CX Daily: Will Wind Go Out of SPACs’ Sails in Singapore and Hong Kong?
China’s cabinet pledges to further step up policies to stabilize employment.
TOP STORY
SPACs /
In Depth: Will wind go out of SPACs’ sails in Singapore and Hong Kong?
After a record number of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) came onto the stage in the U.S. stock market in 2020, Hong Kong jumped on the bandwagon this year, with shell company Aquila Acquisition Corp. on March 18 becoming the first SPAC to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX).
This came after Hong Kong adopted new listing rules on Jan. 1 that opened the door to IPO applications from SPACs. In the three months since the new rules came into effect, a total of 11 SPACs submitted IPO applications to the HKEX, including Aquila.
Singapore was ahead of Hong Kong in adopting the SPAC mechanism and began accepting listing applications in September 2021. Since then, three SPACs have listed there.
Jobs /
China’s cabinet vows stronger policy to boost jobs amid Covid upsurge
China’s cabinet pledged to further step up policies to stabilize employment and maintain steady economic performance as the country battles its worse Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.
Adding to sweeping guidelines issued Monday for bolstering the economy, the State Council said more forceful policy measures should be taken to help businesses resume operation, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.
The steps including extending the policy of temporarily waiving payment of retirement, unemployment and work-related injury insurance premiums for all small, medium and micro enterprises and sole proprietors hit by the pandemic, the cabinet said.
Yuan /
Yuan losses have room to run as Covid puts economy under siege
The yuan’s sudden slide will gather pace over the next few months as markets price in a worsening outcome for the Covid-stricken economy, analysts say.
Credit Agricole CIB, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, BNP Paribas SA, and HSBC Bank Plc slashed their forecasts as the yuan plunged more than 3% this month. A separate survey of 11 traders and analysts by Bloomberg projected it to drop to 6.7 per dollar in three months, about 2% weaker than current levels.
Shanghai /
Shanghai shifts focus toward vaccinating seniors as Covid caseload declines
Daily Covid cases in Shanghai are trending downwards once more, following a steep rebound last weekend. The latest decline reflects a five consecutive day slide toward under 10,000 cases, according to official data released Thursday.
Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the municipal health commission, told a press conference Thursday that the city’s authorities are “actively” pushing a Covid vaccination drive targeting the elderly, a demographic more likely to get severely or critically ill with Covid. Their efforts have included sending mobile vaccination vehicles to communities and setting up temporary vaccination sites at nursing homes.
Quick hits /
Bill Hwang’s spectacular collapse culminates in criminal charges
Wang Tao: How China’s Covid lockdowns will impact its economy
Cobalt /
Chinese metals firm reports sharp rise in paper losses on nickel futures bet
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. Ltd. reported a huge jump in liabilities in the first quarter in a possible indication of how much last month’s nickel futures debacle has hit Chinese mining companies.
According to a late Wednesday exchange filing, Shanghai-traded Huayou posted nearly 1.6 billion yuan ($243.9 million) in derivative financial liabilities — which refers to any paper loss incurred by financial investments — in the first quarter, representing a nearly 14-fold surge year-on-year.
Huayou attributed the surge to “the company’s short position in the nickel futures market” in the filing.
Music /
NetEase’s Cloud Village sues rival Tencent Music again citing unfair competition
The long-running head-to-head battle between China’s two biggest online music platforms has intensified, again.
NetEase’s music unit Cloud Village sued Tencent Music Entertainment, accusing it of unfair competition and plagiarizing its app design, the company said Wednesday. Cloud Village didn’t respond to a Caixin inquiry on where the lawsuit was filed.
JD.com /
U.S. court denies Richard Liu’s request to limit questioning in rape accuser’s civil suit
A Minnesota court rejected a request by JD.com Inc.’s billionaire founder Richard Liu to prevent details of his personal life from being made public in a closely watched lawsuit filed by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her four years ago.
The ruling comes as the clock ticks down to a Sept. 26 deadline for a jury trial that will take place if Richard Liu and the plaintiff, Liu Jingyao, fail to reach an agreement over her personal injury suit.
Quick hits /
Omicron drives strong profits for China’s Covid testing companies
Sinopec’s profit recovery threated by Covid’s spread
