People

Local-level governments’ implementation of the 20 new easing measures announced by the State Council has been disappointing, casting further doubt on a real reopening any time soon, according to Chen Zhiwu, a chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong.

Chen Zhiwu, a professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, says amid China’s drastically changed political environment, the pressure is “really high, if not higher” for Hui to keep paying down corporate liabilities with his own money.

陳志武：《文明的邏輯》這本書其實是用量化歷史研究的方法，為讀者們回答了一個根本性的問題：人類做了哪些事，或者說做對了哪些事，使我們應對風險的能力不斷提高，進而使文明持續戰勝野蠻。

ZHIWU CHEN, PROFESSOR OF FINANCE, UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG - "One significant change is to de-emphasise economic development and economic reform. From the 14th to the 19th Party Congress, economic development was, each time, explicitly stated as the central mission for the Party, whereas this time there is no such mention; instead, the emphasis is on 'complete' and 'all-rounded' development. That is, it is not just economic development but also political, social, environmental, and cultural development that the Party will devote efforts to."

“The 60 reforms would have largely expanded the role of consumption and private initiatives,” says Chen Zhiwu, a professor in Chinese finance and economy at the University of Hong Kong. “However, the market-oriented reform agenda has been largely sidelined . . . resulting in a larger role for the state and a shrunken role for the private sector.”

Chen Zhiwu, a professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, says Chinese leaders understand military conflicts may be “hard to avoid” if Beijing wants to unify Taiwan with the mainland. “The comprehensive economic sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine have only added urgency to [China] achieving self-sufficiency in technology, finance, food and energy,” Chen adds. “Self-sufficiency as a phrase has regained currency in the party’s publications.”

“Banks are caught in the middle,” ,“If they don’t help the developers finish the projects, they would end up losing much more. If they do, that of course would make the government happy, but they add more to their exposure to delayed real estate projects.” — Professor Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance

“After the failed Blackstone transaction, they clearly knew that more things would come. It was only a matter of time.” — Professor Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance

It's been a very bad year for Soho China, which was once one of China's hottest property developers.