A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:
Government bonds: China has been issuing treasury bonds at an accelerated pace this year in a sign that it has embraced a more muscular fiscal policy to help the economy. From the start of the year to Wednesday, net financing of the bonds exceeded 1.46 trillion yuan ($202 billion). That’s enough to cover 22% of the central government’s target deficit for this year. By comparison, the figure was 11.1% for the entire first quarter of 2024. For this year, China raised its deficit target to a record 4% of GDP as part of its effort to adopt a more proactive fiscal policy.
Family office scandal: Singapore’s booming family office industry, long seen as a safe haven for ultra-wealthy investors, has been rocked by a financial scandal. Zhong Renhai, a Chinese businessman, has filed a lawsuit in Singapore accusing four former employees of embezzling $55 million from his companies in Singapore, including his family office, through fraudulent transactions, falsified expense claims and unauthorized bonuses. The court has issued a global asset freeze on the accused and their offshore entity, after investigators found evidence of manipulated financial records, including a forged Swift payment instruction for $22 million. The accused deny any wrongdoing, claiming they had Zhong’s authorization.
Tencent buyback: Tencent Holdings Ltd. announced plans to continue its aggressive share buyback strategy in 2025, with a commitment to repurchase at least HK$80 billion ($10.3 billion) worth of shares. This follows a sustained buyback trend amid strong financial performance, including an 11% year-on-year revenue increase in the fourth quarter and a 90% surge in net profit. The company attributes its profitability growth to AI-powered upgrades in its advertising business, expanding gaming revenues and cost optimizations, which have strengthened its financial position for continued capital returns to shareholders.
China stocks: Foreign investors are increasingly optimistic about Chinese equities following DeepSeek’s disruption of the tech industry and signs Beijing is tackling longstanding drags on the economy — weak consumption, local government debt and the housing slump. A Sunday report by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. said that U.S. investor interest in research into Chinese stocks has reached a three-year high. That said, foreign investors’ confidence is still fragile. The report shows the three factors most concerning American investors are the impact of U.S. tariff hikes on China’s economy, whether the tech-driven Hong Kong market rally can extend to other sectors, and what stimulus measures Beijing will roll out.
Green bond first: China will issue up to 6 billion yuan ($829 million) worth of yuan-denominated sovereign green bonds in London, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday. This offering will mark China’s first issuance of such bonds overseas. Green sovereign bonds are issued on the international market to raise funds for projects aimed at climate change mitigation. In February, the finance ministry released a framework to guide the issuance, paving the way for the introduction for issuing green sovereign bonds overseas.
XPeng record sales: Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker XPeng achieved its strongest quarterly sales in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching 16.1 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) — a 23.4% year-on-year increase and a 59.4% jump from the previous quarter. The company delivered a record 92,000 vehicles during this period, while its net loss narrowed slightly by 1.3% year-on-year to 1.33 billion yuan. The surge in sales was fueled by the launch of two new models in the second half of 2024: the Mona M03 and P7+. For the full year, XPeng sold 190,000 vehicles, reflecting a 34.2% increase from 2023. Founder He Xiaopeng expressed confidence that the decade-old company will achieve profitability by the fourth quarter of this year.
Compiled by the Caixin newsroom and edited by Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
