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Election at risk of becoming a Greek tragedy

2015-01-16 10:23

In a column I wrote a few weeks ago I congratulated Greece on its first positive annual GDP reading, an estimate of 1.6 percent, last year after six years of recession.

Best bang for the investment buck

2015-01-09 11:00

In early December, the Chinese government appeared to acknowledge publicly that the economy is set for a fairly prolonged period of relatively slower growth. Last year's GDP figures are expected to reach somewhere in the region of 7.5 percent and this year's growth forecast is closer still to 7 percent.

China has to walk economic tightrope

2015-01-09 11:00

With President Xi Jinping's arrival to power, many international investors are excited about the prospect of China's economic rebalancing.

Anti-graft efforts change business culture

2015-01-09 11:00

China is at an odd time (or call it "the new normal"), when GDP growth is no longer seen as the single most important criteria in measuring an official's performance.

Silk Road initiatives not simply about trade

2015-01-09 11:00

Is it feasible to link Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou with Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin, Brussels, Paris, even London, by high-speed railways? Is it imaginable to light these railways with solar or wind power? Is China willing to turn the new Silk Road Fund, in which it contributed initially $40 billion, into a low-carbon finance engine to generate more green jobs in Asia, Europe and Africa?

China studies coming to the fore

2015-01-02 08:52

This year will surely see yet more developments in the academic study of China.

Captivating the Chinese tourist

2015-01-02 08:52

With a population of 1.3 billion and an economy growing at an unprecedented pace, China dwarfs most other emerging and established travel markets in terms of outbound travel potential.

Interest and exchange ates take center stage

2015-01-02 08:52

The slowdown in Chinese economic growth in 2014 may have marked a major watershed in the Chinese, and possibly the global, economy in the coming decade. With a slowdown in the housing sector, industrial output and exports, many feel that China is in urgent need of a new round of financial reforms to reboot its economy.

Embracing the electronic disruption

2015-01-02 08:52

China has become the world's second-largest retail market after the United States. Online retail in China is bigger than in the US and according to Forrester Research estimates, China's online retail spending will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.9 percent to reach $1.1 trillion (0.9 trillion euros) by 2019.

Improving economic growth quality

2015-01-02 08:52

China's economy has reached a key phase of transformation. The need to improve the quality of economic growth is increasingly urgent. To do that amid challenges and restrictions, China needs to depend on not only its own efforts, but also draw on international experience.

Cooperation builds more livable cities

2015-01-02 08:52

As a British urban planner and architect working and living in China, the issue of the country's rapid urbanization is something I experience firsthand. It is astonishing due to its sheer scale and is indeed a complex challenge that will continue to test us as architects and urban designers.

Commodities story a mixed bag

2015-01-02 08:52

One of the most common observations made in the 2014 world of finance has been: "The Commodity Supercycle is over." And if there was any lingering doubt as to this, it was banished in the second half of 2014 as oil prices tumbled about 50 percent to the $60-a-barrel level.

More of same but watch out for surprises

2015-01-02 08:52

M ost of China's business follows from six megatrends: Urbanization, manufacturing scale, rising Chinese consumers, money and lots of it, the brainpower behemoth and the Chinese Internet. There trends are the largest economic forces in the country and they account for most of China's biggest companies and billionaires.

Eight risks Silk Road Fund faces

2014-12-19 11:23

China put forward two major initiatives to promote trade with its neighbors: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (known in short as the Belt and Road Initiative) and the $40 billion Silk Road Fund.

Aging societies mean new era of banking

2014-12-19 11:23

Much has been written about the impact of Japan's aging population on its economy. But many emerging markets - including China and South Korea - need to brace for some similar issues.

Shaping its own global story

2014-12-19 11:23

The scale of China's global engagement is astonishing. China is the key trading partner for most countries in the world and plays a central role in many international organizations and multilateral institutions.

China must use inner strength to grow

2014-12-19 11:23

No one knows if China's leaders have read the book Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder (2012) by Nassim Taleb, an author widely read in the business community, whose fame was first built on The Black Swan (2007).

Tusk should prioritize building bridge with China

2014-12-19 11:23

During the economically and socially turbulent years since 2007, Europeans have basically suffered two recessions. But another one is around the corner if the new leadership of the European Union does not handle the economic recovery properly.

Deposit plan opens door to liberalization

2014-12-12 11:24

The People's Bank of China's recent announcement that it is seeking public feedback about its decision to introduce a deposit insurance program is an encouraging development.

A challenge to the monopolies in banking

2014-12-12 11:24

A major development this year in the Chinese banking sector is the mushrooming of direct banks. By the end of November, 13 such banks were established, mostly as subsidiaries of traditional banks.

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