Economy

A labourer pushes a handcart at the Mercato open-air marketplace in Ketema, district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 21 July 2022. (Tiksa Negeri/File Photo/Reuters)

China joins effort to avert sovereign debt crisis

China, India, Saudi Arabia and the Paris Club of mostly Western traditional creditor nations are collaborating on debt resolution cases in multiple countries for the first time. Lengthy negotiations on debt reduction have been underway among creditors to determine who should bear potential losses and how restructuring plans should be arranged. Whether and how China will provide debt relief is a key element of these discussions.
Clothes are displayed on hangers at a Chinese fashion brand Shein pop-up store in Paris, France, on 4 May 2023. (Christophe Archambault/AFP)

Chinese e-commerce's growing markets in US and beyond: Opportunities and challenges

While Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu have been doing well in achieving fast and high growth in the US market, they face commercial and regulatory challenges too and would need to undertake several risk mitigation strategies.
A traffic light is seen near a construction site of residential buildings in Shanghai, China, 20 July 2022. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Shanghai's falling property prices indicate economic gloom in China

China’s property market has been in the doldrums, and prices have been falling, not least in Shanghai. And as prices in Shanghai fall, so will prices in other Chinese cities. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing looks at the impact of property market movements on the overall Chinese economy.
Workers monitor the nickel melting process at a nickel smelter of PT Vale Tbk in Sorowako, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia, 30 March 2023. (Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters)

Indonesia's Chinese investment-dominated nickel industry: Social and environmental safeguards needed

Acknowledged as a key industry in the National Mid-Term Development Plan 2015-2019, Indonesia's nickel industry has witnessed significant investments, especially from China. While the industry faced a boom from the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the easing of China’s zero-Covid policy, the unchecked growth of Class 2 nickel production from Indonesia could cause oversupply in global markets and suppress the commodity’s price. In crafting new policies, Indonesia must also prioritise stronger social and environmental safeguards.
US dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken 10 March 2023. (Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters)

De-risking too: The world's efforts to de-dollarise

Despite all the talk of de-dollarisation and some movement towards it, the US dollar remains the dominant global currency for now, and it will be an uphill task to shift away from it. Lianhe Zaobao correspondent Lai Oi Lai speaks to academics and financial experts to find out more about the world's pursuit of de-dollarisation as a way of risk management.
An art installation dubbed "Double Ducks", by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, is seen at Victoria Harbour, in Hong Kong, China, 9 June 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Integrating Hong Kong into China's Greater Bay Area: Easier said than done?

Greater prosperity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area would require greater synergising and complementarity between the core leading cities of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. But this is easier said than done, especially for Hong Kong. EAI senior research fellow Yu Hong explains.
A general view of the Qianhai area in Shenzhen, 4 June 2023. (SPH Media)

Shenzhen's deserted business district needs more pull to develop

Shenzhen’s Qianhai is a relatively new business district that the Chinese government wants to develop. However, there has been comparatively little pull so far, given that general facilities are lacking and the supportive policies for foreign companies are no different from those in other areas in Shenzhen. However, some business people Zaobao talked to are upbeat about its future.
Pedestrians along an elevated walkway as an electronic ticker displays stock figures in Pudong's Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on 26 May 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

China’s consumers flush with cash, but recovery is still lagging

A swathe of negative economic data for April, which included the manufacturing sector unexpectedly contracting and retail sales missing forecasts, indicate that China's recovery remains lopsided. It’s not a question of whether there is enough money being pumped into the economy to fuel the recovery, but instead where that money is going and why people aren’t availing themselves of more credit?
Workers check an electronic system at the Tegalluar station of the China-made high speed railway connecting the capital city of Jakarta with Bandung, in Bandung, West Java on 15 May 2023. (Timur Matahari/AFP)

Why China's BRI is not a debt trap

The solution to developing countries’ ballooning debt arising from borrowing to finance Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other projects is not to stop the work, as such projects could spur greater economic development and growth, says EAI senior research fellow Yu Hong. Rather, greater transparency and debt sustainability analysis should be applied in relation to BRI debt.