Daily Buzz: 23 June 2026

Top News

US Claims 'Great Progress' in Iran Talks, Despite First-Day Hiccups

US Vice President JD Vance, who led a Washington delegation in the first round of talks with Iran on a final peace deal, said "great progress" was achieved in laying a foundation for a successful outcome. The talks in Switzerland were marred by a brief walkout by the Iranian delegation over continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon and threats in Washington from US President Donald Trump to take over the Strait of Hormuz after Iran announced it was closing the waterway again. However, the first-day talks resumed, concluding with both sides agreeing to set up a "high level committee" and technical working groups aimed at reaching a final peace settlement within 60 days. The roadmap to that goal includes ending hostilities in Lebanon and discussions on Iran's nuclear program. Vance said Tehran has agreed to permit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, though Iran disputed that claim. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi said the talks made "major progress," with Tehran securing what he described as waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, the lifting of the US blockade on its ports, the release of some frozen assets and the launch of a reconstruction and development plan. At the close of trading in New York, benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at about US$78 a barrel on hopes of normal oil transit through the strait resuming.

China Announces Export Controls on US Companies

China imposed fresh trade restrictions on 10 US companies, including rare earth companies MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, and drone makers Teal and Jaia Robotics, following Washington's decision to add dozens of Chinese companies to a blacklist of firms alleged to have ties with the Chinese military. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce's new list, which bars any Chinese dual-used exports to the US firms, also includes electronics manufacturer Aveox, Ball Aerospace & Technologies and military equipment provider Oshkosh Defense. Dual-use exports are goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. The countermeasures were spurred by an announcement from the US Defense Department earlier this month that it is adding dozens of Chinese companies – including AI giants Alibaba and Baidu, automakers BYD and Nio, and biotech firm WuXi Tech – to its blacklist of companies with military connections. The Chinese companies have vigorously denied the allegation.

Separately, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced it is excluding 46 US companies, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Missiles & Defense, Boeing Defense and Space & Security, from participating in any government procurement projects. The ban doesn't include subsidiaries operating in China.

UK Prime Minister Resigns, Likely Successor Takes Seat in Parliament

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned on Monday, with his likely successor Andy Burnham sworn in as a member of Parliament hours later. The popular Burnham quit as mayor of Manchester and successfully ran in a by-election last week for a parliamentary seat so he could challenge Starmer's leadership. The prime minister was under mounting pressure from within the governing Labour Party to step aside after local election losses last month, a series of policy missteps and a perception that his growing public unpopularity would be a political liability going forward. His downfall was ironic after he led the party to a resounding general election victory only two years ago. He was the UK's sixth prime minister in 10 years, with the second-shortest tenure among them.

China's 'Atlantic Rhapsody' Wins Golden Goblet at Shanghai Film Festival

Chinese film "Atlantic Rhapsody," directed by Zhong Kaifeng, won the Golden Goblet award for best movie at the Shanghai International Film Festival that ended on Sunday. The fantasy drama also won top prize in cinematography for Hao Jiayue. The film tells the story of a supermarket clerk who starts to experience strange occurrences after accidentally boiling the store's shark alive. Winning the best director award was Yassine El Idrissi for the Moroccan film "Halima," which also won Khadija Amari the best actress award. Zhang Songwen took home top prize as best actor for his role in "Secret in the Box."

Top Business

Lingyi iTech Seeks to Raise US$1.1 Billion in HK IPO This Week

Lingyi iTech, a Chinese components supplier to Apple iPhones, is seeking to raise up to HK$8.3 billion (US$1.1 billion) in a Hong Kong initial public offering this week to fund expansion into AI hardware and humanoid robotics. The Shenzhen-listed company is offering 812 million shares priced at HK$10.18, which are expected to start trading on Friday, the South China Morning Post reported. Cornerstone investors including GF Fund, Sunny Optical Capital and smartphone maker Honor. The Jiangmen-based electronics components maker wants to position itself to take advantage of growing demand for humanoid robots, smart glasses, foldable devices and AI servers. In September, it acquired an 80 per cent stake in a joint venture with robot maker AgiBot. Lingyi reported a 16 per cent increase in revenue last year to 51.4 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion), with net profit rising 30 per cent to 2.3 billion yuan.

SK Hynix Dethrones Rival Samsung as the Nation's Most Valuable Company

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix unseated rival Samsung Electronics as the nation's most valuable company on the Seoul stock exchange. SK Hynix closed 5.6 percent higher, lifting the company's market capitalization to 2,080.4 trillion won (US$1,351 billion), while Samsung Electronics' shares slipped 0.14 percent, giving it a value of 2,066.6 trillion won. SK Hynix shares have risen more than 340 percent this year, exceeding a tripling of Samsung stock. Shares in both companies have been surging this year as global demand and prices for AI chips needed for data centers escalate.

Anker Opens HK IPO Aimed at Raising US$587 Million

Anker, a Chinese maker of phone and car chargers, power banks, 3D printers and smart consumer electronics, announced it will seek up to HK$4.6 billion (US$587 million) in an initial public offering in Hong Kong by selling 46.6 million shares. Investor subscriptions open today. Trading in the stock is expected to begin on July 2.

Dettol Apologizes to China Over Controversial Laundry Ad

UK-based household hygiene products brand Dettol issued a public apology on Monday following intense backlash on Chinese social media over a laundry advertisement that called women with past romantic experiences "tainted" and "unclean," while excusing men's previous relationships as acceptable. Dettol parent Reckitt said the five-minute video ad was created by a third-party contributor and was originally intended to criticize gender bias. The apology didn't appear to immediately assuage angry Chinese netizens, who called for a boycott of the product.

Economy & Markets

China Central Bank Leaves Prime Rates Unchanged

The People's Bank of China kept its prime lending rates unchanged for June. The one-year rate, used for corporate and consumer loans, remains at 3 percent, and the five-year rate, used to benchmark mortgages, stays at 3.5 percent.

Zhipu AI Briefly Hits HK$1 Trillion Valuation

Chinese startup Zhipu AI, which trades under the name Knowledge Atlas Technology in Hong Kong, briefly hit a market cap of HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) in morning trading on Monday after its shares surged as much as 40 percent. However, the stock came off its highs to close up 15 percent at HK$24.10. The morning spike followed the release of its GLM-5.2 large AI language model. The new model, which has a 1-million-token context window, ranks second globally on the Code Arena List, after Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.

Subsidies Spur US$144 Billion in China Consumer Purchases

China consumers took advantage of government subsidies on trade-ins of older goods for new models with 136 million purchases so far this year totaling 1 trillion (US$144 billion), the Ministry of Commerce reported. About 3.4 million vehicles were sold under the programs, along with consumer electronics goods and home appliances.

China's Fiscal Revenue Climbs in First Five Months

China's general public budget revenue in the first five months of this year rose 4 percent from a year earlier to 10.1 trillion yuan (US$1.5 trillion), the Ministry of Finance announced on Monday. Tax revenues ticked up 4.4 percent to 8.3 trillion yuan. The data highlight a widening gap between central and regional budget revenue, with central government income expanding 5.7 percent and local government revenue rising 2.7 percent.

Corporate

Sand.ai Secures over US$100 million in Two Funding Rounds

Chinese AI video startup Sand.ai said it raised US$100 million in two fundraising rounds in the past three months. Investors included Look Capital, Lollapalooza Capital, Jiukun Ventures, Matrix Partners China, IDG Capital and Baidu Ventures. Founded in January 2024 by Chief Executive Cao Yue, Sand.ai has focused on what is known as auto-regressive video generation rather than the widely adopted diffusion model approach. The Beijing-based company plans to open-source its next-generation video generation large model next month.

ByteDance Said to Delay Plans for First IPO

TikTok owner ByteDance plans to delay its listing timetable, according to Nikkei Asia. Though the privately owned AI company is valued at more than US$600 billion, founder Zhang Yiming is said to believe the company has more upside and could command a higher IPO price. Analysts said the company has every chance of reaching a value of US$1 trillion. The agreement for an Oracle-led consortium earlier this year to acquire an 80 percent stake in TikTok's US business has removed political uncertainty that was overhanging ByteDance.

HQVT Tech Shares Surge in Hong Kong Trading Debut

Shares in Shenzhen-based HQVT Technology surged 271 percent from their offer price in their trading debut in Hong Kong on Monday, after raising HK$537 million (US$68.5 million) in an initial public offering. The company specializes in multispectral AI technology, ranking first in the industry in China last year. The company reported adjusted net profit of 55.2 million yuan (US$8.2 million) in a market expected to grow to 79.4 billion yuan by 2030.

Japan's Toto to Invest US$495 Million in Chip Technology

Japanese toilet manufacturer Toto said it plans to invest 80 billion yen (US$495 million) over the next five years to develop advanced semiconductor materials aimed at future 1-nanometer chips, Nikkei Asia reported on Monday. In addition to toilets, Toto has been producing specialized ceramics for chipmaking equipment. Semiconductor-related capital expenditure is expected to account for more than half of the company's total spending in the coming years.

CATL Unit Forms New Energy Company

Contemporary Ampere Technology (CATL) subsidiary Contemporary Green Energy has established Ningde Runpei New Energy, with registered capital of 16 million yuan (US$2.4 million). The new company's scope of business will include solar power technology services, thermal production and research and development of energy-metering devices.

Xiaomi Vehicle First in World to Complete German Challenge

Xiaomi Auto announced today that its YU7 GT, a track professional package equipped with its self-developed autonomous driving system, completed an official timed lap at the Nurburgring sports complex in Germany under fully unmanned conditions. The vehicle recorded a lap time of 10 minutes and 29.5 seconds, setting the world's first autonomous driving lap record at Nurburgring.

China's Beidahuang Hit with US$194 million Back Tax Bill

State-backed agribusiness company Beidahuang Group said on Monday it has been ordered to pay 1.4 billion yuan (US$194 million) in back taxes and penalties by the Harbin tax bureau. Authorities ruled that land-contracting fees collected by 16 of Beidahuang's branches from family farms between 2021 and 2025 were ineligible for corporate income tax incentives. The total penalty exceeds Beidahuang's 2025 net profit of 1.2 billion yuan. The company, one of China's largest listed farming corporations, is involved in rice, flour, potato and oilseed production, and livestock and dairy.