Bloomberg reports on how offshore Chinese companies locked out of the global banking system following the release of the Panama Papers may find relief in a new bank in the British Virgin Islands.
The Bank of Asia, as it is called, will focus on Chinese customers and open up for a “soft launch within Q3 2017,” according to its website. The Virgin Islands, like many Caribbean tax havens, are known for incorporating massive shell companies that disguise owners’ identities, a legal practice that nonetheless became even more closely associated with money laundering following the Panama Papers leak. China and Hong Kong-linked firms “accounted for almost a third of the offshore companies created by Mossack Fonseca,” the law firm whose papers were exposed in the leak, Bloomberg noted.
Bloomberg data shows that nearly 2 trillion dollars left China in 2015 and 2016, though government crackdowns on capital outflow led to a capital inflow in February 2017 for the first time in over two years. However, the money is now headed out again, according to the most recent numbers in March. The Bloomberg article discusses how the Bank of Asia plans to be a “landing place” for future flows of money leaving China.
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Investors ride roller coaster with baijiu maker Moutai / Caixin
“Moutai’s market capitalization hit $71.5 billion in April, making it the world’s most valuable liquor brand ahead of former No. 1 Diageo, a British company whose labels include Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka. But the baijiu distiller’s road to success since the start of the anti-corruption campaign has been fraught with challenges.” - Cars to batteries: Is China’s sharing economy in bubble territory? / SCMP
- China April factory output, investment growth miss forecasts / Reuters
- U.S. lawmakers sharpen criticism of $1.2 billion MoneyGram deal / Financial Times (paywall)
- Kenya president urges rebalance of China-Africa trade / Financial Times (paywall)
- Villagers in Myanmar describe the destructive power of China’s building frenzy / NYT (paywall)
