Yawen Chen

Hong Kong has been absent from the travel itinerary of Wall Street bosses for nearly three years. As Singapore steals its limelight, the city is facing more pressure to show it’s open for business. My latest

Reuters @Reuters

On @Breakingviews: Hong Kong's central bank chief is luring global financiers to the city's November confab, but they're unlikely to agree without quarantine waivers. That risks local ire. But to stay relevant, Hong Kong has little choice, says @ywchen1 https://t.co/yoROnB0mbH https://t.co/RawdGqvaTv

Reading the prospectus of AMTD, the mysterious co that had at its peak soared 36,400% over its U.S. IPO price before coming crashing down, and this mission statement cracks me up. “Fusion reactor”, what a strange euphemism for saying “hey we are power/financial brokers” https://t.co/jvld4toSJe

https://t.co/GNI4mYzT1e

RT @jakespring: Three heatwaves on three continents. Just a normal day on the environment page. https://t.co/BYX0A4KsaB

RT @Breakingviews: Authorities in Henan finally agreed to cover customer deposits that were frozen in April after getting caught in a possi…

Heard some friends in Shanghai urgently packed up bags over the past weekend. We had written in May China’s covid-19 “new normal” will challenge hopes for a quick rebound. https://t.co/P7auKK3EpM https://t.co/QYhNnWawyu

July is going to be a tough month for Chinese developers and their investors. Little surprise that Shanghai-based Shimao, once with good standing, missed repayments on $1 bln offshore bond this past weekend

Reuters @Reuters

From @Breakingviews: China Vanke reckons parts of the Chinese housing market are recovering. But weaker rivals are struggling and a rebound requires access to borrowing markets where investors remain skeptical, say @ywchen1 and @JennHughes13 https://t.co/5wxUXxG5fd https://t.co/pbk8mlyxJ0

RT @SixthTone: In April, Shanghai declared all-out war against Omicron. As the city finally opens up once more, many are emerging from lock…

Uncontained, the present crisis risks a vicious cycle in which falling real wages further deter domestic consumption, and therefore investment and job creation. It’s a scenario reminiscent of the stagnation that plagued Japan for decades. My latest

Reuters @Reuters

Youth unemployment hit a record 18% as the national rate heads toward levels not seen since 2008. This Chinese jobs crisis could be its worst, writes @ywchen1 https://t.co/lVrJJr6sOw

NFT making it into Hong Kong’s bubble tea scene https://t.co/0mcZUvGkwX

Traveling back to HK from a mask-free country makes every detail stand out. My quarantine hotel, for one, would have staff disinfect and wipe the counter every time before a guest checks in, even as we all wear a mask. Hence the long wait. Supply chain bottlenecks, I feel you https://t.co/goPLDbeVYM

Today Alibaba reported that its annual active consumers in the last fiscal year crossed 1 bln in China for the first time. There are 1.4 bln people in the country. Other factors aside, that saturation alone probably prompted the urgency for finding growth elsewhere.

Reuters @Reuters

From @Breakingviews: Chinese tech giant Alibaba hopes to offset slow growth at home by expanding in Europe via its Southeast Asian offshoot, Lazada. But with a European market share of less than 5%, it may struggle to justify the investment, says @ywchen1 https://t.co/Kw0jzEJpS9

The central bank finally made a tiny cut of 25bp to the bank reserve ratio. But as I argued days before, for private businesses, uncertainty as to when lockdowns will end and whether they will resume soon after, will deter investment and hiring regardless of the cost of credit

Reuters @Reuters

From @Breakingviews: China is at risk of a self-inflicted recession. Shops are shut and factories struggle with several cities under some sort of lockdown. More policy easing looks unavoidable, but so does capital flight, says @ywchen1 https://t.co/RJ6BYcVBzB https://t.co/jIhrpE2not

Similar q haunting me over the weekend. What will happen if China sticks to dynamic zero for, say, 10 years? It's not impossible.

Fredrik Öqvist @fuheping

How's that mass relocation of finance execs from HK to SH going btw?

RT @Breakingviews: Decamping auditors are slamming the door on Chinese developers. It’s a little late to be taking a stand, but mass switch…