CAPITAL MARKET

Here’s What We Know About the New Beijing Stock Exchange

By Gary Bailer

Beijing last month announced plans to establish a third major stock exchange on the Chinese mainland to serve ‘innovation-oriented’ small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). President Xi Jinping said the new market will be in the capital city during a speech given to the International Fair for Trade in Services, as cited by BBC. The announcement comes at a time when US-listed Chinese companies have come under scrutiny by investors. According to China Daily, the goal of the new stock exchange is “to link multi-level capital markets and form the path of direct financing for SMEs,” among other aims. In an opinion piece on China.org. cn, Tom Fowdy noted that the Beijing Stock Exchange can be viewed as a plan to “to further deepen the reform and upgrading of China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ).” The equity trading system for SMEs was launched in 2013. It’s still unclear when the exchange will begin trading. Barron reported that it is likely that individuals will be allowed to invest in the new exchange, citing quotes from Chinese media. China had 167 million investors as of June 2020. The other two major players in the Chinese mainland are the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) is the Chinese mainland’s largest exchange. It’s run by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and focuses on trading stocks, funds and bonds. The SSE currently ranks 5th, in market capitalization, behind the NYSE, Nasdaq, Tokyo Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange. Most of its market cap consists of formerly state-run companies, such as major banks and insurance companies. The exchange consists of the Main Board and the STAR Market – viewed as China’s version of Nasdaq. As for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, individual investors make up the majority of investors, and the exchange is home to mostly smaller and emerging-sector companies, many being subsidiaries of firms in which the Chinese government maintains a high level of control. A-Shares, B-Shares, mutual funds, indices, fixed income products and derivatives are all traded on the exchange. It consists of the three boards, including the Main Board, SME Board and ChiNext Market.

RANDOM NUMBER

12,000

is nearly the number of square meters that will house Topgolf’s Chengdu venue. The company announced that the West China location will be the largest Topgolf venue in the world. According to a press release from Topgolf, there will be a Chinese restaurant along with a premium steakhouse, seafood restaurant and all-day dining, among other options. Topgolf also opened a lounge concept venue in Shanghai in August that includes a nine-hole mini golf course.

DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?

Emma Raducanu

Raducanu, who was born in Canada to a Romanian father and Chinese mother and moved to London at the age of two, became the youngest grand slam winner since Maria Sharapova in 2004, and the first ever qualifier to win the US Open. Following the exciting victory, Weibo users celebrated Raducanu’s victory as well as her Chinese heritage, with a trending topic ‘18-year-old Ethnic Chinese Rising Star Women’s US Open Singles Champion’ reaching over 1.3 million views. The 18-year-old addressed her Chinese fans by speaking Mandarin in a video post: “Hi, everyone, I want to say thank you to all of you, and I hope you enjoyed my tennis. I’m thrilled to win. Love you all.” Raducanu has spoken openly about her mixed heritage in the past and has credited her mother’s side of the family for their “mentally resilient” nature as an inspiration, as cited by BBC. She has also spent time visiting Shenyang, her mother’s ancestral home.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“This is the third poisoning that I know of. A neighbor has already reported the matter to the police. At the moment, we still don’t know who did this, but whoever did it, I hope they face serious punishment from the law”

Wrote a Guangzhou resident on WeChat after multiple cats were poisoned and killed at a residential area in the city’s downtown. The cats died after eating from tins of tuna that were laced with poison. Videos and photos show several dead cats piled together in bushes and grassy areas in the local community, situated near a metro station. Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said that he has seen at least seven dead cats when walking his dog in the area. He also speculated that there will likely be more based on pictures sent to a neighborhood WeChat group. Due to the consistent string of poisonings, some believe the culprit lives or works in the area. An official warning was posted in the residential area and sent to the neighborhood WeChat group. The statement reads, “Poisoning is uncivilized, irrational and illegal behavior. There are a large number of stray cats in the area... but do not take drastic and extreme measures to handle this problem.”

CHINESE CORNER

Ingredients of a Healthy Lifestyle | 养生知识 (Yǎngshēng Zhīshi)

Wake up early | 早起 (Zǎo qǐ)

As the Chinese saying goes, 早睡早起，身体好 (zǎo shuì zǎo qǐ, shēntǐ hǎo, lit.“early-sleep-early-getup, body-good). It’s common for Chinese people to wake up around 7am, and for elderly people to get up as early as 5am.

Drink tea | 喝茶 (Hē chá)

Tea is rich in antioxidants and less caffeinated than coffee. Of course, that’s in case you choose green tea, 绿茶 (lǜchá) or red tea, 红茶 (hóngchá) of good quality — not the milk tea, 奶茶 (nǎichá)!

Go for a walk | 去散步 (Qù sànbù)

Walking 10,000 steps a day is the way! Or at least, according to the Chinese saying, you should walk 100 steps after a meal: 饭后百步走，活到九十九 (Fàn hòu bǎi bù zǒu, huó dào jiǔshíjiǔ, lit. “Meal-after-100-steps-walk, live-untilninety-nine”).

Sleep early | 早睡 (Zǎo shuì)

Finally, in order to wake up early, you need to go to bed early too. Getting 7 or 8 hours of sleep while it’s dark outside and waking up with the sun is considered good for the body.

Don’t skip breakfast | 每天吃早饭 (Měitiān chī zǎofàn)

It’s believed that three meals make the day, or in Chinese, 一日三餐 (yī rì sān cān). And among them, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Drink hot water | 喝热水 (Hē rèshuǐ)

Staying hydrated is key. And drinking 热水 (rè shuǐ), or warm or hot water, is believed to be better for your digestive system than drinking cold water.

Dance together in open air | 跳广场舞 (Tiào guǎngchǎngwǔ)

Group exercise such as square dancing, or 广场舞 (guǎngchǎng wǔ), is a fun social activity; it’s a way to stay healthy and keep each other in check. We wish more countries adopted this practice!

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