The Best Reads of the Week From Caixin

Tenants and real estate agencies know firsthand that rents in China’s capital shot up dramatically this summer. But why doesn’t Beijing’s official inflation data reflect this? Analysts say the government’s low home rent figures are nothing short of “miraculous.”

China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry, built on shady promises and murky asset pools, is in full meltdown mode. The latest victims of the chaos: 300 angry investors, who gathered at a Shanghai fund manager’s office to demand accountability from collapsed P2P platform PPMiao.com this week.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities are on the hunt for Peng Xiaofeng, once China’s youngest billionaire and “king” of the country’s solar industry. Peng’s crime? He allegedly swindled more than 5,000 investors through his P2P company Solarbao.com, and now owes creditors over $30 million.

“I don’t think China wants us to be bankrupt,” Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told reporters after cancelling multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects in his country, which would have been backed by Chinese government cash. Mahathir, newly returned to power, must now tackle the massive government debt left by predecessor Najib Razak’s administration.

The chairman of casino developer Landing International Development Ltd. was detained at an airport in Cambodia and is now uncontactable. Landing International has close ties with China Huarong, the state-owned bad asset manager currently at the center of the country’s largest financial sector corruption case since 1949.

These are the five stories that I don’t want you to miss from last week. Please share your comments on the In Focus section and on our other coverage at news@caixin.com.

And when you’re done perusing these must-read stories, check out Caixin’s weekly digital magazine.

Kind regards,

Doug Young

Managing Editor

Surge in Big City Rents Raises Questions About Official Inflation Figures

In Beijing, home rents rise 25% in July, but rental component of the city’s consumer price index notches only a 2.8% gain

Potential buyers look at a model of an apartment block in Nantong, Jiangsu province on June 14. Photo: VCG

HuaAn Finds Itself Target of Investor Ire After P2P Company Accused of Fraud

Fund manager, a former minority stakeholder in PPMiao.com’s operator, says it is not involved in troubled firm’s business operations

The lobby of Shanghai's International Finance Centre is quiet on Tuesday, one day after 300 protesters appeared to demand that HuaAn Future Asset Management Co. Ltd. answer for the failure of P2P firm PPMiao.com. Photo: Leng Cheng / Caixin

In-Depth: Police Launch Global Hunt for ‘Solar King’ Caught Up in P2P Bust

Peng Xiaofeng, who led LDK Solar into the abyss, now wanted by police for his role in a failed online lending platform

Peng Xiaofeng, former chairman of the now-bankrupt LDK Solar. Photo: VCG

Mahathir Says China-Backed Projects ‘Canceled for Now’: Malaysian Media

Country's prime minister reveals $20 billion railway link, multibillion-dollar pipelines have been suspended

Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Aug. 20. Photo: VCG

Businessman With Huarong Link Reported Detained

Landing International shares plunge 35% as developer reports loss of contact with Chairman Yang Zhihui

Yang Zhihui. Photo: IC