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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.
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Gavekal Research
Wei He
Oct 05th 2020
Flows Favor The Renminbi
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.
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Gavekal Research
Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews, Anatole Kaletsky
Oct 01st 2020
Webinar: Europe In The Second Wave
Yesterday Cedric Gemehl, Nick Andrews and Anatole Kaletsky joined Tom Holland to discuss what's going on in Europe. Topics ranged from how the economy is fairing in the second wave of the outbreak, what that means for asset prices, and also where Brexit fits into all this.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson
Oct 01st 2020
The State Never Retreats
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.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Sep 30th 2020
The Evergrande Effect
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.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller
Sep 29th 2020
China’s Belt And Road Looks To Bounce Back
Even before the pandemic, it had become a common refrain to write off the Belt and Road Initiative. After foreign loans and construction peaked in 2017, China’s global infrastructure powerplay lost momentum. US-led criticism of Beijing’s “debt trap diplomacy” spread anxiety, forcing Xi Jinping to pledge reform. Then, when Covid struck, hundreds of BRI projects ground to a halt. However, Tom argues that it is too soon to dismiss the initiative:...
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Sep 28th 2020
Another Strike Against Semiconductors
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.
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Gavekal Research
Andrew Batson, Dan Wang
Sep 24th 2020
Webinar: Taking Stock Of US-China Decoupling
In yesterday’s webinar, Andrew Batson presented an overview of where the Chinese economy is going and how the relationship with the US is evolving, and Dan Wang addressed recent US actions in the technological rivalry between the two countries, particularly the latest executive orders on WeChat and TikTok.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Sep 24th 2020
The China Inc. Annual Report 2020
After a historically disastrous quarter, Chinese companies are now enjoying a V-shaped rebound—but what is driving this bounce, and how sustainable is it? In his annual chartbook, Thomas answers these and other questions, dissecting the impact of Covid-19 on China’s corporate sector across sales, margins, profits, cashflow, capex and leverage.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Sep 21st 2020
Caution Prevails In US Attack On Apps
Last month President Trump issued orders that threatened massive disruption to two of China’s biggest technology companies. But the Commerce Department’s final decision on WeChat was less extreme than feared, and Trump’s blessing of a deal to avert a ban on TikTok signals a promising shift in the political calculus.
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Gavekal Research
Vincent Tsui
Sep 18th 2020
Asia’s Winners In The US-China Tech War
The US government has stepped up its campaign against China’s leading technology companies, and already the measures against Huawei are taking effect. This threatens to severely disrupt global electronics supply chains, but creates opportunities for companies elsewhere in Asia. Vincent assesses who stands to benefit.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Sep 17th 2020
Risks To The Consumer Recovery
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.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave
Sep 16th 2020
The Challenge Of Valuing Gold
Gold ranks as the ultimate “scarcity asset”, as its value is dictated not by its utility but because it is rare. Valuing such assets is tough as there is no “underlying value” to reference and prices are driven by the immediate supply and demand situation. Yet, in periods when both government budget deficits and monetary aggregates have rapidly grown, gold has historically outperformed—and it is doing so now.
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Gavekal Research
Andrew Batson, Thomas Gatley
Sep 16th 2020
When Export Strength Is A Sign Of Weakness
China’s manufacturers are back to normal, and then some. Exports and manufacturing output are running faster than their pre-pandemic trend in 2019, even as global trade is contracting. In this piece, Andrew and Thomas explain what’s driving those strong numbers, and why they are actually a sign of continued weakness in the global economy.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley, Rosealea Yao, Wei He
Sep 15th 2020
A Booming Recovery
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.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Sep 11th 2020
Of Gold And Gold Miners
In recent weeks, attention has focused on the surge, and subsequent correction, in US technology stocks. Yet an asset class that has greatly outperformed the Nasdaq 100 this year is gold-mining equities. In this piece, Charles seeks to develop firmer investment rules for managing gold and gold-mining stocks within a portfolio.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Rosealea Yao
Sep 11th 2020
Red Lines For Real Estate
China’s central bank and housing ministry are putting together new restrictions on the leverage of major real-estate developers by drawing three “red lines” for the firms. In this report, Rosealea explains why regulators are targeting individual developers, as well as why she feels these red lines will have limited macro impact.
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Gavekal Research
Will Denyer, Anatole Kaletsky
Sep 11th 2020
Webinar: From Bearish To (Conditionally) Bullish
Anatole and Will presented their views on the efficacy of US fiscal and monetary policy in response to the Covid crisis, and outlined the prospects for the economy and asset markets.
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Gavekal Research
Tom Miller, Udith Sikand
Sep 10th 2020
Pained Tales From The Hills
On Monday, for the first time since 1975, gunshots were fired on the disputed Himalayan border between India and China.Hundreds of incidents occur along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control every year, but this year’s skirmishes are the most dangerous for at least five decades.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Sep 09th 2020
The Open-Source Moment Arrives
Most of the US government’s efforts to hinder China’s technological progress have focused on hardware, mainly semiconductors. But software is also now a front in the US-China tech conflict. As Dan explains in this piece, those tensions could make open-source software, which is free from most legal restrictions, even more globally important.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave, Cedric Gemehl, Didier Darcet
Sep 09th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable (in French), Sept 2020
In a turbulent economic environment, Louis sought to identify assets with “anti-fragile” qualities; Cedric deciphered the message from European markets; Didier Darcet refreshed refresh an old Gavekal framework with “Four Quadrants 2.0” and Charles moderated the discussion.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Sep 08th 2020
Victory Over The Virus
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.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Sep 08th 2020
Desperately Seeking Anti-Fragility (Part II): In The Eye Of The Beholder
Previously, Louis outlined the four asset classes that investors appear to regard as anti-fragile, now that US treasuries no longer fit the bill. With each of these four asset classes enjoying a roaring bull-run, today Louis examines the typical life cycle that lifts an asset class from unloved hell to anti-fragile heaven.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave, Will Denyer
Sep 04th 2020
Webinar: Global Investment Roundtable, September 2020
Charles Gave, Louis Gave and Will Denyer joined Arthur Kroeber at the global investment roundtable to discuss what's going on in the global economy. Charles identified three big trends that will affect the investment environment in the long term, Will gave an in-dept update on the US economy, and Louis examined where to find assets with “anti-fragile” properties.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Sep 03rd 2020
Restraint And Retaliation
As the US government has rolled out ever more actions targeting Chinese firms, China has exercised restraint and has mostly opted not to retaliate in kind. As Dan explains, the government is taking the long view on the economy rather than pandering to nationalist outrage. But China is also developing legal tools that could be used to hurt US firms.
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Gavekal Research
Anatole Kaletsky
Sep 03rd 2020
Why I Was Right To Turn Bullish
Previously, Anatole tried to explain why he had abandoned the bearish view on equities. We will not know for a long time whether any of his explanations make sense, but Jerome Powell’s speech about the Federal Reserve’s new operating philosophy bolstered his confidence in a once-in-a-generation economic regime change.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave, Louis Gave
Sep 03rd 2020
Strategy Monthly: Eight Questions, 11 Answers
With US equities once again at record highs and the Fed promising to keep rates nailed to the floor, it is time to ask hard questions of the bull market that won’t die. That interrogation is conducted by Charles and Louis Gave. In these strange times, the case for owning anti-fragile assets has rarely been stronger, they contend. Four stand out for having weathered the pandemic and should be treated seriously.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Wei He
Aug 31st 2020
The Experiment With Sectoral Monetary Policy
Central banks usually concern themselves with the economy in the aggregate. The People’s Bank of China is now experimenting with a disaggregated approach, minimizing changes in overall policy and instead directing the flow of credit to specific sectors. In this piece, Wei considers whether this experiment can work, and where rates are headed.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 28th 2020
An Acceptable Amount Of Chaos
The first batch of 18 firms on Shenzhen’s tech-oriented ChiNext board under new registration-based IPO regulations exhibited exceptional levels of price volatility this week after their Monday debut. In this Quick Take, Thomas explains why this volatility is to be expected in Chinese equities and might even be an improvement on the status quo.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Andrew Batson, Dan Wang
Aug 27th 2020
The Dimensions Of Decoupling In 2020
The “decoupling” of the US and Chinese economies that began with a trade war has now spread to almost all aspects of the relationship, with the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the process. In this chartbook, Andrew and Dan show what decoupling looks like so far in 2020, using data on flows of trade, investment, technology, finance and people.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Gilliam Collinsworth Hamilton
Aug 25th 2020
Understanding Dual Circulation
Top leader Xi Jinping is now promoting a new slogan—dubbed “dual circulation”—to manage China's significant dependencies on the global economy. In this report, Gilliam explains how this does not mean the country is turning inward, but rather trying to gain more control over its long-term growth without losing its role as an international hub.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Aug 21st 2020
Climbing Up The Smartphone Smiling Curve
Chinese advances in hardware technology have increased the country’s contribution to the global smartphone supply chain. In this report, Dan explains how Chinese firms have increased their value-added in both innovation and branding. Now, he suggests, the main headwinds for Chinese smartphones are no longer technological, but geopolitical.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 20th 2020
Headwinds Build For Equities
Chinese equities tapped on their ceiling this week but have been unable to break through, despite both surprisingly positive economic data and rebounding corporate earnings. In this piece, Thomas explains how increasingly adverse liquidity conditions are keeping a downward pressure on the markets which is unlikely to lift in the short term.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Aug 18th 2020
A Death Sentence For Huawei
The US government has passed a death sentence on Huawei. The questions now are whether it will choose to suspend that sentence, and whether China will retaliate by punishing major US companies. The likely answers, says Dan, are no and no. Huawei is probably finished as a maker of 5G network equipment and smartphones once its inventories run out early next year.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Aug 17th 2020
Don’t Call It A Bailout
China’s government is finally rolling out a plan to aid small banks, the weakest links in the nation’s financial system. But don’t call it a bailout, Xiaoxi argues in this piece: while the government will replenish RMB200bn in capital, the money will mostly support relatively solid banks. The truly troubled banks will be shuttered or acquired.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 14th 2020
Huawei And The Roads Of The Future
China is engaged in an imperial project that will not be typified by territorial conquest, but by “road building”. This is done to bring commodities to the heart of the empire at the cheapest cost, while higher value-added finished goods are pushed out to its outer realms. It is no coincidence that a common saying for Europeans is that “all roads lead to Rome’”.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley, Rosealea Yao, Wei He
Aug 14th 2020
Another Leg Up For Growth
After plateauing in Q2, China’s economic activity is stepping up in Q3, powered by demand in housing, infrastructure and exports, and a lessening drag in consumer services. In this Quick Take, Thomas, Rosealea and Wei explain how these factors will assist the country as it continues down its path back to economic normalcy.
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Gavekal Research
Charles Gave
Aug 12th 2020
Building A New System
On Monday, Charles argued that developed economies’ moves to nationalize both the creation of money and the distribution of credit would degrade the unit-of-account function played by fiat currencies in many markets. Today, he outlines new monetary mechanisms that are likely to replace, or at least live alongside, fiat currencies.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 11th 2020
What US-China Decoupling Means For The US Dollar
Almost all of the world’s commodity trade is done in US dollars, so any commodity-importing country must keep much of its central-bank reserves in US currency. The fact that China, the world’s largest commodity importer, pays for these imports using another nation’s currency was an anomaly even when the US and China got along. As US hostility towards Beijing increases, this raises four possible scenarios.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Arthur Kroeber
Aug 11th 2020
Hawks In The Driver’s Seat
The China hawks are at the wheel in the Trump administration and driving as fast as they can. In this report, Arthur outlines the many tactics being employed by hardliners in the White House to lock in an adversarial stance against China ahead of the US elections. However tense things have been so far, even tenser times lie ahead.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Dan Wang
Aug 07th 2020
Taking On Tencent
President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Thursday imposing restrictions on Tencent and ByteDance, two of China’s biggest software giants. In this report, Dan explains how the broad language in the orders might end up blocking any US person or company from working with the firms, dealing a major blow to their operations.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 07th 2020
How To Pay For Sin In The Future?
Just as success has many fathers, there are many possible explanations for the upside breakout in gold prices. Obvious explanations include a rapid rise in monetary aggregates across the OECD, the fall in the US dollar and growing US-China tensions. An overlooked explanation is the demise of physical cash as a liquid and easily transportable asset.
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Gavekal Research
Udith Sikand
Aug 06th 2020
Emerging Markets And The Dollar
A weakening US dollar is usually an unalloyed positive for emerging markets, so it is no surprise that their assets have rallied since the March 23 bottom in global markets—equities are up 45%, while bonds (both US dollar and local currency-based indexes) have gained 20%. Happy days indeed, but the next stage of the EM rally is likely to be more exacting for investors.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Thomas Gatley
Aug 06th 2020
Leading The Way In Export Recovery
Chinese exports have outperformed expectations due to booming sales of goods related to Covid-19 and Chinese manufacturers staying open when their international counterparts were forced to suspend production. In this report, Thomas explains why China's export growth will continue to flatten in H2 as global trade catches up.
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Gavekal Research
Louis Gave
Aug 05th 2020
Tech As The Battlefield Of The Unfolding Cold War
Despite technology issues sitting at the heart of the great-power struggle between the US and China, tech stocks continue to brush off geopolitical tensions. Louis is concerned that the market's assumptions don't line up with reality on three counts. It all adds up to a bad brew for tech.
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Gavekal Dragonomics
Xiaoxi Zhang
Aug 05th 2020
Bringing Back Volatility
Cleaning up the messy world of wealth-management products is still a key mission in China’s financial de-risking campaign, even if the PBOC has now had to give banks another year to work on it. In this piece, Xiaoxi explains how the regulatory crackdown is pushing the risks hidden in WMPs out into the open, increasing market volatility.
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Gavekal Research
Dan Wang
Aug 04th 2020
The Assault On Chinese Tech
After a whirlwind of negotiations, the US government may have succeeded in forcing the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a US company. The US earlier used national-security grounds to restrict the business of Huawei. Both companies still have large domestic businesses, but US government actions over the past year may mark a peak for the global expansion by Chinese tech firms.
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