Macro snapshot — Lending in China likely to slow down; German economy to lose $265bn

RIYADH: China shares edged up on Tuesday, led by energy and renewable energy stocks, while gains were capped as COVID-19 outbreaks and tensions with the US weighed on sentiment.

The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.2 percent, to 4,156.29, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 3,247.43 points.

The Hang Seng index fell 0.2 percent, to 20,003.44, while the China Enterprises Index lost 0.4 percent, to 6,794.77 points.

China’s Luckin plans store expansion, remains committed to US market

Two years after it was forced to withdraw from the Nasdaq for an accounting fraud, China’s Luckin Coffee believes it has emerged from its “darkest moment,” and said it remains committed to US capital markets as it expands its stores and sales.

Luckin admitted in 2020 that about $310 million of its sales were fabricated in the previous three quarters, bringing the coffee maker to the brink of collapse after having blazed a trail as a homegrown challenger to US coffee giant Starbucks.

“That was Luckin’s darkest moment. The company was facing a huge crisis at the time,” David Li, chairman and CEO of Chinese private equity firm Centurium Capital, told Reuters, referring to the accounting fraud.

China electric car sales to hit 6 million

The China Passenger Car Association has raised the forecast of electric car sales from 5.5 million to 6 million this year, Bloomberg reported.

The association raised its forecast after deliveries of new-energy vehicles more than doubled in July to around 486,000 units, thus accounting for 26.7 percent of the overall automobile market.

PCA also revealed that overall passenger vehicle sales rose 20 percent in July to 1.84 million units compared to the same period last year. 

(With input from Reuters)