It is quasi-axiomatic to state that China is interested in eventually becoming the world’s #1 superpower by employing a wide range of strategies: fostering robust domestic consumption and the transition to a model which enables China to leverage its increasingly prosperous middle class, establishing itself as a soft power that represents a desirable trading partner
China Growth
19
Apr
Apr
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Investing in (Today’s) China from a Contrarian Perspective
To clarify this aspect right from the beginning, a contrarian investor is someone who doesn’t mind trading against the proverbial crowd and, on the contrary (pun intended), builds his entire investment model around identifying instances in which the market is so wrong that asymmetrical opportunities pertaining to “betting” against it present themselves. In an ideal
16
Apr
Apr
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Diminishing Returns in China… and the West?
We aren’t going to refer to “diminishing returns” in the microeconomic sense (as a decrease in the marginal output correlated with an incremental increase of a single factor of production) but rather in a broader manner, by taking a look at just how much of an increase in credit-fueled firepower is necessary to maintain economic
15
Apr
Apr
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Could China Fail?
This is perhaps the broadest but at the same time most difficult question that even die-hard China bulls are most likely plagued by… whether they are willing to admit it is an entirely different discussion. The bottom line is that at least in the back of your mind, no matter how optimistic you are or
14
Apr
Apr
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Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) vs. Speculative “Hot” Money: China’s Perspective
As of the let’s say very early Deng Xiaoping days, China found itself in a bit of a predicament when it came to the foreign capital inflow variable. More specifically, Deng understood all too well that China (desperately) needed Western capital but for a wide range of reasons (most of which political, of course), this
10
Apr
Apr
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China’s Music Industry: Numbers. Constraints. Potential.
This much is certain: a music industry worth north of $50 billion in 2019 ($53 billion or 370 billion yuan, to be more precise) and with a YOY growth rate representing a considerably above-average 8% needs to be taken seriously. Needless to say, the Chinese authorities tend to agree and as such, have prioritized investments
09
Apr
Apr
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China and Australia: From Double-Digit Two-Way Trade Growth to Geopolitical Tensions
It would be a severe understatement to call Sino-Australian relations confusing because the more a casual observer researches, the more he or she tends to be bombarded with downright contradictory signals. In no particular order, here are just a few examples of information that seems to point toward one clear direction when taken in isolation
06
Apr
Apr
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China and the Gig Economy: Economic Growth 2.0 or Ideological Incongruence?
A lot of observers make the mistake of assuming that the gig economy is an exclusively Western trend in light of the fact that it seems to align so well with Western values. It is decentralized rather than centralized, it encourages freelancers to compete with one another within whichever platform they are using, it is
05
Apr
Apr
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Culture Wars in 2020 and Beyond: Is a China – West Cultural War Unfolding?
The average investor who is interested in being up to date on “all things China” so as to make better choices tends to spend asymmetrically more time crunching economic numbers compared to endeavors that, in our view, would enable him or her to meaningfully “get” China from more than one angle. As such, their perspective
03
Apr
Apr
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China-Related Conspiracy Theories: Motivation, Interpretation, Substance… and Lack Thereof
This is a topic we believe needs to be addressed thoroughly because as an investor in Chinese assets or someone who is thinking about gaining exposure to Chinese assets, you are literally bombarded with more or less reasonable scenarios pertaining to China, many of which venture well into conspiracy theory territory. Right from the beginning,