CX Daily: A Metal Tycoon’s Liquidity Woes Disrupt China’s Copper Trade

Copper /

In Depth: A metal tycoon’s liquidity woes disrupt China’s copper trade

China’s top copper importer?was sued by a state-owned client?for 1 billion yuan ($148 million) due for undelivered contracts, adding to a liquidity crisis at a private company that has disrupted the country’s copper trade.

Xi’an-headquartered Maike Metal International Group Co. Ltd. was sued by Xiamen Xindeco Ltd., seeking repayment after Maike failed to fulfill parts of their electrolytic copper import contracts, Xindeco said last month in a statement.

China-Czech /

China warns incoming Czech leader over call with Taiwan’s Tsai

China?lodged stern representations?with the Czech Republic Tuesday after the nation's President-elect Petr Pavel held a phone conversation with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China “deplores and strongly opposes” the call between Pavel and Tsai, which constituted official contact with the Taiwan authorities and “serious interference” with China’s internal affairs, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.

FINANCE & ECONOMY

Economy /

China’s factory activity shrinks for sixth straight month, Caixin PMI shows

Activity in China’s manufacturing sector?contracted for the sixth consecutive month?in January as surging Covid-19 infections disrupted supply, demand and employees’ ability to work, a Caixin-sponsored survey showed Wednesday.

The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which gives an independent snapshot of the country’s manufacturing sector, came in at 49.2 in January, up from?49 the previous month. Readings lower than 50 signal contraction.

China’s economic activity?rebounds after reopening

Trust /

Embattled Anxin Trust approved for $1.3 billion share placement

Debt-laden Anxin Trust Co. Ltd.?won approval from?China’s top securities regulator to raise as much as 9 billion yuan ($1.3 billion) through a private share placement as part of its long-pending restructuring plan.

Anxin was cleared to sell as many as 4.38 million shares at 2.06 yuan apiece to Shanghai Di’an Investment Management Co. Ltd., the company said Monday in a filing. Shanghai Di’an is a special purpose vehicle set up by local state-owned companies and the operator of a state-backed bailout fund for trust companies.

Tax /

China doled out $622 billion of tax and fee relief to support businesses in 2022

China?provided tax and fee relief?worth more than 4.2 trillion yuan ($622 billion) in 2022, the country’s tax authority said, as the government ramped up efforts to help businesses weather an economic slowdown.

Micro and small enterprises as well as individual businesses were the biggest beneficiaries of the support, which included value-added tax refunds and tax and fee cuts, said Wang Daoshu, a deputy commissioner of the State Taxation Administration.

Quick hits /

Global central banks?increase gold buying to highest in 55 years

Hong Kong seeks to revive?crypto sector wrecked by FTX debacle

Wang Tao:?Economic activity gains ground during holiday, but nowhere near pre-Covid levels

BUSINESS & TECH

Sany Heavy Industry vehicles are parked in line near a construction site in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Oct. 10. Photo: VCG

Machinery /

Sany Heavy, Zoomlion warn of tumbling profits on Covid-hit economy

A slowing economy due to repeated Covid-19 outbreaks and subsequent lockdowns?delivered a one-two punch to?Sany Heavy Industry Co. Ltd. last year. China’s top construction-machinery manufacturer estimated an annual profit plunge of two-thirds as the property crisis also continued to weigh on results.

Shanghai-traded Sany — for which excavator sales are a major revenue driver — said that it expects 2022 net profit attributable to shareholders to be between 4 billion yuan ($592 million) and 4.6 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year drop of as much as 66.8%, according to an exchange filing Tuesday.

Housing /

China’s new home sales get off to a weak start in 2023

China’s housing market started 2023 with a whimper as demand remained sluggish for an industry that has been hit hard by a debt and confidence crisis,?industry data show.

The 100 largest Chinese developers by sales sold 354.3 billion yuan ($52.5 billion) of new properties in January, down 32.5% from a year earlier and down 48.6% from the previous month, according to a Tuesday note from China Real Estate Information Corp. (CRIC), a consultancy.

SPAC /

Chinese auto insurer plans U.S. listing with blank check company

Cheche Technology Inc., a money-losing Chinese auto insurtech firm,?plans to float?on the Nasdaq via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at a pre-money value of $760 million.

The Tencent Holdings-backed platform, which counts some of China’s largest insurers among its partners, said Monday that it reached the deal with Prime Impact Acquisition I, a so-called blank check company that is already trading in the U.S.

Quick hits /

Biden team weighs?fully cutting off Huawei from U.S. suppliers

SoftBank ex-COO to lead?Chinese phenom Shein in Latin America

Long Read /

What Jack Ma?taught me in 1999

GALLERY

Chapter closes for Sanlitun bar street