China

International companies began trickling out of Hong Kong a few years back, uneasy about the financial hub’s tightening ties to mainland China. That first smattering of departures is now turning into a broad retreat involving banks, investment firms and technology companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. The number of U.S. companies operating in the city has fallen for four years in a row, by Hong Kong’s count, hitting 1,258 in June 2022, the fewest since 2004.

China will promote a sustained economic recovery, focusing on expanding domestic demand, while fending off financial risks, People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said in a report published on Saturday, Reuters reported. The central bank will make its policy more "precise and forceful", while guiding financial institutions to cut real lending rates and reducing financing costs for firms and individuals, Pan said in the report published on the bank's website.

China is set to approve slightly more than 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in additional sovereign debt issuance on Tuesday as Beijing steps up its efforts to spur infrastructure spending and encourage economic growth, three sources told Reuters. China's top legislators, the standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), are set to approve the extra debt issuance on the last day of a meeting which has run from Oct. 20 to Oct. 24, said the sources, who declined to be named due to confidentiality constraints.

Shanghai police detained one current and two former employees of GroupM, a unit of London-based advertising giant WPP, citing suspicions that they accepted bribes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Late Saturday, the Shanghai police’s economic crimes investigation division said that three suspects at an unnamed advertising company had been detained on criminal charges of accepting bribes as non-public officials. That statement referred to GroupM, according to a person familiar with the matter.

China's troubled property market is showing little signs of a recovery in the short term despite a series of government stimulus measures to help revive activity in the sector which makes up a quarter of the nation's economic output, Reuters reported. Homebuyers, wary of the uncertain economic outlook, have remained on the sidelines, while property developers and agents said sales were still soft following a short-lived burst of activity in major cities like Beijing and Shenzhen.

Country Garden bondholders are seeking urgent talks with the troubled property developer after it missed a $15 million coupon repayment, putting it at risk of default, Reuters reported. Two bondholder groups have emerged seeking discussions about a potential debt restructuring package, with a major one close to appointing either Moelis or PJT as financial advisers, said the sources, who declined to be identified because the information is confidential.

A Country Garden $15 million coupon payment deadline has expired without word of payment, fuelling expectations that China's biggest private property developer has defaulted on its offshore debt as the nation's real estate woes deepen, Reuters reported. Non-payment would trigger cross defaults in other Country Garden bonds as is standard in bond contracts. The company has almost $11 billion of offshore bonds and a default would set the stage for one of China's biggest corporate debt restructurings.

China’s economy showed signs of emerging from a soft patch in the third quarter, as retail sales got a lift from government stimulus and factory activity stabilized after months of weakness, the Wall Street Journal reported. Growth came in at 4.9%, faster than expected by economists though still a decline on a year-on-year basis from the previous quarter. Growth accelerated on quarter-on-quarter terms, which strips out distortions caused by China’s unlocking from Covid lockdowns in 2022. The economy’s performance holds off for now broad fears about a more serious economic crunch.

Country Garden's entire offshore debt will be deemed to be in default if China's largest private property developer fails to make a $15 million coupon payment on Tuesday, the end of a 30-day grace period, Reuters reported. Non-payment of this tranche is set to trigger cross defaults in other bonds as is standard in bond contracts. With nearly $11 billion of offshore bonds and $6 billion of offshore loans, a default by Country Garden would set the stage for one of China's biggest corporate debt restructurings, as the country's property sector crisis deepens and drags on economic growth.

China has told state-owned banks to roll over existing local government debt with longer-term loans at lower interest rates, two sources with knowledge of the matter said, as part of Beijing's efforts to reduce debt risks in a faltering economy, Reuters reported. Debt-laden municipalities represent a major risk to the world's second-largest economy and its financial stability, economists say, amid a deepening property crisis, years of over-investment in infrastructure and huge bills to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.