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Belt and Road

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Many happy returns

Four years since its launch, how is Belt and Road progressing?
Oct 27, 2017 (WiC 385)

Four years ago Xi Jinping formally launched his Belt and Road Initiative while on a trip to Central Asia. Chinese acquisitions in the 68 countries associated with his signature foreign policy had this year surpassed $33 billion by August, which ...

Legend buys Luxembourg’s oldest private bank
Sep 15, 2017 (WiC 380)

Throughout its history, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has been subject to the push and pull of competing regional powers including the Dutch, Belgians, Germans and French. During the nineteenth century, in particular, the territory ended up ...

Kim crashes party

Pyongyang upstages BRICS Summit
Sep 8, 2017 (WiC 379)

For an acronym to be memorable it should spell something recognisable. So, by that logic the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – were always missing a K. Well this weekend they got one, when North Korea ...

Fosun pairs up with state partners in new round of overseas bids
Aug 25, 2017 (WiC 377)

After kicking off the new football season with three consecutive victories, Wolverhampton Wanderers have been made favourites for promotion to the elite English Premier League by local bookmakers such as Ladbrokes. Backed by the club’s new ...

A debt to the planet

China has become a leader in the green bond market says HSBC’s French
Jul 7, 2017 (WiC 373)

Ten years ago this week the first ever green bond was issued by the European Investment Bank (EIB) – with a goal of growing a new financial market that helped lower carbon emissions. Since then green bonds have grown into a major source of ...

Li Shufu’s great car chase

Geely swoops for James Bond carmaker as its bid to go global continues
Jun 2, 2017 (WiC 368)

The cachet of carmaker Lotus likely peaked in 1977 when its Esprit model featured in The Spy Who Loved Me. The sleek white sports car was modified to do all sorts of things for James Bond, such as spraying oil into the path of chasing vehicles. ...

Silky persuasion

Differing media views as delegates meet for Xi Jinping’s signature summit
May 19, 2017 (WiC 366)

Hong Kong may soon get its own offshoot but the first permanent ‘branch’ of Beijing’s Palace Museum was opened on Xiamen’s Gulangyu island last week. The satellite venue will exhibit some of the Forbidden City’s collection of 13,000 ...

Reaching the summit

Xi Jinping to play host at Beijing’s inaugural Belt and Road Forum
May 5, 2017 (WiC 364)

Petrol stations are limiting fuel purchases by drivers. Municipal gardeners are working overtime to turn pot plants into huge displays. And neighbourhood committees are asking residents to to swear oaths promising to be on their best ...

No longer a pipe dream

Myanmar has a track record when it comes to transporting essential supplies to China. Famously the Burma Road was built…
Apr 21, 2017 (WiC 362)

Myanmar has a track record when it comes to transporting essential supplies to China. Famously the Burma Road was built between Lashio (in Myanmar) and Kunming (in southwest China) in 1938, covering 1,154km. For the next four years it supplied ...

Ruling the waves

Industry expert Basil Karatzas on China’s quest to dominate global shipping
Mar 3, 2017 (WiC 356)

The shipping industry, whether for dry bulk, tanker, containership or offshore assets, has been suffering from a monumentally weak freight rate environment for years. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), the shipping sector’s proxy, came close to an ...

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