Changing China
Giant on the move
from George Chen:
Is China Inc still credible?
By George Chen
The opinions expressed are the author’s own.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao once said there's something even more important and precious than gold -- people's confidence.
In recent weeks, I'm afraid global investors have been losing confidence in Chinese stocks from the New York to Shanghai markets. Sino-Forest Corp became the latest victim of a slump in overseas-listed Chinese companies. The company earlier this week accused short-seller and research firm Muddy Waters of defamation for alleging in a report that it had fraudulently exaggerated its Chinese forestry assets.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning of the hit to confidence over Chinese stocks, especially small caps listed at home or abroad, for example in Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and even on the second-tier board of the London Stock Exchange.
If you look at yesterday's trading carefully, you may find investors suddenly became more cautious on small-cap Chinese stocks after the Sino-Forest case. There were already signs with the growing dotcom bubble exported by some Chinese Internet companies to Wall Street.
from Global News Journal:
‘Stop me before I bet again in Singapore’
A performer holds over-sized deck cards in front of the Resorts World Sentosa casino Feb. 14 (REUTERS/Pablo Sanchez)
At least 264 people in Singapore have asked to be put on a list that would prevent them from entering the city state's newly opened casino. Except for nine housewives and 19 unemployed people, the rest had jobs and probably families that they did not want to hurt with a gambling problem. Family members who think a relative might have a gambling problem can also apply to have them banned.
No new stimulus? Buy!
Global markets surged on Wednesday, led by the Shanghai stock market’s 6.1 percent gain, on hopes that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao would announce a new stimulus on top of the 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) two-year spending plan unveiled in November.
Investors were optimistic that with a bit help from the central government, the economy could turn the corner and start to regain lost ground, heading off a rise in unemployment that officials fear could threaten social stability.
