6 Dec, 2017
Marcel joins Peter Switzer to share thoughts for his funds investment strategy for 2018
2 Oct, 17
Anyone who has been to Beijing in winter knows how bad the air pollution is there. The same is true of many Chinese cities because, from the 1980s on, governments at all levels were focused on maximizing economic growth and job creation. The future careers of local officials were heavily determined by the GDP growth rates which they managed to achieve in the areas under their supervision… [read more]
1 Sep 17,
Since 2008 the Chinese government has had an official policy called chuqu, or “going out”, which encourages Chinese companies to expand overseas by means of building new assets and acquiring existing assets. The strategy of building new assets has been mostly successful, with some exceptions: CITIC’s Sino Iron project at Cape Preston, Western Australia, for example, opened four years late, has run 200% over budget, and is still not profitable… [read more]
24 Aug, 17
Chinese banks and other lenders have enjoyed years of double-digit credit growth, but in March 2017 the authorities stopped the party, turned the lights on, and took away the alcohol. Abrupt changes in the leadership of the three main regulators (of banks, brokers and insurers) were followed by equally abrupt changes in regulatory style. Draconian new rules were issued and existing rules were enforced much more tightly… [read more]