Links for Thursday, July 14, 2022

COVID continues: Surge in Shanghai and monitoring wristbands in Beijing
Shanghai records new wave of COVID cases as BA.5 subvariant spreads / Caixin (paywall)
COVID-19: Beijing compound staff meet backlash after demanding quarantined residents wear wristband monitor / SCMP (paywall)
“A compound in Beijing faced a public backlash after staff imposed the use of electronic monitoring wristbands for residents who were in Covid-19 home quarantine after recently returning from other provinces.”

World’s oldest giant panda may be in poor health
An An, world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, ‘has lost appetite and is in low spirits’ / SCMP (paywall)
“Ān’ān 安安, the world’s oldest male giant panda under human care, has lost its appetite and is in low spirits, according to Hong Kong’s Ocean Park.”

Chinese citizens can’t get work due to positive COVID tests
He can’t find work due to prior COVID infection. He’s not alone. / Sixth Tone
“Though authorities have warned against discriminatory hiring practices for people who have recovered from COVID, job seekers are skeptical.”

Moutai Group hands over stake in liquor-making unit in move for IPO
Moutai Group relinquishes control of unit, removing hurdle to IPO / Caixin (paywall)
“The parent of luxury liquor-maker Kweichow Moutai has agreed to hand over most of its stake in a wholly owned liquor-making subsidiary to a local government agency in a move that could help the company comply with rules that stymied a prior attempt to list it.”

Chairman of China’s biggest aluminum maker to step down after three years
Chinalco chairman Yao Lin steps down after three years / Caixin (paywall)

Chinese banks face increased risk exposure as homebuyer confidence wanes
China property protests threaten to dent $220 billion of banks’ mortgage loans / Reuters
“Chinese banks could face hefty writedowns in their mortgage businesses as growing numbers of homebuyers threaten to stop loan repayments to protest against unfinished apartments sold to them, analysts said.”

Netherlands, U.S. hold talks to ban chip technology sales to China
Dutch confirm talks with U.S. on chipmaking-gear ban on China / Bloomberg (paywall)
“The Dutch foreign minister confirmed that the Netherlands and the US are holding discussions on blocking ASML Holding NV from selling to China technology used in making a large chunk of the world’s chips.”

Shanghai gaming firm fined over a million yuan
Shanghai game company hit with 1.1 million yuan fine for publishing unlicensed titles / SCMP (paywall)
“China’s anti-pornographic and anti-illegal publications office, an agency under the publicity department of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a WeChat post earlier this week that the unnamed company had published seven online games without approval.”

More layoffs at Alibaba
Alibaba cuts a third of deals team staff after regulatory crackdown – sources / Reuters
“Alibaba plans to reduce its strategic investment team of more than 110 people, mainly based in mainland China, to about 70, said two of the people, adding the company has already informed a bulk of staffers of their redundancy.”

Chinese officials push to end Australian coal ban
China studies ending Australia coal ban on supply fear / Bloomberg (paywall)
“Chinese bureaucrats studying the energy outlook are proposing to end a near two-year ban on Australian coal as tensions begin to ease and on concerns supply may tighten when Western-led sanctions on Russian energy kick in.”