The disappearance of the chair of CEFC China Energy throws doubts on its European acquisition spree.

The threatened imposition of US-China trade tariffs this week is the most obvious sign of increasing protectionism, resulting in a push towards regional trade, but with consumers prioritizing speedy delivery, the move to source locally has other drivers.

China is going cashless and cardless fast, with hundreds of millions of wealthy consumers leaping ahead to mobile wallets and providing some valuable insights for the possible future of open banking in Europe.

China’s interbank market trading platform and infrastructure provider has ramped up its technology partnership with NEX to capitalize on the ever-increasing appetite for algorithmic trading.

Everyone used to want to be on the sell side; now they want to be on the buy side.

Last year was a record for high yield in Asia, and 2018 has started strongly despite volatility. But behind the scenes there are concerns about an unpredictable regulator controlling supply and worsening practices among unfamiliar bookrunners.

The region is a vital part of the world crypto community, mostly as investor and miner. But Korea and China have turned against virtual currencies, though Japan, despite recent setbacks, may have the answer.

China’s latest effort to curb shadow banking involves applying Basel standards on banks: they must disclose far more of their exposure to previously unidentified counterparties. It’s good for the industry, but what does it mean for individual mainland banks?

From rebalancing of the economy and financial reform to the internationalization of the renminbi, Euromoney sheds light on China’s economic challenges amid the global spotlight.

Big data concerns and growing protectionism mean many Chinese deals will stumble.

Internationalization is starting to pay dividends in performance

With NPLs under control, focus must be on sustainable growth

Analysts’ confidence that there is untapped demand from Chinese banks to trade offshore RMB is good news for R5, which last week announced a joint venture with Shanghai Clearing House designed to connect these institutions to the London FX market.

News broke last week of an intriguing insolvency petition in India: under the new Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, high-profile disputes are now commonplace, but what’s interesting here is it pits a Chinese policy bank against an Indian private-sector corporation.

When it finally came, it took the market – and bankers who had been hoping for the news for many years – by surprise, but China’s decision to allow foreign partners in domestic securities joint ventures to take majority stakes raises as many questions as answers.

The capital markets highlight of November in Asia was the Hong Kong IPO of Tencent spinoff China Literature, which raised HK$8.3 billion ($1.1 billion), was 600 times oversubscribed and shot up 70% on its first day of trading.

It’s all change in the world’s most powerful central banks: the Federal Reserve has a new chair coming; the Bank of Japan will need a new one from April; and, no less significant, China could announce the next head of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) any day.

The moment has finally arrived – bankers have grown old waiting for it, but on Friday they learned they will soon be permitted to own majority stakes in securities companies in China. Good news for every international investment bank – except one: HSBC.

The People’s Bank doesn’t want a crypto-free country – it wants to own the market.

As Xi Jinping heralded the dawn of a new era of Chinese politics and power at the Communist party congress in Beijing in October, a forgotten but important anniversary was about to be passed.

In the 10 years since ICBC’s $5.5 billion acquisition of a 20% stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, there has still been no bigger single China-Africa investment. Looking back now, the deal was remarkable for the speed and relative ease with which it came together. But has it worked?

Debt-for-equity swaps are all the rage among China’s state-owned enterprises, but it may be that households, rather than banks or insurance companies, are going to be the ones footing the bill.

Why being positive on Chinese macro and the big four banks, but bearish on the rest of the financial sector, is not a contradiction in terms.

In true clickbait style, Euromoney offers some highlights from this year’s IMF/World Bank meetings.

Asia’s disparate markets and economies have found common ground in the widespread adoption of digital technology. Starting with consumer clients, expectations are rising up the banking chain and banks need to keep pace.

China is leveraging its middle class to clean up its banks – an approach rife with moral hazard.

Its mixed ownership reform cannot be applied to other SOEs.

New recruits show bank sees tangible business from Belt and Road; some will be new hires, others existing staff being moved.

After years of discussion and an agonizing wait for regulatory approval, HSBC’s securities joint venture in China – the first to have majority foreign control – is approaching launch. Senior figures explain the process and what the JV will look like.

There is some debate as to how many countries are part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which sprawls across the Middle East as far as eastern Europe and Egypt. ICBC Standard Bank’s Belt and Road indices track 65 countries (including China).