China’s Financial Markets

This course is a part of Global Impact of China's Economy, Politics and Markets, a 4-course Professional Certificate series from edX.

Over the past couple of years, the Chinese government has finally started to open China’s financial system and its equity and bond markets to the outside world. Onshore assets are now part of the main global and emerging market indices. But most investors openly admit they are putting money to work in a market they mistrust and do not understand well enough.

In this course you will learn how China’s financial markets truly work. You will see how its state-owned commercial banks control the flow of domestic savings and how Chinese companies became the global leader in mobile payments.

You will understand the nature of the Chinese stock market and the Chinese bond market, how Chinese investors trade and what the driving forces of these markets are. Foreign investors will learn how to recognise investment opportunities and guard against the idiosyncratic risks.

You will understand the role of the State Council, the People’s Bank of China – its central bank, and the Ministry of Finance – its Treasury, in setting monetary policy, interest and foreign exchange rates and supervising China’s banking system and financial institutions.

Unbiased analysis, real-life examples and practical guidance will equip you with the analytical frameworks and tools to apply to your investment decisions, risk assessments or policymaking. You will learn directly from Enodo Economics’ team of experts, who together have over 250 years of experience focused on China’s economy, its politics and markets and its culture.

We make use of our own bespoke online teaching videos that are produced to a high professional standard. The material, carefully tailored to bring to life the content of each course, includes interviews with relevant figures whose personal stories make real the concepts being taught. Imaginative visual aids and animation are designed to enhance the learning experience – and make it fun.

What you'll learn

• How to take advantage of China’s financial liberalisation: what you can do and still can’t do
• Who and what are the true driving forces of China’s capital markets – its stock exchange, government bonds, policy bank bonds, corporate bonds, enterprise bonds and other fixed income instruments
• How bond yields are set, how credit risk is priced and what local credit ratings mean
• Whether capital controls are here to stay, how the Shanghai Stock Connect scheme works, what determines the yuan’s exchange rate and whether it will supplant the US dollar one day
• Whether China can leverage its edge in global payments into digital-currency leadership