Gavekal Dragonomics
November 25, 2020
China’s consumer recovery from lockdown initially lagged other economies, but now looks more sustainable. Discretionary goods are booming, and the online shakeout of retail continues, though other services and staples are less exciting. In this chartbook, Ernan presents a special Covid-19 edition of her annual review of the Chinese consumer.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 24, 2020
Chinese bureaucrats are now busily drafting plans to achieve self-reliance in high technology. But as Dan argues in this piece, this latest industrial-policy push will be different. Thanks to US restrictions on Chinese firms, notably Huawei, the private sector is already convinced that developing substitutes for imported technology is necessary.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 20, 2020
The surprise suspension of Ant Group’s IPO on November 4 was caused by the publication of new rules on online microfinance—a tiny sector that accounts for just 0.3% of China’s banking system. In this piece, Xiaoxi explains why microfinance is of so great macro importance to China’s financial regulators, and what they will do next.
Gavekal Research
October 30, 2020
While much of the world struggles to make it through 2020, the Chinese Communist Party is setting its sights on 2035: its annual plenum closed with a decision on its broad goals for the next 15 years. In this piece, Andrew explains how China is adapting its priorities to a less favorable international political and economic context.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 28, 2020
Party officials are gathering this week to discuss China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, a document intended to guide the country’s development from 2021 to 2025. In this report, Gilliam outlines the plan’s likely major themes and why it represents the first step in Xi Jinping’s ambitions of transforming China into a “modern socialist country” by 2049.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 15, 2020
China’s economic recovery continues to boom ahead, with retail sales turning positive and exports continuing to outperform. In this Quick Take, Thomas, Rosealea and Wei explain why this momentum is likely to continue for several more months but might dampen towards the end of the year as credit tightens and the property market is reined in.
Gavekal Research
November 4, 2020
Ant Group’s US$35bn IPO was set to be the ultimate market validation of the new world of fintech and financial innovation. But by suspending Ant’s IPO at the last minute China’s financial regulators have demonstrated there is still a force more powerful than the coming wave of financial innovation: the state.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 22, 2020
The pandemic economy has not been very good for China’s banks, with net profits plunging an unprecedented 24% in Q2 as the government pressured them to sacrifice profits. In this piece, Xiaoxi explains why things are not actually so bad: bank profits have been hurt mainly by aggressive provisioning requirements, which are likely to ease in 2021.
Gavekal Research
October 5, 2020
China’s renminbi has been appreciating in recent months, driven by heavy inflows into the onshore bond market and declining concerns about US-China tensions. The biggest risk to continued renminbi strength is the possibility that an election victory for Donald Trump sparks fears of a renewed US-China tariff war.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 13, 2020
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday barring US investments into a list of 31 Chinese firms, 13 of which are publicly listed. In this Quick Take, Dan and Thomas outline what obstacles the order faces before implementation, what impact it would have for investors and what the move means for Chinese equities both on- and offshore.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 11, 2020
Both the US and China now seem eager to reduce their mutual economic dependencies. However, such a process is different for either country: Dan explains that China’s reliance on the US is narrow and technical in scope while American dependence on China is more wide-ranging. The US therefore faces more complex challenges in the “race” to decouple.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 9, 2020
In almost no area of the US-China relationship can President-elect Biden fully reverse the combative approach President Trump has put in place. Instead, writes Arthur, the Biden administration will likely fine-tune regulations to balance US economic and security interests, all while working closer with US allies—none of which will be easy.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 12, 2020
Recent major regulatory actions have sent a strong message to Chinese internet companies: you’re not special anymore. In this report, Andrew, Dan and Ernan explain why anti-competitive practices, prudential risk and the pandemic are now prompting policymakers to regulate online firms on the same basis as their offline counterparts.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 15, 2020
China has seen a surge in funding to “strategic” high-tech industries following US attempts to strangle Chinese technological development. What’s surprising, Thomas writes, is that this funding is coming not from public subsidies but rather from capital markets, with the firms leveraging government support to raise equity and secure financing.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 28, 2020
US companies will now have to apply for licenses to sell certain technologies to Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., China’s leading chipmaker. In this Quick Take, Dan outlines what this means for SMIC and why it is too early to write the firm off completely. The move also increases the risk of Chinese retaliation against US firms.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 10, 2020
China’s property sector led the rebound from Covid-19 lockdown, but how long can the new boom last? In her annual chartbook, Rosealea explains the outlook for 2021 after a very volatile 2020. Housing policy has turned tighter after signs of overheating, which points to sales flattening and construction activity declining next year.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 8, 2020
In late July, Beijing declared that a trial “long-term mechanism” for regulating real estate had achieved “significant results” despite having never been properly defined. Rosealea posits that the mechanism is a combination of smaller reforms implemented in recent years, concluding that major policy changes are therefore unlikely for now.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 30, 2020
After a turbulent several days, on Tuesday China Evergrande Group averted a cash crunch that would have reverberated throughout China’s financial markets. In this Quick Take, Rosealea explains why Evergrande’s liquidity troubles are emblematic of the wider issues facing developers following China’s ongoing financing squeeze.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 13, 2020
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday barring US investments into a list of 31 Chinese firms, 13 of which are publicly listed. In this Quick Take, Dan and Thomas outline what obstacles the order faces before implementation, what impact it would have for investors and what the move means for Chinese equities both on- and offshore.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 3, 2020
Net profits of China’s listed non-financial firms surged in Q3, reflecting the fundamental improvement in the Chinese economy. In this Quick Take, Thomas explains why business conditions, although improved, are not as good as the net profit figures might suggest—and why Q4 will likely represent the peak of China’s corporate profit cycle.
Gavekal Research
November 2, 2020
China was the first economy into lockdown, and the first to emerge, enjoying a rapid rebound in industrial production and exports. Uniquely among major economies, China has already regained and exceeded pre-Covid levels of output.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 12, 2020
Tourism over China's weeklong National Day holiday disappointed, with tourism revenues down 30% YoY. In this Quick Take, Ernan writes that Chinese consumers still seem concerned about long-distance travel, and are instead spending their money locally; however, the overall recovery in consumer spending is still continuing apace.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 17, 2020
Consumer spending in China looks to be firmly on a recovering track, with Covid-19 under control and the job market improving. But the shock to household income in the first half of 2020 could still linger over spending for a while. In this piece, Wei explains what could keep consumption from quickly regaining previous growth rates.
Gavekal Dragonomics
September 8, 2020
With no new domestic cases in almost a month, Xi Jinping effectively declared victory on Tuesday in the struggle against Covid-19. In this Quick Take, Gilliam explains how China’s post-Covid landscape is shaping up for consumer services, and why Beijing is unlikely to open up internationally any time soon.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 1, 2020
The retreat of the state from the command of China’s economy has been greatly exaggerated. In this 25-page DeepChina report, Andrew uses new estimates of SOEs’ share of GDP to show how little has changed in the state’s role in the economy in the past two decades, and explains how that stability has affected China and the rest of the world.
Gavekal Dragonomics
Simon Cartledge
June 25, 2020
Whither Hong Kong? After a year of political turmoil, uncertainty about the city’s prospects is the highest it has been in decades. This 20-page DeepChina report examines Hong Kong’s historical trajectory, and concludes the city is in long-run decline—even though it will continue to be an important financial gateway between China and the world.
Gavekal Dragonomics
April 16, 2020
China’s deep economic roots in Africa provoke alarm in the US and concern among debtor nations, especially as some costly infrastructure projects prove financially unviable. But our latest in-depth DeepChina report explains why China’s presence is generally welcome in East Africa, even as the era of huge loans and megaprojects draws to an end.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 25, 2020
China’s consumer recovery from lockdown initially lagged other economies, but now looks more sustainable. Discretionary goods are booming, and the online shakeout of retail continues, though other services and staples are less exciting. In this chartbook, Ernan presents a special Covid-19 edition of her annual review of the Chinese consumer.
Gavekal Dragonomics
November 10, 2020
China’s property sector led the rebound from Covid-19 lockdown, but how long can the new boom last? In her annual chartbook, Rosealea explains the outlook for 2021 after a very volatile 2020. Housing policy has turned tighter after signs of overheating, which points to sales flattening and construction activity declining next year.
Gavekal Dragonomics
October 26, 2020
China is transitioning from an imbalanced, supply-side recovery to a more broad-based upswing as consumption and private-sector investment finally join the party. But policy is also normalizing quickly, creating challenges for property and equity markets. In this regular chartbook, the Dragonomics team explains the outlook heading into 2021.
Gavekal Research
November 13, 2020
Having gone into lockdown first, China was also the first economy to emerge, and has since enjoyed a rapid rebound in industrial production and exports, reflected in financial markets. But now that the economy is back to “normal”, policymakers have returned to a conservative stance which focuses on financial stability.
Gavekal Research
November 5, 2020
While the US has been busy tying itself in knots over the 2020 presidential election, the Chinese government, with no electoral calendar to worry about, has quietly been setting out its grand strategy for the country’s development over the next two decades.
Gavekal Research
October 28, 2020
China’s financial technology industry has been chaotic for two decades, with Ant Group launching pioneering new products while regulators and competitors play catch-up. With Ant Group ready for its IPO, the push-and-pull between the firm and regulators is grabbing institutional investors’ attention.