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☆ Ant’s Consumer-Lending Unit to Raise $1.5 Billion in Scaled-Down Capital Plan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Clarence Leong | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SINGAPORE—The consumer-finance arm of China’s Ant Group Co. is planning to raise the equivalent of $1.5 billion in new capital, scaling back its fundraising ambitions after a large state-backed investor backed out of a previous plan. Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co., a company that the financial-technology giant set up in mid-2021 to house its personal-lending business, is planning to increase its registered capital to 18.5 billion yuan, equivalent to $2.6 billion, from 8 billion yuan, according to regulatory filings from some of the companies taking part in the capital raise.

☆ Ant's consumer finance unit to more than double capital to $2.62 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HONG KONG, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The consumer finance unit of China's Ant Group will increase its registered capital to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.62 billion) from 8 billion yuan previously, and take on new investors, an exchange filing released on Monday said. Ant, which will retain its 50% stake in the unit, Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co Ltd, will invest 5.25 billion yuan as part of the capital injection, according to the filing made by the unit's minority shareholder Yuyue medical (002223.SZ). Hangzhou Jintou Digital Technology Group, a company controlled by the local government, will invest 1.85 billion yuan and become the second biggest shareholder with a 10% stake, according to the filing. ($1 = 7.0662 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Julie Zhu; Editing by Toby Chopra and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China reports 16,203 new COVID cases for Nov 13 vs 14,878 a day earlier
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterSHANGHAI, Nov 14 (Reuters) - China reported 16,203 new COVID-19 infections for Nov. 13, of which 1,794 were symptomatic and 14,409 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Monday. That compared with 14,878 new cases a day earlier – 1,711 symptomatic and 13,167 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported infections, China reported 16,072 new local cases, of which 1,747 were symptomatic and 14,325 were asymptomatic, up from 14,761 a day earlier. China's capital Beijing reported 237 symptomatic and 170 asymptomatic cases, compared with 161 symptomatic and 74 asymptomatic case the previous day, local government data showed. The city of Chongqing reported 150 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 2,147 asymptomatic cases, compared with 158 symptomatic and 1,662 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local authorities said.

☆ Chinese cities including Beijing report record COVID cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Currently COVID cases are rising in major cities such as Guangzhou and Chongqing, and zero-COVID policy continues, suggesting down-side risks to the near-term growth outlook," said analysts at U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs in a note on Monday. Shares of consumer staples (.CSICS) remained subdued on Monday, while stocks in tourism (.CSI930633) and transport (.CSI000957) slumped as domestic COVID cases surged and some investors booked profits on previous COVID easing bets. Beijing reported 407 cases on Monday, compared with 235 the previous day. Major manufacturing hub Zhengzhou in central China reported 2,981 new infections versus 2,642 a day prior. Chongqing, a southwestern city of more than 32 million people, also saw a jump in cases to 2,297 compared with 1,820 the previous day.

☆ China tightens restrictions as rise in Covid cases reported
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Everyone in a district of 1.8 million people in China’s southern metropolis of Guangzhou was ordered to stay home Saturday to undergo virus testing and a major city in the southwest closed schools as another rise in Covid infections was reported. Guangzhou, 75 miles north of Hong Kong, has shut down schools and bus and subway service across much of the city as case numbers rise. In the southwest, the industrial city of Chongqing closed schools in its Beibei district, which has 840,000 people. Economists and public health experts say “zero Covid” might stay in place for as much as another year. They say millions of elderly people have to be vaccinated before the ruling party can consider lifting controls that keep most foreign visitors out of China.

☆ China eases Covid rules, shortening quarantine for inbound travelers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

BEIJING — China on Friday eased some of its draconian Covid rules, including shortening quarantines by two days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travelers, and removing a penalty for airlines for bringing in too many cases. Under the new rules, centralized quarantine times for close contacts and travelers from abroad were shortened from seven days to five days. The requirement for three further days in home isolation after centralized quarantine remains. Inbound passengers are transported by bus to their quarantine hotels after arriving at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai in January. “This meeting further illustrates policymakers have started to focus more on optimizing the Covid control policies,” Goldman Sachs said in a note following Thursday’s Politburo Standing Committee meeting but before Friday’s announcement.

☆ China's COVID curbs intensify as cases surge to highest since Shanghai lockdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Aly SongBEIJING, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities stepped up COVID-19 lockdowns and other curbs to halt clusters from spreading as China's case load soared to its highest since this year's Shanghai lockdown, with Beijing and Zhengzhou seeing record daily cases. China reported on Friday 10,535 new locally transmitted cases for Nov. 10, the highest since April 29, when the country's commercial hub, Shanghai, was battling its most serious outbreak. The southern city of Guangzhou, the current epicentre of China's COVID fight, reported 2,824 new local cases for Nov. 10, the fourth day in which infections exceeded 2,000. TIGHTER MEASURESOther major cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou and Chongqing have tightened measures this week as daily cases renewed all-time highs. Beijing reported 118 new local cases for Nov. 10, a daily record but still low compared with other Chinese cities.

☆ Guangzhou's COVID outbreak deepens as more lockdowns loom in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The increase was modest by global standards but significant for China, where outbreaks are quickly tackled when they surface. Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, reported 2,377 new local cases for Nov. 7, up from 1,971 the previous day. "The lockdown situation has continued to deteriorate quickly across the country over the past week, with our in-house China COVID lockdown index rising to 12.2% of China's total GDP from 9.5% last Monday," Nomura wrote in a note on Monday. "We continue to believe that, while Beijing may fine-tune some of its COVID measures in coming weeks, those fine-tuning measures could be more than offset by local officials' tightening of the zero-COVID strategy." In the southwest metropolis of Chongqing, the city reported 281 new local cases, more than doubling from 120 a day earlier.

☆ World’s best spicy foods: 20 dishes to try
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

When it comes to the world’s best spicy dishes, we have some of the world’s hottest peppers to thank, along with incredible layers of flavor and a long, spice-loving human history. Peppers – a headliner for heat – are rated on the Scoville Heat Units scale, which measures capsaicin and other active components of chile peppers. And it’s the perky red pepper of the same name that brings the spiciness to this complex, layered and delicious dish. “The peperoncino (red chile pepper) is what makes this sauce ‘angry’ (arrabbiata) or spicy,” Chris MacLean of Italy-based Open Tuesday Wines said via email. FomaA/Adobe StockThe fiery Ethiopian spice blend called berbere – aromatic with chile peppers, basil, cardamom, garlic and ginger – is instrumental to the flavor chorus that’s doro wat, Ethiopia’s much-loved spicy chicken stew.

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☆ China shuffles leadership committee and retains many Xi allies
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING — China announced Saturday its new central committee would include many known allies of Chinese President Xi Jinping, while several officials with more market-leaning tendencies were not on the list. That central committee then goes on to determine the core leadership — the Politburo and its standing committee. Four of the current seven members of the Politburo standing committee were not on the list. Li Qiang, Shanghai's party secretary, and his Beijing counterpart Cai Qi remained on the central committee list. Other Xi loyalists the Asia Society had identified were included in the list of new central committee members.

☆ Factbox: Who's in, who's out of China's new party Central Committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Over 2,000 delegates to a twice-a-decade congress of China's ruling Communist Party in Beijing elected a new 205-person Central Committee on Saturday that will set the course of Chinese policymaking for the next five years. Among the newly elected members of the Central Committee, the largest of the party's top decision-making bodies, was Xi Jinping, 69, who is widely expected to be named general secretary on Sunday, securing a precedent-breaking third term as its leader. Also on Sunday, the Central Committee will vote on its next Political Bureau, or Politburo, usually comprising 25 people, and its Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), the pinnacle of power in China, helmed by Xi. Under an unofficial "seven-up, eight-down rule," PSC members who are 68 or older retire during the party congress. However, Premier Li Keqiang, although 67, was also left out.

DEBT STRESSTreasury bond quotas could be increased, so that some of them could be transferred to local governments to ease their fiscal stress, said Luo Zhiheng, chief macroeconomic analyst at Yuekai Securities. Combined with some maturing debts of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) - investment companies that build infrastructure projects - this year and the next will be most stressful for local governments, he said. According to financial media outlet Yicai, local governments' revenue from fines and confiscations jumped 10.4% in January-July year-on-year. The fiscal stress is cutting into some households' income, a red flag for consumption and broader growth. As there is no way out, they have had to ask the local government fiscal department for money."

☆ Factbox: China's 20th Communist Party Congress: who could be in Xi's new team?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) - China's Xi Jinping is widely expected to clinch a third five-year leadership at the upcoming congress of the ruling Communist Party, a mandate that would secure his stature as the country's most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong. Hu Chunhua, 59, vice premierHu is considered a candidate for elevation to the PSC and possibly to become China's next premier. Chen Miner, 62, Chongqing party secretaryChen is also a trusted aide and considered a candidate for the PSC. The only current female member, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, is 72 and therefore ineligible to serve another term under China's unofficial age norms. Li Xi, 65, party chief of Guangdong provinceLi, considered a trusted ally of Xi, may get a bigger job after the Congress.

☆ China's Communist Party leadership reshuffle: what to look for
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Visitors are seen silhouetted against a Chinese Communist Party flag displayed at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Florence LoBEIJING, Oct 11 (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party will reshuffle its leadership when it holds a once-in-five-years Congress starting Oct 16, with Xi Jinping widely expected to stay on for a third term as general secretary, China's senior-most position. Economic tsar and Vice Premier Liu He, 70, is due for retirement. The only woman in the Politburo, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, 72, is also due to retire. Xu Qiliang and Zhang Youxia, both military chiefs in the Politburo age 72, are also due to retire.

☆ Long picked for promotion, Xi loyalist Chen may get his chance
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( James Pomfret | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chen, party boss of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, is regarded as a steady technocrat and has often espoused Xi's ideologies and policies in public. A native of Zhejiang province in eastern China, Chen spent close to three decades there before being promoted to deputy party secretary in Guizhou province in 2012. In 2017, Chen was parachuted into the more politically challenging position of Chongqing party chief, a clean-up task after the sudden dismissal of Sun Zhengcai in a corruption scandal. Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang, another contender for promotion, was also in the group. In Zhejiang, Chen worked as chief editor of the party's main local media organ, the Zhejiang Daily, rising to become propaganda chief for the province.

☆ Analysis: How China's Xi accumulated power, and why it matters in a third term
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

A visitor takes pictures in front of a screen displaying an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China September 3, 2022. Restoring the practice, which entails self-criticism in front of the general secretary, marked a small but symbolic example of how Xi has departed from China's collective leadership of recent decades and accumulated power unseen since Mao's time. The expected absence of a clear successor will also enable Xi to rule unchallenged but potentially ratchets up risk the longer he stays in power. Many were purged, including rivals for power like the popular former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai. Xi also oversaw a crushing of dissent and forbade "disrespectful" discussion about the party among members.

☆ China's top leaders are set for a reshuffle. Here are the names to watch
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

China's top leadership team around President Xi Jinping is set to change this month at a twice-a-decade congress. One of the most closely watched changes in the political reshuffle is the future of Premier Li Keqiang, who turned 67 this year. However, he could remain a standing committee member, JPMorgan analysts said, pointing to a precedent at the 15th party congress. Huang Kunming — Politburo member and head of China's propaganda department, who worked closely with Xi in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, the report said. Yang Jiechi, a 72-year-old Politburo member and director of the party's central committee foreign affairs office, is widely expected to retire.

☆ Chinese chip stocks tumble after U.S. calls for new curbs on high-end tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesBEIJING — Chinese chip stocks fell Monday after the U.S. announced new export controls aimed at limiting Beijing's ability to produce advanced military systems. The rules, effective this month, expand on prior U.S. attempts to crimp Chinese companies' access to key tech. Chinese chips stocks tumbleChina's largest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, traded 3% lower Monday afternoon in Hong Kong, amid a broader market sell-off. "It will not only harm Chinese companies' legitimate rights and interests, but also hurt the interests of U.S. The U.S. government previously put Chinese companies Huawei and SMIC on a blacklist that requires suppliers to obtain a license before selling to them.

☆ China's climate push could spawn new global players, even if Beijing falls short on its pledge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

China aims to reach peak carbon emissions in 2030. Two years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping formally announced the world's second largest economy would strive for peak carbon emissions in 2030, and carbon neutrality in 2060. Emerging leader in offshore wind? The U.K. and the rest of Europe are each expected to add about 10 gigawatts of offshore wind power in the next three years, according to IEEFA Research. Overenthusiastic measures to force local areas to cut carbon emissions last year resulted in a power shortage that disrupted factory production.

☆ China's industrial profit declines accelerate in Jan-Aug
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPedestrians cast their shadows on a wall at a construction site in Beijing December 12, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/BEIJING, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Profits at China's industrial firms shrank at a faster pace in January-August, as strict COVID restrictions and a deepening property slump weighed on domestic demand and heatwaves curbed factory activity. read moreChina's industrial output rose 4.2% from a year earlier in August, quickening from a 3.8% rise in July. Liabilities at industrial firms jumped 10.0% from a year earlier in August, slightly slower than the 10.5% growth in July. ($1 = 7.1584 Chinese yuan)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Liangping Gao, Ella Cao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's ex-justice minister faces life in jail amid purge of security officials
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Fu, 67, was handed a suspended death sentence that will be commuted to life imprisonment after two years, with no possibility of parole, according to state media. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIn July, Fu admitted accepting bribes exceeding 117 million yuan ($16.50 million). On Wednesday, three former police chiefs of Shanghai, Chongqing and Shanxi province were sentenced to years in jail - including one for life - for corruption. The purges came three weeks ahead of a once-in-five-years congress of the ruling Communist Party where Xi is widely expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term as China's leader. ($1=7.0896 Chinese yuan)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ For the first time in 30 years, Asia's developing economies are set to grow faster than China's, ADB says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Getty ImagesAsia's developing economies may be showing signs of recovery, but the Asian Development Bank (ADB) cut its growth forecasts for them yet again — thanks to China's prolonged zero-Covid policy. But this will be the first time in more than three decades that the rest of developing Asia will grow faster than China, the Manila-based lender said in its latest outlook report released Wednesday. The ADB now expects developing Asia — excluding China — to grow by 5.3% in 2022, and China by 3.3% in the same year. Asian Development BankBoth figures are further downgrades — in July, for example, it slashed its growth forecast for China to 4% from 5%. "This is contributing to tighter financial conditions amid a dimming growth outlook and accelerated monetary tightening by the Fed."

☆ Monkeypox in China: Don't touch foreigners, says senior health official after first case emerges
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —A top Chinese health official has warned people against touching foreigners, a day after mainland China confirmed its first case of monkeypox. Cases of monkeypox, which causes flu-like symptoms and blister-like lesions, began emerging around the world in May. “It’s good to open the country’s door, but we can’t just let everything in,” one Weibo user wrote. “We are willing to buy car insurance in case of accidents, but we will not refuse to drive,” one person wrote. “We will wear face masks to prevent catching Covid, but we will not refuse to go outside.”Another user, responding to Wu’s guidance, was more blunt: “After how the Covid-19 pandemic was handled, can you still trust him?”

☆ Chinese city shortens mall hours due to heat-induced power shortages
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Chinese city of Chongqing is shortening the opening hours of its malls from Monday due to an "urgent" power supply situation caused by a recent heatwave, the government said in a notice dated Aug. 21. The measures mean dozens of shopping malls in districts across the southwestern city must adjust their business hours to 4-9 p.m. (0800-1300 GMT) to "ensure the safe and orderly supply of power and ensure the basic needs of the masses", the Chongqing Economic And Information Commission said. The measures will continue until further word from the authorities based on the temperature and supply and demand situation, the notice said. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Martin Quin Pollard; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Baidu's robotaxis don't need any human staff in these parts of China
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles. BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu said Monday it has become the first robotaxi operator in China to obtain permits for selling rides with no human driver or staff member inside the vehicles. The local government approvals allow Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi business to eliminate the cost of human personnel in some instances. But the Chinese capital still requires human staff to sit in the robotaxi with passengers. In the U.S., Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors ' subsidiary Cruise can already run public robotaxis with no human staff in the vehicles.

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