Xiaomi launches 12 billion yuan fund to develop new products – China business and technology news from May 4, 2017

Caixin reports that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has partnered with the Hubei provincial government and other partners to set up the “Yangtze River Xiaomi Industry Fund.” The initiative is expected to raise 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) for the development of Xiaomi products, which range from smartphones to internet-connected TVs and smart home appliances, as well as software and products that grow the Xiaomi ecosystem of tech and services.

The Beijing-based company, which is worth $46 billion, has attempted to reclaim the Chinese market after falling behind in the country’s smartphone arms race in the past year, Forbes reports. It is China’s fourth-largest smartphone maker, after Huawei, Vivo, and Oppo. Xiaomi made its name as an online-sales-only company, but has recently been hurt by mediocre reviews and a lack of retail distribution. It is now making a push to open brick-and-mortar stores, and announced plans to open more than 200 Mi Home stores in China this year, bringing the total number of stores to 300. Outside of China, India is the biggest market for the company. The smartphone maker is currently the second-largest smartphone vendor in India after Samsung. India’s first Mi Home store is expected to open next week in Bangalore.

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  “Set up in 2015 to bring transparency to local-government borrowing practices, the new market benefited from the perception that Beijing had the provinces’ backs, with yields largely on par with the sovereign despite some weak municipal balance sheets. Not anymore — a clampdown on risk and record levels of debt in China’s financial system is spurring a reassessment of the market.”
• Banking regulator warns of overseas lending risks / Caixin
  “The head of China’s banking regulator warned in a recent closed-door meeting about the mounting risk in banks’ overseas loans. Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), emphasized during the internal government meeting on April 21 that the banking sector must safeguard against foreign-exchange risks.”
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• South Korea carmakers see China sales plummet further amid political tensions: sources / Reuters
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