Latest news with #ChinaStrategy
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US investment firm Artisan Partners to close Hong Kong office, sources say
HONG KONG, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S.-based investment firm Artisan Partners is shutting down its Hong Kong office by the end of June, two sources with knowledge of the situation said. The firm is disbanding the Hong Kong-based team after it decided to shut down its Greater China strategy partly due to concerns about escalating Sino-U.S. trade and geopolitical tensions that have made investments in the world's second-largest economy riskier, said one of the sources. Artisan, which is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and managed $164.4 billion globally as of the end of April, did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The sources declined to be named as the information was not public. Reuters could not immediately ascertain how many people would be affected by the shutdown of the Hong Kong office. The firm's China post-venture strategy, a fund that focuses on Chinese small- and mid-cap public and private companies, had $113 million of assets under management at the end of April, according to the firm's monthly update. In the same update, Artisan said the China-focused portfolio was in the process of winding down, without giving details. The firm's retreat from Hong Kong comes amid the U.S. government's tightened scrutiny of American investments in China and an ongoing trade war that has clouded the business outlook of many export-heavy companies from China. The U.S. government restricts U.S. investments in certain sensitive technology sectors in China, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. U.S. investors are also restricted from investing in companies that are on the U.S. sanctioned entity list that comprise a growing number of those from China. U.S. onshore investors were not able to buy shares of Chinese battery giant CATL ( opens new tab in its $4.6 billion Hong Kong listing last month due to the structure of the deal, CATL's filings showed. CATL was placed on a U.S. Defense Department list in January of Chinese companies it says work with China's military. By March 2025, Artisan's China post-venture strategy posted a net loss of 10.4% since its inception in March 2021. "The largest risks for investing in China will continue to be geopolitics and domestic policy overshoots," Tiffany Hsiao, the strategy's portfolio manager, said in a client letter on the firm's website in April. Outside the U.S., Artisan also has offices in London, Dublin, Singapore, and Sydney, according to its website. The move follows the exit or downsizing of several North American asset managers and international law firms from Hong Kong over the past few years. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada's third-largest pension fund, announced the closure of its Hong Kong office in March.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US investment firm Artisan Partners to close Hong Kong office, sources say
By Kane Wu and Summer Zhen HONG KONG (Reuters) -U.S.-based investment firm Artisan Partners is shutting down its Hong Kong office by the end of June, two sources with knowledge of the situation said. The firm is disbanding the Hong Kong-based team after it decided to shut down its Greater China strategy partly due to concerns about escalating Sino-U.S. trade and geopolitical tensions that have made investments in the world's second-largest economy riskier, said one of the sources. Artisan, which is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and managed $164.4 billion globally as of the end of April, did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The sources declined to be named as the information was not public. Reuters could not immediately ascertain how many people would be affected by the shutdown of the Hong Kong office. The firm's China post-venture strategy, a fund that focuses on Chinese small- and mid-cap public and private companies, had $113 million of assets under management at the end of April, according to the firm's monthly update. In the same update, Artisan said the China-focused portfolio was in the process of winding down, without giving details. The firm's retreat from Hong Kong comes amid the U.S. government's tightened scrutiny of American investments in China and an ongoing trade war that has clouded the business outlook of many export-heavy companies from China. The U.S. government restricts U.S. investments in certain sensitive technology sectors in China, such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. U.S. investors are also restricted from investing in companies that are on the U.S. sanctioned entity list that comprise a growing number of those from China. U.S. onshore investors were not able to buy shares of Chinese battery giant CATL in its $4.6 billion Hong Kong listing last month due to the structure of the deal, CATL's filings showed. CATL was placed on a U.S. Defense Department list in January of Chinese companies it says work with China's military. By March 2025, Artisan's China post-venture strategy posted a net loss of 10.4% since its inception in March 2021. "The largest risks for investing in China will continue to be geopolitics and domestic policy overshoots," Tiffany Hsiao, the strategy's portfolio manager, said in a client letter on the firm's website in April. Outside the U.S., Artisan also has offices in London, Dublin, Singapore, and Sydney, according to its website. The move follows the exit or downsizing of several North American asset managers and international law firms from Hong Kong over the past few years. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada's third-largest pension fund, announced the closure of its Hong Kong office in March.
CNA
28-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Commentary: The Asian art of hedging in the time of Donald Trump
SINGAPORE: On May 31, delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2025 in Singapore will hear what United States President Donald Trump wants to say to Asia, as delivered by his defence secretary Pete Hegseth. In February at the Munich Security Conference, Mr Trump's vice president JD Vance shocked many by dismissing the risk of Russian political interference, instead directing scathing criticism at European leaders. At the same event, then Singapore defence minister Ng Eng Hen described America's image as having morphed 'from liberator to great disruptor to a landlord seeking rent' in Asia's eyes. In its 100-plus days in office, the second Trump administration has sought to remake the world by upending the United States' traditional role as the guarantor of world order. But when Mr Hegseth made his first visit to Asia back in March, he sought to reassure Indo-Pacific allies and partners of US commitment to their security and to the region, amid lingering concerns over China's growing assertiveness. As Mr Hegseth put it: 'America First does not mean America alone' – presumably because America still needs the cooperation of Asian friends if its China strategy were to succeed. ENGAGING TRUMP'S AMERICA But what precisely does America's reassurance, limited and conditional as it appears, entail for Asia? Like everywhere else, Asia has been hit by US tariffs, with China's as high as 145 per cent, Vietnam's at 46 per cent and Singapore's at 10 per cent (despite the island's trade deficit and zero-tariff policy under a free trade agreement with the United States). Mr Trump's levies are aimed at provoking Asian countries to renegotiate their extant trade deals with America, while using tariff concessions as pressure to curb their trade with China. For the man who wrote The Art Of The Deal, Mr Trump's reassurances are somewhat disingenuous and are better understood as purely Shylockian deals with their requisite pounds of flesh. Granted, America under Mr Trump's predecessor was also transactional, although Joe Biden's, as Singapore's former top diplomat Bilahari Kausikan has observed, was of the 'polite' variety in contrast to Mr Trump's 'in-your-face' version. And anyone who fails to appreciate and accept this does so at their own peril. Unsurprisingly, it is Asia's vaunted pragmatism that best furnishes a way forward. What Asia has done well, it must now do even better amid the challenging conditions set by Mr Trump. In this respect, three road-tested strategies come to mind. QUID PRO QUO The quid pro quo, or something given in exchange for something, is the foundation of transactional agreements and contracts. During Mr Trump's first presidency, his long-held bugbears against Asians – their purported failure to fulfil their alliance commitments or to trade fairly with America – were seemingly assuaged when Asian countries reciprocated by buying more US products or providing goodwill services to the Americans. For example, Singapore has systematically bought more from America than it has sold and actively facilitated the US military presence in the Indo-Pacific – a strategy that has hitherto worked for Asian countries that can afford to do so. That the United States, in its dealings with China, requires the support of the region now more than ever underscores the need for America and Asia to cooperate to each other's mutual benefit. It is rather telling that other than China and India, none of the Asian countries responded with retaliatory levies against the United States. Arguably, such goodwill gestures and incentives, if pursued quietly without grandstanding and pontificating, could elicit the requisite quid pro quos for Asia – much like how, during the Trump 1.0 years, America responded with its Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, which authorised US$1.5 billion annually in support of Mr Trump's Indo-Pacific strategy. Granted, relying on the quid pro quo can be risky, so long as one side refuses to play by the rules. Appeasing Trump may not work for Asia today as it did during Trump 1.0. Given the undue influence enjoyed today by Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) base in policymaking, some believe that America has gone beyond the pale. But as the constant flipflopping of his tariff policy or his minerals agreement with Ukraine suggests, there might well be a method to Mr Trump's madness where a logic of reciprocity still applies. True to his salesman instincts, he is still looking for the best deal in town – or at least the one he can sell as a win. This is where non-US alternatives could prove significant. WALKING AMONG GIANTS For a long time now, Asia has perfected the art of living dangerously through carefully treading between the rival behemoths, America and China. Far from neutral, Asian countries effectively take positions on issues that either see them variously siding with Washington or Beijing – what behaviour academics call 'hedging' – but which realistically reflect what those countries deem as best for themselves. Hedging is not for the fainthearted because it can provoke harsh reactions from big powers that feel slighted or betrayed. But it creates the necessary strategic space that smaller states otherwise would not have if they were to hew too closely to any one great power. Asian countries would do well to de-risk themselves from America by engaging other powers. This refers not only to China but Australia, India, Japan and Europe (which has its own challenges with Mr Trump). Indeed, dependence on China carries its own risks – as the Philippines discovered when former President Rodrigo Duterte's courting of Beijing failed to produce the desired economic and security outcomes for Manila. BETWEEN POWER AND PRINCIPLE It was not that long ago when pundits debated whether Asia would be better off with a US-led liberal order or a China-led authoritarian one. With its rejection of liberal values, globalism and even multilateralism, Mr Trump's America, in baldly privileging power over principle, has basically rendered that discussion moot. Does Asia's pragmatism automatically denote a default vote for power rather than principle? Not necessarily so, for a pragmatic course implies taking the middle path between the two. But why should Asia – a region unlikely ever to be accused of being liberal – adopt the via media rather than just embracing the new normal of unbridled power politics, perpetrated by the former paragon of principle, and fatalistically accepting its consequences? Bluntly put, with America having cast aside its global leadership role, Asia must do all it can to preserve the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific – without which the dire prospect of Asia becoming like the Ukraine of today (as the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recently warned) would only increase. How Asia responds to Mr Trump's America will shape the security, stability and prosperity of our region. There is no greater urgency than the present where Asia must exercise its agency with all the prudence, discretion and creativity that Asians can muster. The onus for the future of this region is ours to bear. Tan See Seng is the president and chief executive of International Students Inc in the United States, and concurrently research adviser for the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and senior associate at the Centre for Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University.
Mail & Guardian
13-05-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Gulf states channel billions into Africa as China revamps financial model
China has remodelled its African investment strategy, focusing on selective projects, co-financed deals, and debt restructuring, as Gulf states ramp up investments through sovereign-led funding, infrastructure expansion, and diversified acquisitions. Gulf sovereign wealth and private capital are moving swiftly to plug a growing gap in Africa's development scene, as Beijing eases back from its once-dominant role as the continent's chief financier. from 2012 to 2022, Gulf Cooperation Council nations splashed more than $100 billion into African markets, with the United Arab Emirates shelling out a hefty $59.4 billion, Saudi Arabia pumping in $25.6 billion, and Qatar trailing with $7.2 billion, according to December 2024's Afreximbank report. That momentum surged in 2023, when Gulf entities announced 73 new foreign direct investment projects worth more than $ 53 billion, further flexing their financial muscle to entrench their footprint in Africa. Tellingly, in 2022, the UAE invested $50 billion in Africa, overtaking China and the US as its largest investor, according to EY. 'China isn't retreating, but it's recalibrating,' said Hezron Otieno, a Nairobi-based investment adviser who works with East African sovereign wealth funds. 'They're letting their private sector lead, while Gulf states are filling the sovereign financing vacuum.' Gulf-led deal-making spans sectors ranging from renewable energy and ports to agribusiness and digital infrastructure such as data centres. Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi have escalated dealmaking in infrastructure, agriculture and logistics hubs across sub-Saharan Africa, seizing the moment as Chinese state-backed lending cools. Abu Dhabi's developmental holding ADQ and Saudi Arabia's PIF have ramped up agriculture-linked investments from Sudan to Senegal, while the Qatar Investment Authority has been active in energy logistics, warehousing, and fintech plays in cities such as Nairobi and Accra. But some experts urge perspective. 'Gulf countries began their external investment journey in their near abroad, then they expanded a little further under the banner of 'food security' — and now we are witnessing the concentric circles go further,' said investment analyst Aly-Khan Satchu. 'But the point is, these investments — while serious for the recipient countries — are just chump change in the scheme of things for Gulf countries.' Satchu suggests that unless African nations accelerate economic growth, the continent, representing only 3% of the global economy, will see Gulf countries remain below neutral in their African investments. Still, the Gulf's charm offensive is set to grow as involved countries seek to diversify their economies from oil. This surge comes as Beijing quietly retools its African playbook, moving away from the debt-fuelled infrastructure blitz that once etched China's presence onto the skylines of dozens of African capitals. Instead, China is making a cautious shift toward local value chains, green industrialisation and privately-led ventures. For instance, China earns revenue from the Nairobi Expressway through a public-private partnership under the Build-Operate-Transfer model. The turnpike was financed and constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, which operates the expressway through its subsidiary, Moja Expressway Company. China's policy lenders — Exim Bank and China Development Bank — are retreating from direct sovereign exposure after a bruising stretch of debt restructurings from Zambia to Ethiopia. Instead, panda bonds and commercial investments are now the preferred tools. 'China is moving away from a mineral extraction-for-export model towards investment in industry, local value chains, and processing capacities,' Oxford Economics opined in a research briefing last November. That shift aligns with the country's intensifying push toward a green transition — and Africa's critical stockpile of minerals has become central to this reconfiguration. 'Still bearing the scars of recent debt restructurings, China is looking to limit its direct exposure to African government balance sheets while still expanding its influence,' Oxford Economics added. Several African nations, including Nigeria and Kenya, are preparing yuan-denominated bond issuances targeted at Chinese investors — part of a broader pivot that allows Beijing to maintain economic ties without loading national balance sheets. Meanwhile, Gulf players are stepping in with a more muscular approach. In March, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company secured long-term leases in Mozambique and Tanzania. In Egypt, Saudi investments in wheat production exceeded $1.2 billion. The UAE has also pledged $1.5 billion for agricultural technologies and irrigation in Morocco. In Zambia, the UAE's International Holding Company took a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines for $1.1 billion. DP World, a key Emirati logistics player, signed a 30-year contract to upgrade Tanzania's Dar es Salaam port and has now invested $3 billion in African port infrastructure in 2023. Qatar's recent deals include a 25% stake in South African carrier Airlink and a 23% stake in Egypt's North El-Dabaa oil block. While investments are largely commercial, they also have a diplomatic heft. Both Gulf and Chinese actors are using capital deployment to secure critical supply chains, hedge political influence, and lock in strategic partnerships ahead of shifting global alignments. The recalibration is already visible on the ground. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chinese battery firms are pursuing joint ventures with local processors rather than simply shipping cobalt abroad. In Zambia, solar and electric vehicle component facilities are quietly being set up with Chinese equity but without sovereign guarantees. That focus dovetails with China's green transition, which has accelerated demand for lithium, graphite, rare earths and other critical inputs that Africa holds in abundance. But instead of financing road networks and stadia, the new investments favour beneficiation plants and energy corridors. Meanwhile, Gulf funds, less scarred by debt defaults, are happy to bankroll large-scale sovereign projects. In Kenya, the UAE recently inked a deal to develop a free economic zone near Mombasa, tied to a broader plan for regional grain and oil distribution. In Nigeria, entities backed by Qatar's investment authority are in talks over a stake in Dangote's oil refining and distribution arm, leveraging petro-finance to solidify West African energy access. The details surrounding the deal remain scanty. That divergence in approach is setting up a new capital dynamic where Chinese money is becoming smarter, quieter, more risk-sensitive. Gulf capital is becoming louder, faster, more state-driven. — Bird story agency
Sky News AU
09-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to visit China in September
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has confirmed she will travel to China for her second overseas trade mission in September this year. Premier Allan has also announced a 'China Strategy' with five key points, including food, education, medicine and technology. The announcement was made at the City of Melbourne's M2050 Summit, which has attracted hundreds to debate the city's long-term future.
