China looks for help with its finances
In its latest move to help trade, China has tripled its ceiling on foreign institutional investment. But while the country isn't hurting for investors, Bill Marcus reports there is a need for some U.S. financial advice.
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Scott Jagow: Chinese officials are in Washington this week for talks with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The agenda’s fairly obvious: product safety, China’s currency, trade. Bill Marcus has more on the Chinese perspective.
Bill Marcus: To grease the trade talk wheels, China Sunday tripled the ceiling on foreign institutional investment to $30 billion.
Peking University Finance Professor Michael Pettis says the last thing China’s over-inflated monetary market needs is more investment. But American financial expertise — that they can use.
Michael Pettis: China is very eager to see its financial markets become more sophisticated, more developed, and better able, better capable of allocating capital efficiently for which, as of now, it’s doing a fairly poor job.
China also last week signed mainland investment banking agreements with Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan are waiting in the wings.
But most insiders fear foreign banks will be able to underwrite IPOs, not trade domestic stocks in a market that this year is up 90 percent.
In Shanghai, I’m Bill Marcus for Marketplace.