Economy

Visitors walk past the Casino Lisboa during Lunar New Year in Macau, China, 24 January 2023. (Lam Yik/Reuters)

Can Macau’s economy move beyond the gambling and gaming industry?

Gambling and casino-hopping have long been Macau's calling card. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk looks into what else Macau has to offer, and how the local government is trying to wean its economy off the gaming industry, especially given mainland China’s clampdown on illegal gambling.
Signage at the Alibaba office in Beijing, China, on 17 January 2023. (Bloomberg)

Will Beijing truly 'reconcile' with Chinese private enterprises in 2023?

Verbal sparring by Chinese internet opinion makers seem to suggest that the winds are blowing in favour of private firms at the moment. But will officials be able to walk the talk in their quest to use the private sector to drive China’s economic growth?
An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district, in Shanghai, China, 25 October 2022. (Aly Song/File Photo/Reuters)

China boots record number of companies from its bourses

Regulators are ramping up efforts to cull poorly performing firms and those that violate the rules or break the law. A record number of companies got the boot from Chinese mainland stock exchanges last year, and that number could even double in 2023.
The Gateway of India in Mumbai, India, on 7 January 2023. (Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

India could drive the next big change in the global economy, just as China did

India holds the prospect of driving the biggest change in the global economy in the next quarter century just as China did in the previous one, says economic professor Arvind Panagariya. India has several factors in its favour, but it must also push ahead with its reform agenda and open its economy wider to friendly countries through free trade agreements to make the best of its time in the sun.
People walk with their luggage at a railway station during the annual Spring Festival travel rush ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Shanghai, China, 16 January 2023. (Aly Song/Reuters)

China’s economy is bound to recover in 2023

China research analyst Chen Long gives a positive assessment of China’s economic prospects in 2023, pointing out that the swift U-turn on Covid policies may wreak havoc in the short-term, but be the catalyst to drive economic growth in the Year of the Rabbit. Variables are looking favourable, with the consumer spending and housing sector showing potential, and government policies going in the right direction.
A pedestrian walks at Central Business District (CBD) in Beijing on 16 January 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Politics a threat to China’s economy

Political commentator Jin Jian Guo observes that China economic policy has always been ruled by politics, and while it seems that the pendulum is swinging back in favour of private firms after a period of bashing and stifling, this is not a given as the politics of the day still rules.
This file photo taken on 2 October 2018 shows Alibaba Group co-founder and executive chairman Jack Ma attending the opening debate of the 2018 edition of the WTO public forum on sustainable trade, at the WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Where to now for Alibaba in the post-Jack Ma era?

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has given up controlling rights in the company he founded, Ant Group Co. All eyes are now on what lies ahead for Ant and Alibaba, which owns 33% of the company and was co-founded by Ma.
People visit Yu Garden ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit, in Shanghai, China, on 9 January 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

China's 'China speed' reopening and its impact on the world

China’s reopening to the world on 8 January has led to hopes that the Chinese economy will rebound sooner and faster than expected. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing speaks with experts and business owners to find out the obstacles ahead for China, and how China's reopening will impact the regional and global economy.
This photo taken on 3 January 2023 shows a crane loading a container at Nanjing port in China's eastern Jiangsu province. (AFP)

Future world: A rising Asia and a polarised global economy

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that the US’s efforts to counter China is the main driving force behind the redrawing of the global economic map. However, as the US is the sole beneficiary while most of the other countries have supported the US’s cause to their own detriment, conflicts of interests will gradually emerge. In the end, the global economy may polarise into various camps with disjointed supply chains.