China rejects WHO plan to further investigate Covid-19 origin July 22, 2021 A senior Chinese health official rejected the next stage of a World Health Organisation investigation into the origin of Covid-19, which plans to audit labs and markets in the city of Wuhan. Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said in a press conference in Beijing that he was taken aback by a hypothesis [...]
Bitcoin tumbles below $30k as cryptocurrency markets see major falls July 20, 2021 The world’s leading cryptocurrency has fallen below the major psychological mark of $30,000 as a market slump across the board continues to sting all major cryptocurrencies.
Tencent pushes British gaming group Sumo to hit $1.27bn valuation in bid to buy July 19, 2021 Chinese tech giant Tencent has pushed the valuation of video game group Sumo to hit $1.27bn today in its bid to buy the British firm. Sumo’s shareholders will gain 513p per share, Tencent said, at a 43 per cent premium to Sumo’s last closing price of 358p. The British video game group, behind games like [...]
China places state investigators in Didi’s offices to conduct security probe July 16, 2021 Beijing’s heavyweight state spy industry and six other government departments have swooped on ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing’s offices to conduct a security investigation. The bold move comes after Chinese authorities opened an investigation into Didi for allegedly violating user privacy, just days after its $4.4bn listing in New York last month. As of yet, there [...]
Man City owner raises almost half a billion to fund further expansion – reports July 16, 2021 City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City and a host of other clubs across the world, has raised almost half a billion-worth of debt capital according to reports this morning. The Group has raised $650m (£470m) to finance international ambitions, according to sources who spoke to the Financial Times. The seven-year package has been [...]
Government slammed for being in ‘an unholy mess’ over Chinese takeover of UK’s largest chip plant July 15, 2021 Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith warned the Government is in an “unholy mess” over its approach to business deals involving China, particularly with regards to the Chinese takeover of the UK’s largest chip plant. He accused ministers of running a “project kowtow” by failing to block the sale of the British microchip manufacturer [...]
Global investors snap up more than $800bn Chinese assets July 14, 2021 Investors around the world have bought more than $800bn Chinese stocks and bonds at a record pace, despite Beijing’s geopolitical rivalry with international states. Global investors have poured into Chinese markets, in spite of huge political tensions stemming from Beijing’s repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, erosion of Hong Kong freedoms, and battles with the US [...]
Alibaba to launch £186m venture fund for startups in Southern China July 13, 2021 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba announced said today it will launch a HK$2bn (£186m) venture fund to support startups in the Greater Bay Area of southern China. Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund (AEF) will be an anchor investor for the new fund, which will target startups in the region focusing on sustainability, deep tech, health tech, [...]
City A.M. TV: A market snapshot July 12, 2021 Last week’s price action left more questions unresolved than answered. Was Thursday’s weakness the start of a new pullback? Was Friday’s rally a dead cat bounce, or the start of a renewed uptrend? Have US 10 year bonds now put in their yield low? Indeed in the UK the pattern was similar with marked weakness [...]
China to clampdown on overseas listings July 10, 2021 Chinese firms with data on more than 1m users will face security checks before they can list on foreign stock exchanges, the country’s digital regulator said today. The step comes just days after the Chinese government said that new steps were needed to keep track of overseas listings, which had gone unpoliced. The security review [...]