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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Feb 25th 2021
The Fate Of A Liquidity-Driven Rally
The writing is on the wall for China’s post-Covid bull market as the underlying credit and profit cycles that typically drive prices over the medium term are turning down in 2021. In this report, Thomas explains why liquidity flows can trump these fundamentals for a while, but not indefinitely.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson
Feb 23rd 2021
To Hold Back The Tide Of De-Industrialization
China’s government is focusing on a new economic metric: the manufacturing share of GDP, which looks to feature in the next five-year plan. Rather than accept de-industrialization, it wants “stability” in manufacturing. In this piece, Andrew explains why China is worried about the fall in the manufacturing share, and whether it can be stopped.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Louis Gave
Feb 19th 2021
A Discussion On Treasury Yields
In recent days, long-dated US treasury yields have made a clear move higher. Unless there’s a violent turnaround in the coming days, February will mark the seventh consecutive month of flat-to-negative returns for treasuries This is an important development, with potentially far-reaching investment implications. Anatole and Louis discuss the outlook for yields, and the consequences for asset prices.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Feb 19th 2021
Stuck At Home For The Holidays
China spent the Lunar New Year indoors and online. Travel over the seven days of the holiday declined 77% from 2019 levels, but sales of major retailers increased by 4.9%. In this Quick Take, Ernan explains how holiday restrictions and the January Covid outbreak in north-eastern China has depressed services and boosted retail sales.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Feb 17th 2021
China Versus The Anglosphere
Beijing’s ability to weaponize its global trade power is concentrating minds from Washington to Canberra. On Tuesday it was reported that China has proposed controls on the production and export of rare earths. This threat is the latest example of why reducing critical dependence on Chinese trade is now a strategic priority for many countries, in particular those in the Anglosphere.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Feb 16th 2021
The Next Steps On Hidden Local Debt
In 2021, China’s central government is gearing up to once again tackle the hidden debts of local authorities, toughening its stance after a couple of lax years. As Wei explains in this piece, the solution is likely to be a mixed one, combining limits on new borrowing, partial bailouts of some debt, and a lot of kicking the can down the road.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Feb 15th 2021
The Importance Of Taiwan
Across Europe and the US, car plants are getting shuttered because of a shortage of microchips from Asia. This storm is centered on Taiwan, which for decades has been an unsung contract supplier of electronics and chemicals. For those who had not noticed, its firms now dominate high-end global chip production and current industry dynamics mean this grip is only likely to intensify.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Feb 12th 2021
A New Super-Cycle?
A surge in commodity prices has led to hopes for a new “super-cycle”. Bulls say that commodities have been in the doghouse for a decade, ensuring limited new capacity additions, yet demand is now getting supercharged globally by easy monetary and fiscal policies. Bears retort that commodity investors have a case of the vapors, as the next phase of global growth, especially in China, will be less resource-intensive.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Feb 11th 2021
Vaccines, Efficacy And Variants
Despite volumes of new information and the lightning creation of vaccines promising a path out of the pandemic, uncertainty remains. Almost daily we are bombarded with a mix of good news (the vaccines work really well!) and bad (new mutations resist vaccines!) that make it hard to know whether we should rejoice or despair. This note provides a framework for assessing these persistent uncertainties.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Feb 10th 2021
Propping Up Property Sales
Housing sales growth is holding up well despite financial tightening and hawkish policymaker rhetoric. In this report, Rosealea explains why regulators are pressuring developers to cut prices, while increased household savings means more families can take advantage of these discounts. 2021 will therefore likely be a strong year for housing sales.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Feb 08th 2021
The Profit Cycle Has Peaked
China’s corporate profits rebounded in 2H20 after a horrific start to the year, but the profit cycle is now close to its peak. Looking past huge base effects, Thomas believes underlying growth will fade toward 10% in the first half of this year and zero in the second—not a bad macro outcome, but slower profits usually weigh on equity markets.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Feb 04th 2021
Six Reasons To Stay Bullish
Is the recent speculative mania the beginning of the end of the post-2009 bull market in stocks? Or is it only the end of the beginning? Anatole argues that today’s speculation is reminiscent of the later stages of dot-com bubble, but he remains a confirmed bull on global equities. In this paper he offers six reasons why this is no contradiction.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Feb 04th 2021
Falling Behind On Vaccination
Despite its early successes in containing Covid-19, China is lagging Western countries in rolling out a mass vaccination program. In this report, Ernan explains why Chinese policymakers are not treating mass vaccination as an urgent issue and why a slow vaccine rollout could result in a drag on economic growth in late 2021.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Feb 02nd 2021
The Crackdown On Fintech
Finance has been an exciting new frontier for China’s internet companies, as lax regulation and technological changes enabled a few years of rapid growth. This frontier era for fintech is now over. As Xiaoxi explains in this piece, China’s financial regulators are set on controlling what they now view as the overly risky growth of the sector.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Feb 01st 2021
Vaccine Slippage
It is looking likely that most countries will miss their Covid-19 vaccination targets for 2021. This creates a risk of slower than expected economic growth, especially in Europe which take half a year to emerge from its double-dip recession. Moreover, any activity dependent on international travel or large-scale gatherings will remain severely depressed until well into 2022.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Jan 29th 2021
Explaining The Interbank Spike
Short-term interbank rates surged to their highest levels in more than two years on Thursday after a surprising move by the central bank to drain liquidity from the market. In this Quick Take, Wei explains why this liquidity tightening does not signal a change in monetary policy, and why rates should return to normal over the coming weeks.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Cedric Gemehl, Didier Darcet
Jan 29th 2021
Webinar: French-Language Webinar, January 2021
With Europe being hit hard by a second wave of Covid-19 and facing fresh lockdowns, Charles and Cedric assessed the outlook for the region’s growth and inflation in both the short and medium term. The webinar also focused on portfolio construction work being done by our Paris team: quantitative head of research Didier and Charles trained their sights on behavioral finance and suggested a route map for managing money in a “post-Keynesian” world.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui, Rosealea Yao, Wei He
Jan 28th 2021
Webinar: The Outlook For China In 2021
China enters 2021 having achieved a world-leading recovery, but now faces a tricky balancing act to secure its economic trajectory. Ernan Cui, Rosealea Yao and Wei He discussed how the authorities are responding to the latest rebound in Covid cases, what their strategy is for dealing with a frothy property market, and how they will balance growth with financial stability.
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Gavekal Research
Thomas Gatley
Jan 27th 2021
The Sinification Of The Hong Kong Market
Even though the Hang Seng index fell -2.55% on Tuesday, Hong Kong is still the world’s best performing major stock market year-to-date. In Hong Kong’s media the run-up is attributed to waves of mainland Chinese money flowing into the city’s equities. In reality, Connect flows have not been the biggest force driving Hong Kong stocks higher in recent weeks. But structurally, flows of mainland capital are only going to become increasingly important...
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Jan 26th 2021
Supply-Chain Risks For The Covid Vaccine
The race to vaccinate the world in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic will be one of the most complex projects ever attempted. Most developed economies aim to fully vaccinate their adult population by year’s end. Dan outlines the manufacturing and logistical challenges involved the vaccine rollout
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dragonomics Team
Jan 25th 2021
Macro Update: Beyond The Boom
China’s unbalanced, industry-driven recovery from Covid has been very strong but is probably close to its peak. Meanwhile, renewed outbreaks are further delaying the normalization of consumer spending and services. In the latest edition of our regular chartbook, the Dragonomics team explains how these tensions will affect the economy in 2021.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Jan 22nd 2021
Restraining The New Fad In Tech
The Chinese government has responded quickly and negatively to community group buying platforms, the latest business-model fad among China’s consumer internet companies. In this report, Ernan explains why subsidized pricing on the platforms has drawn regulatory attention and how this will affect future growth prospects for China’s big tech firms.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Jan 22nd 2021
Risks In The Biden Era
In December, Anatole outlined 10 disparate risks that could derail the bull market in 2021. That was before the Democrats won full control of the US government, paving the way for approval of Joe Biden’s new super-size stimulus package. In light of the developments over the last month, Anatole reassesses his 10 risks.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave, Anatole Kaletsky, Will Denyer, Arthur Kroeber
Jan 22nd 2021
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, January 2021
A Democratic US administration is set to control all arms of the US government for the first time since 2010. Will this mean a fiscal blowout, causing big changes in the pricing of treasuries and the US dollar? Louis, Anatole and Will assess the possibilities.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky, Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews
Jan 20th 2021
Webinar: Europe’s Cruel Winter
As the pandemic intensifies across Europe growth prospects in the first quarter are dimming, but investors are focused on a potential economic reopening by the spring. In yesterday’s webinar, Anatole Kaletsky, Nick Andrews and Cedric Gemehl discussed whether markets are overly optimistic since the European Union seems to have botched its vaccine procurement strategy.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jan 20th 2021
The Logos, Idiotes And Demagogues
Charles revisits the idea of the Greek "logos", "idiotes", demagogues and citizens, and how the Greeks believed that those who controlled the logos—the language used to describe the world—ipso facto controlled the political system. Problems arise when a new, competing logos started to emerge.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Jan 19th 2021
Small Borrowers Still Struggling
Even after a dramatic economic recovery, many of China’s smallest businesses are still struggling. In this piece, Xiaoxi shows how the government’s financial-support measures did little to improve small businesses’ access to financing, which is already tightening. But the policies are helping banks avoid a potential spike in bad loans.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Jan 18th 2021
Biden’s United Front Against China
As the outgoing Trump administration exits with a flurry of executive actions directed against China, Beijing is not sitting around hoping for Joe Biden to spark a new era of détente with the US. The recent tightening of control in Hong Kong shows that President Xi Jinping has no intention of giving an easy early ride to a leader who has pledged to build a “united front of US allies and partners” to constrain a resurgent China. The European...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dragonomics Team
Jan 18th 2021
A Two-Speed Recovery
China’s Q4 GDP growth surpassed pre-Covid rates, with housing and manufacturing leading while services lagged and infrastructure investment slowed. In early 2021, this divergence is likely to continue as consumers stay home for the Chinese New Year and poor credit growth drags on infrastructure investment.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Jan 14th 2021
For Exports, It’s Stronger For Longer
China’s exports have been boosted by two side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic: a shift of consumer spending to goods from services, and the failure of manufacturing in other countries to get back to full capacity. How long can those advantages last? Thomas argues they will continue to boost exports through the first half of 2021.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Jan 13th 2021
New Ceilings For Property Financing
China’s policymakers are expanding their restrictions on bank financing of the property sector, imposing limits on mortgage lending in addition to curbs on borrowing by developers. In this report, Rosealea explains why the new regulations do not shift her expectations of flat property sales and a modest decline in construction activity in 2021.
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Gavekal Research
Simon Pritchard
Jan 13th 2021
The Squeeze Of Old Hong Kong
Last Wednesday Hong Kong police arrested scores of pro-democracy activists for joining forces to try and win a local parliamentary election and thereafter block government legislation. The use of a tough new national security law to suppress routine political organization threatens more international opprobrium that will further cut the city off from the Anglosphere.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Jan 11th 2021
Covid Headaches Continue
China diagnosed 527 new cases of Covid-19 in the first 10 days of 2021, mostly in Hebei province, in the biggest local outbreak since July 2020. In this Quick Take, Ernan explains why this outbreak is challenging China’s Covid-19 playbook and why its timing is particularly concerning ahead of the Chinese New Year.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber
Jan 08th 2021
Strategy Monthly: Darkness Before Dawn? The Covid Vaccine Outlook
As a new wave of Covid infections grips major economies, and social restrictions return, the hopes for a return to pre-pandemic normal rest on the rollout of vaccines. With vaccine production ramping up, most developed economies could reach herd immunity by late in 2021. But many emerging economies will take longer, and several risk factors could still derail the rollout.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Jan 08th 2021
Portfolio Construction Over The Next Two Years
On Thursday, Anatole set out his view that undivided Democratic Party control of both the executive and legislative branches of the US government opens the door for unconstrained Keynesian stimulus, which will be highly positive for the US economy and equities. It will probably come as little surprise to Gavekal clients that I should dispute whether such unconstrained Keynesianism will be good news either for the economy or for US equities
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Jan 07th 2021
Not As Hawkish As Feared
The People's Bank of China is one of the world’s most hawkish central banks—but just how hawkish will it be in 2021? Bond market investors worry that the PBOC, eager to normalize policy, will be pushed into hiking rates by higher inflation. In this piece, Wei argues those worries are misplaced, and that bond yields have more room to fall.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Jan 06th 2021
The Renminbi Races Out Of The Starting Gate
The renminbi gained 1% against the US dollar in the first two trading days of 2021, leading China’s central bank to signal a pushback against appreciation by tweaking foreign-lending limits. In this Quick Take, Wei explains that such moves are likely to slow than stop the currency’s gains, as fundamentals still favor the renminbi.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson
Jan 05th 2021
Decoding The Assault On Alibaba
The antitrust investigation into Alibaba, following close on the heels of the cancellation of the Ant IPO, has raised big questions about the changing political environment for Chinese internet companies. In this piece, Andrew considers the best- and worst-case scenarios, and concludes that at a minimum, growth prospects have dimmed.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Jan 04th 2021
Gravity Or Liquidity? Which Will Win In 2021?
In hindsight, 2020 showed that if three conditions are met, a stock can break free from the earth’s gravity, and lift off for destinations only sci-fi writers could have imagined. Consequently, one of the most important questions for investors in 2021 is whether such inter-galactic travel can continue. Or will the coming year instead see a shift in investor behavior, with gravity once again exerting its downward pull?
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Dec 22nd 2020
Goldilocks And The 10 Bears Of 2021
In recent years Anatole has written a series of articles describing 10 key risks for investors. He readily accepts that this year’s exercise was rendered redundant by the emergence of Covid-19 in January. Next year, however, he believes that a greater range of factors could weigh on markets and in this piece assesses them one by one.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Dec 18th 2020
A Looming Correction For Iron Ore
Iron ore prices hit an eight year high in early December in response to a tight steel market. Rosealea writes that this uptick in steel demand, likely due to China’s strong steel-intensive export figures, is unsustainable and should subside in the new year—resulting in a correction for iron ore prices in the coming months.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Dec 18th 2020
The Boom Of 2021
As he gazes into next year, Charles has reviewed some of his most trusted indicators and found that the US is moving towards an inflationary boom that should mean stronger growth, rising inflation and higher bond yields. If the Federal Reserve acts to crimp this adjustment in the price of money, he warns that the US dollar could tank.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Dec 17th 2020
The Road To Policy Normalization
China’s economy is almost back to normal after Covid-19, and that means economic policy will also normalize: the question is not whether, but how. In this piece, Wei argues that the most likely policy settings for 2021 will be somewhat tighter fiscal policy and a deceleration in total credit growth, but no increase in policy interest rates.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Dec 16th 2020
The Lure Of Korea In A Rotation
Hopes for a return to normality as Covid vaccines get rolled out have helped fuel a global rotation from growth to value equities, and from previous “Covid winners” to “Covid losers”. Due to its better pandemic management, clear policy headroom and exposure to the electronics sector, Asia has generally been a Covid winner. Hence, Udith Sikand and myself have argued that beaten-up non-Asian markets are the way to play this rotation (see Asia’s...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Dec 16th 2020
A Reluctant Executioner
MSCI announced on Tuesday the removal of 10 Chinese securities from its indexes in response to a US executive order. In this Quick Take, Thomas explains why MSCI’s narrow interpretation of the order leads to risk of more Chinese securities being added to the list, and how the decision adds to existing headwinds for Chinese equities.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dragonomics Team
Dec 15th 2020
Credit Has Peaked, Growth Has Not
China’s economic momentum continued to accelerate in November despite an October peak in credit growth, with exports and manufacturing investment taking the lead while more policy-dependent sectors plateaued. In this piece, the Dragonomics team explains why China is likely to maintain its strong economic growth through 1Q21.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 15th 2020
The 10 Important Changes Of The Past Year
Two years ago, 10-year treasury yields were falling (and trading below their 200-day moving average), oil prices were falling (and also below trend) and the US dollar was rising (and trading above its trend level). Today, the situation has reversed for all of these anchor prices in the global system. This profound change can be explained with reference to 10 tectonic shifts in the global economy.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang, Andrew Batson
Dec 14th 2020
The Re-Centralization Of Finance
China’s banking system has been steadily decentralizing for thirty years, with smaller and local banks gaining market share from the large, centrally controlled state banks. In this piece, Xiaoxi and Andrew show that this long-term trend has now come to a halt, and argue that the banking system will start to re-centralize in coming years.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rogier Creemers
Dec 10th 2020
Social Credit And Digital Governance
China’s social credit system is widely misunderstood as a totalitarian tool. The reality is that it is a relatively low-tech part of a sophisticated Communist Party strategy to use digital means to deliver both better governance and social control. In this 22-page DeepChina report, Rogier Creemers explains the truth behind the social credit myths.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Louis Gave, Arthur Kroeber, Thomas Gatley, Wei He, Dan Wang
Dec 09th 2020
Webinar: China And The World Economy In 2021
Arthur Kroeber and Dan Wang sketched out the likely course of the US-China rivalry under the new Biden administration; He Wei and Thomas Gatley analyzed key developments in China's economy and markets, and Gavekal CEO Louis Gave presented his views on the forces shaping global markets.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Dec 08th 2020
A New Reality For Commercial Property
Vacancy rates for office and retail space are picking up sharply this year despite a broad return to normality in China. In this report, Rosealea argues that Covid-19 accelerated an ongoing shift towards at-home work and entertainment. Developers must now grapple with the new reality that demand is unlikely to ever return to pre-Covid levels.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Dec 08th 2020
The Three Key Prices: The US Dollar
It is an axiom of Gavekal’s research that the starting point for looking at the global macro landscape is that three prices matter above all others: the 10-year US treasury yield, the price of oil, and the US dollar exchange rate. In the third of a three-part series, Louis examines the US dollar.
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Gavekal Research
Thomas Gatley
Dec 04th 2020
Sell A-Shares Into Strength
Over the last month, onshore Chinese equities have got swept up in the global rally. The CSI 300 gained 7% in November, surpassing July’s peak to set a new high for the year this week. And the broader Shanghai index is on the cusp of following. However, this is a rally running on fumes.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer, Vincent Tsui, Thomas Gatley, Udith Sikand, Cedric Gemehl
Dec 04th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, December 2020
The US equity market is seeing a switch from the winners of the pandemic like technology and online retail, to the beaten-up losers such as travel plays. At the same time, hopes for a strong economic recovery in 2021 are juicing up value stocks. Similar dynamics are being seen in other major markets. Our team of analysts discussed what happens next, and what’s in store in 2021.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Dec 03rd 2020
Access To Global Capital Has Peaked
After years of inflows via IPOs and foreign portfolio investment, the US is now moving to deny Chinese firms access to global capital. As a result, Thomas explains that the firms will instead have to rely on domestic markets for equity fundraising, which could cause a liquidity drag in onshore and Hong Kong equities.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Dec 01st 2020
Eroding The Implicit Guarantee
China’s financial regulators recently stepped in to calm a corporate bond market roiled by the unexpected default of a local state-owned enterprise. In this report, Wei argues that this reassurance does not translate to a reassertion of the implicit sovereign guarantee for local SOE debts; in fact, more local SOE defaults look likely for 2021.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave, Thomas Gatley
Nov 30th 2020
The Fate Of Chinese Listings In The US
Today, there are 365 Chinese companies listed on US markets. A handful of these have dual listings in Hong Kong, but for most, the US is their sole listing. Together, these 365 companies account for US$1.92trn of market capitalization. This increasingly looks like an anomaly. Why should Chinese companies choose to raise capital on Wall Street when they can tap the capital market in Hong Kong?
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Nov 30th 2020
Huawei's Slow Strangulation
The US government’s August decision to deny Huawei access to every advanced chip in the world was a death sentence for the firm, but its execution has not been swift. In this report, Dan outlines the uneven effects of the decision on Huawei’s different business lines and explains why any solution to the firm’s troubles will have to be political.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 27th 2020
The Importance Of The Renminbi
In days long gone by, the yen’s exchange rate affected asset prices around the world. Today, it is not the yen that investors need to watch, but the renminbi. And in the last few months the renminbi has been strengthening, with important implications for everything from global bond yields, through energy prices, to the relative performance of US growth and value stocks.
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Gavekal Research
Simon Pritchard, Tom Holland, Dan Wang, Vincent Tsui
Nov 26th 2020
Webinar: Hong Kong Under The National Security Law
Hong Kong has spent five months living under a tough national security law imposed on it from Beijing. The direct impact has been a sharp curtailment of opposition political activity that has sparked sanctions from the United States. Now, China has plans for more changes to Hong Kong's legal system, with a requirement for judges to be patriots. In yesterday’s webinar, Vincent Tsui, Dan Wang, Tom Holland and Simon Pritchard discussed the...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Nov 25th 2020
How Covid-19 Changed Chinese Consumers
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Nov 24th 2020
This Time Is Different For Industrial Policy
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.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 23rd 2020
Three Strikes And Still In
In the last three weeks, investors in Chinese assets have suffered a series of shocks, with the suspension of the Ant IPO, antitrust actions against China’s tech giants, and the high-profile default of a local state-owned enterprise. Louis examines what may be going on behind the scenes, and sets out how investors should interpret these successive shocks.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Nov 20th 2020
The Macro Implications Of Microfinance
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Nov 18th 2020
The Second Wave Of Bond Inflows
There was a record increase in foreign holdings of Chinese bonds in the second and third quarters of 2020, almost all of it from private-sector investors. In this report, Wei explains why foreign investors will likely continue to buy up Chinese bonds and why Chinese authorities appear relaxed about this second wave of inflows to the bond market.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang, Wei He
Nov 17th 2020
Cracks Appear In Local Support For Bonds
A missed debt payment last week by a local state-owned enterprise in Henan province has created turmoil in China's corporate bond market. In this report, Xiaoxi and Wei explain why the default undermined one of the market's fundamental supports and why investors are now likely to be more discerning between provinces.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dragonomics Team
Nov 16th 2020
Full Steam Ahead
Economic data released on Monday showed China’s continued economic normalization, with property sales and infrastructure investment outperforming expectations, industrial activity staying strong and the consumer recovery picking up. In this Quick Take, the Dragonomics team outlines why this environment is favorable for bonds and risky for equities.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Nov 16th 2020
After RCEP: A Tough Ask For Pivot 2.0
On Sunday, China signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. With the 15-nation trade agreement, Beijing has successfully positioned itself at the center of the region’s trade and investment networks. This will make it hard for US President-Elect Joe Biden to fulfill his pledge to place “America back at the head of the table” in international relations, at least in Asia.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang, Thomas Gatley
Nov 13th 2020
Another Trump Attack On Chinese Stocks
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.
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Gavekal Research
Arthur Kroeber, Andrew Batson, Dan Wang, Wei He, Thomas Gatley
Nov 13th 2020
Webinar: China After The Recovery
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson, Dan Wang, Ernan Cui
Nov 12th 2020
The Internet Is No Longer Exempt
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.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 11th 2020
China’s Departure From Past Standard Operating Procedures
China is emerging from the pandemic stronger than its big economic rivals in the West. It is an irony that the US and Europe are applying expansive Keynesian-type solutions of the type China has deployed in recent crises, but now seems to be rejecting. The result, Louis argues, may be that China starts to enjoy a "triple merit" scenario.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Nov 11th 2020
The Race To Decouple
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Nov 10th 2020
Housing & Construction Review 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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Arthur Kroeber
Nov 09th 2020
Fine-Tuning The US-China Rivalry
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.
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Gavekal Research
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Nov 05th 2020
Video: China's Grand Plan For The Next Two Decades
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. In this video, Gilliam cuts through the impenetrable ideological jargon to identify the key themes running through Beijing’s long term policy pronouncements.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Cedric Gemehl, Louis Gave, Didier Darcet
Nov 05th 2020
Webinar: US Election & Global Investment Roundtable (in French)
Charles Gave, Louis-Vincent Gave, Didier Darcet and Cedric Gemehl delved into the results of the US election, and discussed the latest impact of Covid-19 on the global economy and markets. Additionally, they presented Gavekal’s latest research on portfolio construction.
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Gavekal Research
Andrew Batson
Nov 04th 2020
Ant Stomped
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. It’s a lesson that big tech giants outside China may also need to take to heart, as they face increasing regulatory scrutiny from US and...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Nov 03rd 2020
The New Geostrategic Pressure Point
Investors today are overwhelmingly focused on the economic impact of the Covid pandemic and the possible effects of the US presidential election. Yet something happened over the summer that although not at all traumatic by comparison, may end up having much more far-reaching consequences for world geopolitics.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Nov 03rd 2020
A Surge In Earnings
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.
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Gavekal Research
Thomas Gatley, Wei He
Nov 02nd 2020
Strategy Monthly: Chinese Assets After The Recovery
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. The speed and strength of this early recovery was reflected in financial markets, with equities rallying hard, bonds selling off, and the renminbi appreciating on heightened capital inflows.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Oct 30th 2020
Video: Hong Kong's Resilience
Massive inflows of capital into Hong Kong’s financial system ahead of this week’s record-breaking US$34bn IPO for Chinese fintech giant Ant Group represent a major vote of investor confidence in Hong Kong’s future as a financial center, just months after many international commentators were writing the city’s obituary following Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law. Vincent explores the underpinnings of this confidence.
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Gavekal Research
Andrew Batson
Oct 30th 2020
The Competition For 2035 Begins
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Oct 28th 2020
Themes For The Coming Plan
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.
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Gavekal Research
Matthew Forney, Laila Khawaja
Oct 28th 2020
Webinar: China's Fintech Showdown
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. Matthew Forney and Laila Khawaja of Gavekal Fathom China addressed this tension and also the broader impact of regulation on the country's...
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 27th 2020
The Three Key Prices: 10-Year Treasury Yields
A core thesis for Louis is that in financial markets three prices matter above all others: the price of oil, the price of US dollars and the yield on 10-year US treasuries. In this second part of a three-part series, he addresses the bond market question. US treasuries are currently pricing in a highly deflationary future on both a cyclical and structural basis. Such an outcome would defy recent experience in the US bond market.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson
Oct 26th 2020
Macro Update: Back In Business
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Oct 22nd 2020
Banks Will Digest The Hit To Earnings
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Oct 20th 2020
The World’s Best Manufacturer
The strong performance of China’s manufacturing sector reflects both the country’s success in getting the virus under control as well as its long-established manufacturing strengths. In this report, Dan explains why multinationals are reluctant to leave a country they’ve built up to be the world’s best manufacturer.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui, Udith Sikand
Oct 20th 2020
Different Strokes For Different EM Folks
Last spring, key beneficiaries of the rich world’s fiscal and monetary largesse were emerging market economies, which enjoyed unprecedented policy flexibility that gave broad-based, if not universal, financial relief. The next turn in this crisis is, however, unlikely to float as many boats, as shown by divergent inflationary trends across EM economies.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Oct 19th 2020
A Return To Normality
China’s recovery story continues apace, with strong showings in exports, retail sales and manufacturing counteracting a softening in the property sector. In this Quick Take, the Dragonomics team explains why Beijing is therefore unlikely to conduct further policy easing or support major infrastructure investment for the rest of the year.
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Gavekal Research
Andrew Batson
Oct 16th 2020
Webinar: Understanding Chinese State Capitalism
The advance of the private sector and the retreat of the state sector has been central to China’s long transformation from an isolated socialist nation to a globally connected economy. Yet the notions of China’s private sector being either in the ascendency, or facing a squeeze in the statist Xi Jinping era are not born out by the facts. Andrew Batson discussed the findings in his recent major piece of research on this topic.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Oct 15th 2020
Funding The Future
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.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Oct 14th 2020
The Three Key Prices: Oil
In financial markets, there are three prices matter above all: the price of the US dollar, the yield on 10-year US treasuries, and the price of oil. Get the direction of these right, and the other pieces of the investment puzzle fall into place. In the first of a three-part series, Louis examines in depth what could cause the oil price to break out of its current trading range.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer
Oct 14th 2020
New Tech, Same Fiat Money (For Now)
This week saw seven western central banks and the Bank for International Settlements issue a joint report on central bank digital currencies. They come not to bury cash nor to undermine banks, but to modernize payments for a digital age. If so, the introduction of CBDCs is unlikely to upend the banking system and monetary policy, but would resemble the rollout of ATMs in the 1960s.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Oct 13th 2020
A Typology Of Bear Markets Based On Wicksellian Analysis
In half a century of doing financial analysis, Charles has acquired the core conviction that there is not one type of bear market, but two. Think of these as the gentle black bear-type downturn that is survivable and the highly-dangerous, big brown grizzly collapse that for many money managers proves fatal. In this piece, Charles seeks to map this insight with some analytical rigor.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Oct 12th 2020
Keeping It Super Simple
Let me start with President Donald Trump’s policies as I understand them. As a businessman, since taking office in 2017 his singular goal has been to keep US firms’ return on invested capital as high as possible. So, if Trump is reelected on November 3, I would expect more of the same. In contrast, a Joe Biden win would lower ROIC and cause the US dollar to fall against the euro.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Ernan Cui
Oct 12th 2020
What The Holiday Means For Consumption
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.
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Gavekal Research
Yanmei Xie, Louis Gave, Anatole Kaletsky
Oct 09th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, October 2020
Yanmei Xie discussed the US team’s assessment of risks surrounding the US election, Anatole Kaletsky explained the reasons for his return to bullishness and Louis Gave talked about global asset allocation and how to find “anti-fragile” assets.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Oct 08th 2020
The Phantom Mechanism
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.