铜板街联合和讯发布《2016女性财富管理报告》

铜板街联合和讯发布《2016女性财富管理报告》
2016年08月19日 16:54:37 来源： 浙江在线

随着女性家庭与职场地位的提升，围绕女性群体形成了特殊的消费与理财圈层，使得“她经济”成为这个时代最重要的议题之一。女性消费以及财富管理行为有何特点，她们对互联网理财有何偏好？8月18日，国内领先的智能财富管理平台铜板街联合权威财经媒体和讯发布了《2016年女性财富管理报告》，从事业家庭、消费理财以及互联网理财三个角度，对正在崛起的女性投资群体进行全面解析。

《报告》显示，有近60%的家庭中，女性负责家庭财富管理决策，成为家庭财富管理 “一把手”。其中，女性收入水平在很大程度上影响其在家庭中的财富管理地位，年薪越高，女人掌财的话语权力就越大。由于肩负着妻子、母亲、儿女等“多角色”身份，女性家庭责任自我定位使得她们在家庭生活安排、家庭消费支出、保险的购买甚至理财决策中都承担了更大的责任，所以其理财需求也显得非常强烈。

《报告》指出，在家庭理财资产的配置方面，女性的投资理财行为仍然比男性显得保守，更加注重规避风险。反映在选择具体的理财渠道方面，女性投资于股市、房地产等资产的比例较之男性都比较低。不过，随着近年来互联网金融的兴起，女性对于这一新事物的接纳和尝试意愿要比男性高，让女性走在了互联网理财的最前端。

在女性互联网理财画像上，她们主要是25-35 周岁的一群经济独立的女性；北上广深以及东南沿海城市的女性，继续 2015 年的态势领跑互联网理财。其中，收入年薪处于 8W-15W 的女性对于互金理财最为感兴趣，不过，收入在 20W-50W之间的女性投资能力最强，她们中 77.3%投资额度都超过了10W，并且30.4%的互金产品配置超过总投资金额的 50%。《报告》显示，有互金投资经验的被调查者中 66.7%的人表示会继续增加互联网金融产品的投资，展现出她们对于互金行业发展的乐观心态。

据悉，本次《报告》由和讯、铜板街、阿里研究院、数字100合作完成。作为样本数据的提供方，铜板街前期通过移动端和社会化媒体对百万女性用户发放问卷，从女性的消费观念、资产规模、理财偏好等多方面进行调研，筛选出有效样本10000份，为深入研究女性理财市场提供了鲜活的第一手资料。

铜板街市场高级总监夏洁表示，连续两年与和讯网一起调研和发布女性财富管理报告，我们希望通过对女性理财的行为和心理进行分析，对追求稳健理财的女性用户有一些实际意义的指导，让她们的钱变得更有价值。接下来，铜板街也将针对女性用户的理财特点，为其量身定制家庭财富管理方案，满足女性用户的多种理财需求。

原文链接



- wong chee tat :)

Singapore IPO market languishes as Hong Kong surges

Singapore IPO market languishes as Hong Kong surges

TODAY reports: As the Singapore Exchange languishes with only one IPO listed on the mainboard this year, Hong Kong has been on a tear as it reclaims its position as the world’s top IPO market.

By Angela Teng, TODAY
Posted 29 Dec 2015 09:06

SINGAPORE: The number of initial public offerings (IPO) on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) plunged 57 per cent this year from last year, with analysts attributing the lacklustre performance to a weak market outlook and competition from a much stronger Hong Kong.

Only 13 IPOs were listed on the SGX this year — just one on the mainboard and the other 12 on Catalist, raising a total of about S$630 million. This compared to the 30 IPOs last year, of which 12 were on the mainboard and 18 on the junior board, raising about S$3.5 billion altogether.

BHG Retail Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) raised S$394.2 million when it listed on the mainboard this month, making it the biggest IPO in Singapore for the year. The units closed unchanged at S$0.80 on its debut day after the underwriter emerged to support the market. At the close on Monday (Dec 28), BHG Retail REIT units remained at S$0.80. Most of the Catalist-listed IPOs, which had offer prices ranging from S$0.20 to S$0.46, gave investors little cheer this year.

Mr Ernest Lim, a remisier at CIMB Securities, said: “Performance of the new listings had more than half registering negative returns, with five of them registering almost 40 per cent drops since their debut. While two of them registered flat returns and two of them, namely Jumbo and Singapore O&G, soared 48 per cent and 198 per cent, respectively … the overall performance is not exactly fantastic.”

“Most clients traded less this year as they are cautious on the overall market environment, slowing China economy, weak Singapore economy and generally lacklustre corporate results,” he added.

As the SGX languishes, Hong Kong has been on a tear as it reclaims its position as the world’s top IPO market. In the first 11 months of the year, 71 companies listed in the city, raising a total of US$31.2 billion (S$43.9 billion), accounting for almost 16 per cent market share of IPO funds worldwide, the South China Morning Post reported.

IG market strategist Bernard Aw said: “Firstly, the red-hot Hong Kong IPO market may have drawn companies away from listing in Singapore … Hong Kong benefited from its proximity to mainland China, compared to Singapore. We can see this advantage quite clearly from the growing number of mainland firms listing in Hong Kong.”

“Secondly, the higher financial bar for a mainboard listing in Singapore (minimum market value of S$150 million or pre-tax profit of at least S$30 million) may have continued to disqualify medium-sized companies, which earned about S$20 million.”

The poor IPO market came amid a turbulent year for the SGX. In June, the bourse had to pony up an estimated S$20 million to address gaps in its service recovery capabilities after it was reprimanded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore over two trading outages last year, one of which brought trading to a halt for hours and hurt Singapore’s reputation as a financial centre.

In July, veteran banker Loh Boon Chye took over from Mr Magnus Bocker as chief executive to spearhead a revival in the fortunes of SGX. In September, local shares plunged in line with other Asian markets following a slew of weak Chinese economic data, with the Straits Times Index falling past the key 2,800 mark. On Monday, the benchmark ended at 2,875.32 in thin year-end trade.

The SGX toughened up its rules on corporate governance in October and this month launched a listing compliance bulletin as part of moves to increase transparency on disciplinary actions.

“At the moment, the initiatives are not directly geared towards attracting new public listings. The new changes at SGX are certainly welcoming, and should provide a fresh start for Singapore’s stock market, but it remains to be seen how they can attract more IPOs,” said Mr Aw.

Read the original TODAY report here.

-TODAY/ek

-wong chee tat :)

BHG RETAIL REIT

BHG (Beijing Hualian Group 北京华联集团 ) ipo-ed and listed in SGX yesterday. Not vested. :(

- wong chee tat :)

China - Leftover men

Published on 6 Feb 2013
The growing number of older single men in China is NOT just an outcome of a gender imbalance caused by families favouring boys over girls in the one-child policy. Experts say it's also a reflection of a deeper social problem as a result of Chinese society's obsession with status and success. Channel NewsAsia's Valerie Tan has the report.


- wong chee tat :)

China women seeks financial security in marriages

Published on 19 Feb 2013
Financial security in marriage ranks high among women in China. That is according to the latest Chinese marriage report which shows that nearly 80 per cent of Chinese women look for partners who earn twice what they do. And more than half of them want full access to their future husbands' salary.


- wong chee tat :)

Take My Daughter, Please: China's Modern Matchmakers

In Shanghai, even love is a commodity that can be traded on the open market.
Originally published January 2009.


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CHINA: China's "leftover men" pose potential social challenges

Published on 19 Oct 2013
It's predicted that by the year 2020, China will have 24 million men left on the shelf. It's great news for businesses like dating agencies, but the social challenges for the world's most populous country are tremendous. Channel NewsAsia's Valarie Tan got a first-hand look in Guangxi, the Chinese province currently with the most number of single men.




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Why China's Car Buyers Love Ultra Rolls-Royce Cars

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China interbank rates surge again despite cash injection

China interbank rates surge again despite cash injection

POSTED: 23 Dec 2013 18:08

China's interbank interest rates surged again on Monday despite hefty cash injections last week by the central bank, suggesting money market stress remains as authorities maintain a prudent stance.

BEIJING: China's interbank interest rates surged again on Monday despite hefty cash injections last week by the central bank, suggesting money market stress remains as authorities maintain a prudent stance.

The seven-day repurchase-agreement rate -- a benchmark for interbank borrowing costs -- rose to 9.8 per cent, the highest since it hit 11.62 per cent on June 20 at the peak of China's summer cash crunch that unnerved global markets, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

"The spike in interbank rate indicates that the lack of market confidence has worsened the liquidity crunch," Wendy Chen, a Shanghai-based economist at Nomura Securities, told AFP.

The rates, which serve as funding costs for pricing and investment, have been trending higher recently as the People's Bank of China (PBoC) had refrained from injecting further liquidity through a routine open market operation for two weeks.

In a gesture to calm the market, the PBoC announced Friday that it had injected more than 300 billion yuan ($49.4 billion) into the financial system over a three-day period via the so-called short-term liquidity operations (SLOs).

"Currently the banking system has excess reserves of over 1.5 trillion yuan, a relatively high level compared with the same periods in history," it said on its verified account on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo.

The announcement followed a similar statement on Thursday that the bank had "appropriately injected" an unspecified amount of cash into the market through SLOs.

The interbank market responded with brief signs of improving funding conditions earlier Monday. The repo rate began the day's trading at 5.57 per cent, down from Friday's 8.2 per cent, before rebounding.

"More credit and further measures from the PBoC are probably required, to let the market regain its confidence, before the rate can become stabilised," Chen said.

Chinese shares edged up Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ending up 0.24 per cent at 2,089.71. But analysts warned that the gains will soon evaporate without fresh funds flowing into the stock market.

The state-run Securities Times newspaper on Monday quoted analysts as saying that the central bank intended to signal to the market its "neutral but slightly tight" policy stance by keeping suspended its routine, more aggressive liquidity-releasing tools and appeasing the market only with SLOs.

The SLOs are discreet, targeted exercises confined to a select group of 12 banks that are deemed crucial to the overall stability of China's financial system. They are a new tool the PBoC introduced in January.

- AFP/nd

- wong chee tat :)

Big China Banks Triple Debt-Write Offs

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Bank of East Asia boards express investment train to China

Bank of East Asia boards express investment train to China

[HONG KONG] Bank of East Asia, a commercial lender in Hong Kong, has been approved to invest in China's bond and stock markets in yuan as the world's second-largest economy steps up financial market liberalisation.

Participation from banks in China's Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (RQFII) will break the monopoly of local brokerage firms and fund houses, bringing in more competition as banks have large yuan deposits for investment.

Bank of East Asia (BEA), incorporated in Hong Kong in 1918 and with a market capitalisation of less than US$10 billion, will be allowed to invest in China's fixed income and A-share markets with yuan funds from the offshore market via the scheme.

Francis Ng, general manager and head of treasury markets division of the BEA, told Reuters it will use its own RMB funds to invest in the onshore market under RQFII.




- wong chee tat :)

China liberalises bank lending rates

China liberalises bank lending rates

    POSTED: 19 Jul 2013 7:41 PM
   
China's central bank said Friday it will scrap all controls on lending interest rates and let financial institutions set rates by themselves.

BEIJING: China's central bank said Friday it will scrap all controls on lending interest rates and let financial institutions set rates by themselves.

The move, a key step in plans for liberalising the country's interest rate regime, will remove a floor on lending rates set at 70% of benchmark lending levels set by the central bank.

The People's Bank of China said in a statement on its website that the move will reduce financing costs of domestic companies and improve the allocation of financial resources.

"This will support the real economy and improve economic restructuring and upgrading," the central bank said.

The central bank also said it would remove controls over bill discount rates. But it did not make any changes to its curbs on deposit rates or its policies on mortgage lending.

The People's Bank of China said that relaxing controls on bank deposit rates is a risky process that needs mature market conditions, so it will be carried out gradually.

The new rules come into effect on Saturday.

- CNA/ir


- wong chee tat :)

1 in 10 S'pore companies now use RMB to settle trade transactions

1 in 10 S'pore companies now use RMB to settle trade transactions
    POSTED: 17 Jul 2013 9:32 PM
 
Eleven per cent of Singapore companies are now using the Renminbi (RMB) to settle their cross border transactions with China.

SINGAPORE: Eleven per cent of Singapore companies are now using the Renminbi (RMB) to settle their cross border transactions with China.

This is according to a study by banking group HSBC which comes amid China's push to internationalise the currency.

The survey also found that 53 per cent of Chinese businesses would offer discounts of up to five per cent for transactions settled in RMB.

Joseph Arena, head of global trade and receivables finance from HSBC, remarked that these potential cost savings were appealing to Singapore firms as they grapple with escalating fixed and labour costs.

While the RMB has yet to catch on with more Singapore firms, 31 per cent of companies surveyed did foresee themselves picking up the currency in the next five years to mitigate foreign exchange risk and benefit from better prices.

The appointment of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as RMB clearing bank in Singapore last year will help Singapore develop as an offshore RMB market.

HSBC's survey covers over 850 companies that conduct international business in China.

- CNA/fa

- wong chee tat :)

The true confessions of a Chinese shadow banker

The true confessions of a Chinese shadow banker

Joe Zhang, Bloomberg News | 13/07/09 | Last Updated: 13/07/09 1:08 PM ET
More from Bloomberg News

Between curbside lenders, microcredit institutions, pawnshops, trust loans, “wealth management products” from banks and other components, this murky and unregulated financial universe is now worth an estimated $5 trillion, challenging the dominance of the traditional banking sector.
Getty ImagesBetween curbside lenders, microcredit institutions, pawnshops, trust loans, “wealth management products” from banks and other components, this murky and unregulated financial universe is now worth an estimated $5 trillion, challenging the dominance of the traditional banking sector.

    Shadow banking has flourished in China for one simple reason: financial repression

In the fall of 2010, as deputy head of China investment banking at UBS AG, I spoke to a group of wealthy investors in Beijing about the outlook for Chinese stocks. A rumpled, 50-something man from Hangzhou named Wang Zhigang pulled me aside afterward and asked for my advice about investing. Until then, he had made his money through curbside lending, not stocks. But, he lamented, his returns had dropped from more than 30% a year to a mere 23%. He worried about his personal fortune, which he had built up from nothing to almost 3 billion yuan (about $445 million back then).

He hardly needed my advice, I told him. “With your performance, even Ba-Fei-Te should farm out some money for you to manage!” I said, referring to Warren Buffett’s name in Chinese.

    China’s shadow bankers are easy to demonize. Their methods are unorthodox, possibly even unsavory. They look like a disaster waiting to happen.

Intrigued, I flew to Hangzhou a few days later to find out how Wang had done so well. He drove me to the Haining Leather Market to meet some of his customers. They were merchants of leather shoes, handbags and accessories. Their network was wide and close-knit, and they sold products globally through traditional channels, as well as online.

Twenty years ago, these guys would have looked like small fish to a traditional bank. Even after their businesses had grown exponentially, they couldn’t supply the kind of collateral that banks demanded. Yet these merchants needed money, and they needed it fast. So they turned for help to “shadow” bankers, like Wang.

Shadow Portfolios

There has been a lot of talk lately about shadow banking in China. Between curbside lenders, microcredit institutions, pawnshops, trust loans, “wealth management products” from banks and other components, this murky and unregulated financial universe is now worth an estimated $5 trillion, challenging the dominance of the traditional banking sector. Such unrestrained growth naturally worries China’s central bank, which fears that a flood of bad shadow loans could prompt a financial meltdown similar to the U.S. subprime crisis in 2008. A liquidity squeeze in June, when the central bank allowed interbank lending rates to rise to as high as 20% before intervening, was widely interpreted as a warning to banks to clean up their shadow portfolios.

    The threat to China’s financial system is right there — out in the open — not lurking in the shadows

The unrestrained growth of shadow banking worries China’s central bank, which fears that a flood of bad shadow loans could prompt a financial meltdown similar to the U.S. subprime crisis in 2008.

China’s shadow bankers are easy to demonize. Like Wang, many are nicotine-stained and seemingly unsophisticated. Their methods are unorthodox, possibly even unsavory. Their loans don’t show up on any balance sheets. They look like a disaster waiting to happen.

I believe these fears are misplaced, and I should know: Eight months after my visit to Hangzhou, I became a shadow banker myself. Since 2011, I have run a microcredit firm in Guangzhou, which provides loans to thousands of small-scale entrepreneurs: florists, restaurateurs, fish farmers, vegetable growers, roadside hawkers.

Although we charge about 24% annually for our money, demand remains virtually unlimited. Our customers are too small and too unstable to get traditional bank loans. At the same time, because we keep our loan amounts small — $20,000 apiece on average — and because we have close contact with our clients, the business has proved reasonably secure. Our bad debts have not strayed above 5% since the firm was founded five years ago.

This month, I visited Wang in Hangzhou again. A few borrowers had defaulted in recent months, he told me, but unlike some of his competitors, he had been “extremely lucky.” He was scrupulous about only lending to clients and businesses he knew well, and years of experience had given him a good eye.

“This is my hard-earned money; I have to be careful,” he told me. “My family was dirt-poor when I was a child. I am just so afraid of becoming poor again.” Wang’s fortune had almost doubled since I had last seen him.

Lower Leverage

One cannot defend a $5 trillion industry with a couple of examples. Two of Wang’s colleagues had been wiped out in the last year after large borrowers defaulted. Several other informal lenders in Hangzhou had ended up behind bars after disgruntled investors accused them of fraud. In recent weeks, news reports have described mass bankruptcies among small businesses that had borrowed heavily from shadow banks at exorbitant rates.

But neither should one condemn all of shadow banking because of stories like these. Shadow banking is well diversified, and serves a legitimate customer base. By and large, it has much lower leverage than banks or corporate China. Losses at shadow banks are often absorbed by entrepreneurs themselves, without affecting the taxpayer.

Even the “wealth management products” offered by regular banks are not to be feared, because they are just deposits, pure and simple, whatever the theoretical distinctions. I buy them myself.

Certainly, the sector could stand to be brought under greater supervision. But many of the regulations already in place are vague and unreasonable. Authorities have never clearly defined something as fundamental as what constitutes “illegal fundraising.” Microcredit operations, like ours, are allowed to borrow from no more than two banks for any more than 50% of their equity capital. Why only two banks? Why only 50%? These restrictions are arbitrary, and they severely limit our ability to lend to underprivileged customers.

The government and the media are scapegoating the wrong culprit. Shadow banking has flourished in China for one simple reason: financial repression. By keeping interest rates artificially low, authorities have forced savers to search for more lucrative financial products. By favoring banks — which, in turn, favor state-owned or well-connected private-sector companies with loans — they have forced small enterprises to seek out people like me and Wang.

Meanwhile, projects that might look sketchy at 9% interest rates suddenly look feasible at 6%. Under such conditions, traditional banks have steadily lowered their lending standards — from prime loans to subprime and then to simply silly loans.

Sound familiar? That’s how the 2008 financial crisis began, too. Leaders are right to worry about the possibility of a banking crisis in China. But instead of focusing their ire on shadow bankers, they should raise benchmark interest rates in order to reduce the amount of credit flowing to dodgy loans through the formal banking sector. The threat to China’s financial system is right there — out in the open — not lurking in the shadows.

Joe Zhang is the author of “Inside China’s Shadow Banking: The Next Subprime Crisis?”

Bloomberg.com



- wong chee tat :)

China trying new form of Internet censorship: campaign group

China trying new form of Internet censorship: campaign group

    POSTED: 01 Jun 2013 9:52 PM
 
China is experimenting with more subtle methods to censor Internet search results ahead of the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to a group that monitors blocked websites in the country.

BEIJING: China is experimenting with more subtle methods to censor Internet search results ahead of the 24th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to a group that monitors blocked websites in the country.

In the past, a search for keywords in China related to the events of June 4, 1989, came up with an explicit message saying: "According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, search results for (the blocked keyword) cannot be displayed."

But GreatFire.org said in the lead up to the anniversary certain searches, such as "June 4 incident", had been intermittently returning a series of "carefully selected results", though it was impossible to click through to the actual webpages.

The organisation said this was an example of "censorship at its worst", with users duped into believing the keyword they were searching for was not a sensitive topic.

Troops killed hundreds of protesters during the pro-democracy protests in Beijing, but GreatFire.org said searches for "Tiananmen incident" returned links to an unrelated happening in the square from 1976.

It said the changes were not applied consistently, concluding that the authorities were conducting tests to improve their control systems.

The Internet in China is purged of politically sensitive websites and Beijing closely monitors the hundreds of millions of web users to prevent organised dissent. Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are banned.

The system of online censorship is dubbed the "Great Firewall", a term combining the words "Great Wall" and computer "firewall".

- AFP/sb

- wong chee tat :)

Dim Sum bonds issued in Singapore

Dim Sum bonds issued in Singapore

    POSTED: 27 May 2013 10:48 PM
  
Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC are issuing yuan-denominated (Dim Sum) bonds for the first time in Singapore.

SINGAPORE: Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC are issuing yuan-denominated (Dim Sum) bonds for the first time in Singapore.

The announcement came as the Singapore Exchange launched its own yuan-clearing system on Monday.

Both banks are also known to be among the most aggressive players in the offshore yuan market.

Standard Chartered's offshore renminbi-denominated Senior Unsecured Notes are the first RMB bond deposited with SGX.

The timing of the bonds issuance coincides with the start of offshore yuan-clearing services by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on Monday.

This could help free up trade in the currency and make Singapore an offshore hub for Dim Sum debt.

HSBC Singapore has issued a two-year yuan bond at a yield of about 2.25%. The notes will raise 500 million yuan.

Matthew Cannon, the head of Global Markets at HSBC in Singapore, said in a statement that the issuance shows HSBC's commitment to further develop the offshore RMB market.

He added: "The funds will be used to finance the bank's expansion of RMB-based lending assets.

"This issuance will help open the market to other issuers looking to fund themselves internationally in RMB, offer new investment opportunities to the substantial pool of wealth managed in Singapore and assist in funding the rapidly growing RMB denominated trade business in Asia."

Standard Chartered raised 1 billion yuan through its 3-year note issuance with a yield of 2.625% after generating over 3 billion yuan in orders from 75 investors across Asia.

With settlement of the bond set for 31 May, Standard Chartered said it would be the first offshore yuan bond that is listed, cleared and settled in Singapore.

Standard Chartered's CEO Ray Ferguson said in a statement that he sees this as another step in Singapore's development as an offshore RMB hub.

"Singapore already leads as a regional treasury centre; is a springboard to Southeast Asia along the key trade corridor with China and provides a hub for Asian wealth management and commodities trading. Singapore's contribution to the development of the RMB is further enhanced by this issuance," he added.

The sales will be cleared through SGX's Central Depository, which provides clearing and settlement services for securities in Singapore.

Will Hedden, IG Market's senior sales trader, said: "There's a lot of money here from China that would be looking for somewhere to go, in that respect in the fixed income space. And these banks are really there to capitalize on it.

"It's another kind of sign that perhaps people are moving away from dollars and yen and euros and other what we would consider major reserve currencies around the world and looking to get exposure into China."

Previously, most of the trading was handled through mainland China or Hong Kong-based banks.

Singapore is set to compete with other trading hubs such as Taipei, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, London and Luxembourg in a market estimated to worth up to 360 billion yuan, or US$59 billion.

SGX's depository service adds to the exchange's current offering of listing, quotation, trading, clearing and settlement of RMB-denominated securities and listing of offshore RMB bonds.

Magnus Bocker, CEO of SGX, said in a statement:  "Our enhanced RMB capabilities support customers interested in the internationalization of the RMB and the growth of the Chinese economy.

"It will also complement the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's yuan-clearing service to participating banks, which starts today (Monday).

"As Singapore's role as an international offshore RMB centre becomes increasingly important, customers coming to SGX can be assured of our commitment to keep growing and enhancing our suite of RMB and China-related products and services."

HSBC and Standard Chartered said they would manage their own sales.

Last week, DBS Group said it wants to issue yuan-denominated bonds to be cleared out of Singapore too.

- CNA/al

- wong chee tat :)

China pupil has father, sister "killed over study"

China pupil has father, sister "killed over study"

    POSTED: 13 May 2013 7:13 PM
  
A school pupil was arrested in China for hiring hitmen who killed his father and sister because of the pressure they put on him to study.

BEIJING: A school pupil was arrested in China for hiring hitmen who killed his father and sister because of the pressure they put on him to study, reports said Monday, highlighting educational stress in the country.

The teenager was detained in the central province of Henan following the death of his father Gao Tianfeng -- a senior court official -- and his 20-year-old sister, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing local police.

"According to the police interrogation of the boy, the junior hired two men that he got to know via the Internet to kill his father and elder sister, because 'they had given him too much pressure in study'," Xinhua said.

Surveillance cameras showed two men had climbed over a wall and entered the house in Zhoukou at the time of the murder early on Sunday, the report said, adding two of the three suspects allegedly involved, including Gao's son, had been held.

Police could not be reached for comment by AFP Monday.

China has long been known for its highly disciplined approach to education, and parenting methods have drawn criticism for putting too much pressure on children to pass highly-competitive exams.

- AFP/fl


- wong chee tat :)

China "shadow banking" growing fast

China "shadow banking" growing fast

    POSTED: 13 May 2013 7:36 PM
  
China's shadow banking activities have risen nearly 70 per cent over the past two years and now total more than half the size of the world's second-largest economy.

BEIJING: China's shadow banking activities have risen nearly 70 per cent over the past two years and now total more than half the size of the world's second-largest economy, ratings agency Moody's said on Monday.

Shadow banking includes private lending, off-balance-sheet vehicles and trusts, and allows borrowers to circumvent banks' formal underwriting standards, as well as official regulation.

Such lending has surged 67 per cent since the end of 2010, Moody's said in a report, reaching an estimated total of 29 trillion yuan (US$4.7 trillion) at the end of last year, or 55 per cent of China's GDP.

The rapid growth was partly due to some borrowers having difficulties obtaining regular bank loans, according to the report, and threatened the health of the banking system and the overall economy.

"Shadow banking may encourage excessive financial leverage in the broad economy and add to credit bubble concerns," Moody's said.

"Given the substantial scale and growth of shadow banking activities in China, we are doubtful of the banks' ability to isolate themselves from a significant increase in defaults in the shadow banking domain."

China's banking regulator has sought to rein in non-transparent lending activities and in March ordered banks to step up checks on wealth management products as part of a bid to boost risk control and openness.

But Moody's said: "The impact from shadow banking on banks will depend on the amount and timing of losses and how they are allocated, variables that are difficult to assess at this point, given the lack of transparency and fast-evolving nature of shadow banking in China."

- AFP/fl

- wong chee tat :)

Yahoo China to end email service: media

Yahoo China to end email service: media

    POSTED: 19 Apr 2013 7:48 PM
    UPDATED: 19 Apr 2013 10:45 PM
 
Yahoo's China arm will shut down its email service later this year, state media reported on Friday, in a move illustrating the brand's diminishing profile in the country.

BEIJING: Yahoo's China arm will shut down its email service later this year, state media reported Friday, illustrating the brand's diminishing profile in the country.

China Yahoo! announced it will close its email service by August 19, a move the China Daily said will leave it with just its web portal business.

Users of the service were informed that they must register with AliCloud, a unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, to prevent emails and other information from being deleted when Yahoo's mail service stops.

China Yahoo! has been operated by Alibaba since 2005, the paper said.

The US Internet giant Yahoo! has come under criticism in the past over its business in China, with executives apologising in 2007 for providing evidence that Chinese authorities used to convict government critics.

The company said it was legally obliged to divulge information about its users to the Chinese government but that it was unaware it would be used to convict dissidents.

The end of the service will affect millions of users, the paper quoted Alibaba public relations official Zhang Jianhua as saying, though he did not have a total figure.

The China Daily quoted Zhang as saying the move was because "we are not sure how long we can provide the email service under Yahoo's current technological structure".

In September, Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that it has bought back billions of dollars worth of stock from Yahoo!, by completing an initial repurchase of shares from the US company and other transactions valued at approximately US$7.6 billion.

The move partly fulfilled a previous deal that Yahoo! would sell back its 40 percent stake in Alibaba.

In a statement to AFP, a spokesperson for China Yahoo! confirmed that the email service would be suspended and said: "We will offer several options to our users to make this transition as smooth as possible, and China Yahoo! users will have four months time to migrate their accounts."

The statement said that the migration process had started on Thursday.

Users of China's Twitter-like microblogs expressed anger at the news.

A post under the name "Lisa's paw" said: "How can they do this? All of sudden Yahoo mail can't be logged onto and everything was moved to AliCloud. Did you ask for users' opinions?"

- AFP/fl

- wong chee tat :)