PMI back in the black, bad year for Huayi Brothers, airline losses, new energy investment

China’s economy is recovering faster than expected from peak COVID spread: That is one conclusion you could draw from the National Bureau of Statistics’ report today that the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a gauge of manufacturing activity, was 50.1 in January, 3.1 percentage points higher than December, and the first return to the 50-plus expansion zone since September 2022.

A bad year for one of China’s largest film companies: Huayi Brothers 华谊兄弟, an entertainment company founded in 1994, has announced its estimated 2022 numbers, indicating a net loss of 1.30 billion yuan ($192.82 million), meaning it lost 429% more than in 2021. The company had a market capitalization of 90 billion yuan ($13.19 billion) in 2018, but with the advent of COVID, Huayi Brothers has suffered continuous losses and its market capitalization is down to 7.80 billion yuan ($1.16 billion).

China’s eight listed airlines lost more than 130 billion yuan ($19.22 billion) according to 2022 profit estimates released yesterday. The three biggest losers were Air China 中国国际航空 (-39.5 billion yuan / $5.84 billion), China Eastern Airlines (-39.0 billion yuan / $5.76 billion), and China Southern Airlines (-30.3 billion yuan / $4.48 billion).

A total of $1.36 trillion was invested in new energy projects in China last year according to a new report by a Shanghai-based consultancy. Wind power and photovoltaics made up 36.9% of the total; energy storage 29.3%; lithium batteries 23.6%; and hydrogen energy 7.4%.