's, Fujian, Singapore, United States, Shanghai, Japan, Putin's Russia

☆ China Dragon Boat Festival trips down 22.8% from pre-COVID levels -CCTV
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 24 (Reuters) - A total of 140.47 million trips were made in China during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, up 89.1% from a year earlier but down 22.8% from the pre-COVID levels of 2019, official broadcaster CCTV said on its website. The number of railway trips jumped 150.2% from a year earlier to 43.26 million, CCTV reported, citing the Ministry of Transport. Road travel rose 64.4% year-on-year to 89.34 million, but was down 33.3% from the same period in pre-COVID 2019. Trips using ships also fell sharply from 2019, down 43.6% to 2.53 million, though nearly doubling from a year ago. Airborne trips totalled 5.34 million, surging 287% from a year earlier, but up just 3% from 2019, according to CCTV.

Persons: Tom Hogue Organizations: Ministry of Transport, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, That's

China's top graft-busting watchdog earlier this year vowed to eliminate ideas of a Western-style "financial elite" and rectify the hedonism of excessive pursuit of "high-end taste". Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS) and China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) (601939.SS) plan to cut some allowances of employees at the banks' headquarters from this year, two sources familiar with the matter said. Domestic rival China International Capital Corp (CICC) (3908.HK) last month cut this year's bonuses for investment bankers by 30%-50% from a year earlier, Reuters has reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Besides anti-corruption crackdown and "common prosperity" drive, financial firms are also reining in the flashy lifestyle of their staff to make sure they are not violating the Communist Party's ideology, said industry officials. China's securities regulator and the central bank cut the budget allocation for employee salaries in 2023, following reforms ordered as part of a broader drive to reduce income disparity, Reuters reported last month.

Persons: Xi Jinping's, CCB, Xin Sun, Sun, Xie Yu, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Ziyi Tang, Binbin Huang, Rong Ma, Sumeet Chatterjee, Lincoln Organizations: Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp, Securities, Reuters, China International Capital Corp, HK, Party, King's College London, Thomson Locations: China, HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ China cuts medium-term lending rates as economy sputters
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, June 15 (Reuters) - China's central bank cut the borrowing cost of its medium-term policy loans for the first time in 10 months on Thursday, in line with expectations, as Beijing ramps up stimulus measures to shore up a shaky economic recovery. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it lowered the rate on 237 billion yuan ($33.1 billion) of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions by 10 basis points to 2.65% from 2.75% previously. In a Reuters poll of 33 market watchers this week, all respondents predicted a cut to the MLF rate, with 94% of them expecting a 10-bps cut. Reporting Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tom Hogue Organizations: People's Bank of China, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Beijing

☆ Chinese regulators warn four analysts over Feb 2022 strategy report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The research report, published in February 2022 when China was battling the pandemic, predicted that the domestic stock market would still seek bottom following a rebound, as the economy was under heavy downward pressure. Negative comments by analysts and commentators in China are often censored and have come under increased regulatory scrutiny. The warning comes as China's stock market is struggling to stand on its feet amid signs the post-COVID recovery is losing steam. Other analysts and commentators in China have been censored or come under scrutiny after negative comments in the past. Separately, China's securities watchdog last March launched a crackdown on brokerages using feng shui to predict stock market trends in their research notes, state media reported.

Persons: CSRC, Zhang Xia, Chen Gang, Geng Ruitan, Tu, Yi Huiman, Hong Hao Organizations: China Merchants Securities, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Bank of Communications International Holdings Co, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shenzhen

[1/4] Li Yunze, director of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), speaks at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, China June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Jason XueSHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - China is open for investment, the country's top financial regulators told foreign financiers at a high-profile forum in Shanghai on Thursday, as concerns mount among foreign firms that they may no longer be welcome. "Opening up is China's long-term national policy, and the door of China's financial industry will only be opened wider and wider." Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told forum participants that China will "adamantly" push for deregulation in terms of market access, institution qualification and products. Internal circulation will be supported by "external circulation," as in foreign financing and China's interactions with the global economy.

Persons: Li Yunze, Jason Xue, Goldman Sachs Group's, David Solomon, Tesla's, Elon Musk, Xi, Merrill Lynch, Li, Jane Fraser, Yi Huiman, Noah Fraser, Yi, Joe Cash, Shri Navaratnam, Edmund Klamann, Kim Coghill Organizations: China's, Financial Regulatory Administration, REUTERS, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Mizuho Financial, Paypal, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Canada China Business Council, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Jason Xue SHANGHAI, BEIJING, U.S, flashpoints, Ukraine, South, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Russia, Mongolia

And while Musk has mentioned the trip in two posts since leaving, he didn't tweet once while in China. That said, after three years of harsh COVID curbs that hampered entry into China, foreign CEOs appear eager to get the lay of the land. Sixty-seven foreign business leaders attended the high-profile China Development Forum this year, although that is still 20 fewer than in 2019. The few known comments by foreign CEOs whilst they were in China have been in line with Biden's stance that he is not seeking to decouple the world's two largest economies. The foreign ministry quoted Musk as saying he was opposed to a decoupling of the U.S. and China economies which he described as "conjoined twins".

Persons: Elon Musk, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Musk, Goldman's Solomon, wariness, Xi, Noah Fraser, Tesla, Goldman, Joe Biden, Tim Cook, Patrick Gelsinger, Mary Barra, Stephen Schwarzman, Jamie Dimon, Christopher Johnson, JPMorgan's Dimon, Daniel Russel, Brenda Goh, Joe Cash, Selena Li, Zhang Yan, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Media, Twitter, Canada China Business Council, EU Chamber of Commerce, U.S . Department of Commerce, U.S, flashpoints, General Motors, China, China Strategies, U.S ., JPMorgan, Blackstone, Intel, JPMorgan Global China Summit, Asia Society Policy Institute, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, China, Shanghai, U.S, Washington, Beijing, Blackstone's, East, Hong Kong

☆ Exclusive: China's state banks told to lower cap on dollar deposit rates -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 6 (Reuters) - In a rare attempt to bolster China's yuan, a self-regulatory body overseen by the country's central bank has told major state-owned banks to lower dollar deposit interest rates, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The buoyant U.S. currency and the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes have prompted many Chinese companies to hoard dollar receipts. China's central bank said last month it would resolutely curb large fluctuations in the exchange rate and study the strengthening of self-regulation of dollar deposits. China's central bank has so far appeared calm after the yuan breached the psychologically important 7 per dollar level in May. During previous rounds of depreciation, the central bank has sent verbal messages against one-way bets on the yuan.

Persons: Sumeet Chatterjee, Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Reuters, People's Bank of China, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, BEIJING, United States, China, Beijing

☆ China objects to NATO labelling it a "threat" - embassy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 3 (Reuters) - China "strongly opposes" NATO repeatedly labelling it a threat, China's embassy to Norway said on Saturday, referring to remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a recent visit to the Scandinavian country. "China urges NATO to stop stirring up regional conflicts and creating divisions and unrest," the embassy said in a statement. Stoltenberg had accused China of threatening neighbouring countries and suppressing countries that do not comply with it, according to the embassy release. "It is clear to the international community who the real threat to regional and global peace is." Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Robert Birsel Organizations: NATO, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Norway, Asia

[1/3] Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk stands near Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao before leaving the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. Billionaire Elon Musk has been showered with praise by the Chinese public during his trip to China and while also securing audiences with three government ministers. "Elon Musk is just great, if only China could have someone like Elon Musk," said another. Musk's unannounced trip is the latest by a major U.S. CEO to China since the country reversed its zero-COVID policy and reopened its borders. The commerce ministry also did not respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Elon Musk, Wang Wentao, Tingshu Wang, Ma, Billionaire Elon Musk, Zeng Yuqun, Jin Zhuanglong, hasn't, Musk, Elon, Tim Cook, JP Morgan's, Jamie Dimon, Laxman Narasimhan, CATL's Zeng, Tesla, CATL, Martin Pollard, Josh Arslan, Wang Tingshu, Joe Cash, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Tesla, Commerce, Chinese Ministry of Commerce, REUTERS, Tesla Inc, Fu Yan, Twitter, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Tingshu Wang BEIJING, U.S, Shanghai, United States

☆ Analysis: Struggling China local governments find a fundraising loophole, lifeline in "pearl bonds"
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - China's cash-strapped local governments have suddenly rushed to an unusual corner of the debt market in Shanghai where ambiguous rules offer ways to skirt restrictions on onshore borrowing. LGFVs accounted for about two-thirds of the issuers and 60% of the debt sold this year nation-wide, according to Reuters' calculations. Among all the newly-issued FTZ bonds this year, 55, or two-thirds of all 82 issuers, were LGFVs, according to Reuters' calculations. The "pearl" or free trade zone (FTZ) bonds have been around since 2016 but are only now becoming popular as tighter central government supervision on LGFV debts starts to bite. AMBIGUOUS POSITIONING"Pearl bonds" differ from other offshore bonds as trades are cleared by the state-owned China Central Depository & Clearing Co, rather than a global clearing house.

Persons: Shi Xiaoshan, Fitch, Royston Quek, Tim Fang, Pearl, Zhang Hong, Georgina Lee, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S, Haitong International Securities, China Central Depository, Industrial, Group, Credit Agricole CIB, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Communications, Pudong New, Financial, Reform Commission, Reuters, The, Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Shanghai, Beijing, U.S . Federal, Hong Kong, China, Zhejiang, Pudong, SINGAPORE

☆ Hua Hong Semiconductor's $2.6 billion China listing approved by exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, May 18 (Reuters) - Chinese chipmaker Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd (1347.HK) said it had received Shanghai Stock Exchange approval for its planned $2.6 billion share listing, which is expected to be one of the country's biggest this year. Hong Kong-listed Hua Hong's plan for a secondary listing on Shanghai's STAR Market has been approved by the bourse's listing committee, and it will submit an application for registration to China's securities regulator, the company said late on Wednesday. Hua Hong joins a growing list of Chinese chipmakers to sell shares publicly on the mainland amid a Sino-U.S. rivalry that has seen Washington stepping up efforts to restrict exports to Beijing's semiconductor industry. Hua Hong, which competes with bigger Chinese rival Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (0981.HK), has said it plans to raise up to 18 billion yuan ($2.60 billion) to fund investment and innovation. ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's domestic travel recovery marred by anti-spending 'special forces'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | 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

[1/2] Passengers wait to board trains at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station ahead of the five-day Labour Day holiday, in Shanghai, China, April 28, 2023. To get to the ancient temples, pagodas and grottoes she wanted to visit, she walked roughly 30,000 steps a day. "I can control the expenses, to go to many places for the least amount of money, but it is really tiring." "Maybe I didn't wear the right shoes, but my feet started to hurt after walking more than 10,000 steps," she said, joking that she exemplified "the battle-scarred version of special forces travel." ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Lincoln Feast.

☆ Futu, UP Fintech shares fall on plan to remove apps in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, May 16 (Reuters) - New York-listed shares in Futu Holdings Ltd and UP Fintech Holding Ltd plunged in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after the online brokerages said they will remove their apps in mainland China following guidance from regulators. U.S.-listed shares of Futu slumped more than 15% in pre-market trading, while UP Fintech dropped roughly 10%. It added the company remains dedicated to serving existing clients in mainland China. It's not clear if Hong Kong units of Chinese brokerages, such as China International Capital Corp and Haitong Securities, also need to remove their apps in China. Futu, which has delayed its Hong Kong listing plan, holds a licence in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.

☆ Exclusive: CICC Capital bans consulting firm Capvision after China crackdown-sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Julie Zhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Capvision is the latest consultancy and due diligence firm to get caught in Beijing's sweeping crackdown on what state media describes as "intensifying" law enforcement aimed at protecting national security. The ban will come into immediate effect, the memo said, adding that research teams should also review previous dealings with Capvision. CICC, which handles media queries for the alternate investment arm, declined to comment. Chinese police raided Capvision offices over what state media this week reported were national security issues. The CCTV report said Capvision had accepted projects from overseas companies to source information, including "state secrets and intelligence" on sensitive sectors including defence and advanced technology.

☆ China tourism rebounds to pre-COVID levels during May Day holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, May 3 (Reuters) - China's tourism business during the May Day holiday rebounded to pre-COVID levels, as the number of domestic trips rose by 70.8% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday. During these trips, Chinese tourists spent 148 billion yuan ($21.42 billion) in total, a 128.9% increase from a year earlier, and on a par with 2019 levels. Asset manager Vontobel said it believes China's recovery should accelerate, benefiting companies that cater to domestic consumers across leisure and e-commerce, as well as travel-focused businesses in China and across Asia. The travel boom during the May holiday "can be seen as a turning point of China's tourism sector", official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday. The China Tourism Academy estimates that about 4.55 billion domestic tourist trips will be made this year, up 73% from 2022, Xinhua reported.

During these trips, Chinese tourists spent 148 billion yuan ($21 billion), a 128.9% increase from a year earlier, and on a par with 2019 levels. The figures from this year's May Day holiday - the first travel season since the pandemic without restrictions - are being monitored as a gauge of China's economic health. Official data on Sunday showed activity in China's non-manufacturing sector grew in April, albeit at a slower pace than in March. The travel boom during the May holiday "can be seen as a turning point of China's tourism sector", official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday. The China Tourism Academy estimates about 4.55 billion domestic tourist trips will be made this year, up 73% from 2022, Xinhua reported.

[1/5] Passengers wait to board trains at Shanghai Hongqiao railway station ahead of the five-day Labour Day holiday, in Shanghai, China, April 28, 2023. REUTERS/Aly SongBEIJING, April 28 (Reuters) - China is bracing for a record-high travel rush over the Labour Day holiday, with popular sightseeing spots selling out of tickets and some cities warning would-be visitors away as domestic tourism rebounds after Beijing ended COVID curbs. Authorities are expecting 19 million trips to be made across China's vast railway network on Saturday, the first day of the five-day holiday, which would be the highest number of rail trips made in a single day in the country's history. Over the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period in January-February this year, 348 million trips were made in total, or about 8.7 million trips a day on average, according to the National Railway Administration. China's aviation authority said it expects air passenger trips to reach a total of 9 million over the five days.

☆ China's first batch of bluechips under new IPO system surge in debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, April 10 (Reuters) - The first batch of blue-chip stocks to list under China's registration-based initial public offering (IPO) system surged in their Monday debut despite tepidness in the broader market. The listing of the 10 companies on the main boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen marks the full roll-out of China's U.S.-style IPO mechanism, designed to make public share sales more market oriented. Under the new rules, no daily trading limit is set for shares listed after an IPO in their first five trading days. Previously, new stocks listed in China's main boards could jump as much as 44% and slump no more than 36% at debut. However, stocks listed on the main boards are still subject to the 10% daily trading limit afterwards.

☆ China CDC urges WHO to take 'scientific, fair' position on COVID origins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, April 8 (Reuters) - The head of China's Center For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to return to a "scientific, fair" position in tracing the origin of COVID-19. At a news conference, Shen Hongbing warned the WHO against politicising the source of the virus, which was first detected in central China in late 2019, or becoming a tool of another country. Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shares in China's 360 Security slump after founder's divorce deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, April 6 (Reuters) - Shares in Chinese cybersecurity company 360 Security Technology (601360.SS) plunged on Thursday after the firm announced that its billionaire founder Zhou Hongyi and his wife were divorcing and that he would give her a 6.25% share. Shares in 360 Security, China's largest provider of cybersecurity products, fell by as much as 7.8%, its biggest one day fall since February. Zhou founded 360 Security Technology in 2005. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011 and returned to Chinese stock markets in 2018 through a back door listing. ($1 = 6.8804 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Some senior dealmakers at China's third-largest brokerage by market value will see an even steeper cut of two-thirds to their 2022 bonuses, said one of the people. The trend has accelerated as employers cut pay and perks in response to the government's "common prosperity" rhetoric. MILDER CUTSA senior investment banker in China could earn three million to 10 million yuan ($445,000 to $1.48 million) a year in total remuneration, excluding stock incentives, industry sources have said. By way of comparison, Wall Street bonuses fell 26% last year to average $176,700, versus a record 2021, showed a report last month from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Besides remuneration cuts, some investment banks have asked staff to avoid displays of wealth such as by uploading photographs to social media of expensive meals or overseas trips, industry sources said.

☆ China tackles chip talent shortage with new courses, higher pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

China faces a shortage of an estimated 200,000 industry workers this year, according to a white paper jointly published by the China Center for Information Industry Development, a government think tank, and the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA), a trade group. A 2022 survey from Chinese research firm ICWise found more than 60% of students studying chip engineering in China graduate with no internship experience in the field. In Taiwan, top chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW) has established research centres at four universities. Its largest chip foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (0981.HK), in 2021 announced a jointly-established School of Integrated Circuits at Shenzhen Technology University. "If I didn't switch to chip engineering, I would probably have to find a job in a traditional manufacturing industry like cars or machinery," he said.

☆ China's attitude towards developing stable, constructive Sino-US relations unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SHANGHAI, March 25 (Reuters) - China's attitude towards developing a healthy, stable and constructive Sino-U.S. relationship remains unchanged, while it hopes the United States will stop using "unscrupulous means" to contain and suppress China, China's foreign minister Qin Gang said on Saturday. China hopes the two nations will work together to promote bilateral relations to overcome difficulties and return to healthy and stable developments, Qin said as he met U.S.- friendly organizations and business representatives in Beijing. Qin said China will continue to provide a better business environment for global companies, including U.S. firms. Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese firm invents lockdown-inspired kissing machine for remote lovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Jing Zhiyuan uses a remote kissing device "Long Lost Touch", as he demonstrates how to use it during an interview with Reuters, at his home in Beijing, China March 12, 2023. Users can even download kissing data submitted via an accompanying app by other users. In the two weeks after its release, the firm sold over 3,000 kissing machines and received about 20,000 orders, he said. To use it, lovers must download an app onto their smartphones and pair their kissing machines, which they plug into the phone charging port. MUA is not the first remote kissing device.

Search resuls for: "Shanghai Newsroom"

25 mentions found