But the tone at this year’s bonanza is a lot more cautious than it has been in prior years, as companies contend with rising inflation in a slowing economy and a regulatory crackdown on their operations. Alibaba (BABA) launched the first Singles Day Shopping Festival on November 11, 2009. The […]
Chinas
Evergrande crisis: US Fed warns China’s property problems could hurt global markets and the US economy
The US central bank warned Monday that China’s ongoing property woes could elevate “financial stresses in China, [which] could further strain global financial markets and negatively affect the United States.” In its biannual report on financial stability, the Fed pointed specifically to the crisis at Evergrande, China’s most indebted developer. […]
Evergrande crisis shines a light on China’s millions of empty homes
For weeks, the ailing Chinese real estate conglomerate has made headlines as investors wait to see what will happen to its enormous mountain of debt. As the slow-moving crisis unfolds, analysts are pointing to a deeper underlying issue: China’s property market is cooling off after years of oversupply. Chinese authorities […]
China’s power crunch is threatening a troubled manufacturing industry, PMI data shows
A government survey of manufacturing activity released Thursday fell to 49.6 in September, down from 50.1 in August. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction — and in this case, it was the first time the official survey showed activity shrinking since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Factories are getting dinged by […]
Australia’s treasurer says China’s ‘political pressure’ on trade isn’t working
Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Monday claimed the Chinese government has failed to seriously impact the country’s economy through a series of punitive measures on exports. The trade dispute has escalated since April 2020, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an international inquiry into the origins of Covid-19. “I […]
China’s private education firms are the latest targets of Beijing’s crackdown
A slew of big Chinese education and private tutoring companies are reeling from new rules barring them from turning a profit or raising funding on stock markets, with some warning that the regulations will hurt their business. The new rules, published over the weekend by China’s Ministry of Education, apply […]
Global trade: A huge backlog at China’s ports like Yantian could spoil your holiday shopping this year
The chaos began unfolding last month when authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong — home to some of the world’s busiest container ports — canceled flights, locked down communities and suspended trade along its coastline to bring a rapid spike in Covid-19 cases under control. The rate of […]
China’s economy needs workers but its three-child policy may not fix the problem
The change in policy to allow couples to have three kids rather than two — announced Monday — is intended to improve China’s “demographic structure,” deal with an aging population and maintain “abundant human resources” for the world’s second biggest economy, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. The move is […]
Soaring metal prices spell trouble for China’s recovery
The cost of everything needed for China’s post-pandemic infrastructure boom, from steel and coal to glass and cement, is soaring. The price of rebar, a type of steel used to reinforce concrete, recently hit 6,200 yuan ($965) per metric ton in Shanghai, up 40% this year, and a new record […]
The holistic analysis of root problems plaguing China’s accounting service industry
A few days ago, I got an inquiry of Megi (China’s cloud accounting software for SME business) from an accountant (anonymously named Shirley) working as a full-time employee of a small business in Shanghai. And two days ago, they decided to adopt Megi to manage their financials. Shirley actually knows […]