Hudson Lockett

Tumbling pork prices could push China back into deflation this week, as the largest listed hog farmers flood the domestic market and complicate Beijing’s efforts to bolster confidence in the world’s second-largest economy. Live hog futures traded on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange have dropped about 15 per cent since the start of October, reflecting a sharp deterioration in expectations for nationwide pork prices. Wholesale pork prices in China are down more than 40 per cent from a year ago.…

The company behind the Bored Ape crypto art craze has said it is looking into reports that some attendees suffered “eye burn” from bright light displays at an event it hosted over the weekend in Hong Kong. The ApeFest event was targeted at holders of so-called non-fungible tokens — artwork linked to blockchain technology that soared in price and popularity at the height of the now-deflated cryptocurrency bubble. About 2,250 people attended the Saturday evening party at a cruise terminal, said…

A record number of companies have dropped plans to list on Shanghai’s tech-focused stock market, after regulators raised the bar for initial public offerings in order to pick out domestic champions that can help Beijing’s drive towards technological self-sufficiency. Public records show 126 companies have cancelled or suspended IPO applications on Shanghai’s Star Market in 2023, more than in the previous four years combined. The city’s stock exchange, acting on guidance from regulators led by…

Japan has surpassed China as a driver of investment banks’ revenues from equity fees for the first time in almost 25 years, as global investors shun Chinese markets and a sustained rally in Tokyo stocks drives listings. A rush of equity business in Japan has pushed the country’s contribution to banker fees to more than $440mn so far in 2023, about 30 per cent of the total in the Asia-Pacific region, according to data from Dealogic. China accounts for $367mn, or just under a quarter of banker f…

The chief executive of a leading Hong Kong property group has declared the end of a “golden era” for the territory’s residential developers as the government takes an increasingly active hand in boosting housing supply. “Hong Kong real estate is no longer a totally free market,” said Donald Choi, chief executive at Chinachem, a large unlisted developer and one of the top sellers of new flats in the city. “The government wants to take more initiative in controlling how land and housing is suppli…

Chinese investors dumped the most US stocks and bonds in four years in August, adding to speculation that Beijing moved to give itself greater firepower in its defence of the renminbi. About $15bn of the total $21.2bn in net sales came from disposals of US Treasuries, according to data from the US Treasury Department, which captures trades by investors such as the People’s Bank of China, mutual funds and private investors. Sales of equities totalled about $5bn — a record for monthly sales of US…

Hong Kong’s largest developers have shed a fifth of their market value this year, as the city’s dollar peg forces it to match the Federal Reserve’s “higher for longer” approach to interest rates. Shares in the Asian financial hub’s five largest builders had surged in December and January as local home prices rose and global investors bet on a robust rebound in Chinese growth. But rate rises enacted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to match those of the Fed, which are necessary to maintain t…

Crude prices surged to as high as $89 a barrel on Monday over concerns that Hamas’s attack on Israel will increase tension across the Middle East and affect output from leading oil producers. Brent, the international oil benchmark, jumped as much as 5.2 per cent in early trading in Asia, before steadying to trade 3.8 per cent higher at $87.83. WTI, its US counterpart, rose 4 per cent to $86.07. The jumps have revived fears of another prolonged period of high prices that would fuel inflation in…

The Bank of Israel said on Monday it planned to sell up to $30bn of dollar reserves to support the shekel after the market fallout from Hamas’s attacks on the country pushed the currency to a seven-year low. The shekel slumped to a seven-year low against the dollar on Monday morning and continued to fall despite the central bank’s announcement to trade 2.7 per cent lower on the day at Shk3.9485, its weakest level since 2016. The central bank, which has about $200bn of foreign currency reserves…

The extent of China’s economic slowdown is set to be laid bare this week as corporate earnings reports are forecast to log poor performance and companies are expected to downgrade outlooks, particularly in sectors with heavy exposure to the struggling real estate industry. Second-quarter results come as a liquidity crisis among property developers and shaky local government finances compound investor doubts that Beijing will deliver enough stimulus to put the world’s second-largest economy back…