China

The former CEO of fraud scandal-hit Sino Forest Corporation has been named the chief restructuring officer (CRO) of China Fishery Group, according to the company. Paul Jeremy Bough was appointed CRO and executive director of Pacific Andes International Holdings (PAIH) owned China Fishery on Jan. 21 with effect from Feb. 26, according to a stock exchange alert from the company. From January 2013-April 2015, Bough was CEO and chairman of Emerald Plantation Holdings, parent of Sino Forest, which was accused of a major accountancy fraud in 2011 in a report from Muddy Waters Research.

China’s central bank is increasingly finding itself in a bind, balancing its need to continue easing credit to support economic growth against its stated goal of keeping the Chinese currency stable. Late Monday, the People’s Bank of China lowered the amount of deposits that banks must hold in reserve by 0.5 percentage point, freeing up an estimated 700 billion yuan ($107 billion) in funds for banks to make loans. The move marks a reversal in the central bank’s stance from two months ago, when it resisted using such aggressive easing tools for fear that they could weaken the yuan.

Beijing has mothballed two pioneering outbound investment schemes, according to people with knowledge of the situation, in its latest bid to stem capital outflows and shore up the renminbi. The halt in the allotment of quotas reflects fears over the massive amount of cash — some economists estimate up to $1tn last year — that has left the country through official and unofficial channels as economic growth slows and the renminbi continues to depreciate, the Financial Times reported.

Officials from China’s central bank are urging Beijing to tolerate a sharply higher fiscal deficit to help stabilize growth, in an acknowledgment that a reliance on cheap bank loans has run its course as a way to boost the economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. The call comes as central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies are gathering in Shanghai to discuss new solutions to support global growth, including a focus on fiscal expansion and long-term overhaul rather than credit-driven growth.

Even by the standards of the Chinese financial system, the volume of funding provided by the People’s Bank of China to the banks in the run-up to the Chinese new year holiday was large. FT Confidential Research (FTCR), a research service from the Financial Times, estimates that a net Rmb2.7tn ($415bn) was pumped into the interbank market in January alone, including more than Rmb1tn through open market operations.

China’s central bank will increase the frequency of its money supply operations, with immediate effect, in a move to ensure there is ample liquidity in the banking system amid unprecedented capital outflow, the Financial Times reported. The People’s Bank of China is facing a tricky balancing act as it attempts to lower financing costs to support economic growth without resorting to heavy-handed monetary easing that could fuel capital flight.

Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. still lacked the necessary support from creditors for its offshore restructuring plan as of Sunday, said Tam Lai Ling, the Chinese developer’s senior adviser, Bloomberg News reported. Kaisa needs approval from investors holding 75 percent of its offshore bonds and loans for its plan to restructure debt to proceed. The firm has received no less than 53 percent as of Feb. 14, Tam said by phone. The developer had offered a consent fee of 0.5 percent for investors who supported the plan as of that date, after paying 1 percent for those who consented as of Jan. 24.

Chinese companies and residents sent more than $110bn out of the country in January alone, according to new estimates, as they continued to evade tightening capital controls amid another round of market turmoil, the Financial Times reported. Surging capital outflows from China have become a source of growing concern around the world and left Beijing scrambling to support its currency. Recently-released data showed the country’s foreign exchange reserves falling to their lowest level in almost four years in January.

At every turn in his improbably rapid rise, Ding Ning, 34, went to great efforts to convey the image of strong government backing for his Internet financing business, the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. But it all came crashing down in dramatic fashion for Mr. Ding this week, when the police alleged that his financing business, Ezubao, was a $7.6 billion Ponzi scheme and announced 21 arrests, including of Mr. Ding. The company was shut down. The charges were conveyed by the same official outlets whose favor Mr.

The uncertain future of Baha Mar, a $3.5 billion mega-resort nearing completion on Nassau’s white-sand Cable Beach, points to the challenges China faces as it finances and builds large-scale construction projects overseas amid language and cultural barriers, lack of regulation and allegations of graft. “The more problems there are and, in a way, the more media attention these problems attract, they erode positive attitudes towards Chinese presence in the region,” said Ariel C.