Tag: High Net Worth Individuals

China’s Property Crisis Blew Up Investments That Couldn’t Lose

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One of China’s largest investment firms, Citic Trust, had a clear pitch to investors when it was aiming to raise $1.7 billion to fund property development in 2020: There is no safer Chinese investment than real estate. The trust, the investment arm of the state-owned financial conglomerate Citic, called housing “China’s economic ballast” and “an indispensable value investment.” The money it raised would be put toward four projects from Sunac China Holdings, a major developer. Three years later, investors who put their money in the Citic fund have recouped only…

In China, It’s Time to Splurge Again, and the Luxury Industry Is Relieved

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This time last year, Shanghai — China’s capital of fashion and luxury — was in the throes of a ruthlessly enforced Covid lockdown. The city’s glittering high-end malls and avenues lined with flagship stores stood practically empty. Today it is a different story. Huge crowds on a recent weekend flocked to top retail destinations on or near Nanjing Road, the hub of glamour in China ever since the country’s first large department stores began to open there in 1917. “I splurge more extravagantly,” Sunny Zhang, 24, said as she waited…

Bao Fan, Star Banker, Goes Missing in China

Chin@Strategy

Bao Fan, a renowned investment banker in China, has disappeared and is unreachable, raising concerns that Beijing’s crackdown on the country’s business elite is continuing. In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, China Renaissance Holdings said that it has been unable to contact Mr. Bao, the company’s chairman and chief executive. China Renaissance said its board was “unaware” of any information that indicated his disappearance was tied to the company’s operations. The company’s share price plunged on the news, falling 28 percent on Friday. The disappearance…

Entrepreneurs Flee China’s Heavy Hand: ‘You Don’t Have to Stay There’

Chin@Strategy

“Singapore will not crack down on a company or an industry outside its legal framework,” said Chen Yong, founder of Pionex, a cryptocurrency exchange, who moved there from Beijing in 2021. “Its policies have more continuity.” Mr. Chen and others I met in Singapore said they had no intention of moving to Hong Kong, despite that city’s enthusiastic attempts to woo people like them in recent months. For decades, Hong Kong played the role of safe haven for mainland entrepreneurs because of its autonomy from China. That crumbled after Beijing…

Wall Street Is Finally Getting Access to China. But for How Long?

Chin@Strategy

For decades, American banks have been eager to expand their business in China, the world’s second-largest economy. They’re finally getting their way — just as a spiraling corporate debt crisis threatens to rock the country’s financial system and China’s central government takes a stronger hand with big businesses. In July, Citigroup became the first foreign bank to win approval to open a custody business in China, essentially acting as a bank for Chinese investment funds. In August, JPMorgan Chase got permission from the Chinese authorities to take full ownership of…

China’s Xi Pressures Tycoons With ‘Common Prosperity’ Talk

Chin@Strategy

Four decades ago, Deng Xiaoping declared that China would “let some people get rich first” in its race for growth. Now, Xi Jinping has put China’s tycoons on notice that it is time for them to share more wealth with the rest of the country. Mr. Xi says the Communist Party will pursue “common prosperity,” pressing businesses and entrepreneurs to help narrow the stubborn wealth gap that could hold back the country’s rise and erode public confidence in the leadership. Supporters say China’s next phase of growth demands the shift.…