Who Will Dominate China抯 Cashless Future

Beginning with government-led Union Pay， and followed by online and mobile payment revolutions led by Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba， cashless payment has gradually broken into the mainstream over 15 years of constant back-and-forth involving institutions， the market， and the government.

The struggle between the government and the market in the development of the payment business has been revealed in many cases including centralized management of provisions in the payment industry， the shift from centralized settlement led by third-party payment companies to those led by the central bank， and the dispute over standards concerning paying by scanning QR codes. Some observers believe the success of Internet giants？cashless efforts depends on the government抯 tolerance for marketization and openness.

Lemobile Creditors Gather to Demand Repayment

Over the past month， suppliers for Lemobile， wearing uniform T-shirts， gathered at the lobby of the Letv Building， demanding Lemobile to pay its debts. Lemobile issued 2.8 billion yuan抯 worth of convertible bonds with annualized yield rate of around 15 percent back in mid 2015. At that time， the bonds were much sought-after， but now they were worthless.

The bonds， which were underwritten by financial institutions and third-party wealth management companies， ultimately ended up in the hands of the affluent middle-classes， who each invested 3-5 million or even over 10 million yuan. The investors are frustrated and angry that it seems increasing impossible for them to recover their investment in Lemobile.

Opportunities and Challenges in Nursing Homes

About 230 million people in China are 60 years old or above， which spells an urgent need for nursing homes. Large and medium-sized real estate developers as well as insurance companies have flocked into the retirement home industry， creating their own models to serve high- and mid-end customers. However， so far， no company has been able to dominate the market. And there are few mature， profitable models， and even fewer profitable projects.

Elderly care projects should start by raising public awareness and acceptance， then overcome challenges concerning 揻unding， land， and medical treatment？and improve their services， in order to come up with a mature， profitable model given the complicated regulatory environment and market competition.

How Long Can North Korea Hold Onendprint

North Korea抯 nuclear test on Sept. 3， 2017 shocked the world. The explosion was equivalent to 160，000 tons of TNT， more powerful than the sum of the nation抯 previous five nuclear tests that began in 2006. The development of nuclear bombs and missiles by North Korea has become a 揼lobal threat.？

On Sept. 11， 2017， the United Nations Security Council passed a new Resolution 2375 to strengthen sanctions against North Korea. There has been a decisive change over the 揘orth Korea Issue？in world politics and in options to deal with the issue. The question is how long can North Korea hold on given rising global sanctions and pressure on the nation.

Jeff Immelt抯 16-Year Helm at GE Ends

Former General Electric （GE） CEO Jeff Immelt抯 16-year governance of the world抯 largest industrial giant officially ended Aug. 1， 2017. In the second week that Immelt took the helm at GE， the 9-11 terrorist attacks occurred. Later， there were various other challenges， including the financial crisis， the collapse of oil prices， and the rise of Internet giants.

The financial crisis dealt a heavy blow to GE抯 financial business， which gave rise to the most important transformation at GE over the past 16 years： spinning off financial assets， re-focusing on industries， and promoting a digital revolution in industries. However， decisions taken from a long-term perspective do not deliver immediate results， and have yet to win the support of the capital markets.endprint