Xi Jinping said that China will go on a charm offensive and try to portray a more positive picture of itself to the outside world.
Liu He and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agreed that US-China relations “are very important”.
The Biden administration issued a new executive order banning US investment in Chinese military-linked companies, replacing Trump’s November 2020 Executive Order 13959. The government moved the authority of the investment ban from the Department of Defense to the Treasury Department. The list of companies is similar to the previous one with just a few exceptions. The ban on new investments will go into effect on 2 August 2021.
Parts of China’s Guangdong province went into lockdown as the delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread.
The US scrapped a limit on how far South Korean missiles can fly, causing a wave of investor optimism about Korean missile manufacturers.
Athletes are arriving in Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July, and public opinion is turning more positive about the event.
The central bank of the Philippines said it is considering further monetary easing to support the economy.
Singapore’s new unlinked cases reached zero on Saturday for the first time since 10 May, suggesting that the outbreak is now under control.
Company-specific reports
Value Investing Substack with a forensic analysis of Malaysian oil services company Serba Dinamik which has been accused of “financial inconsistencies” but also experiencing insider buying (KLSE:SERBADK — US$625 million)
Dumile Capital blog on a hidden Indonesian asset in Japanese tech company Beenos (TSE:3328 — US$400 million)
Net Interest Substack wrote a piece on Indian payment company Paytm (BSE:N/A — N/A), which is planning an IPO later this year
Long-form writing
Asian Century Stocks on Taiwan’s stock market bubble of 1985-1990 ($)
Asian Century Stocks on upstream oil & gas companies in Asia ($)
GMO study: resource equities not only protect against inflation but dramatically increase purchasing power in inflationary climates
Ed Yardeni says that global liquidity conditions are strong and that households will one day spend the cash that they have been accumulating
Tian Yang at Variant Perception gives a recommendation of his favourite macro books
Doomberg: Could oil prices go to $300?
Harris Kupperman at Adventures in Capitalism is also bullish on oil stocks
The Hollywood Reporter on the movie studios’ complicated relationships with China (h/t: The Diff)
The Economist cited data showing that 6,000 more people died in Wuhan in 1Q20 compared to the prior year, suggesting that official data underreported the issue ($)
Wall Street Journal quoting foreign firms asking themselves whether they really need to stay in Hong Kong, with moves into HK declining 50% and moves out increasing 30% ($)
Nikkei special report on how K-pop became a global phenomenon ($)
Why Bangladesh became a rising star among emerging markets ($)
South China Morning Post on Vietnam’s e-commerce sector, which only has a 3% penetration but growing at a 30% CAGR ($)
Podcasts and videos
Stan Druckenmiller video interview on tech stocks, investing theory and the risk of a war over Taiwan (39 mins)
Peter Zeihan: Expect one final wave of infections this summer (3 mins)
Australia’s former PM Malcolm Turnbull on his new book Red Zone (1:06 hours)
Emily de La Bruyère discussing China’s industrial policy (41 mins)
Australia’s ABC with a podcast episode on Xi Jinping (35 mins)
Value Hive interviewing Utako Kojima and Aya Weissman on special situation investing in Japan (55 mins)
Asia Strategy Podcast on JD logistics vs DHL (41 mins)
Bloomberg video: China’s accelerating bid for chip supremacy (20 mins)
Asianometry: Can Malaysia’s semiconductor industry compete? (18 mins)
Chart of the week – Return on equity in a downtrend trend in China across both SOEs & the private sector
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