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Piraeus port, the first major European container port for ships entering the Mediterranean via Suez, is the start of China’s Balkan Silk Road. In April 2019, China convened the second forum of its Belt and Road Initiative, a vast network designed to promote new economic corridors and to link cities and ports through existing and new routes and infrastructure. Though its immediate focus is on Asia, Belt and Road investments are spreading through southeastern Europe, a region in which China’s economic influence is recent, but its impact is drawing significant attention.  Chinese foreign direct investments in Europe have reached record levels...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OUTBOUND INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS 2019

As real-estate agent Adam Wong works through Australia’s worst property downturn in decades, he’s also found himself at the mercy of China’s slowing economy. In Wong’s core market of Chatswood, a suburb north of Sydney’s harbor bridge where a third of residents claim Chinese ancestry, his sales have slumped by as much as half from their peak. That’s reflected in recent government data showing China is no longer Australia’s biggest foreign investor amid a plunge in property purchases. “There are two main factors behind the drop,” said Wong, who estimates 90 percent of his sales in Chatswood are to Chinese buyers. “The first is...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OUTBOUND INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS 2019

Indonesia was an enthusiastic participant at the second Belt and Road Forum held recently in Beijing. Although Indonesian President Joko Widodo did not attend the event, he sent a high-level delegation led by vice-president Jusuf Kalla to the summit, where more than 20 agreements were signed on the sidelines. Having survived smear campaigns alleging he is selling out the country by soliciting Chinese investments, the president, popularly known as Jokowi, is likely to secure a second term when the final results for the country’s April 17 election are released. He is expected to continue seeking Chinese investments to develop infrastructure in the sprawling archipelago. However,...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OUTBOUND INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS 2019

Overseas direct investment (ODI) from China may be shifting toward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as Chinese companies face growing difficulties entering the US. Chinese and foreign experts said the shift could bring significant changes to the global investment landscape, and could benefit BRI countries and regions with investment grade ratings.The comments come as Chinese ODI to the US fell to a seven-year low in 2018, while steadily growing in BRI markets.Chinese investment to BRI markets grew at an annual rate of 5.2 percent from 2013 to 2018, or $90 billion, Ministry of Commerce data shows.The Global Times reached out to...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OUTBOUND INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS 2019

Britain and China will hold the next round of their Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in mid-June in London, finance minister Philip Hammond said, after months of reports that talks had been delayed by diplomatic tension. The EFD has been used in the past to announce closer cooperation on trade and banking initiatives, and to sign commercial contracts. However, relations between London and Beijing have been strained in recent years, most notably after a British warship sailed close to islands claimed by China last August. The EFD talks were agreed during Hammond's visit to Beijing to speak at a summit...

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT OUTBOUND INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS 2019

Labuan, Monday 26th August 2019 – With the acceleration of digital revolution in banking, and the advent of 5G driving Industry 4.0, behavioural preference is observed to shift towards online and mobile, from payments to consumption, and in business and trade transactions. China Construction Bank Corporation Labuan Branch (“CCBL”) has been approved by the Labuan Financial Services Authority (“Labuan FSA”) to conduct digital banking activities in the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (“Labuan IBFC”).   A core strategy of the China Construction Bank Corporation (“CCB”) Group is building a digital financial ecosystem with the use of Financial Technology (“FinTech”) to empower customers’ access their...

PRIVATE & INTERNATIONAL BANKING NEWS 2019

Four new captives registered between Jan to June 2019, making the jurisdiction the fastest growing captive domicile in Asia. “Risk management in the form of self-insurance or captives is on the rise, due to it being an overall cost-efficient and customisable risk mitigating tool,” said Danial Mah, Director General, Labuan Financial Services Association (Labuan FSA) at the launch of Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’s event entitled “Adding Confidence to Captives: Managing Volatility via Self Insurance” today in Kuala Lumpur. Andre Martin, Head of Innovative Risk Solutions APAC, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions added...

INSURANCE SPONSORED CONTENT 2019

Dubai -United Arab Emirates An exhibition titled “Government Tolerance Exhibition” will be held on the sidelines of World Tolerance Summit (WTS) from November 13-14 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai. This year’s summitis themed Tolerance in Multiculturalism: Achieving the Social, Economic and Humane Benefits of a Tolerant World. The exhibition is aimed at highlighting initiatives and innovative projects implemented by government agencies in promoting coexistence and respect for diversity and pluralism at workplaces in line with the values of the Founding Father, the Late Sheikh...

SPONSORED CONTENT 2019