As the FIFA 2022 World Cup kicks off in Qatar, we discuss the bilateral trade and investment relations with China and Hong Kong, including investments in World Cup infrastructure.
China’s two largest state-owned distressed debt funds reported a slump in first-half profits as credit impairments surged on a deepening property crisis
Laura Cha, chairman of Hong Kong Exchanges and a member of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong government, has joined the board of Ant Group as a new independent director, as the Alibaba’s fintech affiliate nears the end of a corporate restructuring aimed at easing government concerns.Yang Xiaolei, an independent director of Hengfeng Bank and a former lawyer at an affiliate of Citic Group, has also joined as a new independent director at Ant Group.After the appointment, Ant Group has four independent directors. Other independent directors are Hao Quan, a board member at PC giant Lenovo’s parent company Legend Holdings Corp, and Chinese economist Huang Yiping.The last board restructuring happened in August 2020, when current Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang Yong, former Alibaba CFO Maggie Wu and one of Alibaba’s 18 co-founder Peng Lei, quit the board ahead of Ant’s planned initial public offering.The appointment of Laura Cha came a week after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang vo