Chinese Property Developers are going BANKRUPT!
China is an investment-led economy, not export-led as some people would think, meaning that property sales are the backbone of the Chinese economy.
In 2021 for example, local governments in China earned 40 percent of their total revenue from the sale of land-use rights. Local governments dramatically raise the price of land, subsequently of real estate, because they use high-priced land as collateral to get credit from local banks. Over in debt and an almost unrestricted increase in infrastructure projects whose economic benefits are questionable have become unavoidable. This has resulted in China’s local government debt reaching $23 trillion.
Housing assets account for about 70 percent of the wealth of Chinese households, and real estate accounted for 14 percent of GDP in 2022. Once this industry slumps, the wealth of the Chinese people, especially the middle class, will shrink drastically.
Many local governments, which used to rely on the property bubble to support their projects, have been plunged into crisis, and in some areas, even the salaries of teachers, public transportation, municipal employees, or public security officers cannot be paid as a result. Currently, Chinese officials categorize 14 out of 31 provinces as being in financial crisis.
Now that's the government situation but what about the private side?
Developer Country Garden is at risk of default, Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection and firms covering 40% of Chinese home sales have defaulted.
China’s property crisis is deep with two major developers facing severe financial difficulties that threaten to send shock waves through the country’s economy and beyond.
Evergrande, the poster child for the woes of China’s property sector, filed for bankruptcy protection in New York.
The filing from Evergrande, which defaulted in 2021 after a liquidity crisis, came a day after China’s securities regulator notified the company’s Chinese branch that it was being investigated for suspected disclosure violations. It is the world’s most indebted property developer, with more than $300bn in liabilities.
Country Garden, which was once China’s largest property developer by revenue, also faces a risk of default.
Country Garden is one of the few major homebuilders to have avoided default since Beijing introduced a “three red lines” policy in 2020 that was aimed at reining in the debt levels in the highly leveraged sector. The red lines set limits on liabilities-to-asset ratios and ensure companies hold cash reserves equivalent to at least 100% of short-term debt.
Since then, companies responsible for about 40% of Chinese home sales have defaulted. Country Garden, has also missed two dollar bond payments.
Country Garden’s liabilities total 1.4tn yuan (£151.1bn), about 60% the size of Evergrande’s. But Country Garden has nearly four times as many housing projects in China, leading to fears of more social unrest if construction halts. There have already been reports of demonstrations outside the company’s headquarters in Guangdong.
The company has promised to deliver 700,000 units this year, but in the first six months, it completed less than half that number. The industry is in an “unprecedented difficult period”, the company said in a filing.
As confidence in the real estate sector has plummeted, so have home sales, depriving developers of needed cash to complete construction works and meet interest payments. Country Garden’s sales were down by 60% for example.
The turmoil in China’s property sector has left suppliers unpaid, and homebuyers, who have often made hefty down payments, without their apartments. Buyers in hundreds of cities have staged mortgage boycotts in protest at the unfinished developments, that doesn't really matter in a communist country but good luck anyway.
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Why Does Iran and Afghanistan HATE Each Other?
You would think that the Islamic terrorist organization of the Talibans would be a great friend of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but you would be mistaken.
What if I were to tell you that in actuality they might draw close to a war?
Today we are going to answer the question:
Why Iran and Afghanistan don’t like each other?
The border between Iran and Afghanistan spans over 900 kilometers, a border that is full of tension over water.
Afghanistan has a number of rivers, the most important of which is the Helmand River.
The Helmand River terminates in the Hamun Lakes, a place that has great importance in Iran not just for agriculture but also for drinking water. And because 95% percent of Helmand is under the control of Afghanistan that is making Iran nervous about the situation.
The Taliban can restrict water as they please and can use this water as leverage against Iran, which is facing a ‘Water Bankruptcy’.
It is also to be noted that the level of water itself has decreased, and with a blend of climate change, declining rainfall and impaired environment, the water crisis is depriving thousands of people from drinking water.
Iran has around 4.5 millions Afghans of varying status in the country, of which 750,000 are refugees, 500,000 are undocumented, and only 360.000 have a resident permit.
Such a huge number of immigrants is bound to cause instability, plus the shared Sunny Afgan identity and they represent an economic and social problem for the government of Teheran.
In the Islamic Faith, The rivalry between Shia and Sunny is well known.
Based on theological differences, the bloodshed spilled between those 2 groups is enormous and to this day the effects exist.
Today Shia based Republic of Iran is in a mini cold war with the Sunny based Kindom of Saudi Arabia.
Afghanistan is a Sunny Muslim dominated country with a small minority of Shia Muslims. Iran is worried about the treatment of the Shia minority and if the opportunity arises would use this minority as leverage against the Taliban, in whatever situation.
Given the recent eruption of violence where people have died, it would be naive to think that the future is all flowers and no blood.
For the reasons listed before it is reasonable to believe that the situation will at least remain the same if not worse.
I think it’s likely that a war or a limited military action will happen.
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Will RUSSIA Join The European Union?
This video is about seeing if Russian Integration into the EU is Possible.
First, we will give this question some legitimacy by giving some arguments in favor.
Russia has a lot to give to the EU economically by having huge oil and gas resources - more exactly it holds 80 billion barrels of oil making it the 8th in the world and with a production of 11 million barrels per day that’s the 3rd in the world. You can imagine how much that would help the economy of Germany which rightfully abandoned those resources after the invasion.
Russia is culturally close to the EU, by having a Christian historical background just like all the other EU member states, and the Russian people are a Slavic group just like Poles and Checs
Russia is on the European continent which is the geographic requirement for entry. Of course, the majority of Russia is in Asia but given that the majority of the citizens live in the European part this can be a small issue.
In 1993 the European Council agreed on the 'Copenhagen criteria' which defines the conditions for membership.
Let’s see how Russia does with regard to the criteria
Stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and respect for and protection of minorities - The problem with Democracy in Russia is the lack of it. Even with Vladimir Putin having a pretty good approval rating, there are still cases of him faking the election just to be sure of winning.
A functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU - If the average Russian knew that moving to the West is somewhat possible, the country would overnight become older than the bible, there’s no chance Russia is in any way, shape or form ready for such a thing
The ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including adherence to the aims of political, economic, and monetary union. - The Russian economy right now is as healthy as an 80-year-old grandma with a severe form of alcoholism, with the GDP per capita almost 3 times smaller than the European one, and huge inequality on top of that I think the verdict here is very clear.
Right now Russia would need to stop the war in Ukraine, return the land taken, change its political class including Vladimir Putin, change its electoral system to be more democratic or at least ensure fair elections, raise its economy from the dead, and change a lot more other laws to integrate into the EU.
You can imagine how hard is to change one thing on the list. Oh yeah, and the cherry is that Russia right now doesn't want to join the EU.
In conclusion, Russia has more chances of joining the African Union than the European one.
But hey, what do you think? Leave a comment down below and let me know.
Thank You for watching!
00:00 - Start
00:56 - Introduction
01:20 - Arguments For Integration
03:14 - Arguments Against Integration
05:13 - Conclusion
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Why Is UK Suffering After BREXIT?
Let’s suppose the UK and EU divorce, has not yet scared your parents into abandoning their pursuit of ending their marriage, and, just like in our case, they stopped living together.
Well, I am here to tell you that If their relationship is just like Brexit, somebody wants to get back in.
I have to say, the fact that Brexit is still in the discussion 7 years after the referendum is pretty good news for the EU and bad news for the UK. Exactly like your divorced parents who still after so many years want each other, or at least your dad or mom.
In other words, Is your Dad… I mean the UK missing the EU? And if so? Why is that?
One reason why your dad might miss your mother is the child payment that runs his wallet dry every month.
In our case, of course, the UK doesn't need to pay anything to Europe, but with the economy being in the state that it is we might as well say so.
Research by the Centre for European Reform suggests the UK economy is 2.5% smaller than it would have been if Remain had won the referendum. Public finances fell by £26bn a year. This amounts to £500m a week and is growing.
Likewise, A recent study by the London School of Economics found that Brexit was responsible for about a third of UK food price inflation since 2019, adding nearly £7 billion to Britain’s grocery bill.
This may actually be the biggest argument someone can make for why the UK needs to come back to the EU
This is my first video, so please subscribe if you like it!
Another reason why your dad might miss your mother is that his hands want to break up from his body without her.
Sounds strange?
Well, a lot of people thought that a post-Brexit Scotland, in which the majority voted for remaining, would be moving closer and closer to an independent referendum, but with the latest political instability in the Scottish National Party that seems unlikely.
Nevertheless, the threat still remains, not just with Scotland but also with the north of Ireland, a region where independence is still unlikely but the eruption of violence is not.
And that brings us to the last reason why your dad might miss your mother. Plain and simple he misses her.
Opinion polls are coming out with the overwhelming view that the UK citizens believe, it was wrong to leave the European Union, furthermore, if there was a referendum today on rejoining the union, the outcome would be positive, with the pools showing a majority.
Now those were the short summary of the reasons making your dad….. I mean the UK missing being a part of the EU.
Now the next question is “Will the UK rejoin the EU?”
Something that I will answer on another day. Until then here are some good moments from that time.
Thank You for watching, And please subscribe!
00:00 - Start
00:22 - Introduction
01:28 - The Economy
02:58 - The Stability
03:49 - The People
04:29 - The Conclusion
05:17 - Debate Moments
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