Insights

28 Jan EU-China’s Comprehensive Agreement on Investments from an ESG POV

Posted at 14:41 by Eileen Li

The EU and China on December 30, 2020 made a consensus for the Comprehensive Agreement on Investments (CAI) between China and the EU. Following seven years of back and forth, this would replace 26 current agreements between 27 separate EU countries and China. Thus, such...

28 Jan MIIT Orders 157 Apps to Rectify Infringements on User Information

Posted at 11:45 by Haiyan Luo

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published the first batch of problematic mobile applications on January 22. Such apps illegally collected and used users’ personal information, as reported by JRJ.com on January 25. The list involves apps from many listed companies, including Tencent [0700:HK],...

28 Jan A Look at China’s NEV Battery Industry: Two Main Battery Types and Their Leading Producers

Posted at 10:44 by Una Qu

China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA), on January 13, published battery data for new energy vehicles (NEVs) for 2020. Last year, the cumulated production yield and sales volume of batteries were 83.4 gigawatts (GWh) and 65.9GWh, respectively, down 2.3% YoY and 12.9% YoY due to...

28 Jan PBoC to Propose New Anti-Monopoly Rules for Non-Banking Payment Industry

Posted at 09:23 by Haiyan Luo

PBoC has drafted regulation to strengthen supervision over non-banking institutions’ payment services on January 20, as reported by JRJ.com on the same day. Notably, the policy this time adds anti-monopoly measures for the non-banking payments industry. Moreover, the regulation highlights the requirement of non-banking payment...

22 Jan CDB Offers RMB488.8bn in Loans for Yangtze River Protection

Posted at 11:25 by Ningjing Liu

The China Development Bank (CDB) granted RMB488.8bn in loans for the protection and green development of the Yangtze River basin last year, representing an increase of 27% YoY, as reported by Xinhua on January 20. Specifically, RMB89.4bn was given to support the ecological preservation and...

22 Jan FAW-Volkswagen Purchases 30,160 Green Electricity Certificates from Huadian Kangbao

Posted at 11:15 by Ningjing Liu

The Foshan branch of FAW-Volkswagen, the joint venture between FAW Group and Volkswagen [VOW:GR], purchased 30,160 green electricity certificates from Hebei Huadian Kangbao Wind Power in a deal on January 18, which corresponded to 30.16m kilowatt-hours (kWh) of non-hydro renewable power in total, as reported...

21 Jan Meituan, other Fintech Services Need to be Accountable to Their Customers

Posted at 14:23 by Haiyan Luo

Earlier in January, a user reported that Meituan [0369:HK] requested her to return borrowed money, though she had never applied for any loans on the platform. After contacting Meituan’s customer service several times, the user was informed that the unsolicited loan, called Meituan Monthly Payment,...

21 Jan Tencent Apologizes for Reading User Browser History

Posted at 11:44 by Haiyan Luo

Tencent [0700:HK] apologized on January 18 for its instant messaging software, QQ, for reading users’ browser history, after an internet article exposed it on January 17, as reported by The Paper on January 19. Tencent explained that the reading was to evaluate login security risks...

21 Jan MoE to Tighten Supervision on Online Education Marketing

Posted at 11:37 by Una Qu

China’s Ministry of Education (MoE) stated that it will partner with other departments to further regulate the online education market, in an interview with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission (CCDI), according to the latter authority’s official website on January...

19 Jan Hyundai to Build First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in China

Posted at 14:31 by Una Qu

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor [005380:KS] announced on January 15 that the firm has made an investment agreement with the government of Guangzhou development district to set up a wholly-owned hydrogen fuel cell company in the city, as reported by Xinhuanet on the same day....

15 Jan SSE and SZSE ESG Policy Benchmarked against other APAC Stock Exchanges

Posted at 17:29 by Eileen Li

In evaluating local ESG practices with other counties in the APAC region, this report will offer a high-level view of how the SSE and SZSE compares with other exchanges in ESG reporting requirements using data from the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE). The UN...

15 Jan MEE Requires Implementation Plans from Local Governments to Peak Carbon Emissions

Posted at 12:06 by Ningjing Liu

China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has ordered local governments to establish clear goals and implementation plans for hitting carbon emission peak by 2030, especially for key industries including steelmaking, construction, chemicals, coal, power generation, and more, according to its newly published a guideline...

15 Jan China to Improve Wastewater Recycling in Next Five Years

Posted at 12:00 by Ningjing Liu

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and nine other departments have jointly published a guideline on January 11, to facilitate the reuse of wastewater in the country over the next five years, as reported by Sina on the next day. According to the guideline,...

14 Jan Chinese Cities Detect High-Concentration of Pollutants in Tap Water

Posted at 14:04 by Una Qu

Huang Jun, an associate professor at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University, and his team, published an essay that found high concentrations of pollutants in tap water in several Chinese cities, as reported by Caixin on January 12. The umbrella term for the identified pollutants...

13 Jan Tencent Prepares Carbon Neutrality Plan for Emission Reduction

Posted at 18:12 by Una Qu

Tencent [0700:HK] announced on January 12 that the company will formulate its carbon neutrality strategy and plan, in response to the country’s 2060 carbon neutrality target, as reported by Sina on the same day. Tencent’s chairman and CEO, Pony Ma, stated that the firm will...