CX Daily: Lockdowns Expose Covid’s Cost on Mental Health in China
Shanghai tells employers not to reject recovered Covid-19 job seekers. Henan will reimburse village bank depositors following violent protests
Patients wait for treatment at Shanghai Mental Health Center in Shanghai, June 5. Photo: Ding Gang/Caixin
Covid-19 /
In Depth: Lockdowns expose Covid’s cost on mental health in China
Lan Juan, a volunteer during Shanghai’s lockdown, received a call on April 15 from a mother who sounded as if she had reached a breaking point.
“My child self-harmed today,” the mother said, telling the volunteer that she had been unable to get a hospital appointment for him online, meaning they wouldn’t be authorized by the neighborhood committee to go out to seek treatment. Only a volunteer who could move around freely might be able to help.
Lan called the police, who allowed the mother and her injured son to be driven to a local medical health center. It was full of emergency patients, and the young man, a 20-year-old college student, had to wait. Many of the patients appeared to be struggling with serious mental health issues, Lan told Caixin.
Shanghai /
Shanghai tells employers not to reject recovered Covid-19 job seekers
The Shanghai government said employers cannot reject or dismiss recovered Covid patients amid public outrage over complaints that some job seekers and returning employees faced discrimination due to their infection history.
In a Monday press conference, Shanghai government spokesperson Yin Xin said all local departments and companies should treat recovered Covid patients equally and without discrimination as required by laws and regulations.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Individuals with deposits of up to $7,440 will be paid starting Friday.
Banking /
Henan to reimburse depositors following violent protests
After hundreds of village bank depositors demanded their money in violent protests Sunday in Henan’s capital Zhengzhou, financial regulators in the central China province ordered payments of smaller amounts starting Friday and bigger totals later.
Videos circulated on social media Sunday showed angry groups of protesters clashing with police trying to disperse the crowds. Among banners carried by depositors, one read, “The Chinese dreams of 400,000 depositors in Henan have been shattered.”
PE/VC /
China tests giving private equity and venture capital funds a new exit option
China’s securities regulator launched a new pilot program that enables share distributions by private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds, adding a much-needed alternative exit option for them.
The program aims to create a straightforward way for funds to distribute shares in one of their portfolio companies to investors, who are usually limited partners. This type of noncash payment, known as a distribution-in-kind, is common in overseas markets but previously was much harder to do in China.
Quick hits /
India to surpass China as most populous nation in 2023, U.N. says
BUSINESS & TECH
Ganfeng Lithium's headquarters in Xinyu, Jiangxi province. Photo: Ganfeng Lithium
Lithium /
Ganfeng Lithium to buy two Argentinian mines as race heats up for battery raw materials
China’s lithium giant Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. plans to spend up to $962 million to buy two mines in Argentina as major Chinese lithium firms ramp up investment to take advantage of surging demand for the key electric vehicle battery material.
A subsidiary of Ganfeng plans to acquire 100% of Lithea Inc., a company that owns two lithium salt lake assets that together are aimed at producing 30,000 tons of lithium carbonate a year, according to a Monday company filing.
Fines /
China watchdog fines Alibaba, Tencent for not reporting M&A deals
China’s market watchdog fined companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. for not properly disclosing transactions and for failing to comply with anti-monopoly rules.
The penalties are part of the government’s efforts to tighten control over the sprawling internet industry. In a broad clampdown on tech companies last year, the country’s trust busters fined such companies 21.74 billion yuan, according to a report on antitrust enforcement by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).
Chips /
Chinese chipmaker Tsinghua Unigroup completes bankruptcy reorganization
An investment vehicle has taken full ownership of Tsinghua Unigroup Co. Ltd., concluding a bankruptcy reorganization plan the Chinese semiconductor conglomerate unveiled last year to deal with its debt crisis.
Tsinghua Unigroup has updated its business registration materials to show that Beijing Zhiguangxin Holding Co. Ltd. now owns 100% of the company, according to an exchange filing published Monday.
Quick hits /
Hang Seng Composite Index dumps six Chinese developers
Lanvin Group aims to acquire another brand next year
Evergrande risks first local bond default
Tech Insider /
Truck bookers hauled in, cloud firms’ green cred ranked
Long Read /
China SOE reform will turn companies into investors
GALLERY
