Hey, JACK! It's Been a Tough Year! Send MONEY!

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

It’s been a tough year for China’s entrepreneurs – and it’s going to get worse, Jack Ma says

• Alibaba founder urges businesspeople to be confident and embrace change, in speech to Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai
• He tells audience he received five phone calls in a single day from friends asking to borrow money

 

 

 

Ma did not go into specifics in his speech, but the tone echoed a cautious mood in the Chinese business community, especially for private entrepreneurs, about their prospects amid slowing economic growth, mounting debt and the country’s worsening relations with the outside world.

While China is expected to report a headline economic growth rate above 6 per cent for 2019, a long list of business owners are struggling to keep afloat in a difficult environment, as easy credit dries up.

They include well-known Zhejiang entrepreneur Zhou Xiaoguang, who created the world’s largest maker of costume jewellery, NeoGlory. The company filed for bankruptcy this year.

Yin Mingshan, who founded Lifan Group and is known as the “motorcycle king”, is also deep in debt after a costly new-energy vehicle failed to generate enough revenue.

And He Qiaonu, a landscaping entrepreneur who made headlines two years ago when she announced a US$1.5 billion donation to wildlife conservation, is involved in a number of court cases for failing to honour her debts.

 

 

 

 

[Greg.D.]

Debt, debt, debt .... this can trigger a banking crisis.

 

They've been talking about this for years, but have managed to delay the reckoning. Hoping for the best.