In today’s talking points: Face scanning poised to become China’s next big payment method; Expert expresses confidence in China’s financial strength; China considers crackdown on digital currency fundraising; China to be “more proactive and effective” in its fiscal policy to ensure economic growth.
Face scanning poised to become China’s next big payment method
Face-scanning technology may become the next big payment method in China, as it gains popularity amongst Chinese consumers. This development comes two years after Alibaba founder Jack Ma introduced the technology to the world, predicting that it would become one of China’s more popular payment methods.
To pay using the technology, customers simply need to stand in front of a face-scanning camera and have their face identified with biometrics. This provides the ultimate level of customer freedom as customers can shop without the burden of a mobile phone or wallet.
China is a world leader in the development and application of face-scanning technology, as part of the country’s rapid innovations across various sectors.
Read more at: China Daily
Expert expresses confidence in China’s financial strength
China is unlikely to face a financial crisis like that experienced by the United States in 2008, according to Zhu Ning, a senior Chinese economist from the National Finance Research Institute of Tsinghua University. China’s financial sector is highly regulated and the country’s household mortgage ratio is low, limiting systematic risks to the Chinese economy.
Zhu believes that moving forward supply-side structural reforms and economic rebalancing will be imperative for China’s sustained economic growth.
Read more at: China Daily
China considers crackdown on digital currency fundraising
Firms raising funds through digital currencies in initial coin offerings (ICO)s will become the new target by officials looking to regulate the sector. Investors looking to make quick money are drawn to the speculative nature of these currencies, with for example the value of bitcoins rising to US$4,500 per coin this year. This method of raising funds bypasses the traditional regulatory bodies such as the central bank, investment banks and stock exchanges, therefore circumventing the usual checks and regulations. Officials have already raided one conference about blockchain in Shanghai earlier this month with the event suspected to be “promoting pyramid schemes”, although the allegations were changed to the less severe offence of “fake promotion”.
Read more at: South China Morning Post
China to be “more proactive and effective” in its fiscal policy to ensure economic growth
China is looking to offset the impact on growth from its financial crackdown by implementing a pro-growth fiscal policy. To achieve this, one avenue the Ministry of Finance will pursue is to urge local governments to ramp up spending on approved projects to “release effects of fiscal funding support and policy support”, according to the Minister of Finance, Xiao Jie. This news comes despite China’s focus on financial risk prevention this year, with the ministry asserting that the current debt size remains controllable. “We will firmly block the back door of illegal debt raising to curb the new increase and open the front door to set the debt cap in line with regional development”, he said.
Read more at: South China Morning Post