CX Daily: Yuan Gets More International Love As Dollar Rivalry Grows
Xi says China will build a stable supply chain system with Vietnam. The country’s manufacturing contracts for the third straight month, Caixin PMI shows
Yuan /
In Depth: Yuan gets more international love as dollar rivalry grows
Even as the yuan slumps against the U.S. dollar, its global popularity is growing as it makes deeper inroads as a currency of choice for international transactions and sales of offshore yuan-denominated bonds surge.
The currency is increasingly being used to settle trade with Russia as Moscow seeks to bypass Western sanctions aimed at cutting it off from the global financial system.
Saudi Arabia, which sold 26% of its crude oil exports to China in the past three years, is reportedly considering pricing some of its contracts in yuan, and Iran has been accepting payment from China for its oil in yuan since 2012. This year some Indian companies have started paying for coal imports in yuan rather than U.S. dollars.
China-Vietnam /
Xi pledges supply chain stability with Vietnam
President Xi Jinping said China will build a stable supply chain system with Vietnam and encourage technology companies with “strong capability and good reputation” to invest in the Southeast Asian country, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xi told Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, that China is willing to accelerate strategic cooperation plans with Vietnam and promote the interconnection of the two countries.
FINANCE & ECONOMY
PMI /
China’s manufacturing contracts for third straight month, Caixin PMI shows
Activity in China’s manufacturing sector contracted for the third consecutive month in October, as Covid-19 outbreaks continued to disrupt logistics and demand weakened, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Tuesday.
The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gives an independent snapshot of the country’s manufacturing sector, came in at 49.2 in October, up from 48.1 the previous month. Readings lower than 50 indicate contraction.
Digital yuan /
Digital yuan puts priority on privacy protection, PBOC chief says
Privacy protection is one of the most important issues in the development of China’s digital yuan, also known as the e-CNY, the country’s top central banker said
Through a two-tier operation and controllable anonymity, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) designed the digital yuan to simultaneously protect personal privacy and maintain financial security, PBOC Governor Yi Gang said Monday in a speech at the Hong Kong FinTech Week conference.
Quick hits /
Hong Kong’s economy records worst contraction since 2020
Global bankers fly into Hong Kong amid growing U.S.-China tensions
Heng Swee Keat: Reinvigorating Singapore-China ties through new areas of collaboration
BUSINESS & TECH
A billboard pitching a food brand endorsed by actor Jiang Wen at the subway exit of People’s Square in Shanghai on Oct. 17.
A billboard pitching a food brand endorsed by actor Jiang Wen at the subway exit of People’s Square in Shanghai on Oct. 17, 2022.
Celebrities /
China cracks down on rampant celebrity endorsements
Chinese regulators banned the use of celebrities to endorse tobacco products including e-cigarettes, off-campus tutoring, health care, medicine, medical instruments, health foods and formula food for special medical purposes.
The State Administration for Market Regulation together with six other agencies implemented the ban Monday through new guidelines regulating celebrity endorsements. This was the first national action on the commonly used marketing practice. Last year, East China's Zhejiang Province issued guidelines banning stars from marketing medicines, medical instruments and health foods.
Listing /
Geely plans to spin off, list premium EV unit
Chinese automaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. plans to take public its premium electric-vehicle (EV) unit Zeekr Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., according to a Monday filing
The spinoff is a bold move by the Volvo AB owner, floating the subsidiary at a time when investor sentiment toward China’s major EV startups such as Nio Inc. and Xpeng Inc. is cooling, wiping billions of dollars from their market capitalization.
Property /
Debt woes grow for Chinese developers CIFI, Greenland
Two large Chinese developers flagged further debt issues as the nation’s real estate crisis shows little sign of abating.
Hong Kong-traded private developer CIFI Holdings Group Co. Ltd. said Tuesday it suspended all principal and interest payments on about $6.85 billion in offshore debts.
That came after state-backed property developer Greenland Holdings Corp. Ltd. warned investors it will most likely default on $362 million owed on a note maturing Nov. 13 unless it is granted an extension, citing the impact of Covid-19 and sluggish real estate sales.
Quick hits /
Opinion: ‘Walking back home’ should not happen again
China’s electric car upstarts face a crucial earnings season
Long Read /
Archive Interview: How Li Qiang cheers private enterprise in Zhejiang
GALLERY
China’s Tiangong space station nears completion