China to issue short-term debt in London

[Scientific Playa]

'Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!' Sir Walter Scott



China to issue short-term debt in London
George Parker in Beijing

George Osborne on a visit to China in 2013

China is to issue short term debt in London, the first time it has done so outside the country.

George Osborne, on a visit to Beijing, hailed the move as a further step towards his goal of making the City the principal offshore base for Chinese finance.

The announcement by Ma Kai, Chinese vice-premier, came after a morning of talks on UK-China economic co-operation.

While the People’s Bank of China will issue a renminbi-denominated note in London in the near future as part of its liquidity operations, there are not yet plans for Beijing to issue long-term sovereign bonds in the City.

Last year the UK issued its own renminbi bond, an event hailed by Mr Osborne as a breakthrough. The two countries also agreed to a feasibility study on a stock market link between Shanghai and London.

The chancellor said he wanted the UK “to be the natural western hub for renminbi trading” and “China’s bridge into western financial markets”.

Separately, Mr Osborne confirmed plans for further UK-China nuclear co-operation, including a joint research centre.

Amber Rudd, energy secretary, told the Financial Times on Sunday that China could use its own reactor design in the UK, subject to safety approval.

Mr Osborne also announced two new joint space research programmes, in a further illustration of the growing trust between London and Beijing.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15957402-602e-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html#axzz3mMSpUvtf

 

[hashmander]

brtiain's gotta do what they gotta to do to stay relevant globally. all they have is finance and the premier league right now.

 

[Scientific Playa]

hot off the newswires

George Osborne
UK should do more business with China, says George Osborne


British chancellor affirms economic ties during Beijing visit while avoiding questions about human rights and democracy issues



Chinese premier Li Keqiang greets George Osborne in Beijing. Photograph: Lintao Zhang/AFP/Getty Images
Tom Phillips in Beijing

Monday 21 September 2015 09.08 EDT Last modified on Monday 21 September 2015 09.15 EDT


George Osborne has sidestepped concerns over Downing Street’s growing proximity to Beijing, arguing that Britain should “run towards China” as a way of to boosting its economy.

Speaking at a press conference at the Communist party’s Diaoyutai state guesthouse on Monday, the chancellor ducked a question about whether he was obliged to raise thorny issues – including Beijing’s controversial building programme in the South China Sea – with his hosts.

He also made no mention of an intensifying human rights crackdown in China – described by some as the most severe in decades – that has seen more than 200 lawyers and activists disappeared, detained or interrogated since July.




George Osborne and Chinese vice president Ma Kai at a signing ceremony in Beijing. Photograph: Andy Wong/EPA
“My message on this trip is that Britain can’t run away from China. Quite the opposite, Britain should run towards China,” Osborne said. “We should be doing more business with China. We should be better connected to the Chinese economy. Our financial institutions should establish proper links. I think that will help China with the important reform and change that it is undergoing, but I also think it is going to help Britain.”

Asked about what US officials have called Britain’s “constant accommodation” of Beijing, Osborne said: “I think it is important that as China grows it rightly takes its place at the top table.”

He also defended Britain’s move to join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank earlier this year. “I’m absolutely clear that Britain’s decision to be the first big western nation to sign up as a founding member was not just good for Britain but I think it was good for multilateralism, good for a world where we draw countries together in cooperation, good for Asia because it is going to help bring investment to this continent.”

The chancellor’s five-day visit, which will also see him travel to Shanghai, Chengdu and Ürümqi, comes ahead of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s first state trip to London next month.

Xi, who some describe as China’s most authoritarian leader since Mao, will stay at Buckingham Palace with his wife, the singer Peng Liyuan.

Speaking on Monday, after the seventh UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing, vice premier Ma Kai said Xi’s visit to Britain would be of “milestone significance” for UK-China ties.

Osborne kicks off China visit vowing to be Beijing's best friend
Read more
Osborne reiterated his vow to make Britain one of China’s best friends. “Our message to China is very clear: we want the UK to be China’s best partner in the west,” he said. “For the UK a key part of our economic plan is precisely to develop our links with these new emerging economies of which of course the outstanding example is China.”

Activists have criticised what they describe as London’s increasing refusal to speak out on human rights issues and Hong Kong’s fight for democracy. “It reminds me of 2,000 years ago [when] Judas got 30 pieces of silver,” Martin Lee, one of Hong Kong’s best-known pro-democracy campaigners, said.

Osborne took no questions about the human rights crackdown in China or Hong Kong’s democracy struggle on Monday, but in an emailed statement to the Guardian he said: “We don’t see a choice between securing growth and investment and raising human rights issues. We do both consistently, and indeed I have done so in meetings here in China.”

UK should do more business with China, says George Osborne

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

how long until someone says "china's playing chess not checkers" in here.

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

how long until someone says "china's playing chess not checkers" in here.

China gonna have to cross them waters tho

 

[Truth200]

how long until someone says "china's playing chess not checkers" in here.

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

Last year the UK issued its own renminbi bond, an event hailed by Mr Osborne as a breakthrough.

the UK can't wait for them to keep devaluing the Yuan.

 

[PewPew]

the UK can't wait for them to keep devaluing the Yuan.

School me please, what does this mean exactly

 

[Domingo Halliburton]

School me please, what does this mean exactly

so Britain issued a bond (debt) in the Chinese currency the Yuan (aka Renminbi). China has been actively devaluing their currency to keep their exports priced lower compared to other countries.

so you have a loan you have to pay off in a currency that's losing value. so when you convert your british pounds into chinese yuan you get more bang for your buck because the pound is now worth more than the yuan was before, hence making the loan cheaper to pay off.

 

[Scientific Playa]

London leapfrogs New York to become world’s top financial centre
Conor Sullivan

City of London skyline

London has swapped places with New York to become the world’s leading financial centre, according to a detailed study of 86 cities.

“There was uncertainty about taxation, now that’s gone away,” he said.

One major area of concern was attitudes towards immigration, which “hasn’t got better, hasn’t got worse” but which has become a concern about all EU countries, not just Britain.

“You can’t have an international financial centre without international people,” he added. The government plans to hold a referendum on EU membership either next year or in 2017, and high immigration is cited in opinion surveys as one of the public’s most pressing concerns.

TheCityUK, the lobby group, said the ranking highlighted that “to keep on top we need to be flexible and adapt”.

At the top of the rankings, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo remained in places three to five. Mr Mainelli cautioned that movements at the top end of the table were based on relatively small changes in the data used to calculate them.

In Europe, Frankfurt rose five places to surpass Luxembourg, while Warsaw advanced 26 places to 38th place and Dublin moved up six places to 46th.

Michael Mainelli, chairman of the think-tank Z/Yen which produced the report, attributed London’s better showing to reduced uncertainty following the general election, which produced a surprise win for the Conservatives.

Mr Mainelli highlighted Dublin, which had “a hard time pulling away from the crisis”. “There’s a lot of confidence that Dublin is out there to grab business in wholesale financial markets,” he said. He also said there was a view that the city would benefit if Britain voted to leave the EU.

Other countries suffering falls include Russia where Moscow and St Petersburg both fell three places. It was “very obvious why it’s got problems,” Mr Mainelli said. Russia is the subject of international financial sanctions, has been hit by the fall in the oil price and the rouble has fallen 42 per cent against the dollar in the past year.

Riyadh, the capital of major oil producer Saudi Arabia, plunged 43 places to 57th.

In North America, New York, Toronto, San Francisco and Washington DC all made it into the top 10.

The ranking was compiled using an online survey of 3,200 financial professionals and 105 data sets, including the cost of living and office space, quality of internet and transport infrastructure, and measures of corruption and political stability. Other factors were quality of life, murder rates, inflation, foreign investment, value of bond and share trading and tax rates.

Top 10 financial centres
● London (+1)

● New York (-1)

● Hong Kong (-)

● Singapore (-)

● Tokyo (-)

● Seoul (+1)

● Zurich (-1)

● Toronto (+3)

● San Francisco (-1)

● Washington DC (+2)

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/eb72290c-61ce-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html#axzz3mcsrzBO3