The Chinese economy slowed sharply in August, preliminary data shows. Although trade data has not yet been released, output and investment are both down significantly, sending stocks lower on regional indices. (Trade is likely to be worse, if recent trends are a guide.)

Guangdong, meanwhile, has yet to release its full GDP data for July, let alone August. One can only presume that it is taking the National Bureau of Statistics a bit longer than normal to verify the provincial data from around the country. That, or there is growing sensitivity about their release that requires further internal debate and clarification. 

Continue reading China sees sharp drop in August; still waiting for Guangdong →

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, can’t seem to get an audience with the Chief Executive. How else is one to understand his public plea for the protesters to be “given a chance”? Unless, of course, the billionaire was aiming his comments at the public and had no need of a meeting with the person who has the power to to address #3 on the protesters’ list. That is possible. But why might the 91-year-old retiree feel the need to feel the protesters’ pain? Or rather, why now, rather than at any time over the past 22 years since the handover, a time in which he has, along with his fellow oligarchs, steadily reduced their living space, held their wages stagnant, and raised their cost of food?

In any case, the plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears. CE Carrie Lam chose today to focus on other more pressing issues. Read the SCMP’s wrap here.

After another weekend of mayhem in Hong Kong, during which the Central MTR station was set on fire, it was heartwarming to see schoolkids today lined up, holding hands, as a reminder that most of Hong Kong’s protesters are peaceful. Junius Ho, legislator and apparent supporter of the White Shirts, may not like it, but if this is the way all the protests can be held, Hong Kong has a better future ahead.

Continue reading Would Hong Kong be ‘destroyed’ by US bill? →

A closer look at data comparing the Greater Bay Area to the rest of the country might give cause for concern: although the economy here is growing faster than the national average, it is largely due to rising investment levels rather than industrial output (i.e., we are spending more than we are making). 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why. The province’s industrial machine has for decades been heavily geared toward foreign trade. Now, exports and imports are falling here at a rate faster than the national average because Guangdong is more exposed to the loss of demand from its traditional trading partner. 

However, none of this should come as a surprise, and it should not be cause for alarm, either.

Continue reading Guangdong: It’s what comes next that counts →

The widely watched Production Managers Index (PMI) for Hong Kong, provided by Caixin and IHS Markit, has plunged to its lowest reading since the financial crisis of 2009. This indicates that the economy is on course for its first recession in a decade, as business activity is increasingly disrupted by “protest-related paralysis”. 

As the report says: “Worries that both the US-China trade dispute and the local political situation will worsen in coming months, meanwhile, saw sentiment about the outlook plunge to the lowest since data on expectations were first collected in 2012.”

Read more on HIS Markit’s website.

Meanwhile, the government is not waiting around for the criticism. It has launched a program to help SMEs get access to credit. China Daily has the patriotic details.