The Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, episode 58

Welcome to the 58th installment of the Caixin-Sinica Business Brief, a weekly podcast that brings you the most important business stories of the week from China’s top source for business and financial news. Produced by Kaiser Kuo of our Sinica Podcast, it features a business news roundup, plus conversations with Caixin reporters and editors. This week: We discuss the strong debut of Chinese discount shopping site Pinduoduo on the Nasdaq last week, following a $1.6 billion IPO — one of the biggest listings by a Chinese company this year. We hear that a man set off a homemade explosive device outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing last week, injuring only himself in what Beijing police called an “isolated public-security incident.” We note the rise of Huawei’s share of the domestic smartphone market in the second quarter, which soared 27 percent, marking the highest share for any brand since 2011. We note that China is set to introduce a “cooling-off” period for divorces to address a spike in the rate of separations. We find out that China has sentenced a former top banking regulator to 16 years in prison for accepting tens of millions of yuan in bribes. We learn that Zhu Jun 朱军, a household name in China and a venerable CCTV host, has become the latest prominent figure in the country to be accused of sexual assault. We analyze new research that suggests China’s schoolchildren are overweight, have poor eyesight, and don’t get enough sleep. We discover that China’s primary schools are getting crowded at an alarming rate, which is largely driven by the shuttering of rural schools. In addition, we talk with Fran Wang, economics reporter for Caixin Global, about China’s crackdown on its asset management industry. We also chat with Doug Young, managing editor of Caixin Global, about the failed merger between San Diego–based Qualcomm and Netherlands–based NXP (Next eXPerience) after Beijing delayed it for over 20 months. We’d love to hear your feedback on this product. Please send any comments and suggestions to [email protected]. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.