29 January 2024 – Hong Kong judge orders liquidation of real estate group Evergrande. But will this ruling have any impact at all? Asian stock markets barely react and often even show a positive trend. And EU election campaign picks up speed. The German Free Democratic Party (FDP) is fielding fierce and prominent critics of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Evergrande: Is liquidation really coming?
After a judge in Hong Kong today, Monday, ordered the liquidation of the financially troubled real estate group Evergrande, the Western media, in particular, have been busy outlining the possible negative consequences of this ruling, which is not yet legally binding and could still be appealed.
Judgment from Hong Kong of significance for China?
Apart from the fact that such a liquidation is always associated with enormous opportunities and could represent a liberating blow for the ailing Chinese real estate economy, the ruling was only issued by a court in Hong Kong. And to date, courts in mainland China have almost never upheld Hong Kong judgments in such cases. The court-appointed liquidators also have little influence beyond Hong Kong’s borders.
The obvious and deliberately negative reporting by Western media can therefore be seen more as fear and scaremongering to increase circulation and unsettle the markets. And they call for the question: Qui bono? Who benefits from it?
Asian stock markets hardly react to Evergrande judgement
Even though the Shenzhen stock exchange is down by around 2%, reactions are currently positive, e.g. on the Hang Seng Index, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCE) and the Hang Seng Tech Index. The Japanese Nikkei and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index are also showing positive reactions today with gains of around +0.77 and +0.89 % respectively. The reactions in nickel (LME and SHFE approx. -1.4 %) and copper (LME approx. -0.6 %) also show that Evergrande is having a rather marginal impact on the financial and commodity markets.
EU election campaign continues to gather pace
At the weekend, the German Free Democratic Party (FDP) launched Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, one of its most prominent members, as its lead candidate for the European elections in June 2024 as the EU election campaign continues to gather pace.
Sharp critic of the Commission President
The defense politician, who is a fierce critic not only of the German Chancellor, but also of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in particular, is to campaign in Brussels for the urgent reduction of bureaucracy. In recent months in particular, the bureaucratic madness from Brussels has taken on completely new forms and led to a dramatic increase in dissatisfaction with the European Commission.
Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, commented today: “Ms. Strack-Zimmermann is the right politician in the fight against the bureaucratization that is no longer comprehensible and the increasingly autocratic structures in the European Commission.” He added: “We urgently need to return to more freedom and democracy in order to create opportunities for Europe’s economic development.”
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