Western countries must be careful not to create new dependencies on China as they are weaning themselves off Russian energy supplies amid Moscow's war on Kyiv, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned on Monday, Reuters reported. "We see growing Chinese efforts to control our critical infrastructure, supply chains and key industrial sectors," he said on a visit to Spain. Stoltenberg urged allies to increase the resilience of their societies and infrastructure. "Chinese rare earth minerals are present everywhere, including in our phones, our cars, and our military equipment," he said.
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Germany's foreign ministry plans to tighten the rules for companies deeply exposed to China, making them disclose more information and possibly conduct stress tests for geopolitical risks, a confidential draft document seen by Reuters said. The proposed measures are part of a new business strategy towards China being drawn up by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government as it seeks to reduce its dependency on Asia's economic superpower.
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China dialed down its short-term cash injections to the banking system, as the government bond market steadied following this week’s steep losses, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China added a net 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) of seven-day liquidity via its open-market operations, compared with 123 billion yuan on Thursday, after a rare selloff in the onshore bond market spooked fixed-income investors. The yield on 10-year bonds climbed two basis points to 2.82% as of 9:33 a.m. local time. It fell four basis points Thursday.
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Chinese consumer spending contracted in October and factory activity weakened as anti-virus controls following a rise in infections weighed on the economy, the Associated Press reported. Retail sales sank 0.5% compared with a year ago, down from September’s 2.5% expansion, as millions of people were confined to their homes, government data showed Tuesday. Growth in factory output decelerated to 5% from the previous month’s 6.3%. The performance was even weaker than expected by forecasters who said activity would cool as Chinese anti-virus controls and interest rate hikes by the U.S.
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China gave embattled real-estate developers a boost Monday by allowing them access to more money held in pre-sale accounts, the biggest source of funds for the cash-strapped builders, Bloomberg News reported. China will give “quality” property developers access to as much as 30% of the pre-sale funds with letters of guarantee from banks, according to a statement posted on the banking and insurance regulator’s website. The funds are money that home buyers have paid to developers in advance of their property being built, and are generally held in an escrow account.
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China's banking institutions could apply to a court to be declared bankrupt under rule amendments proposed by China's banking and insurance regulator on Friday, US News & World Report reported. The watchdog's various proposals seek to reduce financial risk and support high-quality development of the banking industry, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said in a statement. The draft amendments also spell out how regulators could conduct takeovers of troubled financial institutions to facilitate measures such as capital injection and equity restructuring.
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China issued sweeping directives to rescue its property sector, adding to a major recalibration of its pandemic response in the strongest signs yet that President Xi Jinping is turning his attention toward shoring up the world’s second-largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Financial regulators issued a 16-point plan to boost the real estate market on Friday, with measures that range from addressing developers’ liquidity crisis to loosening down-payment requirements for homebuyers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Two titans of the cryptocurrency industry may be squaring off for control of the $1 trillion digital asset market with only one left standing, Fortune reported. Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said on Sunday his exchange will liquidate the remainder of its FTT holdings, the native token issued by Sam Bankman-Fried’s rival FTX derivatives exchange. “We will try to do so in a way that minimizes market impact,” wrote CZ on Twitter.
A little-known Chinese pipemaker erased all of its dizzying rally from last week after announcing plans to sell 1 million shares at a massive discount to a pair of institutional investors, Bloomberg reported. Huadi International Group sank 91% Monday for its biggest drop on record, after an agreement to sell its stock to investors at $25 per share — an 86% discount to Friday’s closing price. This comes after the stock skyrocketed 716% last week amid volatile trading.The company erased last week’s rally on news of the offering, falling to close at $15.81. Shares closed Friday at $180.