Xi Jinping’s crackdown spreads to Macau and Hong Kong
The Chinese government is cracking down on Macau's gambling sector and Hong Kong's property companies.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Twice daily
MoneyWeek
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Four times a week
Look After My Bills
Sign up to our free money-saving newsletter, filled with the latest news and expert advice to help you find the best tips and deals for managing your bills. Start saving today!
“Recent crackdowns have proven that few sectors are safe from Beijing’s control,” says the FT’s Lex column. “No industry looks as vulnerable as Macau’s gambling market.” Shares in the territory’s casino operators fell sharply amid a regulatory review that may end up cutting the number of casino licences in the world’s largest gambling hub. “Should the new laws limit the number of licences below six, some operators could go out of business” when all current permits expire in June 2022.
Even if that doesn’t happen, “it is clear that Macau will be more demanding than in past years”, says Katrina Hamlin on Breakingviews. Operators may face “unprecedented micromanagement, including state representatives scrutinising daily operations, and stricter oversight for junkets, which organise visits and credits for high rollers”. There’s even a suggestion that firms may require government approvals to pay dividends.
The message for markets extends beyond Macau, says Shuli Ren in Bloomberg: China is serious about its “common prosperity campaign”. Hence shares in Hong Kong’s four biggest property developers also tumbled after reports that Beijing has “asked the territory’s real-estate billionaires to resolve the city’s housing crisis”. The high cost of property in Hong Kong is often blamed for fuelling the widespread political protests in 2019. Investors now fear developers could be forced to donate some of their large land banks to the government.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Deflating Hong Kong’s real-estate bubble won’t just mean squeezing the tycoons – it will also require a big shake up in tax policy, adds Jacky Wong in The Wall Street Journal. The territory earns twice as much from land sales as income tax, which is partly why tax rates have stayed so low until now. “Hong Kong’s housing market has produced immense wealth for some... Leaner times could be ahead.”
-
Review: Eliamos Villas Hotel & Spa – revel in the quiet madness of KefaloniaTravel Eliamos Villas Hotel & Spa on the Greek island of Kefalonia is a restful sanctuary for the mind, body and soul
-
How a ‘great view’ from your home can boost its value by 35%A house that comes with a picturesque backdrop could add tens of thousands of pounds to its asking price – but how does each region compare?
-
"Botched" Brexit: should Britain rejoin the EU?Brexit did not go perfectly nor disastrously. It’s not worth continuing the fight over the issue, says Julian Jessop
-
'AI is the real deal – it will change our world in more ways than we can imagine'Interview Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates talks to Andrew Van Sickle about the AI bubble, the impact of tariffs on inflation and the outlook for gold and China
-
Tony Blair's terrible legacy sees Britain still sufferingOpinion Max King highlights ten ways in which Tony Blair's government sowed the seeds of Britain’s subsequent poor performance and many of its current problems
-
How a dovish Federal Reserve could affect youTrump’s pick for the US Federal Reserve is not so much of a yes-man as his rival, but interest rates will still come down quickly, says Cris Sholto Heaton
-
New Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh has his work cut outOpinion Kevin Warsh must make it clear that he, not Trump, is in charge at the Fed. If he doesn't, the US dollar and Treasury bills sell-off will start all over again
-
How Canada's Mark Carney is taking on Donald TrumpCanada has been in Donald Trump’s crosshairs ever since he took power and, under PM Mark Carney, is seeking strategies to cope and thrive. How’s he doing?
-
Rachel Reeves is rediscovering the Laffer curveOpinion If you keep raising taxes, at some point, you start to bring in less revenue. Rachel Reeves has shown the way, says Matthew Lynn
-
The enshittification of the internet and what it means for usWhy do transformative digital technologies start out as useful tools but then gradually get worse and worse? There is a reason for it – but is there a way out?
