• 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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