FirstFT: Top Nomura banker banned from leaving mainland China

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Good morning. A senior Nomura banker has been banned from leaving mainland China, a move connected to a long-running investigation into the country’s top tech dealmaker Bao Fan, according to people familiar with the matter.

The restrictions on Charles Wang Zhonghe, chair of investment banking for China at the Hong Kong arm of Japanese bank Nomura International, only applied to travel outside mainland China and he was not in detention, one person familiar with the matter said.

But the exit ban on a veteran Hong Kong-based banker of Wang’s standing will send a chill through China’s overseas business community, where foreign chamber of commerce surveys indicate investor confidence is already low.

Wang’s travel freeze follows the months-long disappearance of tech sector dealmaker Bao, founder of investment group China Renaissance, and of Cong Lin, another of its former senior executives. Bao has not been seen since February, when the company said he was “co-operating in an investigation”. Read the full story.

• More China news: Evergrande, the struggling Chinese property developer, says it cannot issue new debt because its mainland business is “being investigated”.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Indonesia: President Joko Widodo has said Indonesia may issue a regulation on the use of social media to sell goods in the country, according to Reuters. Indonesia has previously threatened to curb TikTok’s shopping platform, accusing the viral video app of “monopolistic” business practices.

• South Korea: The country will hold its first big military parade in a decade to mark armed forces day, as tensions with North Korea remain high. (Yonhap News Agency)

One more thing: We are launching a new central banks newsletter for premium subscribers. Chris Giles will use nearly 20 years of experience as the FT’s economics editor to provide weekly insights on interest rates and monetary policy. Sign up here.

Five more top stories

1. Interview: Russia has weathered western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, the oligarch Oleg Deripaska has said, admitting “surprise” at its resilience after a war he thought would bankrupt the Kremlin. The comments by Deripaska indicate growing confidence among Moscow’s elite that Russia has emerged relatively unscathed despite fears early in the war that sanctions would crater the economy. Here’s the full interview with Deripaska.

2. China and the EU have agreed to set up an export controls “mechanism”, mirroring a similar effort between Beijing and Washington, as the two trading superpowers seek to ease growing trading tensions. The mechanism was announced after a meeting between EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and He Lifeng, Chinese vice-premier, in Beijing. Our report has more details from the meeting.

3. The boss of Nissan has warned that the world “needs to move on” from the internal combustion engine days after UK prime minister Rishi Sunak delayed a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Nissan chief executive Makoto Uchida also said the Japanese carmaker urgently needed to “transform” itself to compete with Tesla and new Chinese carmakers. “We had our plan, but the world is evolving,” Uchida told the FT.

4. Exclusive: A Nato-backed €1bn venture capital fund plans to invest in defence start-ups to boost the US-led military alliance’s technological edge and fend off competition from China. The Netherlands-based scheme aims to fill a gap in funding for companies working on technology with military capabilities. Here are the areas the fund is targeting.

5. A blockbuster drug developed by US pharmaceutical group Merck to treat Covid-19 has been linked to mutations transmitted when the coronavirus spreads between patients, a finding that will increase scrutiny about its usefulness and the billions spent by governments on its procurement. Read more on the study’s findings.

News in-depth

Western companies are slowly insulating their China operations from the mounting tensions between Beijing and the west, as governments call for increased “de-risking”. The notion, which has replaced the radical “decoupling” as a diplomatic buzzword this year, is a sign that the west is seeking a less antagonistic approach to managing relations with China. Read how companies are planning for the riskier business environment.

We’re also reading . . . 

• FTX: The saga of the cryptocurrency exchange illustrates why you should not expect objectivity from a family member, writes Stephen Bush.

• The activist sued by Elon Musk: Imran Ahmed uses his Center for Countering Digital Hate to campaign against social media abuses. “We have to show we will not be cowed,” he told the FT.

• Paternity leave in finance: City and Wall Street employers are introducing better benefits for new fathers — but for some it came at a cost.

• India’s green energy dream: Coal currently accounts for around three-quarters of the nation’s power generation and demand is expected to grow, despite an ambitious renewables plan.

Chart of the day

World trade volumes fell at their fastest annual pace for almost three years in July, according to closely watched figures that signal rising interest rates are beginning to affect global demand for goods.

Take a break from the news . . . 

The iPhone 15 Pro Max is lighter, boasts a 48-megapixel camera and has an exciting new button. But should you buy it? Rhodri Marsden reviews the latest model of Apple’s flagship smartphone.

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Gordon Smith