Finance

Although tax reform is currently not on the Chinese government’s agenda, growing fiscal pain and rising costs for local governments have increased pressure to design a more sustainable tax system, Torsten Weller writes The publication of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) has attracted plenty of international attention, with much of the external commentary on the plan focusing on its emphasis on self-reliance and domestic consumption. One area which has received …

The Chinese banking system is famously complex. Here, Francesca Scortichini of Hawksford, explains the main types of bank accounts available to companies and the latest banking requirements in 2021 The banking system in China has experienced a profound transformation over the years. Most recently it has been the focus of a campaign aimed at modernising its traditionally closed system and preventing illegal practices. Its many peculiarities affect the daily operations …

Chinese-owned companies contributed £92 billion to the UK economy in 2020, including the likes of Gate Gourmet and Clarks. Now in its eighth year, Grant Thornton’s Tou Ying Tracker research confirms the scale of the country’s contributions The Grant Thornton 2020 Tou Ying Tracker, developed in collaboration with CCCUK (China Chamber of Commerce in the UK) and China Daily, identifies the fastest-growing Chinese companies in the UK. To compile the …

One of the most frequently asked questions about doing business with China is the banking system and repatriating money: Duncan Levesley of Grant Thornton explains While British companies continue to sell more and more products and services in China across an ever-growing range of sectors and niches, one issue that most face is ensuring that the money they make from Chinese customers finds its way back to the UK. There …

Sir Douglas Flint, Chairman of Standard Life Aberdeen, was formerly chairman of HSBC and says the opportunities for British companies in China’s finance sector are only now becoming clear, writes Andrew Peaple Talk to Sir Douglas Flint for any length of time about China and there’s one word you will hear often: ‘opportunity.’ The Standard Life Aberdeen chairman has spent much of his career working in and around China, both …

Paul French caught up with Sara Hsu to find out where the Chinese fintech revolution is heading Anyone who has spent five minutes in China recently knows that financial technology – or fintech – is massive. WeChat Wallets, Alipay, and a few dozen other systems are making financial services more efficient and accessible, and cash increasingly redundant. In ‘China’s Fintech Explosion’ (Columbia University Press), Sara Hsu and Jianjun Li argue …

The third decade of the 21st century has had a bumpy start. With a global pandemic, the fraying US-China relationship, Brexit, market turmoil, a looming recession and various other uncertainties, the world is in a state of flux. However, the world’s second-largest asset management market is increasingly open to foreign players, explain Yang Yuhua and  Lv Hong of LLinks Law Offices. And that has to be a good thing. In …

Kieran Porter of Elicius explains what corporate intelligence actually is, who needs it and why, and the pitfalls to look out for “People should have seen this coming” was the widespread reaction to the recent dramatic downfall of Luckin Coffee. China’s US-listed Starbucks challenger dropped 90 percent of its RMB 85 billion valuation in April and was raided by regulators as part of an investigation into its accounting practices. But …

China’s role in the global economy has evolved faster than that of any other country in the world. These five new books try to explain the challenges China faces in its endeavour to become the world’s largest economy, and how to make sense of its presence in the context of its past. By Clizia Sala The Myth of Chinese Capitalism, by Dexter Roberts St. Martin’s Press, March 2020   Roberts’ fascinating …

Supply chains have been severely disrupted by the Covid-19 virus, turning already complex logistics and payment structures into something of a minefield. Adnaan Mukta explains how The Covid-19 crisis has severely disrupted the supply chains of many UK businesses that depend on imports from China. The Bank of England reports that production stoppages in China have hit output in sectors ranging from car manufacturing to aerospace. Now more than ever, therefore, …