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Tag: Natixis

  • China Deployed $184 Billion in AI Funds Amid Rivalry with US

    China Deployed $184 Billion in AI Funds Amid Rivalry with US

    Chinese government guidance funds deployed US$184 billion into artificial intelligence companies between 2000 and 2023, according to Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index.

    US President Donald Trump has declared that whoever wins with artificial intelligence wins, citing intense rivalry with China as Washington restricts semiconductor access.

    Wage Growth Across Service Sectors

    Writing in September 2026, commentator and former factory worker Lijia Zhang argued that China must prioritize household wages over artificial intelligence as ordinary citizens lack spending power.

    Dr Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East at French bank Natixis, said China faces a dual economy. Technological manufacturing surges while household income stagnates.

    China is pouring extraordinary resources into AI, robotics, EVs, batteries and other strategic technologies. But it is being financed in part by financially repressed households: cheap captive savings, weak wage growth.

    Capital Flows Toward Advanced Hardware

    State capital poured into advanced computing and automation while consumer payrolls remained flat. Government guidance funds deployed 184 billion dollars into artificial intelligence enterprises between 2000 and 2023, according to Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index.

    The investment drive accelerated after Washington placed tighter restrictions on semiconductor exports and cloud computing access. Domestic policy prioritised supply chain independence in robotics, electric vehicles, and chips over cash transfers or wage support for service workers.

    Pressures on Store Operators and Chains

    Slow wage expansion directly curbs basket sizes and foot traffic for supermarket chains, department store operators, and food chains. Shoppers across tier-two and tier-three cities have shifted spending toward discount formats and small neighborhood stores to protect household savings.

    Retailers operating on tight margins face higher operational costs without the pricing power needed to lift frontline compensation. Store networks now compete on price while fighting factory sectors for entry-level staffing.

    Next Economic Benchmarks to Track

    Capital flowed into strategic industries throughout the past decade, leaving domestic consumption below international averages as a share of total economic output. Factory automation and hardware supply chains received the bulk of state guidance funds across multiple regional planning cycles.

    Upcoming migrant labor surveys and quarterly retail sales figures will show whether mainland consumer spending can recover without direct policy interventions on service wages.

  • Natixis Expands Global Markets Unit in APAC

    Natixis Expands Global Markets Unit in APAC

    Natixis has made a series of hires for its global markets team in Asia Pacific with a focus on bolstering its capabilities in China and Japan.

    The French investment bank made six new appointments to its APAC global markets unit, according to a statement, as part of its ongoing growth ambitions in the region.

    China and Japan are key geographies for our global markets business and these new appointments to bolster our sales teams will allow us to deepen our client dialogue and enhance our focused development of new activities and products, said APAC head of global markets Viet Linh Ha Thuc.

    Eddison An joins the Hong Kong office as global market sales for China reporting to Greater China head of global markets sales Kirk Liu. An has 19 years of global market sales experience and was most recently the China head of credit sales at Deutsche Bank.

    Marcus Teng joins the Shanghai office as China head of corporate sales for the global markets unit, reporting to Liu and locally to Greater China senior country manager Hong Liu. Teng has 14 years of experience, most recently with ANZ Bank as a director in global markets.

    Beijing-based Jason Lee was named corporate sales for China reporting to Teng and locally to Beijing branch manager Simon Qin. Lee has 20 years of financial advisory and acquisition finance experience most recently also with ANZ Bank.

    Michael Man joins the Hong Kong office as global market sales reporting to APAC head of sales and financial engineering Eric Elbaz. Man has over ten years of experience in prime services and securities finance, most recently with BNP Paribas.

    Hiroshi Hara was named Tokyo-based regional fixed income sales reporting to head of regional financial institutions sales Kazuoki Shirase. Hara has 24 years of banking experience most recently with Nattiest Markets Securities Japan where he was its head of solutions sales for the country.

    Satoshi Harada joins in Tokyo as flow product sales reporting to Hirofumi Satoi, global markets sales, Japan. Harada has 8 years of banking and financial experience, most recently with Société Générale Securities Japan.