The Sunday Mail
Manyika Kangai
China’s President Xi to skip G20 Summit
China’s President Xi Jinping will not attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in New Delhi, India on September 9 to 10 2023. China’s foreign ministry announced that Premier Li Qiang will attend the summit in Xi’s place during a press conference by spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday. Beijing has not provided a reason for the decision. This the first time that Xi Jinping will miss the landmark meeting since he became China’s leader.
Chinese developer Country Garden avoids default
Chinese developer Country Garden Holdings has paid a total of US$22,5 million in interest on two US dollar bonds on time, and completed a share issuance to repay loans to a creditor as the company takes steps to work out its 109 billion yuan (about US$14,9 billion) of liabilities coming due in the next 12 months. Country Garden has taken a series of steps to avert defaulting on its debt as a failure to pay could trigger a cross-default. The heavily indebted developer bought more time to re-organise its finances after it won sufficient support from creditors on a proposal to delay a debt payment on a yuan note last Friday. China’s three-year housing market slump has hurt sales at the country’s biggest developers, starving them of crucial cash flow to keep their businesses afloat and repay creditors.
China’s foreign trade dips
China’s imports and exports in yuan terms edged down 0,1 percent year-on-year to 27,08 trillion yuan (about US$3,76 trillion) in the first eight months of the year, according to official data released on Thursday by the General Administration of Customs. Exports grew 0,8 percent year-on-year to 15,47 trillion yuan (about US$2,15 trillion) for January-August, while imports declined 1,3 percent from one year earlier to 11,61 trillion yuan (about US$1,61 trillion). In August alone, the country’s foreign trade declined 2,5 percent from one year earlier but expanded 3,9 percent from the previous month. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China’s largest trade partner. China’s trade with ASEAN countries rose 1,6 percent year-on-year and accounted for 15,2 percent of the country’s total trade value. China’s trade with the European Union fell 1,5 percent from a year earlier, while its trade with the United States declined 8,7 percent year-on-year.
Tesla’s Shanghai factory achieves milestone
The two millionth vehicle produced by Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai rolled off the assembly line on Wednesday reaching a new milestone, according to the company. In January 2019, Tesla’s Shanghai plant, the carmaker’s first gigafactory outside the United States, began construction, and turned out the first vehicle in December of that year. The Shanghai factory produced its first one million cars in over 30 months, while achieving its second one million vehicles in less than 13 months. Song Gang, the senior director of manufacturing at Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai said that the increase in Tesla’s production speed is inseparable from the superior business environment in Shanghai, especially the Lin-gang special area of the Shanghai pilot free trade zone. Currently, Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai has an industrial chain localisation rate of more than 95 percent, with 99,99 percent of the employees being Chinese. Song said that the plant has formed an ecosystem of new energy auto parts, such as batteries, automotive chips, and precision machining, in the Yangtze River Delta region.
China triggers a home buying spree
A policy change announced by China’s government, identifying people with no local ownership of residential properties as first-time home-buyers giving them access to cheaper mortgage loans and lower upfront payments has triggered a home buying spree. As of Monday, 15 Chinese cities, including the four top-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, had announced their versions of policy adjustments for defining first-time homebuyers, according to the Zhuge Real Estate Data Research Centre. First-time home-buyers are permitted to take mortgage loans by making a 35 percent down payment, compared with the 70 percent requirement for second-time buyers. They also enjoy a preferential mortgage rate which is 0,7 percentage points lower than the standard. Aggregate transaction volumes in the primary and secondary markets in Beijing and Shanghai jumped by 100 percent and 200 percent, respectively, compared with the previous weekend, according to initial data from Centaline China Research. China hopes to boost home sales and stabilise the overall market.
*Manyika Kangai has over 15 years of experience facilitating and advising on China-Africa trade and investment deals. He is dedicated to helping African businesses and governments realise the full potential of the vast opportunities China presents
