Monday morning links
Chinese state media called online gaming “spiritual opium”, sending game stocks limit-down. One day later, Tencent limited the amount of time children could play Honor of Kings to just 1 hour each day.
Nearly three dozen US companies sent a letter to the Biden administration to end tariffs on Chinese goods.
India’s COVID-19 case count has started rising again
Korean exports reached a record US$55 billion in July, driven by semiconductors and petrochemical products
Hong Kong’s stock trading transaction tax was hiked by 30% today
Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong called for the US and China to avoid a clash that could force nations (including Singapore) to choose sides.
Company-specific reports
I did a deep-dive on Singapore-listed investment holding company Jardine Cycle & Carriage, a bet on the Indonesian auto market (SGX: JCNC — US$5.9 billion)
NipponNuggets on Japan’s PKSHA Technology (TSE: 3993 — US$520 million)
Long-form writing
I wrote a report on pricing disparities between dual-listed Chinese H- and A-shares (9 mins) ($)
I wrote a Twitter thread about Victor Sassoon’s experience investing in China in the 1920s to 1940s (6 mins)
Tweedy Browne’s 2Q21 letter on their acquisition of Alibaba and a few other Chinese equities (14 mins)
Tao Value’s 2Q21 letter, offering an optimistic and positive view on China’s political system and recent regulatory moves (5 mins)
Arisaig’s July 2021 report also discussed the difficulties of investing in China (21 mins)
Kerrisdale Capital: Painful sell-off (in Chinese stocks) provides a generational buying opportunity (15 mins)
Another history lesson from Investor Amnesia, about how foreign investors were pouring huge sums of capital into China in the early 20th century, eventually leading to a political backlash (10 mins)
An excellent New York Times article about how the Chinese government is dealing with the latest outbreak of COVID-19 delta variant (7 mins)
An important article from Wall Street Journal about how the Chinese government wants to promote manufacturing technology, not consumer technology (4 mins)
A new World Bank report on hidden debt in South Asian countries (1:16 hours)
About how Chinese tech billionaires have suddenly become philanthropic, with $13 billion gifted just in the past 8 months (5 mins)
The Warung Wars: an introduction to the Indonesian e-commerce sector (7 mins)
Podcasts and videos
Historian Edward Chancellor discussing China’s legal system (9 mins)
Former BCA analyst Marko Papic on The Market Huddle (1:25 hours)
Alberto Gallo of the Algebris Global Credit Opportunities Fund discussing Biden, Chinese politics, QE infinity, country allocation and inflation (58 mins)
Fred Liu of Hayden Capital on investing, and Sea Ltd (1:11 hours)
Sam Bankman-Fried of crypto exchange FTX on the crypto market (1:09 hours)
Kyle Bass on central banks, China and the risks of inflation (1:09 hours) ($)
Chart of the week – The global manufacturing PMI diverging from that of China
Picture of the week - Italy’s Marcell Jabocs winning the gold in men’s 100m sprint at the Tokyo Olympics
Thanks for reading, and I wish you a great week ahead!
I will take this week off to recharge my batteries and think about how to best add value to you in the future. I’ll be available via e-mail and on Twitter, so feel free to reach out if you have any questions or feedback.
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