Mysterious Online ‘Go’ Player, Suspected of Being AI, Beats Top Asian ‘Go’ Players in Record Wins

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 4 — At the end of 2016, a user with the screen name “Master” challenged world ‘Go,’ a strategy board game, champions from China and South Korea via an online ‘Go’ platform. “Master” set a record of more than 30 consecutive wins with zero failures, leading to speculation as to whether the player is “human or artificial intelligence (AI),” tech.sina.com.cn reported.

On Dec. 29, “Master” used the ‘Go’ website ewiqi.com to compete at ultra-fast speed with the current No. 1 South Korean ‘Go’ player Park Jung Hwan, the Shinco Bailing Cup World Go Tournament champion Chen Yaoye, as well as China Go Celebrity Competition champion Lian Xiao, winning with a record 4-0, 2-0 and 2-0, respectively.

On Dec. 30, “Master” twice defeated an anonymous ‘Go’ player using the alias “Kiss Goodbye.” Top Chinese ‘Go’ player Ke Jie later revealed that he was “Kiss Goodbye.” Yesterday, “Master” faced Ke Jie again, alongside top Japanese and Korean competitors, and brought its consecutive win total to 50.

Since Google-developed AlphaGo’s victory over the former world champion Lee Se-dol in an open tournament in the first half of 2016, AI has had an undeniable presence in the ‘Go’ community. But top ‘Go’ players refuse to give up and pine for another opportunity to take on AlphaGo. The unexpected emergence of “Master” as a champion over South Korean and Chinese players has led fans to suggest that the incognito player could be AlphaGo in disguise, or a new AI.

Having accepted AI’s place in the world of ‘Go,’ Ke Jie now hopes to reach to an elevated skill level with the help of the technology. “From now on, we will enter a new realm and achieve new heights with computer support,” Ke commented.

Shenzhen-HK Stock Connect Opens Up World’s Largest Untapped Capital Market to Foreign Investors

(YicaiGlobal) Dec. 7 — The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect launched on Dec. 5. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang promised in May that the link would kick off before the end of the year. It comes nearly two years after the launch of Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, laying groundwork for a possible future integration of the three markets.

There are a number of reasons why the new Connect has launched at a time of ongoing domestic and global economic pressures. It is a testament to the determination of Chinese policy-makers to liberalize the country’s USD6.5 trillion capital markets. It is also an indication that Beijing is keen on attracting more international investment to mainland-listed stocks.

There is a good deal Shenzhen could offer to outside investors. It remains to be the largest capital market in the world virtually untapped by international money. Less than two percent of its USD3.4 billion market cap is believed to be held by foreigners.

It is Asia’s busiest exchange with monthly turnover of more than USD1 trillion. It also allows international investors to invest in China’s new economy as the shares of mostly tech companies with considerable potential for growth are traded on it. It also houses environmental, consumer-related and health sector companies which will be at the center of China’s transition to a consumer-based economy.

If the Shanghai-HK Connect is a frontrunner for internationalization of China’s A-share market, Shenzhen is the accelerator, which would increase the chances for it to be included in the MSCI’s Emerging Markets Index. As an executive of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange operator said, “you build a bridge for the next 20 years’ traffic, not only for next week’s.”

China’s P2P Lenders Stoop to New Low in Demanding Nude Photos as Collateral

(YicaiGlobal) June 16 — China’s peer-to-peer lenders are demanding nude photographs of women borrowers as collateral in a new low for debt recovery tactics.

P2P lending platform Jiedaibao has been accused of offering microloans to female college students in exchange for photos of themselves naked. The threat, of course, is that if they do not repay the loan the image will be published on the Internet. Jiedaibao has denied direct involvement.

As the number of defaults on personal P2P loans has risen, debt collection agencies have proliferated. Such businesses are making a fast buck charging 30 to 50 percent of the total loan amount. Promise China, a Shanghai-based ‘debt collector,’ became the first to list in China last October when it joined the New Third Board, the country’s over-the-counter market.

Other aggressive debt recovery measures include nuisance calls to borrowers, their relatives and friends, putting up borrowers’ photos in public places, and posting their ID card numbers, phone numbers and addresses online.

P2P lending sites have become the most risky financing platforms in China, and several have gone bankrupt this year, resulting in total losses of more than CNY150 billion (USD22.8 billion). The danger is far from over. As of the end of March, there were about 3,984 P2P lenders, many of them exposed to mounting risks.

The risks associated with Chinese financial firms including P2P sites are largely attributable to the absence of a national personal credit information system. The central bank is setting up a nationwide credit system similar to the US’s FICO Score, but it has not yet been decided whether the credit system designed for banks will be made available to P2P lenders.

In an April report, Boston Consulting Group described China’s personal credit market as one that “emerged at the right time and is gradually taking shape, but still has a long way to go.”

DOW HITS 20,000

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 25 –The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday finally crossed 20,000 for the first time.

The S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq clinched new highs Tuesday, but the Dow failed to climb above its old record of 19,999.63.

At 9:32 a.m. ET, the Dow is up by 101 points or 0.51%, at 20,014.62. A close above 20,000 is what’s needed to put the psychological milestone in the rearview mirror, tweeted Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz.

The S&P 500 is up 10 points (0.46%) at an intraday high of 2,290.55. The Nasdaq is up 37 points (0.68%) at a record 5,638.85.

This week is the busiest of earnings-reporting season companies, and some better-than-expected earnings results have supported the major indexes. An earnings beat by Boeing ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday pushed its shares and the overall Dow higher.

On Tuesday, producers of metals and raw materials on the benchmark S&P 500 gained after chemical-maker DuPont reported results that topped estimates.

Several market strategists, including Raymond James’ Jeff Saut, have said that the bull market is transitioning this year from being interest rate-driven to being earnings driven. Investors’ focus, they argue, is returning squarely to profit as interest rates bottom and US monetary policy continues to tighten.

The so-called Trump rally that took stocks — and financial stocks in particular —to new highs after the election stalled at the beginning of this year. But in his first week, President Donald Trump pushed the pro-business agenda promised on the campaign trail. He met Tuesday with CEOs from the largest automakers including GM and Fiat Chryslerto urge more domestic manufacturing.

Meanwhile, inflation expectations continue to rise as Trump touts his infrastructure plan. The 10-year yield was up three basis points to 2.504% at 9:25 a.m. ET.

According to a report Tuesday from Kansas City Star and The News Tribune,Trump’s administration has compiled a list of 50 infrastructure projects, totaling $137.5 billion in investment. An announcement directing the construction of a border wall with Mexico is expected on Wednesday.

China Keeps USD50,000 Annual Quota for Forex Purchases Unchanged, But Introduces New Curbs

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 3 — The Chinese government will not make any changes on USD50,000 annual quota for citizens’foreign exchange purchases, but the process of buying foreign currencies has become more complicated in the new year. New regulations announced by China’s foreign exchange regulator will be seen as bad news by people hoping to convert their yuan into foreign currencies in 2017.

All personal banking customers buying foreign currency at the counter or via online banking services are now required to fill out a ‘Personal Foreign Exchange Purchase Application Form,’ which says, “Foreign currencies purchased by individuals may not be used for buying properties or securities abroad.”

Under the new rules, such foreign currency cannot be used to buy make type of regulated capital investments such as life insurance or any other kind of insurance of an investment nature. The new rules ban using foreign exchange purchase quota for money laundering, underground banking or any other illegal transactions or activities.

Individuals found in violation of forex purchase regulations will be put on a ‘watch list’ by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and will be disqualified from quota allocation for three years. In addition, offenders will be referred to relevant authorities for anti-money laundering investigation. Fines up to CNY50,000 (USD7,194) and 30 percent of the total amount of forex transaction could also be imposed.

Chinese citizens who convert their yuan into foreign currencies will have to state the purpose of their transaction. Foreign exchange purchases can only be for tourism, studying abroad, outbound travel for government or business affairs, visiting relatives and receiving medical treatment abroad. The “expected time period for the use of foreign currency” purchased also has to be specified.

According to a press release issued by SAFE on Dec. 31, 2016, loopholes in the citizens’ foreign exchange purchase system in China have led to frequent forex fraud cases and money laundering, causing disorder in the foreign exchange market. From this year, China will further improve individuals’ foreign exchange information reporting management and clarify relevant foreign exchange purchase and settlement rules and legal liabilities.

China’s foreign exchange reserves plunged to USD3.0516 trillion in Nov. 2016. Given the continued depreciation of the yuan, a large number of Chinese citizens are expected to rush to convert their yuan into the dollar in the new year. The Chinese foreign exchange reserves would drop below the USD3 trillion psychological barrier, predict some analysts.

Revenge Pawn and Other Peer-to Peer Perils

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 16 — The Peer-to-Peer (P2P) industry lets investors side-step banks to lend directly to borrowers. It has boomed in China. Borrowers get easy access to credit. Lenders get higher returns than from bank deposits. But scandals have tarnished P2P. The government is now tightening the screws.

Several such ‘student loan’ scandals rocked China in 2016. P2P platform Jiedaibao was accused of offering small loans to co-eds at a usurious 30 interest rate in exchange for nude photos of them holding ID cards. If default occurs, these images appear on the web and are sent to family and friends.

Most Loanbao female borrowers were born between 1993 and 1997. A photo shows a topless girl with an IOU blocking her bosom that reads “I’m [NAME], I borrowed CNY6,000 (USD900) from [NAME] through LoanBao at a monthly interest rate of CNY400. The loan is for one month. I take sole responsibility for failing to repay the loan on time.”

Borrowers must use their real names, while lenders can employ pseudonyms. Beijing Happy Times Technology Co., also withdrew from the ‘student loan’ market when facing ‘revenge pawn’ allegations.

Pawnography of this kind may also hold residual value for bottom-feeding investors, and even spawn a secondary market. It has already formed a sort of unofficial credit reporting system … in more than one sense. Perhaps Sallie Mae should explore similarly creative student-loan securitization measures.

That’s all, folks. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go and collect a debt.

Sparkling Ideas From Jack Ma and His Ambition On a Davos Talk

(YicaiGlobal) Jan.21 — On the Davos forum, Jack Ma accepted the interview from CNBC’s journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin and his excellent eloquence against sharp questions impressed the audiences, particularly when he was asked about if China is stealing job from the U.S.

Jack Ma replied like this:

“American international companies made millions and millions of dollars from globalization.”

“In the past 30 years, America had 13 wars spending $14.2 trillion. What if they spend part of the money on building infrastructure, helping the white collars and blue collars? No matter how good your strategy is you’re supposed to spend money on your own people.”

“The money goes to Wall Street. Then what happened? Year 2008 wiped out $19.2 trillion in US income … What if the money was spent on the Midwest of the United States?”

“It’s not that other countries steal American jobs. It is your strategy – that you did not distribute the money in a proper way.”

American Media immediately took aggressive actions on Jack Ma’s saying.

1. Meeting With Donald Trump?  

“One day I got a request from some people: ‘Jack do you want to meet the president-elect?’ I said, ‘Is that true? I’m not ready for that, ’cause I don’t know what to talk about.’ And then a few days later, I got another request. I got several requests. I thought about it. I think, yes, maybe I should go and have a talk. At least I think President-elect Donald Trump would be happy to hear what I talk about, so I went.”

2. China’s Leadership 

“The world needs a new leadership. But the new leadership is about working together. This is what I understand. We do not necessarily need one specific leader to teach us what to do, what not to do.”

“As a businessperson, I want the world to share the prosperity together, to join the force together. As a Chinese, I’m happy about what he committed. This is the first time I heard a Chinese leader putting a number on the commitment. This makes me excited because China is transforming from exporting to importing. If there’s a concrete number, if we could fulfill it, this is going to be a huge change to China and to the world.”

3. Business Empire

“I hope both are right. And because the world can never have one mode. If the world has only one correct mode, the world’s too boring. We need to have all kinds of modes. And the people who do the mode should believe the mode. And I believe what I do.”

“Amazon is more like an empire. Everything they control themselves, buy and sell. And our philosophy is that we want to be an eco-system. Our philosophy is to empower others to sell, empower others to serve, to make sure the other people are more powerful than us. Our philosophy is that we think using internet technology, we can make every company become Amazon.”

“We made same-day delivery possible in 125 cities last year. Imagine 10 years ago, deliver one thing from Beijing to Hangzhou took about 8 days. Now you can deliver things from Beijing to Inner Mongolia, some cities within 12 hours. It’s improving. You can never expect these things to happen within 24 hours. We have patience.”

“This is what we feel proud of. It’s not how much money we made, it’s not how powerful we are, it’s that we can make technology very inclusive. Every small company can use it. This is my dream.”

4. Alibaba’s Copyright Infringement

“As an e-commerce, when you have 10 million small business, and empower them to sell, you cannot check every product like Amazon does. So e-commerce itself may have a lot of flaws.“

“In the past 17 years, we are the leader in anti-piracy issues. With big progress last year alone, we put 400 people in jail. We deleted 370 million fake products off our site.”

“Fighting against fake products is the war against human greediness. It is not easy. You can not finish it, but you have to continue to fight.”

5. Ambition in the Entertainment World

“Five years ago, we had a big debate about 10 years later, 20 years later, what are the things the Chinese society want? We say “happiness” and “health” – the two “H” strategy.”

“We believe Hollywood, the movie industry, can bring people happiness. Because today nobody is happy. Rich people are not happy, and poor people are not happy. At least when I watch movie, I feel happy. So I think we should be partner with Hollywood.”

“My favorite movie is Forrest Gump. When people call me crazy and stupid in the past 17 years, I told myself Forrest Gump said ‘Go ahead, never care about other people’.And Gump also said: ‘Nobody makes money by catching whales, people make money by catching shrimps.’ So we serve small business.”

 

6. China-US Trade War

“I think China and the US should never have a trade war and we will never have a trade war. And I think we should give president-elect Trump some time. I believe one thing, when trade stops, the world stops.”

“The world is so wonderful, why should I always be the CEO of Alibaba? I come to this world not to work, I come to this world to enjoy my life. I don’t want to die in my office, I want to die at the beach.”

McDonald’s Sold Its China Business — The Story Explained in Five Questions

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 11 — Chinese state-owned enterprise CITIC Group Corp. announced this week it had acquired a 20-year franchise for McDonald’s restaurants in both mainland China and Hong Kong at a price of USD2.08 billion, jointly with several other parties. This hunt for buyers had lasted almost a year, with a dozen companies and institutions in a row participating in the bidding.

Noteworthy is that, Yum China Holdings Inc. (NYSE:YUMC), KFC’s parent, announced its separation from Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) a month ago and its independent NYSE listing. Before listing, Yum China once announced its decision to sell 20 percent of its stake.

These two fast food operators took similar actions. This was no coincidence. We have therefore compiled five questions — possibly the questions uppermost in everyone’s minds — to try to explain this matter.

1. Why did they sell their businesses?

The answer is quite simple. Fast food is not as popular now in China’s market. New brands, convenience stores and food delivery services have displaced it. Also, these two brands’ market shares are falling within the fast food sector itself. Euromonitor International conducted a market survey that showed the market shares of KFC and McDonald’s in China’s fast food industry have dropped to around 37 percent (24 percent and 13 percent for these two brands, respectively) from a peak of 57 percent (40 percent and 17 percent, respectively).

Yum China and McDonald’s adopted different solutions to resolve this dilemma. The former chose to separate from the global structure of Yum! Brands and found an independent company — to whom it sold 20 percent of the new company’s equity — while McDonald’s sold a 20-year franchise in the Chinese market, including 2,200 franchised outlets in current operation.

Both companies reaped massive funding from these deals, a vital source for their next self-investments. The two firms also carry many outlets in need of upgrade, since youngsters prefer comfortable, fashionably-designed restaurants, regardless of menu. They also need to digitize to lure consumers from a now-fragmented market. All these circumstances clamor for massive funding.

Their methods of selling themselves differ in the extreme.

Yum China’s methods indicate its managers will still wield future authority over the firm, whereas McDonald’s will switch to a new boss for its Chinese team. Though whether this new boss will keep the team is as-yet unknown, at least Su Jingshi, Yum China’s former chief executive and senior McDonald’s managers who left office have received requests from the investor team to stay on.

To revert to the question of why they sold their businesses, in the two companies’ own words, “to sell yourself to improve the business” is better than “to sell yourself at the highest premium.”

This is true.

Generally, franchise stores enjoy better business than direct-sales stores because some belong to franchisees willing to lavish more attention and money on running their stores. For instance, they promote their shops with their own resources and better decorate them.

This idea is also applicable to companies.

The sale of Yum China and McDonald’s means that they have transferred their franchise in the Chinese market to local teams, demonstrating localization in such areas as product research and development, and the decision to open outlets. Such localization won KFC a larger market share than McDonald’s.

2. Why did the deals take so long — from the beginning until the end of this year?

Apart from continuous bargaining, no one Chinese company can digest the huge businesses of McDonald’s and Yum China. The large amounts bandied about in the deal spooked ele.me — an online food-booking enterprise with rapid growth — into spontaneously quitting the bidding. More important, although these two companies were anxious to sell their businesses, they also cared about the buyers.

Ant Financial Services Group and Primavera Capital Group are the buyers of Yum China. The former represents the possibility of developing a simple off-line business into an O2O model. The latter indicated that Yum China was looking for a company that better understands investments. After buying into Yum China, Primavera Capital founder Fred Hu (Hu Zuliu) became the firm’s new director. Yum China said, “This indicates we have formed a strong and rigorous corporate governance structure.” To learn the significance of the design of corporate governance structures, the experience this year of China Vanke Co (SHE:000002) is a good example.

McDonald’s has not found a satisfying investor yet, despite multiple offers, because external capital is not only about money, but new relations and competence as well.

The combination of CITIC Group Corp. and Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG) is quite like the capital combination Yum China took in. As a state-owned enterprise (SOE), CITIC represents ties with the government, which was previously lacking in McDonald’s as aforeign joint-venturebrand. This factor will play a significant role in the hunt for new outlet resources. The key for all chain businesses is location. Carlyle plays a role similar to Fred Hu in Yum China, namely for the global capital needed by McDonald’s, which like Yum is also a US-based company.

3. Why are investors making acquisitions in the sluggish fast food business?

‘Where’s the value?’ is a question confusing many people, including those conducting negotiations with McDonald’s and KFC after the two companies announced their intention to sell at almost the same time. Potential investors are also left wondering which company’s shares offer better value.

Yum complained about bidders’ low valuations, though nobody can accurately determine the shares’ value. Yum director Keith Meister tried to make clear that the offers only matched company revenues, rather than its actual value, indicating investors greater concern over current assets or profitability.

McDonald’s has over 2,000 outlets in China and Yum more than 7,000. After expressing their intent to sell, buyers differed in their interpretations of the reasons for the sale. Some consider how large the fast food market’s potential is in the urbanization of China, while other investors consulted company employees. One former executive suggested the number of outlet stores each company has in prime locations could influence investors.

Investors don’t decide based on the number of restaurants alone. Some noted that acquiring Yum China does not confer on investors the right to control the company, but investing in McDonald’s does. This is an important difference that affects investors’ role within the company and determines their ability to steer its direction.

Two other differences investors noted are leadership and marketing. The former chief executive of Yum China led Yum for around 15 years, whereas McDonald’s changes its head every three to four years. Investors feel McDonald’s has better branding, but Yum is more innovative in products and pricing.

4. Will we still be able to eat ‘authentic’ fast food?

Depending on your definition of authentic, you may never have eaten authentic fast food in China. Products are localized here with flavors altered to match local tastes. Both McDonald’s and KFC ply this practice — like most companies. We need to look at the relationship between the companies’ Chinese and global operations to understand how the sale will affect products.

Once sold, Yum! China will become a franchisee of Yum! and be authorized to operate all company brands and products, but may do so on a different timeline than the rest of the world. Yum! China will also be free to independently develop products for sale in its Chinese stores.

McDonald’s has not disclosed such information, so it is uncertain how its menu will evolve, but it did say that McDonald’s China aims to ‘localize’ its food more, so the Chinese unit will likely be able to customize its menu.

5. McDonald’s China said only a 20-year franchise is sold, so what happens 20 years from now?

To know what will happen in 20 years, look at the cooperation between Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Taiwan-based Uni-President Group Co. After the expiration of their 20-year cooperation, the two companies recently renewed their cooperative agreement — Uni-President develops and operates Starbucks’s businesses in East China.

A brand franchiser cannot easily replace an operator who succeeds in boosting business. Within 20 years, the operator may even change its position within the cooperative relationship through sound business performance.

Both CBN Weekly and YicaiGlobal are owned by Chinese Business Network, the largest financial news group in China. Over the past 13 years, CBN has dominated Chinese financial media through radio, television, newspaper, magazine, new media, information services, business research and other mediums. It is the first choice of partner for the world’s top financial forums and international economic organizations.

[Update] WeChat Tops Alipay as China’s No.1 Mobile Payment Method for Offline Shopping, Pony Ma Says

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 18 — WeChat Wallet has overtaken Alipay as China’s No.1 mobile payment method for offline shopping, Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent Holding Ltd. [HK:00700], said in a team meeting. Ma is rewarding the WeChat Wallet team with a CNY100 million (USD14.6 million) special bonus.

WeChat Wallet is Tencent’s electronic payment service. It allows WeChat’s 768 million users to make mobile payments and transfer money to contacts. It began the rollout of overseas payment services in 2015 and supports transactions in several currencies including Japanese yen, New Zealand dollar and Korean won. Its services are available in more than 20 countries and regions, including Australia, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Macau.

Alipay, operated by Alibaba GroupHolding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA], offers a similar service. It has about 450 million users registered with their real names and launched overseas payment services in January 2015.

Trump’s Son-in-Law, China’s Anbang Insurance Held Talks on New York Real Estate Project

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 10 — Jared Kushner, US President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met with Anbang Insurance Group Co. Chairman Wu Xiaohui in mid-November for talks about jointly redeveloping a New York property, The New York Times reported.

The meeting was “a mutually auspicious moment,” the NYT said in a Jan. 7 report. “Mr. Wu and Mr. Kushner — who is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and is one of his closest advisers — were nearing agreement on a joint venture in Manhattan: the redevelopment of 666 Fifth Avenue, the fading crown jewel of the Kushner family real-estate empire.”

Kushner, 36, is one of the most influential figures in Trump’s orbit. He is involved in policy and personnel selection and serves as a middleman between foreign leaders, the White House and the president-elect. Some media believe China may be concerned about the country’s firms doing business with Trump family members because they could become embroiled in complex conflicts of interest, given the close relationship between Kushner and Trump.

China’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of the talks. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, spokesman Lu Kang said the ministry is unable to comment on every business deal. He added that after nearly 40 years of development, China and the US have maintained very close economic and trade ties and made a lot of business deals.

Jia Yueting Says in Exclusive Interview Leshi’s Auto Arm’s Financing Can Be Fixed Within Months

Wu Ziye, Wang You

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 17 — Jia Yueting, founder of Leshi Holdings Co. [SHE:300104], said that, its major eco-segments — its cars aside — received a total of CNY16.8 billion financing, but that financing for Leshi’s vehicles will also be in the pipeline within a few months.

In an exclusive interview with YicaiGlobal, Jia said, “Leshi’s genetic makeup is to constantly challenge the future.”

He firmly believes a car is no longer a mere travel tool, but an internet transport ecosystem. He said financing for Leshi’s auto business is on the way, and the result will be evident in a few months. “Prospective investors will choose us. I believe that people who see the Faraday Future (FF) car will pay for it.”

Jia candidly conceded that Leshi’s capital capacity is not strong, but it will not abandon any one of its eco-segments.

“We have already done a few types of funding, and we will start the Round-A financing (for the FF) as our next step,” Jia said. “The government has tightened policies on foreign investment, but this will have no great impact on FF funding. In terms of level of importance and urgency, we will get financing, preferably from North America and Europe, but will also consider funding from China,” he added.

Regarding FF’s goal to achieve mass-production in 2018, Jia said, “Everything is ready, and we are eyeing funding results now. Whether funding is in place or not will determine the progress of the entire plant and its construction.” Leshi is in partnership with Los Angeles-based Faraday Future Inc. to jointly develop the latter’s intelligent electronic concept cars.

Panzhihua Land Bureau Head Shoots, Severely Injures Mayor and General Secretary Then Kills Himself

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 4 — A botched assassination attempt occurred at a Panzhihua exhibition hall, in China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, severely injuring the general secretary of the local party Zhang Yan and the city mayor, Li Jian Qin.

Panzhihua Exhibition Hall

Zhang Yan，General Secretary of local party

Li Jianqin, Panzhihua City mayor

The shooting incident occurred this morning at 10:50 a.m., when a gunman rushed into their meeting room and opened fire. Both suffered gunshot wounds and were rushed to the ICU unit of the local hospital.

Chen Zhongshu, gunman, head of city’s land resource bureau

The would-be assassin, Chen Zhongshu, was the head of the city’s land resources bureau, who killed himself at the scene.

Hebei Primary School Beats the Smog with Inflatable Sports Centre

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 6 — A Hebei school has refused to let northern China’s recent smog get the best of it. In Shijiazhuang, one of the cities hit worst by the air pollution, a primary school has obtained an air-purified inflatable stadium that allows children to participate in sport without being affected by the smog outside.

Heavy smog surrounds the school’s inflatable stadium.

The stadium has a ventilation and air filtration system to prevent smog affecting its interior.

Students participate in a sports lesson inside the stadium.

Children practice jumping rope inside the inflatable stadium.

Faraday Future Takes Bookings For Its First Mass-Produced Electric Car, Delivery Expected in 2018

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 4 — The first mass-produced Faraday Future FF91 model has been unveiled in Las Vegas. It is estimated that the vehicle, which will compete with Tesla’s cars, will be delivered in 2018.

Faraday Future is a startup in which Chinese internet company Leshi Holdings Co. have invested.

The FF91 is able to hit 0-60mph (0-96kph) in 2.39 seconds, quicker than Tesla, said a Faraday Future engineer at a press conference yesterday. A self-parking feature will also be offered by the FF91.

Tesla’s fastest accelerating car, the Model S P100D, requires 2.5 seconds to reach 0-60mph.

Faraday did not disclose the new vehicle’s price range but Chinese customers can make bookings with a CNY50,000 (USD7,200) deposit, according to the company website. It was previously reported in the media that prices would be USD150,000 to USD200,000, more expensive than current leading new energy car maker Tesla.

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Unites Pakistan’s Rival Political Big Shots in a Cafe in Beijing

(YicaiGlobal) Dec. 30 — Pakistan is home to diverse political parties. Yet on a Wednesday afternoon, on Dec 28, the ‘big shots’ of each political faction gathered together at an ordinary cafe in Beijing. “This may well mark the first such event in Pakistan’s history,” a Pakistani diplomat told YicaiGlobal.

At the cafe near Dengshikou, downtown Beijing, chief ministers of four provinces of Pakistan, and the minister of planning, development and reforms and the minister of railways in the federal government gathered together to discuss details about the upcoming 6th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting on the Long-Term Planning of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which marks the only all-round bilateral CPEC meeting at a top level in 2016.

During an exclusive interview with YicaiGlobal, Ashan Iqbal, Pakistani co-chairman of the JCC and the minister of planning, development and reforms of Pakistan, said the fact that the chief ministers of all provinces of Pakistan will attend the 6th JCC meeting reflects the political commitment of the Pakistani leadership to the CPEC.

“In my view, the attendance of the chief ministers of each province at this meeting in China sends out a positive signal for investors, demonstrating Pakistan’s unified all-party support for the CPEC. This project is expected to be accomplished at a faster pace under the stronger political commitment and support of each province” Iqbal pointed out.

CPEC and Chinese investments in Pakistan not only serve as main drivers for the economic growth of Pakistan against the backdrop of sluggish global economy, but have also improved the confidence of international institutions and investors, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the development of Pakistan. Additionally, they have also helped boost political consensus and solidarity between the ruling party and the opposition parties, as well as between the federal government and local provinces. This is evidently reflected by the gathering of top Pakistani officials from different political factions and provinces in Beijing.

Railway And Port Projects Are Center Pieces for Future Development

On Dec. 29, the sixth conference of the JCC, as one of the flagship projects of the “Belt and Road” strategy, convened in Beijing. Both parties discussed future development plans as well as some newly added projects. The conference has concluded the development of Gwadar Port and the China-Pakistan Railway projects will be the focus for the future development of the bilateral cooperation within the CPEC framework.

The idea to set up the CPEC first emerged in 2013. During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Pakistan last year, both countries announced the project, with Gwadar Port, energy, traffic infrastructure, and industrial cooperation decided to be central underpinnings of the CPEC’s work sphere. To this aim, they signed more than 50 cooperation agreements with total investments exceeding USD40 billion.

Just before Yicai Global’s exclusive interview with Iqbal, Pervez Khattak, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a northwestern province of Pakistan, came to Iqbal in quick pace as soon as he saw him. They shook hands and patted on shoulders. In fact, during the CPEC process over the past two years, Khattak was said to be a troublemaker for Iqbal.

Khattak and Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) and an opposition member, who appointed Khattak as the chief minister at the time, were once publicly active critics of Ashan Iqbal and current prime minister Nawaz Sharif. They accused Sharif and Iqbal of unfair and problematic implementation of the CPEC, saying that they ignored the interests of the west Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces controlled by the opposition parties and made more favors to provinces like Punjab controlled by the ruling party.

Among the ruling cadres of Pakistan, Iqbal acts as a key figure of the Muslim League led by Sharif. He is one of the most trusted officials of Sharif, whereas Khattak is one of the most loyal followers of Imran Khan, a political rival of the Muslim League.

However, CPEC and more than USD40 billion investments the project generates has also functioned as a driver for cooperation among different political parties and provinces in Pakistan as much as it has led to competition for various projects and resources.

Vision Brought by a Light Rail

During the JCC conference on Dec.29, Chinese and Pakistani officials discussed whether to add more projects to the CPEC, YicaiGlobal learned. Many projects will cover provinces controlled by the opposition, like Sindh controlled by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and other less developed provinces including Balochistan and KP, which had doubts about the project implementation by the ruling party.

Balochistan is the province where Gwadar Port, the main strategic project of the CPEC, is located. It is the largest province with the least population in Pakistan, which is remote and less developed. The JCC conference discussed ways for further development of Gwadar Port and the Gwadar Free Trade Zone, as well as construction of supporting facilities.

Khattak also came prepared, along with the CEO of Special Economic Zone Development and Management Company of KP. During the meeting with some Chinese entrepreneurs, Khattak’s delegation of chief ministers made it clear that financing and investment in industrial parks and development zones is what KP needs the most, and expressed interest in cooperating with Chinese organizations in such fields as energy, education and information.

Located in the southeastern part of Pakistan, Sindh is Pakistan’s main economic province and home of the opposition party PPP. Pakistan’s economic and financial center Karachi city and important transport hub Karachi port are also situated in Sindh province.

In an exclusive interview with Yicai Global, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh’s chief minister, said the CPEC initiative was originally proposed in 2013 when the PPP was in power, adding that he is pleased to see the continuation of the cooperation on CPEC project despite power changes hands among Pakistani parties.

Set up in 2013, the JCC witnessed multiple changes in the Pakistani government and political parties, but the cooperation between China and Pakistan and the cooperation on CPEC project have continued. Syed Murad Ali Shah told Yicai Global that at the JCC meeting Sindh wanted to add the Karachi ring road project to the CPEC scheme.

The ruling party-controlled Punjab province has previously implemented the light rail orange line project in its provincial capital city of Lahore. With loans offered by Chinese financial institutions and the construction work by Chinese enterprises, the project will become Pakistan’s first light rail system after completion. The construction of the light rail has also drawn attention from other the provinces of Pakistan.

Ashan Iqbal told Yicai Global that Pakistan’s federal government and prime minister are concerned about many underdeveloped parts of Pakistan and they hope that through the construction of CPEC, the remote and backward areas of Balochistan and KP provinces can get more investment opportunities to enable them to achieve more trade in and out of Pakistan.

“We hope that further projects in more provinces will be initiated under the framework of the CPEC cooperation process so that more provinces could be involved in it. The achievements and dividends of the CPEC will benefit all parts of Pakistan and create inclusive development in the country, ” Iqbal noted.

Nokia Plans China Comeback With Its First USD245 Android Smartphone

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 9 — Finnish smartphone and tablet maker HMD Global released its first Android smartphone, the Nokia 6 at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the world’s biggest annual tech expo. The product has been developed for the Chinese market and priced at CNY1,699 (USD245).

The Nokia 6 will be produced by Foxconn Technology Group and will only be sold in the Chinese market on JD.com, HMD said.

Its decision to launch the first Android Nokia smartphone reflects HMD’s desire to meet the actual needs of consumers in different markets worldwide and China is a very important strategic market, the company said in a statement.

Nokia was a dominant mobile phone brand in the global market but it failed to grasp the opportunities arising from the market transition toward smartphones. In 2014, Microsoft officially acquired Nokia’s device and service businesses and started selling low-price basic phones and the Lumia smartphone series under the Nokia brand.

However, the US technology multinational carried out massive divestitures of these businesses in 2016.

In Dec. 2016, Nokia’s new owner, HMD Global, went into operation. It has taken over Nokia feature phones and has been granted the exclusive global license to use the Nokia brand on mobile phone and tablet products for the next 10 years, after signing a strategic authorization agreement with Nokia.

HMD will pay Nokia brand and patent royalties without receiving any direct investment from the company. Nokia currently specializes in telecommunication network equipment and technology patent businesses.

HMD will launch more products in the first half of 2017, the company said.

China’s Richest Men Make Their Overtures to Trump

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 17 — Wang Jianlin, China’s wealthiest man, said his Wanda Group plans to invest USD5 billion to USD10 billion in overseas markets each year, with the US his top priority.

“Wang said his company would not be affected by the tension between the two sides [China and the US] because Trump would not block money going into the United States,” Reuters reported after speaking with Wang on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Tension between the world’s two largest economies has been heightened in recent weeks. During his election campaign and in Twitter posts since, Donald Trump has sounded like a trade protectionist, pledging to restart talks with China if he won the vote and even threatening to levy a 45 percent tariff on Chinese-made goods.

Last week, China’s second-richest man, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Jack Ma met with the US president-elect in New York to discuss how the world’s biggest e-commerce company can create one million new jobs in the US over the next five years. Trump said he had a “great meeting” with Ma.

Trump is open to talks with China about trade, Ma said after their 40-minute meeting.

“If I can lobby I’m willing, but I’m not capable of lobbying both,” Wanda’s Wang is quoted as saying by Reuters.

Head of Twitter China Resigns After Just Seven Months Due to Positive Momentum

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 3 – Kathy Chen, head of Twitter [NYSE:TWTR] Greater China, has announced on social media the platform that she will resign from her post. Chen has held the position for only about seven months.

Chen posted messages on Twitter on Dec. 31, 2016, saying Greater China is the fastest-growing important market for Twitter, whose advertising business has grown 400 percent in the region over the last two years. Given what she called the “company’s current positive momentum in Greater China,” she believes it’s time for her to leave. Twitter confirmed the news on Jan. 2, 2017. Chen also referred to Twitter’s Asia-Pacific team working directly with Chinese advertisers as another reason to leave the company.

Previously, Chen held management positions at Microsoft and Cisco but her appointment at Twitter led to debate at the time.

Chen’s resignation follows that of Parminder Singh, Twitter’s managing director for India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, who left the company in November 2016. Twitter announced in October last year that it would lay off 9 percent of its staff, totaling 350 jobs across various departments.

AIIB Lent USD1.7 Billion to Asian Countries in Its Inaugural Year, President Says

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 18 — The China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank celebrated its first anniversary two days ago. During the year, the bank established and improved its organizational structure and lent USD1.727 billion to nine projects in seven developing Asian countries. More infrastructure projects are expected to come in the future.

“AIIB aims to promote infrastructure financing in Asia and give impetus to economic and social development, and has made significant progress in the first year of operations,” President Jin Liqun told YicaiGlobal in an interview. “It has firmly grasped infrastructure themes, such as roads and electricity.”

Jin has continually stressed that the bank is a lender and must consider investment returns, but this time he emphasized the bank’s tolerance for risks in private sector projects and that such schemes can better create jobs.

For private sector jobs with a good cooperative base the lender may not require a guarantee, but the project must be recognized by the country and benefit from subsidies. The only uncertainty in the sector is political risk, and if political continuity can be ensured, the risk is greatly reduced. The bank’s International Advisory Panel strongly supports AIIB’s efforts to promote private sector development, which is an important way to help countries develop.

AIIB can provide loans to high- and middle- income countries, and can also offer good asset quality and enhance the ability to resist risks. It is therefore tolerable for some projects to suffer losses if the majority get good returns.

The payback period for private sector projects is up to 18 years and can be extended to 20 years in extenuating circumstances, with a maximum of 35 years available to sovereign-guaranteed projects, Jin added.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has 57 founding members, 75 percent of which are Asian countries. So far, the bank has received applications from over 20 countries and expects to have almost 90 member states by the year end.

Huawei Denies Rumors Its Six Senior Managers Were Arrested for Leaking Company Information

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 18 — Huawei Technologies Co. has denied rumors that six members of its senior management team have been arrested. Earlier some rumors circulating online suggested that six high-level managers from Huawei passed confidential company information to LeEco, a subsidiary of financially-troubled Leshi Holdings Co. and Coolpad Group Ltd., two Chinese smartphone makers.

Huawei is China’s leading smartphone maker whose products reach customers in more than 150 countries worldwide.

LeEco and Coolpad are Huawei’s smartphone competitors in China, the world’s smartphone hotspot.

Both LeEco and Coolpad have not responded to YicaiGlobal’s query about the rumors.