Gavekal Dragonomics
April 17, 2019
The raft of economic data released by China on Wednesday morning suggests the world’s second largest economy is proving more responsive than expected to the authorities’ supportive policy measures. The question is no longer whether the government will hit its 2019 growth target, but whether the apparent success will make Beijing halt its easing.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 16, 2019
The world’s deadliest pig disease is now established in the world’s largest pork market. The spread of African swine fever in China has been more severe than the government has admitted, and as a result pork prices are spiking and imports are surging. But as Ernan argues in this report, the impact of this epidemic is still only in its early stages.
Gavekal Research
April 12, 2019
Smartphones are a maturing industry. Sales in China, the US, Europe and Japan are declining, and demand growth in India and Africa is not fast enough to drive a new surge in global sales. The industry is hoping that 5G and foldable phones will trigger a fresh upgrade cycle. But neither will drive a significant increase of sales in the near term.
Gavekal Dragonomics
March 14, 2019
China watchers have been bracing themselves for some ugly economic indicators in January and February. Yet the first official data for 2019 were not actually that bad. As Andrew explains, the economy is clearly slowing, but it’s not going into an uncontrolled dive. The government’s moderate policy response is thus still on track to steady growth.
Gavekal Research
March 5, 2019
After a decade of rapid growth in debt, China’s government claims to be pursuing a different course. At this year’s legislative session, leaders dialed back growth targets, and pledged to control leverage and instead use fiscal policy to steady growth.
Gavekal Dragonomics
February 27, 2019
It is now conventional wisdom that China is using fiscal policy more than monetary policy to stabilize economic growth. Chen Long disagrees, and in this piece explains why the official budget, to be announced on March 5, is not that important to the business cycle. What matters more is the direction of total credit growth—which is picking up.
Gavekal Dragonomics
February 28, 2019
The US and China appear to be moving toward a trade deal that will at least halt further hikes in tariffs. But as Dan shows in this piece, the US still wants to constrain China’s technological rise, and has many tools it can use. US-China technology exchanges are becoming politically and legally fraught, causing collateral damage on both sides.
Gavekal Research
February 26, 2019
So far, so predictable: President Donald Trump’s weekend tweets extending the deadline for US-China trade talks past March 1 made clear his intention to get a deal done, most likely in the second half of March when Xi Jinping pays a visit to Mar-a-Lago.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 4, 2019
In 2018 liquidity tightening in the US and China combined with trade war fears to make a miserable year for markets. In 2019 the same forces will be at work but the outcomes may differ. The key questions are: can the US and China work out a trade deal? How bad is the Chinese slowdown and how will Beijing respond? And how much will the Fed tighten?
Gavekal Research
April 4, 2019
Starting from April, Chinese government and policy bank bonds are included in the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate bond index. But index inclusion, while an important landmark, may not be the best guide to market timing. After a bull run that has lasted since the beginning of 2018, China’s bond market rally looks to be nearing an end.
Gavekal Dragonomics
February 27, 2019
It is now conventional wisdom that China is using fiscal policy more than monetary policy to stabilize economic growth. Chen Long disagrees, and in this piece explains why the official budget, to be announced on March 5, is not that important to the business cycle. What matters more is the direction of total credit growth—which is picking up.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 23, 2019
China’s private firms suffered a big liquidity squeeze in 2018 as regulators cracked down on shadow financing. But in 2019 they must also contend with the threat of another liquidity squeeze: state-owned enterprises hoarding cash and delaying payments. Unless officials force them to stop, SOEs could squeeze another RMB1trn from private firms.
Gavekal Dragonomics
February 20, 2019
China’s local governments are cutting back their slum redevelopment plans, which points to lower government subsidies for housing in 2019. As a result, Rosealea argues, housing sales are likely to have a deeper decline this year, although Beijing will manage the phase-out of subsidies with a careful eye on how it affects the market.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 30, 2019
While many forecasters had expected China’s steel demand to enter long-term decline as housing construction peaks, in fact it has stayed surprisingly strong. In this piece, Rosealea revisits her housing model, and finds it is consistent with recent trends. Construction should peak in 2020-22, so steel demand can stay elevated for a few more years.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 14, 2019
China’s property market keeps delivering bad news: declines in housing sales, land sales and prices have deepened in recent months. But Rosealea sees some positive signs in easing local government policies, lower bank funding costs, and strong momentum in construction. In this piece, she explains why she is not joining the property-market bears.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 9, 2019
5G mobile is the technology of the future, and the US and China are now in a life-or-death struggle to dominate it. That anyway is the story used to justify the US government’s campaign against Huawei—but as Dan argues in this piece, this is mostly alarmism disconnected from reality. It’s best not to get caught up in the politicized hype about 5G.
Gavekal Dragonomics
March 26, 2019
For the freewheeling Chinese internet sector, regulatory risk arrived with a vengeance in 2018. Government actions hurt companies including Tencent in gaming, Didi Chuxing in ride-hailing, ByteDance in online media, and others. In this piece, Dan and Yanmei explain what drove these moves and how the new online regulatory environment will work.
Gavekal Dragonomics
March 20, 2019
The Made In China 2025 initiative was omnipresent after its launch in 2015, but it has now become officially invisible, a casualty of the vocal concerns expressed by the US and others. In this piece, Lance explains how China will pursue industrial policy in the aftermath: with less transparency, but also, perhaps, with less discrimination.
Gavekal Dragonomics
February 14, 2019
Is the long boom in China’s car market finally over? In this piece, Ernan takes stock of the prospects for auto sales after 2018’s historic decline. Since that drop was caused by expiring stimulus policies, sales can stabilize and recover. Future growth, however, is likely to be much slower than the industry has become accustomed to.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 31, 2019
China’s government has made a cut in personal-income taxes, rushed out in August 2018, a centerpiece of its response to a slowing economy. Additional tax deductions were unveiled in January, but as Ernan explains, the new details are not that bullish for consumer spending. Enforcement is tightening, and some tax breaks will be phased out.
Gavekal Dragonomics
January 9, 2019
China’s job market was an early casualty of the US-China trade conflict, with industrial layoffs accelerating to a pace last seen in 2015-6. But Ernan argues that the situation is worse this time, as service-sector employers are being squeezed by tighter regulations. The weaker job market means a worsening outlook for household spending in 2019.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 2, 2019
China’s onshore equity markets are now large and accessible enough that they can no longer be ignored by foreign investors—but idiosyncratic enough that they are hard to understand. This in-depth DeepChina report explains the fundamentals: What is there to invest in? Who owns the market? How can foreigners invest? How is the market regulated?
Gavekal Dragonomics
March 4, 2019
After turning in the world’s worst performance in 2018, Chinese A-shares have bounced back with a vengeance in 2019. The three factors driving sentiment—liquidity conditions, the US-China trade war and Beijing’s policy stance—have all improved markedly. Thomas thinks the bull market has room to run, but exuberance creates its own set of risks.
Gavekal Research
January 8, 2019
Chinese A-shares were the world’s worst-performing major equity market in 2018. For the market to rally in 2019, three factors will need to show signs of clarity and improvement: China’s macro policy direction, liquidity squeezes in the bond and equity markets, and the trade war with the US.
Gavekal Dragonomics
March 11, 2019
It’s looking like a good spring for China’s steel industry. In this piece, Rosealea reports on her findings from a recent visit to the steelmaking capital of Tangshan. Steel and iron ore prices are being supported by a combination of stable demand from property, recovering demand from infrastructure and supply constraints from scrap shortages.
Gavekal Dragonomics
December 10, 2018
Chinese steel prices suffered their biggest decline in two years in November, falling about 20% over the course of the month. That correction was driven by a combination of a big increase in supply along with worries about future demand. In this piece, Rosealea argues that both problems will be short-lived, and that steel prices can rebound.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 8, 2018
Supply-side reform, Xi Jinping’s signature policy of cutting excess capacity in steel, coal and other industries, is widely considered a success. Yet Rosealea’s extensive review finds that this campaign was marred by repeated misjudgments that caused undesired spikes in prices. The justifications for continuing the policy are now wearing thin.
Gavekal Dragonomics
December 4, 2018
China’s ambitious goals to lead in the technologies of the future are backed by huge resources. Since late 2014, there has been an explosion in state-backed funds targeting high technology. Our latest in-depth DeepChina report digs into these government guidance funds to find out how they work, and how successful they will be.
Gavekal Dragonomics
August 8, 2018
China is going port-crazy in Southeast Asia. Chinese firms are now engaged in building 15 port projects in the region, at a total cost of more than US$50bn. Will these bricks in the Maritime Silk Road prove to be valuable assets, or financial black holes? In our new DeepChina report, Lance Noble and Tom Miller find the answer is: some of both.
Gavekal Dragonomics
June 4, 2018
Our first DeepChina report takes a close look at Beijing's efforts to exert tighter control over the internet, the flow of commercial data, and the security of its technological infrastructure. China ia nor alone in toughening regulation, but its efforts are far more expansive, and raise more serious concerns for multinational firms.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 19, 2018
China’s property market has had a record-breaking run, but where is it headed next? In this concise chartbook, Rosealea delivers her annual overview of the key drivers of housing sales and construction activity and explains the outlook for 2019. An overdue correction in sales is coming, but construction should hold up relatively well.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 3, 2018
Where is China heading as it undergoes demographic change of unprecedented speed and scale? In this chartbook, Ernan offers a comprehensive guide to the unfolding transformation of the nation’s population, focusing on changes in family-planning policy, the implications of an aging society, and the shifting patterns of migration.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 20, 2018
In this chartbook, Thomas outlines the key trends in the fundamentals of China’s corporate sector. Growth in sales and profits has stayed stronger for longer, but is driven mainly by high materials prices. A rebound in capex is starting to fade. Deleveraging continues but more slowly, and may not last much longer as profits cool and debt rises.
Gavekal Research
April 9, 2019
Louis Gave examined the reasons for equity markets' good performance amid a global trade slowdown; Thomas Gatley assessed the state of the Chinese economy and whether the current Chinese equity bull market still has legs; Udith Sikand reckoned it is time to be positive on emerging markets, especially EM Asia.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 5, 2019
Home sales in China fell by 3.6% in the first two months of 2019. This, however, was better than expected considering that this upcycle is now four years old. Lower mortgage rates and supportive policies by local governments should prop up demand, and Rosealea expects overall housing sales to decline a modest 2% for the year.
Gavekal Research
March 8, 2019
In this research conference call, Andrew Batson and Chen Long discussed the improving outlook for the Chinese economy in 2019 and the implications for financial markets. Confirmation that the government is both willing and able to support growth has ignited an equity rally, while expectations of further easing measures still support bonds.