Is recovery the new black?
After a raft of measures that China has unleashed almost everyday in the last two weeks, the country’s equities market finally rebounded for a second straight day Friday, its biggest two-day rebound in seven years. Hong Kong too has risen, though the HIS remains cheaper than the Shanghai Composite Index, making the former British colony an attractive place for bargain hunting, as some investors are now doing.
As the Chinese market recovers, net sales of foreign investors on mainland equities through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect has also eased, dropping more than 70% on Thursday from last Monday’s record high, data from the Hong Kong Exchanges showed. This, as economists assured the economic impact of the market rout will be minimal.
As the stock market drama in China is nearing its conclusion (at least for the mean time), Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s top executive has been placed under policy custody for bribery allegations at his former job in another Chinese online platform, Tencent. While Patrick Liu’s ordeal is probably just starting, another Chinese man’s suffering under slavery has ended after he escaped and walked for a month across a Chinese province until a policeman found him. Read on.
China shares post biggest two-day rise since 2008. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.5% on Friday’s close, extending the previous session’s 5.8% gain. The Nikkei ended the day down 0.4%, while the Hang Seng Index was last seen up more than 2%. Bloomberg/CNBC
Investors hunt for bargains in Hong Kong. After being dragged down by the downturn in Chinese equities, nearly half of the Hang Seng Index including HSBC are trading below their book value. Despite Thursday’s rebound, the HSI is still around 33% cheaper than Shanghai Composite Index, which also rose yesterday. Bloomberg
Alibaba senior executive Patrick Liu in police custody. Liu is under investigation for bribery allegations not in Alibaba but at his former employer at Tencent. Up to six former employees of Tencent including Liu are under investigation for alleged corruption. Alibaba said it would provide legal aid for Liu. BBC/Bloomberg
Chinese man walks for a month to escape slavery. Surnamed Li, the 31-year old man walked across 2,500 kilometers to escape from people who forced him to work as a slave. The police found Li Tuesday while he was walking along a highway in Xianyang in Shaanxi province. South China Morning Post (paywall)
Photo credit: Sam valadi via Flickr