CSRC holds mid-year work conference
Beijing is intent on expanding access to direct financing from the capital markets…
First slate of Chinese companies list GDRs in Switzerland
These aren’t massive cash injections, but they’re a notable first step…
NAFMII tweaks Panda bond rules to streamline issuance
This move isn’t revolutionary, but it does add another string to the RMB’s internationalization bow…
PBoC launches RMB reserve pool with BIS, five overseas monetary authorities
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PBoC, SAFE announce expansion of forex cash-pooling pilot for MNCs
This move is part of a push to develop the “headquarters economy,” i.e. to incentivize more MNCs to base their regional operations on the Chinese mainland, creating higher value-added economic activity…
CBIRC urges banks to step up risk management for online lending
Small banks haven’t been able to fix the problem themselves, and an extra year is unlikely to change anything…
PBoC, CBIRC issue draft rules on assessing systemically important insurers
Insurance companies are becoming increasingly important players in the financial sector as the authorities have gradually allowed them to diversify away from low-risk, low-return government bonds into higher-yielding assets such as equity investments and infrastructure…
Shenzhen banks capitalize on GBA Wealth Management Connect
Brisk activity on the WMC in its first several months bodes well for the program and for the future of cross-border financial connectivity in the GBA…
CSRC, NDRC release high level plans for boosting private bond sales
Improving private firms’ access to onshore debt markets is a long-standing problem, so any action to unclog the pipes is a good thing…
China Development Bank dismisses vice president
Zhou has likely been ensnared in China’s wide-ranging campaign to clean up corruption in the financial sector…
CSRC approves trading in futures and options based on CSI 1000
Policymakers need to beef up investors’ ability to hedge risk to realize the goal of developing diverse, long-term-focused, institution-dominated capital markets. This move – and many similar moves made over the past two years – does just that…
CSRC issues trial rules aimed at providing new exit option for VC funds
PE and VC play a central role in Beijing’s efforts to support the development of homegrown innovation. Giving investors in PE and VC funds more options to cash out of their investments is a response to complaints about the lack of exit channels, and is designed to bolster the appeal of these funds…
CSRC introduces measures to waive securities fees for private sector firms
These measures will save companies some money, and should help boost exchange-traded bond issuance at the margin, but they aren’t going to invigorate private sector bond markets on their own.
Local bank consolidation continues, with mergers in Hebei and Liaoning
China’s regional commercial banks and rural lenders have been a source of endless problems for regulators. While combined they comprise less than 25% of the country’s banking assets, they present the biggest risks to financial stability.
New China Trust ok’d to enter bankruptcy proceedings
Xiao Jianhua was money man to some of China’s most elite families, so we may never know the true nature of his offense. What we really want to know is what Xiao told investigators, and whether he cut a deal for his cooperation
NAFMII launches pilot program for transition finance bonds
China is pursuing a green and low-carbon transformation of its industries, not an elimination of industries. That means traditional and heavily polluting industries are here to stay, but in a cleaner form. Transition finance – and transition bonds – provide an increasingly important funding channel for these industries, which are ineligible for green finance, to lower their carbon footprint…
PBoC announces mainland-Hong Kong “Swap Connect”
Banks in Hong Kong routinely complain to Beijing that there’s not enough RMB offshore, so the advent of a currency swap expansion will come as welcome news. Beijing has been extremely wary of foreign capital investing in derivatives…
Mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect officially includes ETFs
The announcement came just days before Hong Kong marked the 25th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty and is being viewed by some as a “gift” by Beijing to Hong Kong, but despite the symbolic timing, the move to include ETFs in the Stock Connect was inevitable and logical. This is just the latest in a spate of activity related to the two-way opening of China’s capital markets over the past few months…
Xi, Lee tie Hong Kong’s future to mainland’s development
While primarily rhetorical rather than policy oriented, the speeches of Xi and Lee suggest that both the central government and local Hong Kong leaders will look to enhance economic synergies between the mainland and Hong Kong…
Goldman Sachs-ICBC wealth management JV gets go-ahead to start operations
There’s no denying that Chinese policymakers want more savings flowing away from property investments and vanilla bank deposits and into capital markets. There’s also no denying that the world’s preeminent wealth management know-how is located outside of China…