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China’s embrace of green finance has been one of the key factors driving sustainability considerations to the top of the global financial policy agenda. In this post for the Sustainable Finance Leadership Series, Professor Wang Yao takes stock of the progress made since 2016 and identifies the steps that still need to be taken to bring finance in line with the country’s ambitions to build an ‘ecological civilisation’.To get more latest banking finance news, you can visit shine news official website.
In 2012, the Chinese government approved a far-reaching policy goal of building an ‘ecological civilization’. This goal is driven partly by the urgent need to clean up the consequences of rapid industrialisation, as well as by the desire to build a more harmonious growth model.
Realising this ambition requires green finance – the full range of financial services that support the environmental transformation of the economy and the efficient use of resources. The scale of capital required is immense: an estimated RMB 3–4 trillion (US$ 433–577 billion) each year in green investments from 2015 to 2020, according to research by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.
The Guidelines for establishing the green financial system, a
comprehensive plan to channel this investment, were released on 31
August 2016 by seven finance-related ministries and commissions,
including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Four days later, the
Chinese government hosted its first G20 summit in Hangzhou, where, for
the first time in the G20’s history, all heads of state agreed on the
shared goal of promoting green finance.
Unlike the Western
‘bottom-up’ approach, which rests on market innovation, China’s
construction of a green financial system has a ‘top-down’ nature, based
on government guidance, as epitomised by the 2016 Guidelines for
establishing the green financial system and programmatic documents.
As the central bank, the PBOC has taken a number of steps to promote green financial development through a combination of macro-prudential and monetary policy. Since the third quarter of 2017, the PBOC has begun to incorporate green finance into the macro-prudential assessment system, including through positive incentives for commercial banks to increase their stock of green credit and boost green deposits to supplement green credit. In June 2018, the Bank decided to include green loans with an AA rating as collateral in the medium-term loan facility (MLF). And in July 2018, the PBOC issued the Green credit performance evaluation plan for banking deposit financial institutions (trial), which further refines the evaluation criteria for the green credit performance of banking financial institutions.
Building on the foundations laid in the green bond market, financial standards are maturing as well. In June 2017, the PBOC and other ministries and commissions jointly issued the country’s Financial industry standardisation system construction development plan (2016–2020). This plan includes ‘green financial standardisation’ as one of its main projects, with a focus on product standards, information disclosure standards and green credit rating standards for financial institutions.
China has also become a key advocate of promoting green finance internationally. Green finance was the only new topic that China added to the agenda of the G20 finance track when it held the presidency in 2016, with China co-chairing the Green Finance Study Group together with the UK. In addition, China was a founding member of the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and is a strong supporter of both the Sustainable Banking Network (SBN) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). A critical issue for international green finance is the alignment of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the world’s largest infrastructure programme, with high standards of environmental sustainability.
As China struggles to deal with the slowdown of the world’s second-largest economy, it has embarked on a new strategy of placing financial experts in provinces to manage risks and rebuild regional economies.To get more china finance news, you can visit shine news official website.
Since 2018, President Xi Jinping has put 12 former executives at state-run financial institutions or regulators in top posts across China's 31 provinces,regions and municipalities, including some who have grappled with banking and debt difficulties that have raised fears of financial meltdown.Only two top provincial officials had such financial background before the last big leadership reshuffle in 2012, according to Reuters research.
Among financial experts recently promoted is Beijing vice mayor Yin Yong, a former deputy central bank governor, and Shandong deputy provincial governor Liu Qiang, who rose through the country's biggest commercial banks, from Agricultural Bank of China to Bank of China.
Another newly promoted official, Chongqing vice mayor Li Bo, had until this year led the central bank's monetary policy department.
The appointments - overseeing economies larger than those of small countries - would appear to put those officials in the fast lane as China prepares a personnel reshuffle in 2022, when about half of the 25 members of the Politburo could be replaced, including Liu He, a vice-premier who is leading economic reform while doubling as chief negotiator in U.S. trade talks.Bankers are now in demand, as local governments are increasingly exposed to financial risks," said Chucheng Feng, a partner at Plenum, an independent research platform in Hong Kong.
"These ex-bankers and regulators are given the task of preventing and mitigating major financial risks."The appointments have come as economic growth has slowed to its weakest in nearly three decades, while government infrastructure investment has fallen.
Five regional banks were hit with management or liquidity problem this year, raising the prospect of devastating debt bombs lurking in unexpected corners."We need to be well prepared with contingency plans," the state Xinhua news agency said after a major annual economic meeting headed by Xi this month.
The economy faced "increasing downward economic pressure amid intertwined structural, institutional and cyclical problems", the news agency said.With pressures mounting, local governments are expecting to take the lead in managing their financial scares and cutting the cost of rescue with local intervention, analysts say.
"Appointing financial vice governors to provinces can help better integrate financial policies into local practice, and to prevent financial risks beforehand," said He Haifeng, director of Institute of Financial Policy at Chinese Academy of Social Science, a government think-tank.
"Such appointments have also showcased a change of manner in official appointments."
The phase one trade deal between the U.S. and China signed in Washington on Wednesday is notable not for what it includes, but for what it omits, according to international trade experts.To get more china business news 2020, you can visit shine news official website.
“Phase one is not a trade agreement but just puts an end to costly escalation that was going nowhere,” said Peter Petri, a professor of international finance at the Brandeis International Business School.
The agreement focuses heavily on a commitment by China for purchases of $200 billion worth of U.S. farm products and other exports, with much less emphasis on the bigger issues standing between the two countries. The two sides also agreed to restart semi-annual meetings to discuss economic reform and dispute resolution.
In a highly unusual move, the administration did not make the actual agreement available ahead of the signing, as is customary — raising some skepticism about the enforcement mechanisms contained in the text. “I’m looking at the technology transfer and intellectual property provisions to see what the specific enforcement mechanisms are. My question is, how is this going to work?” said Dean A. Pinkert, senior counsel at the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed and a former commissioner of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
“The two sides have reached a deal simply by avoiding the difficult issues like intellectual property protection in China,” said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics. “China has no desire to change the way its economy operates.”
“It doesn’t so far include anything that is related to the entire issues surrounding Huawei, 5G, export controls, or a host of new technologies,” said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “More importantly, there is nothing here concerning Chinese subsidies and I think that, in many ways, is the big omission,” he said. “If you’re worried about China as a long-term tech competitor, then clearly the logic of that argument rests with the fact that the Chinese are quote-unquote rigging the system through state-owned subsidies.”
A joint statement issued by Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said phase two of the deal has been pushed until after the U.S. presidential election in November, further prolonging an economic limbo that has put a chill on business investment and capital expenditures.
“Tariffs have been overwhelmingly bad for the United States. The uncertainty factor they’ve introduced has been extremely negative,” Kirkegaard said.“A lot of the uncertainty that is plaguing businesses about their trade supply chains will continue after this deal,” Yerxa said.
“It seems from the public indications that there’s a lot of work to do on the structural reform items, so it’s going to take time,” Pinkert said. “We don’t really know what the timeline is for phase two.”
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro has not ruled out reimposing future trade sanctions, telling NPR the U.S. has the right to undertake a “proportionate response” to problems or disputes, and the vast majority of tariffs remain in place. Although the White House agreed to cancel a 15 percent tariff on a wide-ranging tranche of consumer goods that had been scheduled to go into effect last month, and tariffs were lowered on $120 billion worth of Chinese goods from 15 percent to 7.5 percent, the deal still leaves 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports.
“If you’re an industry that’s in any sense dependent on international supply chains, many of your supply chains are probably going to still be subject to tariffs,” Kirkegaard said.
A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper found a nearly complete pass-through of increased tariff costs, or a collective $51 billion borne by import buyers. Overall, the average tariff level on all Chinese imports only dropped by 2 percentage points, to 19 percent. (Prior to the start of the trade war, it was at 3 percent, according to the Peterson Institute.)
2019 was a dynamic and unpredictable year across the investing and financial services landscapes. With a boatload of uncertainties still adrift in this new year and decade, expect 2020 to be just as tumultuous. Still, it's a great time to be an investor and a market participant. To get more news about bbc news china economy, you can visit shine news official website.
Now, I'm no investment strategist or expert economist, but I am a close observer and commentator on the global economy and markets. I have the privilege and great honor of being the Editor of Investopedia, which gives me some purview and a point of view on these matters.
What will the economy be like in 2020?
The U.S. economy in 2020
will be like a BBQ grill about an hour after you’ve taken the steaks
off—still kind of hot, but not blazing. The 2017 tax breaks that
companies enjoyed will have worn off by then, and even though the
U.S.-China trade war may be on the road to resolution, companies have
pulled the reins hard enough in 2019 that it will be tough to jump start
growth. The Federal Reserve is more likely to raise interest rates
rather than cut them, but if the economy starts to slow dramatically,
that may change. In other words, fiscal stimulus in the form of lower
rates doesn't seem likely.
The global economy on the other hand, will start to pick up some steam after being in the doldrums the past few years. China’s growth is admittedly slowing, but it is still growing at a better than 6% clip, and the Chinese government is doing whatever it can to keep the furnaces hot. China's neighboring economies should see more growth as low interest rates and a cooling of the trade war continues.
Keep an eye on the U.K. now that PM Johnson has his parliamentary
majority. He’ll be opening the vaults at 10 Downing street and spending
Great Britain’s way to growth as it Brexits away. Germany, on the other
hand, needs to find a way to stop its slowdown and find a path to
growth. As Europe's biggest economy, when it drags the whole EU grinds
with it.
Not likely in 2020. All the leading economic indicators
still have some juice in them, despite the fact that manufacturing and
industrial production have been slowing. The resolution of the trade war
with China will help boost corporate confidence, and the U.S. consumer
remains strong due to a healthy jobs market, low inflation and low gas
prices. The economic expansion is getting long in the tooth, but
expansions don’t typically die of old age.
Outside the U.S., Germany is teetering on the edge of recession, and that could pull the Eurozone down with it. Christine Lagarde has no fear of economic stimulus, so count on her to do what is necessary to prevent a hard landing in Europe.
Tricolor, the nation’s largest used vehicle retailer focusing on the sale and financing of vehicles to the Hispanic consumer, today announced from the Auto Finance Summit in Las Vegas, NV that it has been named as one of only five winners of the 2019 Auto Finance News Excellence Awards, capturing the Excellence Award for Technology. The award recognizes Tricolor for excellence and innovation in its use of technology over the prior 12 months.To get more auto finance news, you can visit shine news official website.
During that time, Tricolor has continued to integrate and apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, new software platforms, digital marketing strategies, and other IT-related innovations as part of its commitment to transform the $210 billion auto lending industry for Hispanics in the U.S. Tricolor has continued to transform the used auto purchasing and ownership experience for deserving customers through the use of WhatsApp for customer service, new online car buying tools, and cutting edge application of machine learning and AI in underwriting to better serve credit invisible customers.
Recently, the company also launched a new affiliate called Tricolor Insurance, leveraging its proprietary underwriting algorithms and successful scoring strategies to provide affordable, low-monthly premium insurance policies to auto owners.
Tricolor CEO Daniel Chu and company President-COO Don Goin were both speakers at the 2019 Auto Finance Summit and accepted the award at the event. Goin participated on a panel regarding innovative uses of AI and machine learning, while Chu delivered a keynote presentation on how to obtain and retain customer loyalty in the digital age.
“This award is a gratifying validation of the mission of our company – that technology powers our ability to provide underserved customers with affordable access to high quality vehicles and ultimately improve their lives with a path to mainstream financing,” said Tricolor CEO Daniel Chu. “With AI-powered risk and analytics at the core of our business, we are dramatically remaking the used car buying experience in America for the Hispanic consumer.”
Since its founding in 2007, Tricolor has empowered customers by providing access to affordable financing on high quality, certified vehicles in order to enhance the quality of their lives and ultimately help them to build a better future. The company operates 36 dealerships in Texas and California through its Tricolor and Ganas brands. On a combined basis, Tricolor and Ganas have served nearly 50,000 customers and disbursed nearly $1 billion in affordable auto loans by using its proprietary model to segment risk.
Tricolor’s proven and proprietary credit decisioning engine demonstrates its advanced analytical competency and serves as the foundation for a new direct lending model for subprime customers. Its AI-powered segmentation model assesses unique, nontraditional attributes for no credit and low-income consumers in order to assess intent and ability to repay. For more than a decade, Tricolor has successfully scored no file and thin file Hispanics, as evidenced by five well-received ABS securitizations.
Several years ago, Gan Xiaoge travelled the nearly 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Anhui Province in China's east to the capital Beijing in search of work.As an office cleaner, she rode the wave of the country's rapid economic growth and the opportunities it created.To get more China economy news, you can visit shine news official website.
But as that growth cools off, and the prices of key items such as pork rise rapidly following a swine flu epidemic, Gan finds herself among the hundreds of millions of Chinese who are starting to feel the pinch.
"Pork prices have risen so much in recent months and soon I won't be able to afford meat any more. The landlord has also raised my rent from 500 yuan ($71) to 800 yuan ($114), then 1,000 yuan ($142) in three months," Gan told Al Jazeera.China's gross domestic product (GDP) - which measures the total value of all finished goods and services produced in an economy - grew by six percent in the three months leading up to September.
That was a relatively rapid growth rate for a country the size of China - an expansion rate that was more than three times that of the United States over the same period.But it was the slowest growth China has experienced since 1992.
The slowdown is disproportionately hurting people like Gan - migrant workers and those in lower-income groups."There's no protection for us [from rent hikes] and [landlords] can always just find another tenant easily. The salary in Beijing is barely enough to earn a living," Gan said.People in Gan's position are feeling the effects of the slowdown in various ways. One of them is through the job market.
China's official urban unemployment rate stood at 3.61 percent in the third quarter, according to a Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security official quoted by the state Xinhua news agency. It has hovered near or below the four percent mark for years, and that figure puts it roughly in line with the US unemployment rate.But anecdotal evidence points to a growing number of manufacturing companies laying off staff as they suffer from the drop in overseas orders caused by the trade war with the US.
For instance, China's employed persons index - a component of the monthly official manufacturing purchasing managers' index that measures whether factory activity is expanding or contracting - slipped below 47 in August, the first time it had done so since the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. It recovered slightly to 47.3 in October, but any figure below 50 indicates that factories are cutting their headcounts.
But the Chinese economy had been slowing down even before the trade war began last year. One reason for the deceleration was Beijing's attempt to reduce debts and social inequality that had worsened as the government pursued an export-oriented strategy to create world-beating, low-cost industries.
Now, Chinese President Xi Jinping is trying to reverse some of those adverse side effects by reducing China's reliance on exports and making domestic consumers the main engine for growth.
"Beijing is struggling to rebalance growth towards consumer spending, which suggests that any stimulus efforts will remain focused on investment," Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, wrote in a research note.
"But ultimately, Xi Jinping seems prepared to accept much weaker growth. He cares more about reducing inequality and disarming its threat to [the Chinese Communist Party's] power than about growth and financial markets," Choyleva added.
From rural bank runs to surging consumer indebtedness and an unprecedented bond restructuring, mounting signs of financial stress in China are putting the nation’s policy makers to the test.To get more China finance news, you can visit shine news official website.
Xi Jinping’s government faces an increasingly difficult balancing act
as it tries to support the world’s second-largest economy without
encouraging moral hazard and reckless spending. While authorities have
so far been reluctant to rescue troubled borrowers and ramp up stimulus,
the costs of maintaining that stance are rising as defaults increase
and China’s slowdown deepens.
Policy makers are attempting to do the
“minimum necessary to keep the economy on the rails,” Andrew Tilton,
chief Asia-Pacific economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a
Bloomberg TV interview.
Among China’s most vexing challenges is the deteriorating health of smaller lenders and regional state-owned companies, whose financial linkages risk triggering a downward spiral without support from Beijing. A landmark debt recast proposed this week by Tewoo Group, a state-owned commodities trader, has raised concerns about more financial turbulence in its home city of Tianjin.
Concerns have popped up across the country in recent months, often
centered around smaller banks. Confidence in these institutions has
waned since May, when regulators seized control of a lender in Inner
Mongolia and imposed losses on some creditors. Authorities have since
intervened to quell at least two bank runs and orchestrated bailouts for
two other lenders.
In its annual Financial Stability Report released
this week, China’s central bank described 586 of the country’s almost
4,400 lenders as “high risk,” slightly more than last year. It also
highlighted the dangers associated with rising consumer leverage, saying
household debt as a percentage of disposable income jumped to 99.9% in
2018 from 93.4% a year earlier.
The PBOC and other regulators have long warned about the risks of excessive corporate debt, which climbed to a record 165% of gross domestic product in 2018, according to Bloomberg Economics.
For now, investors appear to be betting that policy makers can manage the country’s financial risks and keep the economy afloat.
The government’s sale of $6 billion in sovereign dollar debt this week was oversubscribed, while volatility in the Chinese stock market has dropped to the lowest level since early 2018, in part due to optimism over the prospects for a trade deal with the U.S. Yield spreads on the short-term debt of lower-rated Chinese banks relative to AAA peers have narrowed in recent months, a sign that smaller lenders are finding it easier to secure funding.