“Air travel in China is about to get more expensive,” says CNN, as the Civil Aviation Administration has lifted price caps on airline tickets on domestic routes.
- The new rules take effect immediately, and state that for any route served by at least five carriers, “state-run airlines can now hike prices by as much as 10% a year.”
- Chinese airline shares prices surged “amid expectations that the move will boost profits, with the Lunar New Year national holiday approaching in February,” according to Reuters.
- Beijing to Shanghai and more than 300 other routes are covered by the new rules.
- Healthcare and pharma
Chinese biopharma developer moves to U.S. / Caixin
KBP BioSciences, a “clinical-stage biotechnology company,” will build its new headquarters in the Philadelphia area after a recent $76 million fundraising round that included contributions from “the venture capital firm under the government-backed State Development & Investment Corp. and a venture fund under Ping An Insurance.” - Expensive booze
Returnees increase flow of whisky to China / FT (paywall)
“Imports near level seen before corruption clampdown as drinkers return from overseas.” - Self-driving and electric vehicles
Scooter firm Niu rides China’s electric vehicle wave / CNBC
“Chinese firm Niu used a combination of big data and Internet of Things to create a smart e-scooter.”
A $45,000 SUV you can unlock with a face scan shows China’s car ambitions / Bloomberg
Huawei goes into unmanned driving with BYD’s monorail / TechNode - Yuan internationalization
Central bank relaxes controls on yuan’s cross-border use / Caixin (paywall)
“Overseas salaries can now be paid in China’s national currency and foreign companies can use the yuan to participate in the domestic carbon-trading market… The measures are effective immediately.”
