Why using a digital currency is a no-brainer for China – Sara Hsu

 

Sara Hsu

While most of the world is still investigating and trying ways to use a digital currency for their countries, this is more than obvious for China, says fintech expert Sara Hsu in the Raconteur. China is already close to being cashless and many places no longer accept notes and coins.

The Raconteur:

Why has China launched the digital yuan while other major economies are still carrying out consultations and trials?

“To cater to its population’s needs as people use cash less and less,” says Dr Sara Hsu, associate professor of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the author of China’s Fintech Explosion.

Hsu points out that because of the widespread use of Alipay and WeChatPay, which link people’s bank accounts to a digital wallet, China is already close to being cashless and many places no longer accept notes and coins.

“In addition, China has been opposed to decentralised digital currencies, such as Bitcoin [which was banned last year], and this is its answer to crypto,” she adds…

China has said that the e-CNY will offer “controllable anonymity”, but what does that mean in practice? “The authorities can see which digital wallet the digital yuan is in and digital wallets are tied to individuals,” says Hsu.

Authorities will be able to trace transactions and carry out compliance checks including anti-money laundering and know your customer. The user can choose to be anonymous to counterparties, which some have argued will be a disadvantage for online platforms. …

Challenging the dollar’s reserve currency status has also been mooted as a reason for the e-CNY. China is the world’s biggest producer of rare earth metals, which are increasingly in demand for rechargeable batteries and electronics, among other things. Could China move to “de-dollarise” the trade in rare earths? “It is possible,” says Hsu, “but, the digital yuan is like cash so that would likely take second place to normal account transfers.”

Hsu says it’s also not clear how the digital yuan could be tracked cross-border or whether it will be able to collect the identification information of overseas citizens.

More in the Raconteur.

Sara Hsu is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more fintech experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

How China leaped ahead of the US with mobile-first and AI – Winston Ma

 

Winston Ma

China leapfrogged ahead in developing technology by using advantages through mobile-first, blockchain and AI, tells technology analyst Winston Ma in an interview with state-owned CGTN. How China got a headstart in new technology compared to the US, now followed by the digital currency.

Winston 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.

Are you looking for more innovation experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

China needs to do more to get users for the digital yuan – Winston Ma

 

Winston Ma

China financial authorities have started to introduce the digital yuan in January, but financial analyst Winston Ma sees more has to happen to seduce a billion Chinese internet users to use the virtual currency, he tells at CNBC. And what is the goal of China’s central bank?

Winston 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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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.

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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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.

Winston Ma is a financial expert 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.

Are you looking for more financial experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

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.

Are you looking for more fintech experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

 

How America made China great again – Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers

China’s upcoming digital currency is the last example of how the country is economically going to outrun the US and the rest of the world, says Singapore-based superinvestor Jim Rogers. Of course, the country has collapsed a few times too, but unlike other cultures, it is able to rise again, he says.

Jim Rogers is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

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