In today’s talking points: China agrees to open finance sector to foreign ownership; China’s focus on pollution reduction dampens production, investment and sales; Singles spend record $33 billion big on Guanggun Jie; China reaffirmed as world leader in FinTech
China agrees to open finance sector to foreign ownership
Using joint venture requirements and ownership caps in many industries, China has protected its domestic groups from foreign competition and foreign development in the country. Initial changes include an increase of foreign equity cap of 2 percent, from current 49 percent to 51 percent, eliminating the 20 percent ceiling on ownership of Chinese commercial bank or asset management companies by a single foreign investor and 25 percent cap on total foreign ownership of such companies. However, the cap will be removed entirely three years after the new limit takes effect. Experts warn that, despite these initial agreements receiving a positive reception, time will be needed to allow agencies in banking, securities and insurance to formulate them into policy.
Read more at: Financial Times
China’s focus on pollution reduction dampens production, investment and sales
Key economic indicators for the Chinese economy were below expected levels in October. Tightened lending and efforts to reduce pollution are likely causes for the fall in industrial production, fixed asset investment (FAI) and retail sales. Property investment also fell significantly from 9 per cent growth in September to 5.6 per cent in October, and property sales were down over 8 per cent compared to October 2016. Without another round of infrastructure spending, Capital Economics’ Julian Evans-Pritchard said it was unlikely that there would be any significant upturns for the rest of the year.
Read more at: ABC
Singles spend record $33 billion big on Guanggun Jie
Spending over 24 hours during China’s annual Singles’ Day – Guanggun Jie, exceeded Australia’s annual December retail spend and reached a record $33 billion. Originally conceived by Chinese universities in the 1990s, the day is now synonymous with online retail sales, predominantly by Alibaba.com, which provides a platform for retailers to establish online stores. Analysts, however, remain cautious about the ability to sustain growth. As brands begin to utilise big data, offers are also becoming increasingly individually tailored to consumers.
Read more at: ABC
China reaffirmed as world leader in FinTech
Of the top 10 places in best-performing companies of 2017, five are Chinese owned companies. The report ranked companies based on multiple factors, including total capital raised and the rate at which capital was raised, amounting a total of $5.5 billion over the last 12 months for the 100 companies on the list. Taking most successful Global Fintech company on the list is the Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, a company that runs several businesses including mobile payment platform Alipay. Almost half of the companies on the list are involved in payments and lending, unsurprisingly, however, other entrants included data and analytics, blockchain and digital currency services, indicating a growth in diversity of the industry.
Read more at: China.org