New rules for overseas IPO’s need more clarifications – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has proposed over Christmas rules for Chinese firms who want to apply for an IPO at overseas stock markets. But those new rules lack much-needed clarity, says financial expert Winston Wenyan Ma at CNBC. “Domestic companies need to comply with relevant provisions in the areas of foreign investment, cybersecurity and data security, a draft said, without much elaboration,” writes CNBC.

CNBC:

The CSRC’s proposed rules said an overseas listing could be stopped if authorities deemed it a threat to national security. Domestic companies need to comply with relevant provisions in the areas of foreign investment, cybersecurity and data security, a draft said, without much elaboration.

“The details of rule enforcement still need further observation, especially the supervisory scope of other related ministry regulators, in addition to the CSRC,” said Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University and co-author of the book “The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds Are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy.”

Companies in China are subject to the oversight of several ministries, ranging from industry-specific ones to ones focused on particular aspects of operations such as foreign exchange.

More at CNBC.

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China used the pandemic by accelerating its digital transformation – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Ma

Never waste a good crisis, says investment expert Winston Wenyan Ma, quoting the other Winston, Winston Churchill. China used the pandemic crisis to accelerate its already ongoing digital transformation at a panel discussion to make a difference, he tells at the ORF at a panel discussion.

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Why China banned cryptocurrencies on a national level – Winston Wenyan Ma

Winston Wenyan Ma

After provincial authorities started to limit operations of cryptocurrencies earlier this year, last week a full ban was issued by 10 ministries. Financial analyst Winston Wenyan Ma explains Bloomberg what the central government is doing to cryptocurrencies, the relation with the upcoming digital currency and its possible fallout on a global level.

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The escalation of regulation of cryptocurrencies in China – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China’s financial authorities have been cracking down massively on cryptocurrencies and last week saw a new escalation in that struggle, says financial expert Winston Ma to NPR. “When you have 10 ministries involved – right? – that’s very serious,” Ma says.

NPR:

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

China is banning cryptocurrency transactions. And as NPR’s David Gura reports, it’s sending shockwaves through a sector valued at $2 trillion that’s been largely free from government interference.

DAVID GURA, BYLINE: Part of cryptocurrency’s popularity worldwide stems from the fact that the digital asset is free from government control. And it really hasn’t been regulated. That’s appealing to many Chinese citizens. But China’s leaders have spent years trying to crack down on crypto. Winston Ma teaches securities law at NYU. And he says Friday’s announcement is an escalation.

WINSTON MA: I think the implication will be profound and major.

GURA: As cryptocurrencies get bigger and they become more mainstream in many countries, China is going against trend. In the world’s second-largest economy, you’re no longer able to buy them or sell them. Banks aren’t allowed to process transactions. And there’s been a crackdown on the infrastructure that supports crypto. Ma says this is a government-wide effort.

MA: When you have 10 ministries involved – right? – that’s very serious.

More at NPR.

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China will push ahead with digital currency – Winston Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China is on track to launch its digital e-yuan currency ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, despite major shocks like the possible demise of financial giant Evergrande, says financial expert Winston Ma at The Street.

The Street:

On the regulatory front, Winston Ma, a former managing director and head of North America at China Investment Corp., said China seemed to be sticking to its original schedule to officially launch its digital currency (e-CNY) at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”

“Since [the] People’s Bank of China issued its digital currency white paper in July, China has accelerated the testing of e-CNY,” said Ma., author of “The Digital War – How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace.”

Chinese media reported last week that a PBoC team visited Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics sites to further test e-CNY ATM and mobile payments, in what’s described by PBoC Vice Gov. Fan Yifei as the “final push,” Ma said.

He added that the West finds hard to grasp the idea that China is many years ahead of the US and Europe in developing sovereign digital currencies.

Ma said that China’s launch of e-CNY as government currency, together with El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, “will become important reference cases for all nations stepping into digital assets,” Ma said.

More at the Street.

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What is next for foreign investors in China? – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Ma

China’s authorities have been cracking down on cryptocurrencies, educations, gaming, health care, data, and platforms. Financial analyst Winston Wenyan Ma looks at how foreign investors can navigate through the bloody battlefield for Bloomberg.

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How China tightens its security regulations – Winston Ma/Victor Shih

 

Victor Shih

China and US regulators have been tightening rules for Chinese companies to list at US stock markets, sending shockwaves through the financial and tech industry. Financial experts Winston Ma and Victor Shih look at the Wall Street Journal at what has happened over the financial cleaning operation in the past few weeks.

The Wall Street Journal:

On one end are China’s regulators, led by the cyberspace authority, which are moving to make it harder for Chinese companies to sell shares overseas. On the other are American lawmakers, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), who are stepping up calls to block Chinese firms from going public in the U.S. unless they submit to U.S.-style audit requirements.

In China, “the cyber regulator has become the new securities regulator,” says Victor Shih, a University of California, San Diego, professor of political economy who focuses on Chinese policies. “Investors and companies will find it much harder to manage the listing process.”…

One option being considered by the regulators is to require companies using the VIE structure to seek regulatory approval before selling shares in foreign markets, the people said. That could make it a more cumbersome process.

“This would be a significant tightening of Chinese securities regulations,” said Winston Ma, an adjunct law professor at New York University and author of The Digital War, a book about China’s growing technological prowess. “Almost every U.S.-listed Chinese company that foreign investors like pension funds and endowments can buy is listed through a VIE structure.”

More at the Wall Street Journal.

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The difference between NFT’s and cryptocurrencies – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China’s Ant group went to great length in explaining its non-fungible tokens (NFT’s) are something completely different from the cryptocurrencies the government is targeting. Is it a smart way to avoid government measures? Fintech expert Winston Wenyan Ma highlights the dilemma created by Ant’s NFT, he tells Reuters.

Reuters:

“NFT is not interchangeable, nor divisible, making it different by nature from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin,” said a spokesperson at AntChain, the Ant unit that develops blockchain-based technology solutions.

He said that NFTs can be used to create a unique signature for digital assets.

Winston Ma, NYU Law School adjunct professor, also highlighted the confusion over the nature of NFTs.

“Are NFTs virtual currencies? Or, are NFTs certificates for virtual currencies? And more importantly, are NFTs securities? These are the questions that no major digital economy’s legislature has ever answered,” Ma said.

More at Reuters.

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Crackdown on bitcoin mining: not only because of coal – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

Provincial governments in Sichuan, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Yunnan have been cracking down on bitcoin mining, but it is not alone because of the usage of coal to generate cheap electricity, says strategic advisor Winston Wenyan Ma to Reuters.

Reuters:

The notice ordered state electricity companies in Sichuan to conduct inspections, make corrections and report their results by Friday. They are to immediately stop supplying electricity to crypto mining projects they have detected.

The authorities urged local governments in Sichuan to start combing for crypto mining projects and shut them down.

Other regional mining centres, including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan, have also ordered crackdowns on Bitcoin mining.

Friday’s notice appears to indicate that Beijing’s displeasure with cryptocurrency mining extends beyond cases where it uses electricity generated by burning coal.

“Renewable power does not help,” said adjunct professor Winston Ma of NYU School of Law.

“The four largest mining regions – Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Sichuan – have implemented similar crackdown measures, even though mining in the latter two are mostly based on hydropower, whereas the first two are on coal,” he said.

More in Reuters.

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Expected: more rules on cryptocurrencies – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China’s regulators have been focusing already on cryptocurrency, the mining operation. Fintech expert Winston Wenyan Ma warns we can get more regulations from China’s government, especially on trading, he tells in The Street.

The Street:

Last month, the State Council’s Financial Stability and Development Committee said China would crack down on bitcoin mining and trading activities as part of efforts to fend off financial risks.

China has banned financial institutions and payment companies from providing services related to cryptocurrency transactions, and warned investors against speculative crypto trading.

Winston Ma, adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and author of “The Digital War-How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace,’ said, “China market controls 70% of global hashrate for bitcoins and crypto assets, so its rising regulation simply cannot be ignored by the crypto markets.”

“It seems that China put more focus on the computation power of its national data center network,” he said.

“[And] whereas China’s mining regulation has already made the impact, the market is still waiting for the another shoe to drop relating to crypto trading, as China has also taken steps to restricting crypto-related capital flows in its financial system.”

More on the Street.

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Moving from import/export to innovation – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma (left under) at a fintech panel

Fintech expert Winston Wenyan Ma joins a panel at the BSN base and explains how China’s economy moved from import/export to a focus on innovation. China missed the world’s first technological revolutions because of domestic turbulence and external influences but has become a leading force for the third technological data revolution.

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The global fallout of China’s new regulations on crypto currencies – Winston Wenyan Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China issued new regulations on mining and trading of cryptocurrencies over the past few weeks. Financial analyst Winston Wenyan Ma explains how this works out, and why China’s crackdown has such a big impact on the industry worldwide, at LCX. China now covers 70% of the global market.

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China cracks down on mining, trading cryptocurrencies, not on owning them – Winston Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

The cryptocurrency market has been disrupted by interventions by China’s governments, but it certainly does not mean a full-blown ban on digital currencies, says financial analyst Winston Wenyan Ma, former managing director at China Investment Corporation (CIC), adjunct professor at NYU, and investor. The government is still defining the scope of digital currencies, and focuses on minging and trading, and is certainly no banning ownership, he says at Verify.

Verify:

China is testing its own form of digital currency, the Digital RMB. On June 1, the Beijing Regional Financial Supervisory Commission announced that it would provide 40 million digital yuan in the latest currency test. China is reportedly hoping to launch a currency form prior to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Winston Ma said VERIFY cryptocurrencies have not yet been clearly defined in China’s legal system. China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings, but has not banned individuals from owning cryptocurrencies, Ma said. In the May announcement, in addition to reiterating the ban on cryptocurrencies as a whole, a new crackdown on mining operations has begun.

“The latest crackdown is by the State Council’s Financial Stability Commission, led by Deputy Prime Minister Liu He. It is China’s top-level financial regulator and has vowed to crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading activities. It is expected that new regulations will be issued by each ministry to better define and regulate the mining, holding and trading of citizens’ cryptocurrencies. ”…

Mr. Ma told VERIFY: “In addition to the issue of market volatility, carbon neutrality is also an important consideration. According to a recent survey by Chinese scientists, this Chinese emission is [equal to that in] Czech. It points out that it will exceed the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of some smaller countries such as the Republic and Qatar.”

More at Verify. 

At CNBC Winston Ma discusses the 2021 regulations on cryptocurrencies

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China follows EU lead in data regulation – Winston Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

China is following the European Union’s GDPR in trying to regulate the unruly data industry, says Winston Ma, Winston Ma, adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law at CNBC. China’s internet companies based for years their business models on consumers’ lack of awareness of privacy, he adds, but those days are over.

CNBC

In 2018, the European Union’s landmark General Data Protection Regulation came into effect. Called the GDPR for short, it gives citizens in the bloc more control over their data and grants authorities the ability to fine companies that fall foul of the rules. The U.S. has yet to enact a nationwide data protection law like Europe.

Now China is attempting to do something similar.

“After years of Chinese internet companies building business models around Chinese people’s lack of awareness about privacy, users are becoming more knowledgeable, and they are becoming angry with companies abusing their personal information,” Winston Ma, adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law, told CNBC via email.

More at CNBC.

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Exponential growth tech firms is over – Winston Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

Alibaba and Tencent were high-profile casualties as the central government stepped in to regulate free-wheeling tech firms with growing financial clout. To the relief of consumers and smaller competitors, exponential growth in the tech industry is over, tells Winston Ma, former managing director of the sovereign wealth firm China Investment Corporation (CIC) in New York to Reuters.

Reuters, quoting Winston Ma:

“The blockbuster IPO of Ant Group last November – and its suspension — was the tipping point that urged all relevant Chinese regulators to step up supervision of the major internet platforms. Now the comprehensive framework is being put in place, before the major platforms becoming “too big to regulate”.

“In short, the age of “exponential growth in the wilderness” for internet finance – and all cyber barons in various sectors — is over.”

More in Reuters.

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Sovereign wealth funds will change the digital economy – Winston Ma

 

Winston Wenyan Ma

Traditionally conservative sovereign wealth funds are a wrongfully ignored player at developing the digital economy, says financial analyst Winston Ma, author of The Digital War: How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace, at the Investment Magazine.

The Investment Magazine:

Fuelled by a desire to keep up with the US and China, traditionally passive sovereign wealth funds are increasingly deploying capital into strategic development areas like infrastructure, communications and more recently the digital economy according to global investment manager and academic Winston Ma.

No longer mere “stabilizers of capital markets”, the sovereign wealth funds of the world – which control around US$30 trillion in funds – are building internal teams and becoming more “active and direct” in their investment style, Ma explained on a recent Investment Magazine Market Narratives podcast.

Part of the reason is to save money, he said, by eschewing external management teams.

A larger purpose, however, is because these funds serve as domestic economic promotion agencies that drive strategic development agendas linked to sectors like infrastructure, telecommunications and increasingly, the digital economy.

“All countries are looking to sovereign funds as a policy tool to promote domestic research and development in order to stay as a relevant information centre besides China and the US,” Ma explained. “For Europe, Japan and places like India they need to think about how they can stay competitive in these digital revolution competitions.”

Many countries and regions are now setting up specific sovereign wealth funds tied to singular strategic objectives, he explained. The EU is looking to set up a €100 billion to finance European tech “champions” competing with alibaba and facebook, for example, while Japan is reported to have set up a 6G research fund, Ma said.

“That’s not a typo,” he added. “They’re already thinking ahead. If they’re late to the 5G competition they want to get ahead on the 6G.”

More at the Investment Magazine.

Winston Wenyan Ma is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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