In today’s talking points: Chinese giant eyes off Australian financial services expansion; Moody’s gives stable outlook for Chinese financial institutions through 2018; China to ease limitations on foreign banks; Foreign Direct Investment in China increases.
Chinese giant eyes off Australian financial services expansion
Chinese financial services juggernaut Ant Financial looks set to begin extending its reach into the Australian market. As the largest financial technology company in the world, AD operates a number of mobile payment and lifestyle platforms including AliPay. The company has worked with Westfield to launch a special ‘Double 12” global shopping festival, offering discounts to consumers across December and early January. Australian country manager George Lawson hopes the partnership will increase the number of retailers utilising AliPay, following its Australian launch in 2015.
Read more at: Financial standards
Moody’s gives stable outlook for Chinese financial institutions through 2018
Moody’s Investors Service says that its outlook for financial institutions in China throughout 2018 is stable, due to strengthening government regulations on the industry and stable economic growth. Moody’s says that liquidity within the economy will stay broadly stable, with a tightening bias. The central bank’s increasing use of liquidity facilities will improve its monetary management and, the banks’ funding structures will improve, because of their lower reliance on short-term wholesale funding.
Read more at: Moody’s
China to ease limitations on foreign banks
Foreign banks will soon be permitted to take retail yuan deposits and trade in government bonds, following a statement by the China Banking Regulatory Commission on Wednesday. In addition, it stated it would abolish waiting periods imposed on banks before they could start conducting business in yuan, and adjusting the requirements on operating capital management. At present, foreign banks have only a 1.4% share in the Chinese market, with regulations previously imposed to protect domestic institutions. The changes come in addition to a recent series of amendments, thought to be designed to protect against financial risks as well as improve supervision.
Read more at: Reuters
Foreign direct investment in China increases
According to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, FDI in China in 2017 has increased by 9.8% as of the end of November, reaching a total of 803.62 billion yuan. Since the start of 2017, FDI in the service sector has increased by 13.5% to 582.75 billion, while the manufacturing sector went up by 0.2%, to a total of 207.76 billion yuan. High-tech manufacturing was a key area of FDI growth, increasing by 9.9%. The boost is thought to be attributed to effective policy changes made over the course of the year, increasing the confidence of foreign investors in the Chinese market, as well as an increase in the number foreign-funded companies.
Read more at: Xinhua