CX Daily: 'Zero Covid' Slams the Brakes on China’s Electric Car Industry
China says that it 'will strictly restrict' people from entering or leaving the country. Biden may drop some tariffs on Chinese imports
A Chery new energy vehicle production workshop in Wuhu, East China's Anhui province, on May 19, 2021. Photo: VCG
Electric vehicles /
In Depth: 'Zero Covid' slams the brakes on China’s electric car industry
China’s electric vehicle (EV) sector has hit the skids.
After a year of blockbuster growth, the world’s largest EV market is being hobbled by measures to curb China’s worst Covid wave since early 2020. They’ve disrupted production and sales around the country, including in the major hubs of Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
Even outside the areas now facing tightened rules, the prospect of such measures being introduced if an outbreak does emerge and the dim economic outlook have made people reluctant to make big purchases, like a car.
Electric car upstart Nio to kick off trading in Singapore May 20
Covid-19 /
Shanghai’s Covid hospitals struggle to handle patients with other serious illnesses
Nearly a week after being placed at a makeshift Covid hospital in Shanghai, Xiaonan’s mother, an advanced lung cancer patient, got the news that she had been granted admission to a hospital for cancer treatment.
Due to Covid restrictions, the woman’s scheduled chemotherapy course had been postponed for almost a month, leaving her with a heavy cough and mobility issues.
China says it will ‘strictly restrict’ people from entering or leaving the country
Beijing steps up Covid restrictions as outbreak persists
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Photo: VCG
Retirement /
Exclusive: China’s ‘Big Four’ banks to start pilot program for retirement savings products
China’s major state-owned banks will launch a pilot program for retirement savings products in several regions soon, sources with knowledge of the matter told Caixin, in what would be the country’s latest effort to mitigate a looming pension crisis.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) will let the “Big Four” banks — Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Bank of China Ltd. and China Construction Bank Corp. — offer the first batch of products, according to the sources.
Tariffs /
Biden considers dropping China tariffs to fight inflation
U.S. President Joe Biden may drop some tariffs on Chinese imports to help control rising consumer prices in the U.S., he said Tuesday in a speech on inflation.
The White House is reviewing tariffs imposed under former President Donald Trump and could opt to drop them altogether, Biden said.
PE /
Dealmakers shouldn’t write China off, just be choosy, investment managers say
Uncertainty over the future of Chinese companies’ overseas IPOs and the government’s Covid policies has led to a slump in private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment in China, but global investors can mitigate the risks by seeking out industries favored by policymakers and diversifying their investments.
That was the message from two top venture capitalists who spoke in the fifth episode of China Finance with A Cup of Tea, a Caixin podcast, aired Monday.
Quick hits /
China’s premier urges fiscal, monetary policies to boost economy
China bond bulls revived by lowest borrowing costs since 2020
Hong Kong dollar defense to drain billions as economy sputters
BUSINESS & TECH
A China Eastern Airlines A350 sits parked at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on Aug. 28 in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong province. Photo: VCG
Jetliners /
China-developed C919 jet to cost twice the expected price, filing shows
A China-developed jetliner that Beijing hopes will rival those of Boeing and Airbus is going to cost nearly twice the expected price.
In a Tuesday filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd. said it is planning to raise capital to buy four C919 aircraft from China’s state-owned aerospace giant Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC). Each jet is listed for a price of 653 million yuan ($99 million).
That price would put the C919 in the same range as narrow-body competitors like the Airbus A320neo, with a list price of $111 million, and the troubled Boeing 737 Max, which has a list price of $117 million.
Default /
Property giant Sunac joins list of Chinese developers that can’t pay offshore debts
Sunac China Holdings Ltd., one of the country’s biggest property developers, acknowledged Thursday that it missed a $29.5 million interest payment on a U.S. dollar bond and said it doesn’t expect to make an additional $75.3 million in payments due later this month.
The missed payment makes Sunac the latest Chinese property company to fail to meet its obligations to the offshore debt market amid a wave of developer defaults that began last year.
Bosch /
Bosch China expects slow 2022 sales growth amid Covid lockdowns
German auto parts giant Robert Bosch GmbH’s factories in China are hitting only 30%–75% of capacity as some suppliers are still closed amid Covid-19 lockdowns, the company said Tuesday.
Bosch suspended production at its China factories for various periods since late 2021, but now all of them have resumed operations. As long as one supplier is out of commission, though, companies at the end of the supply chain can’t produce final products, Chen Yudong, president of Bosch China, said at a press conference.
Quick hits /
Chinese online property platform KE Holdings debuts in Hong Kong
Faraday Future says ethical lapses led to inaccurate filings
GALLERY
Jet catches fire on runway