economics

Demand for wealth management services, a relatively new financial sector in Mainland China, is growing quickly as more wealthy individuals become increasingly conscientious of the effects of global fluctuations on their savings. Read More

The rise of the Chinese consumer class is not new, but an interesting development we're seeing become far more ubiquitous is more cultural acceptance of the conspicuous consumer in China. Read More

The Wall Street Journal's China Real Time Report blog has posted an informative and insightful interview with Dr. Fred Hu, managing director of Goldman Sachs Group, in which Hu discusses the biggest challenge facing China's recovery. Read More

Although China remains one of the only bright spots in the world of luxury retailing at the moment, foreign luxury brands -- despite rapid growth in the mainland market -- often have difficulties convincing many of the country's highest-potential customers to buy their products within the mainland, because of the large luxury tax China levies on high-priced imported goods. Read More

In the next few years, as Western luxury brands lose a little of their initial luster in top-tier markets (while maintaining their draw in second- and third-tier markets), many analysts think there will be a great opportunity for Chinese luxury brands to squeeze into the luxury market. Read More

China's growing automotive demand has been great for automakers of all stripes, from up-and-coming budget domestic brands to the world's most expensive and exclusive marks. Read More

Today, a piece on the internationalization of the Chinese yuan by Ha Jiming, the chief economist at China International Capital, China's largest investment bank, was published on Forbes.com. Ha believes that -- within the next decade -- the yuan will be a fully internationalized currency, and that the implications for this will be important and far-ranging. Read More

We've been interested in the upcoming Hong Kong Sotheby's auctions of Contemporary Chinese, Southeast Asian and other Asian art, with a particularly obvious fixation on the Chinese side, for some time. After the surprising turnout of mainland Chinese, and their willingness to go far above and beyond lot estimates to take home something they've set their hearts on, Sotheby's is likely expecting a good proportion of bidders both from the mainland and other areas of Greater China -- definitely Hong Kong, since buyers from that market have been something of a fixture at Chinese art auctions for ages. Read More

Chinese overseas investment has been one of the major news developments of the last year, particularly in the wake of this summer's Rio Tinto-Chinalco semi-scandal. Read More