Guest post: return of capital is not a vote for the renminbi

Blog

February 23, 2012 8:42 am by beyondbrics

By Victor Shih of Northwestern University

In the latest PBOC data release, Chinese banks, including the central bank, bought Rmb140bn worth of foreign currency in January. The increase of “position for foreign exchange purchase” in banks suggests that foreign exchange once again flowed into China, in contrast to the last three months of last year, when FX flowed out of China.

Some analysts interpret this as a return to business as usual as confidence returns to the renminbi. Yet is this the whole picture?

Continue reading: “Guest post: return of capital is not a vote for the renminbi”

Tags: capital flows, guest post, renminbi
Posted in China | Permalink

Guest post: Not so “sweetheart deals” from China in Latin America

February 23, 2012 12:42 am by beyondbrics

By Kevin P. Gallagher, Boston University

Never letting data get in the way of a good story, pundits and policy-makers alike have clamored that Chinese development banks are engaged in “low-ball” finance that is out-competing Western finance in Latin America. Not so simple, not so fast, according to findings in a new study that I co-authored titled “The New Banks in Town: Chinese Finance in Latin America.”

Continue reading: “Guest post: Not so “sweetheart deals” from China in Latin America”

Tags: China-Latin America
Posted in Argentina, Asia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Global, LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Great Wall Motor: made in Europe

February 22, 2012 6:31 pm by Jonathan Wheatley

Great Wall Motor this week opened the first Chinese car factory in the European Union, near the village of Bahovitsa in northern Bulgaria. It will make two models in a partnership with Litex Motors of Bulgaria: Great Wall’s Voleex C10 city car and Steed 5 double-cab pickup, both for sale to European markets.

But will Europeans buy them?

Continue reading: “Great Wall Motor: made in Europe”

Tags: autos
Posted in Asia, Bulgaria, China, Europe, Global | Permalink

Jeremy Lin: a Chinese trademark?

February 22, 2012 8:11 am by Simon Rabinovitch

With Apple battling for its iPad trademark in China, another famous American product – Jeremy Lin – could soon face similar trouble.

A small sporting goods company in Wuxi, a manufacturing hub near Shanghai, has obtained a trademark on the Chinese name of the New York Knicks basketball star.

Continue reading: “Jeremy Lin: a Chinese trademark?”

Tags: basketball, NBA, sports
Posted in China | Permalink

Sotheby’s to explore Chinese interior

February 22, 2012 4:56 am by Enid Tsui

Sotheby’s has just announced its roadshow schedule ahead of the spring auctions in Hong Kong. This year, it has added the Chinese city of Chengdu to the list of stops.

Best known for pandas and tea houses, the provincial capital of Sichuan province has never really been on the international art world map, and Sotheby’s exhibition is not going to change that. But it is a sign of the times.

Continue reading: “Sotheby’s to explore Chinese interior”

Tags: Art
Posted in China | Permalink

China: investing too little?

February 21, 2012 11:26 am by Rahul Jacob

It takes a brave economist to argue that China is not investing too much: the country’s fixed capital formation to GDP ratio is now 46 per cent of GDP, up from 28 per cent in 1980.

Yet that is exactly what Qu Hongbin, HSBC’s Chief Economist for China, suggests, pointing to the fact that China is just “halfway through the process of urbanisation and industrialisation.” The recent roll-out of its high-speed railway and freight networks may have garnered its share of headlines but Qu points out that “China’s railway network is still shorter than that of the US in 1880.”

Continue reading: “China: investing too little?”

Tags: construction, infrastructure, investment
Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

Video: China’s sports brands struggle

February 21, 2012 10:34 am by beyondbrics

China’s branded sportswear sector has taken on Nike and Adidas on its home turf but the industry has met headwinds. Lex’s Vincent Boland and Julia Grindell discuss the troubled outlook for the country’s domestic sports brands.

Tags: leisure, retail, sports, video
Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

[Video] Bombardier bullish on India and China

February 20, 2012 9:36 am by beyondbrics

Pierre Beaudoin, chief executive of Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft and train maker, tells the FT’s Jeremy Lerner why he is bullish on emerging markets such as China and India.

Tags: aviation, video
Posted in Asia, China, India | Permalink

China: easing lifts markets – a little

February 20, 2012 8:09 am by Stefan Wagstyl

Asian markets took China’s weekend monetary easing in their stride. Investors had largely anticipated the decision to cut bank reserve ratios – indeed some had expected it a month ago.

But it was still a welcome fillip in markets where below the good humour generated by this year’s strong rally a lot of concern still lurks about possible future shocks, notably from the eurozone, China and the Middle East. After jumping by more than 1 per cent in early trading, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index fell back later to trade 0.5 per cent higher. Clearly for many investors it was a good moment to take profits.

Continue reading: “China: easing lifts markets – a little”

Tags: China economy, China RRR, equities, eurozone
Posted in Asia, China, Global | Permalink

Fund file: bond reality check needed?

February 19, 2012 7:02 pm by Emma Boyde

The new rush for emerging market bonds being tracked closely by beyondbrics makes you wonder what some investors use instead of memory.

It’s true that with Moody’s having put Austria, France and the UK on negative credit watch last week, some investors might not feel the need for historical perspective. But a little bit of scepticism might be a good thing, and an alternative way of rating credit risk might help deliver it, as a report in FTfm explains.

Continue reading: “Fund file: bond reality check needed?”

Tags: fund file
Posted in China, Global, India | Permalink

Haier: hoping to be big in Japan

February 17, 2012 9:19 am by Kathrin Hille

When Haier said that it was setting up a regional headquarters in Japan, it did not make big news headlines.

But the Chinese white goods maker’s move indicates just how far it has advanced on its path towards globalisation, and that it is expanding its foothold in more demanding developed markets.

Continue reading: “Haier: hoping to be big in Japan”

Tags: manufacturing
Posted in China | Permalink

Minmetals: into Africa

February 17, 2012 8:39 am by Stefan Wagstyl

China’s Minmetals Resources (MMR) has finally achieved its ambition of getting into Africa, with the completion on Friday of its C$1.3 bn ($1.3 bn) bid for Anvil Mining and its interest in the Kinsevere copper project in the the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

But the Chinese state-run group and its western boss (CEO Andrew Michelmore, pictured) remain on the lookout for more overseas acquisitions and have plenty of funds for the right deals. Anvil is a modest buy compared to the $6.6bn Minmetals put on the table last year in a failed attempt to take over Canada’s Equinox Resources.

Continue reading: “Minmetals: into Africa”

Tags: M&A, mining
Posted in Africa, China, Congo, Global | Permalink

LVMH’s L Capital targets local brands

February 16, 2012 7:53 pm by Pan Kwan Yuk

By Pan Kwan Yuk and Elizabeth Paton

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, recently stuck his neck out and said he expected 2012 would be as good of a year for the luxury goods industry as 2011 and 2010.

But if the going is as good as he says it is going to be, then what is the owner of Louis Vuitton, Dom Pérignon and Dior doing shopping around for mass-market Chinese and Indian brands?

Continue reading: “LVMH’s L Capital targets local brands”

Tags: luxury, M&A, retail
Posted in Asia, China, Global, India | Permalink

China: wine fans start to go for white

February 16, 2012 3:38 pm by Patti Waldmeir

Within three years, greater China will spend more money on still wines than the UK, and become the world’s second biggest wine consumer by value, after the US.

And along the way, the traditional preference for red in China will be accompanied by a growing taste for white wine.

So says Vinexpo, the global wine and spirits exhibition group, which on Thursday in Shanghai spelt out its views of the fast-developing Chinese wine market.

Continue reading: “China: wine fans start to go for white”

Tags: food & drink
Posted in China | Permalink

Older entries

beyondbrics

The emerging markets hub

About this blog

Headlines email

Blog guide

News and comment from more than 40 emerging economies, headed by China, India, Brazil and Russia.

Follow @beyondbrics

'Like' our beyondbrics Facebook page, where we showcase a top story of the day

Sign up for our news headlines and markets snaphot service. We have two emails per day - London and New York headlines (sent at approx 6am and 12pm GMT).

To comment, please register for free with FT.com and read our policy on submitting comments.

There is an overall beyondbrics RSS feed, as well as feeds for all our countries, tags and authors. Learn more in our full RSS guide.

All posts are published in UK time.

Get in touch with us - your comments, advice and even complaints. Find out how to contact the team.

See the full list of FT blogs.

BB shortcuts

Regulars

Series

beyondbrics

beyond brics

The FT's emerging markets hub

Blog