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IFF Newsletter Issue 57

TIME:2022-12-30

 

From the Editor

The International Finance Forum (IFF) 2022 Annual Meeting was successfully held in Guangzhou between December 2 and 4. Under the theme of “The Ever-Changing World: Reshaping Our Shared Future”, nearly 200 political and finance dignitaries, economists and policymakers discussed Chinese and world economic outlooks in 2023, the challenges the world faces and offered possible solutions to these issues during the three-day online meeting.

In a major move, the National Health Commission of China announced on Monday that the country will scrap quarantine requirement for inbound travelers from Jan.8, while outbound travels of Chinese nationals will be restored in an an orderly manner. Searches for international flights by Chinese users surged after the announcement, according to media reports. 

US President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.66 trillion spending bill, which includes provision that shortens US-listed Chinese companies’ delisting timeline to two years. Spain on Tuesday announced a 10 billion euros aid package to ease inflation pain. 

The IFF will continue to bring the latest China news and international development. We wish you a Happy and Healthy 2023!

 

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The International Finance Forum (IFF) 2022 Annual Meeting was successfully held in Guangzhou between December 2 and 4. Under the theme of “The Ever-Changing World: Reshaping Our Shared Future”, nearly 200 political and finance dignitaries, economists and policymakers discussed Chinese and world economic outlooks in 2023, the challenges the world faces and offered possible solutions to these issues during the three-day online meeting.

Guests spoke at the meeting include António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),  Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister, Singapore, Henry Paulson, Former Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Ho Hau Wah, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, and Zhou Xiaochuan, IFF Chairman of General Assembly.  Jin Liqun, President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Mari Ella Pangestu, Managing Director of Development Policy &Partnership at the World Bank, John Waldron, President of Goldman Sachs, Mark Tucker, Chairman of HSBC and David Shwimmer, CEO of London Stock Exchange Group also joined the discussions. 

The Annual Meeting was widely covered by international and Chinese media and attracted thousands of online participants from around the world. 

 

 

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China News 
 
 

 

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China to scrap quarantine for international travelers  

China will cancel quarantine requirement for passengers traveling from abroad from January 8, the National Health Commission (NHC) announced on Monday. 

The NHC also said overseas travels for Chinese nationals will be resumed in an orderly manner. 

China will also downgrade management of Covid-19 to Class B infectious disease on January 8. 

Travelers entering China will still need to present a negative PRC test 48 hours before departure. 

Searches for international flights by Chinese users on travel sites surged after the announcement ,according to media reports. 

 

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China's industrial profits drop 3.6% in Jan-Nov  

The profits of China’s industrial companies fell 3.6% in the January-November period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. 

The drop represents a further slump of industrial profits as the profits of industrial companies decreased 3% in the January-October period. 

A rebound in Covid cases and weak demands have slowed down industrial production in November, said NBS’s senior statistician Zhu Hong. 

Of the different sectors, private firms and foreign enterprises saw the biggest drop in profits in the period while state-owned enterprises managed to grow at a razor-thin profit of 0.5%. 

 

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China's FDI up 9.9% in the first 11 months  

China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) grew 9.9% in yuan terms  in the first 11 months of the year from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland reached 1.16 trillion yuan in the January-November period. The inflow in US dollar terms grew 12.2% to $178.08 billion. 

China’s non-financial outbound direct investment rose 7.4% in the first 11 months from a year ago. 

 

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China's retail sales shrink in November   

China’s retail sales in November dropped 5.9% from a year ago, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. 

Retail sales in the January-November period fell 0.1% to 39.92 trillion yuan. 

Catering was hit the hardest in November, down by 8.4%. Catering revenues in the January-November period fell 5.4% while retail sales of goods fell 0.5% in the same period. 
 
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China's emission trading scheme surpasses 10 bln mark 

China’s national emissions trading scheme surpassed 10 billion yuan mark in total transactions last week, according to Chinese media reports.

The trading volume reached 10.12 billion yuan by last Thursday, according to the Shanghai Environmental and Energy Exchange, which overseas the scheme.

The scheme currently regulates 2,162 companies from China’s power generation sector, which emit 4.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, according to South China Morning Post.
 
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Morgan Stanley raises China 2023 growth outlook 

American bank Morgan Stanley raised its forecast for China’s economic growth on the country’s reopening. 

The bank raised its forecast for China’s gross domestic product in 2023 to 5.4% from its previous outlook of 5%. 

 

Newsletter
International News 
 
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Biden signs $1.7 trillion spending bill  

US President Joe Biden has signed the $1.7 trillion spending bill into law on Thursday. 

The US House of Representatives passed the funding bill which includes record military funding and over $45 billion in aid to Ukraine last Friday.

The bill, which funds the government through September 30, provides $858 billion in military funding and more than $772 billion for domestic programs, according to the New York Times.

“The bipartisan funding bill advances key priorities for our country and caps off a year of historic bipartisan progress for the American people,” Biden said in a statement.   
 
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US shortens timeline for Chinese companies’ audit compliance  

US has shortened the delisting process of US-listed Chinese companies to two years from three years if they fail to grant US regulators full access to their audit papers. 

The shortened timeline came as part of the 1.66 trillion spending bill for the fiscal year of 2023. 

The provision will affect about 200 companies from Hong Kong and China that trade on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ, according to Bloomberg. 

The acceleration came after US audit regulator, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said on December 15 that it has secured complete access to inspect China-based audit firms for the first time. 

China and the US reached landmark audit deal in August, which allows US auditors to inspect China-based accountants. 

 

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Japan revises up 2023 growth forecast to 1.5%  

The Japanese government revised up its growth outlook for the next fiscal year on the expectation of stronger domestic demand. 

Japan’s GDP is projected to expand 1.5% in the next fiscal year starting in April, up from the previous forecast of 1.1% in July, according to Japanese media NHK news. 

Private consumption is expected to grow 2.2% as more companies will raise wages, according to NHK. 

 

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Spain announces 10 bln euros package to ease inflation  

The Spanish government announced on Tuesday a 10 billion euros worth of measures to ease inflation. 

The package includes a one-off grant of 200 euros to 4.2 million households with annual incomes up to 27,000 euros and the extension of tax cuts for energy bills in the first half of 2023, Reuters reported. 

The government will scrap the value added tax (VAT) on essential foods including breads, milk, fruit and vegetables and cut VAT on pasta and cooking oils by half to 5%. 

It’s Spain’s third aid package of the year, according to Reuters.

Spain’s November inflation was 6.7%, the lowest in EU countries. 

 
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Trade growth is likely to slow, WTO 

The World Trade Organisation said trade growth was likely to slow down in the last months of 2022 and into 2023.

Russia-Ukraine conflict, high energy prices, inflation, and the tightening of monetary policies by major economies will likely to affect world trade growth, according to the Goods Trade Barometer of the WTO. 

“The downturn in the goods barometer is consistent with the WTO's trade forecast of October 5, which predicted merchandise trade volume growth of 3.5 per cent in 2022 and 1 per cent in 2023 due to several related shocks including the war in Ukraine, high energy prices, and monetary tightening in major economies,” the WTO said in a statement.

 

 

 

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