Special to WorldTribune.com
China has warned “financial predator” George Soros not to bet against its currency.
“Soros’ challenge against the renminbi and Hong Kong dollar is unlikely to succeed, there is no doubt about that,” said a government official in an opinion piece.
The article, headlined “Declaring war on China’s currency? Ha ha”, described Soros as a “financial predator.” It was published by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper and propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week, Soros told Bloomberg television that “a hard landing is practically unavoidable,” for China. “I’m not expecting it, I’m observing it,” he said.
Soros has successfully bet against foreign currencies before, including the British pound in 1992 and Thailand’s baht in 1997.
While he has yet to directly threaten to bet against China’s yuan, analysts say Soros’ Davos comments were more than enough to draw Beijing’s attention.
According to FactSet data, the yuan fell 4.7 percent in 2015. It is expected to slide further, from the current 6.58 to 7 yuan versus the dollar by the end 2016, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.
Beijing unexpectedly devalued the yuan in August in response to slumping exports.