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China’s Huishang Bank to Take Part in Baoshang’s Revamp: Sources

Pompeo Rejects ‘Propaganda’ Claim Soleimani Was on Diplomatic Mission in Iraq

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dismissed a suggestion that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission in Iraq when he was killed by an American drone strike last week. The claim, he said, is “fundamentally false” and a piece of “Iranian propaganda.” Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, claimed that Soleimani, who was in charge of the shadowy Quds Force, was in Baghdad on a diplomatic visit. “Does anybody in here believe that?” Pompeo sarcastically told reporters. “Is there any history that would indicate that it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qassem Soleimani, had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission? We know that wasn’t true. We not only know the history, we know in that moment that was…

China’s Huishang Bank to Take Part in Baoshang’s Revamp: Sources

BEIJING—China’s Huishang Bank will take over four branches of Baoshang Bank under a state-led reorganization of the Inner Mongolia-based lender, two sources told Reuters, as part of Beijing’s drive to reduce financial risks from small lenders.

Huishang will take over Baoshang’s Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Ningbo branches in a new round of asset disposals, the sources told Reuters, declining to be named ahead of formal announcements.

Earlier on Jan. 8, Anhui-based Huishang said it would acquire some assets of other banks and financial institutions, and invest up to 3.6 billion yuan ($518.56 million) to hold a stake of no more than 15 percent in a new provincial commercial bank, but gave no details.

The new bank is a part of Baoshang’s restructuring plan, two sources said, without elaborating.

Baoshang declined to comment.

Baoshang Bank became the first high-profile case of China’s small lender crisis as financial regulators took control of the lender in May last year due to “serious” credit risks, rattling domestic markets and prompting the central bank to inject cash into the banking system to prevent contagion risks.

Financial media outlet Caixin first reported on Wednesday Huishang’s involvement in Baoshang’s asset disposal.

Huishang was one of the biggest creditors of Baoshang’s interbank debts, with an unidentified loss yet to be “repaid under current laws and regulations,” the bank said in an online presentation last August.

Huishang’s total assets stood at 1.1 trillion yuan at the end of June 2019, with a non-performing loan ratio of 1.03 percent.

The People’s Bank of China said last year that 99.98 percent of Baoshang’s institutional creditors were fully repaid, and will restructure the lender as soon as possible.

($1=6.9423 Chinese yuan renminbi)

By Yawen Chen, Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo

This article is from the Internet:China’s Huishang Bank to Take Part in Baoshang’s Revamp: Sources

‘Heckler’s Veto’: UBC Threatened With Legal Action for Cancelling Talk on Antifa

The University of British Columbia is being threatened with legal action over the cancellation of a speaking engagement featuring conservative U.S. journalist Andy Ngo discussing Antifa violence. Sponsored by the Free Speech Club, the event had been given the green light to take place on Jan. 20, but on Dec. 20 the university suddenly cancelled the talk citing safety and security concerns. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is calling on UBC to reinstate the event or face legal action, saying cancelling Ngo’s talk goes against the university’s principles regarding academic freedom and free speech. “The decision is unreasonable,” said JCCF staff lawyer Marty Moore in a demand letter to UBC president Santa Ono. “It is an alarming betrayal of the foundational pillar of higher education—the freedom of thought,…