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China prods its biggest state firms to boost investment in crisis-hit Hong Kong, sources say – The Globe and Mail

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China has called on its biggest state firms to take a more active role in Hong Kong, including stepping up investment and asserting more control of companies in the financial hub, executives familiar with the matter said, as Beijing attempts to calm months of unrest in the city.

At a meeting this week in Shenzhen, the city bordering Hong Kong, senior representatives from nearly 100 of China’s largest state-run companies were urged to do their part to help cool China’s biggest political crisis in years, three executives, including one who was present, told Reuters.

At the meeting, the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) pledged to invest more in key Hong Kong industries including real estate and tourism in a bid to create jobs for local citizens and stabilize financial markets, two of the executives said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. No specific investments were discussed or agreed upon, they said.

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The SOEs in attendance included oil giant China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, and conglomerate China Merchants Group, one of the sources said.

The meeting was organized by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), the powerful central body that oversees China’s sprawling state sector, which includes some of the world’s biggest companies in industries such as steel, energy, shipping and telecoms.

SASAC did not respond to a faxed request for comment. Officials at Sinopec and China Merchants Group did not respond to e-mailed requests for comment and calls to the two companies went unanswered.

Instead of simply holding stakes in Hong Kong companies, the Chinese SOEs were also urged to look to control companies and have decision-making power in them, one of the people familiar with the meeting said.

“The business elites in Hong Kong are certainly not doing enough. Most of them are just not one of us,” the SOE executive who was at the meeting told Reuters.

SASAC’s Communist Party chief, Hao Peng, appeared in Hong Kong on Wednesday at a forum for the Belt and Road infrastructure initiative and said that SOEs were looking for ways to co-operate in major projects in the city, according to a SASAC news release.

Mr. Hao, who was accompanied by a group of SOE executives, also met with Carrie Lam, the city’s Chief Executive.

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While China’s big state firms are for-profit enterprises and many are publicly traded, they have long been expected to do national service, including maintaining high levels of employment and helping Beijing execute initiatives such as its big Belt & Road infrastructure plan.

Months of huge and often-violent protests in Hong Kong were triggered by planned legislation that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland courts. The protests have been fuelled by what is seen by many in Hong Kong as creeping Chinese influence that is eroding the “one country, two system” model under which China has ruled Hong Kong since its handover from Britain in 1997.

Widening mainland influence in Hong Kong has included the purchase of corporate assets and real estate.

The Hong Kong economy was once dominated by British trading houses with roots in the 19th century. Local tycoons started to take over many of the businesses in the latter part of the 20th century, creating huge conglomerates such as Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.

Beijing has been willing to put pressure on Hong Kong businesses to be more patriotic, expressing unhappiness during an August meeting with the city’s business elites that they weren’t doing enough to quiet the protests, according to a report at the time by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

In the meeting last month with about 500 business leaders and pro-Beijing politicians from Hong Kong, Chinese authorities urged that they should “have no fears and stand up” to stop violence in the city, Xinhua reported.

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Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., a legacy of Hong Kong’s colonial era, has become the biggest corporate casualty of the protests after Beijing demanded it suspend staff who support the demonstrations. Its chairman announced plans to step down in November, less than three weeks after chief executive officer Rupert Hogg left amid mounting regulatory scrutiny.

Hong Kong subway operator MTR Corp. also bowed to pressure in August to get tough on anti-government protesters after Chinese state media expressed dismay at the firm for its perceived facilitation of the spread of violence by protesters.

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stocks also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal sector, while U.S. stock markets were also higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was 143.00 points at 24,048.88.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 174.22 points at 42,088.97. The S&P 500 index was up 10.23 points at 5,732.49, while the Nasdaq composite was up 30.02 points at 18,112.23.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.23 cents US compared with 74.28 cents US on Wednesday.

The November crude oil contract was down US$1.68 at US$68.01 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.75 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$4.40 at US$2,689.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up 13 cents at US$4.62 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Investment

Tempted to switch to an online-only bank? Know the perks and drawbacks

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Switching to an online-only bank more than a decade ago was just another way Jessica Morgan was trying to save money at the time as a new grad.

“Saving money was the main motivator,” Morgan, now a financial educator and founder of Canadianbudget.ca, recalled.

“After graduating, you no longer qualify for student rates where you might get free banking and I didn’t want to go back to paying fees for giving the bank my money to hold.”

Digital lenders have grown in popularity in recent years, with more players popping up in the sector and traditional banks beefing up their online offerings. But some Canadians may still be hesitant to bank with a financial firm that doesn’t have physical branches where you can talk to an employee face-to-face.

Natasha Macmillan, director of everyday banking at Ratehub.ca, says some of that hesitancy to switch to an online lender is loyalty.

“There’s a large portion of Canadians who have had the same bank account for many years … they’re just hesitant to switch because it’s what they know.”

Tedious paperwork to switch banks can also discourage many Canadians from making the move despite the ease of opening online-only bank accounts, Macmillan added.

“There’s that aspect of you still need to sit down, do your research and then pick that online-only bank,” she said.

Data security concerns have also sowed seeds of doubt among many who are contemplating the switch, and prefer to continue to work with traditional banks with long-established reputations, Macmillan said.

Morgan said she often hears concerns from her clients — “What if I need help? Is this bank safe to use?” or more logistical questions, such as having access to an ATM or getting certified cheques.

One of the only major snags she personally recalls running into with her online lender was when she was purchasing a home.

“I needed to get a certified cheque, like, right away if I was going to put in an offer,” Morgan said. “You can get a certified cheque but it takes three days or so. They courier it to you.” She ended up going to her husband’s traditional bank to get day-of service.

Most online-only banks tend to offer banking products, such as savings accounts, with higher interest rates compared with traditional banks. Many also offer access to cash through any bank ATM without charge.

“Digital banks have generally a lower cost structure than a traditional bank and those savings will be passed on to the customer,” said Mahima Poddar, group head of personal banking at EQ Bank. For example, EQ offers a high-interest chequing account with no fees on everyday banking and unlimited transactions.

But customers should be aware they can’t deposit cash into their account and they can only withdraw bills, not coins.

“We don’t offer depositing of cash, but all of our research has shown that the use of cash is really diminishing,” Poddar said. “There are very few reasons why you need to urgently deposit.”

Customers also have to get used to doing all their banking by phone or through the company’s website or app.

Poddar added she thinks Canadians are more open to change, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the need for better online banking services.

While trust in traditional institutions plays a strong role in choosing a bank, Poddar said EQ has the same level of protection and is governed by the same regulators as the big six banks in the country.

Lisa Brandt, 61, switched to online-only Manulife Bank more than five years ago. She says she has benefited from the move and has saved a lot of money over time on various banking fees.

“It puts me in the driver’s seat,” she said.

However, she did run into an issue once with depositing a cheque after she sold her home.

“If you’re going to deposit a couple hundred thousand dollars from a house sale, you’ll have to courier (the cheque) to them,” she said.

“It’s not quite as simple as walking into a branch and saying, ‘Give me my money.'”

While many online-only banks have been growing their consumer banking product offerings, traditional banks tend to have more financial product options, not only for individuals but also for small businesses.

“What we have heard from some Canadians is while they might be moving their chequing, savings and GIC accounts to those (online-only) spaces, they’re still maintaining a mortgage with the big players,” Macmillan said.

It’s not about moving all assets to one bank but weighing options on an individual basis, such as picking a bank with the lowest fee on a chequing account but moving investments to another bank for a better return, she explained.

“We’re starting to see that flexibility where people are shopping around for the best opportunity that can give them the most bang for their buck,” Macmillan said.

She added it is important for people to identify why they’re thinking of switching and find an online-only bank that aligns with their goals.

“It’s finding that happy medium where you do feel trust and security, that lower cost and fees and also the convenience and accessibility,” Macmillan said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

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Economy

S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading, U.S. stocks also higher

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TORONTO – Strength in the energy and base metal stocks lifted Canada’s main stock index higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 78.80 points at 23,973.51.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 89.81 points at 42,214.46. The S&P 500 index was up 2.55 points at 5,721.12, while the Nasdaq composite was up 21.24 points at 17,995.51.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.24 cents US compared with 74.02 cents US on Monday.

The November crude oil contract was up US$1.06 at US$71.43 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.83 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$18.10 at US$2,670.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was up 15 cents at US$4.49 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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