Daily Buzz: 12 August 2026

Unitree IPO Fires Up Retail Investors, Odds of Getting Shares Low

The Shanghai initial public offering by leading Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree is stirring such a subscription frenzy at the retail level that the chance of winning a lot of 500 shares is about one in 5,500, the South China Morning Post reported. Subscriptions for the 6.1-billion-yuan (US$904 million) IPO, selling at 150.80 yuan a share, opened on Monday. Online subscriptions reached 53.6 billion shares, or 8,288.82 times the 6.5 million shares initially reserved for online investors. That triggered a claw-back mechanism, boosting the retail tranche to 9.7 million shares. The bulk of shares in the offering were reserved for strategic investors and institutions. Unitree will become the first Chinese mainland-listed humanoid robot maker when its shares will begin trading, possibly next week.

Talks on Ending Iran War Continue, No Breakthrough Reported

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials amid mediation efforts to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's National Security Council chief Moshen Rezaei said the strait won't reopen until the US "changes its behavior." Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen attacked a merchant vessel in the Red Sea, killing six people. Global benchmark Brent crude futures ended New York trading at US$89.91 a barrel.

Rescue Efforts Continue in Aftermath of Columbian Quake

Rescue workers in Colombia are in a race against time to find survivors amid the rubble of buildings that collapsed during Monday's 7.4-magnitude earthquake, with more than 200 killed and the death toll expected to rise. The quake was felt across much of the nation, with aftershocks still rattling the area. Pereira was among the worst hit cities. At least 2,600 people have been injured, more than 1,100 homes destroyed and hundreds of residents missing.

Top Business

Wharf Profit Drops, Chinese Mainland Property Market 'Subdued'

Hong Kong-based property developer Wharf Holding, which has extensive investments on the Chinese mainland, said first half profit tumbled 91 percent from a year earlier to HK$48 million (US$6 million) on a 6-percent drop in revenue to HK$5.3 billion. The company said the property sector on the Chinese mainland remained subdued. Wharf said it has been progressively reducing its exposure to Chinese mainland development properties since 2019, with contract sales in that sector falling in the first half to 345 million yuan from 859 million yuan, mainly from projects in Chengdu and Suzhou. The company operates Shanghai Wheelock Square and International Financial Squares in Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuxi. Vacancies in its Chinese mainland office sector remain elevated due to "severe oversupply," the company said, and occupancy and room rates in hotels in operates in Changsha, Chengdu, Suzhou and Chongqing remained "under pressure."

China Literature Profit Sinks, Revenue Rises

China Literature, a Chinese provider navigating a shift from traditional online reading toward visual content formats, said first-half profit dropped 84 percent to 125.4 million yuan (US$19.9 million), largely on a tax-related charge. Revenue rose 11 percent to 3.5 billion yuan. The company's activities include online advertising and game publishing, comics and audio books, licensing and distribution of film, television, web and animated series, and sales of physical books and online literature. Chief Executive Hou Xiaonan said the company is addressing a shift in consumer trends, with revenue from online reading, its once core business, declining and short dramas and AI-animated dramas driving 42 percent of first-half revenue.

Sohu Swings to Profit in Q2

Nasdaq-listed Chinese media and entertainment giant Sohu turned to profit of US$500,000 in the second quarter from a loss of US$20 million a year earlier, thanks to a one-time income tax adjustment of US$13 million and more income from the gaming sector. Revenue in the quarter rose 7 percent year to US$136 million – US$116 million from games. Founder and CEO Charles Zhang said the marketing services, online game revenue and bottom-line performance all outperformed internal expectations.

Kingdee Software Returns to Profit

China's Kingdee International Software Group reported a return to profitability in the first half of 2026, driven by strong growth in cloud services and AI-powered products. Revenue for the six months rose 13.6 percent from a year earlier to 3.6 billion yuan (US$540 million), while profit was 54.5 million yuan, turning from a loss of 97.7 million yuan. Cloud services revenue increased 17 percent to 3.1 billion yuan, accounting for 86 percent of revenue. The company is expanding overseas, building local service networks in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Economy & Markets

China Car Sales Extend Decline to 10th Month

China's overall car sales in July fell for a 10th straight month in July, though the pace of decline eased. Exports, however grew amid stepped-up overseas expansion. Domestic sales slid 21 percent from a year earlier to 1.5 million vehicles, while exports rose 88 percent to 923,000, according to the China Passenger Car Association. "The downturn has proved more severe than we had expected," association secretary-general Cui Dongshu said on Tuesday. "We had anticipated a noticeable improvement in July." Electric vehicle and plug-in hybrids led export growth but fell 4 percent at home. For the first seven months of the year, domestic passenger vehicle sales declined 20.5 percent.

China's Banks Unloading Bad Credit-Card Debt

China's commercial banks are poised to unload up to 55 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) in non-performing credit-card loans this year, putting the debt up for sale as they seek to clean up balance sheets amid shrinking interest margins, the South China Morning Post reported. About 130 notices seeking buyers for bulk transfers of non-performing credit-card loans have been disclosed on the Banking Credit Asset Registration and Circulation Center so far this year. Between July 2 and August 5, major lenders have announced 20 disposal projects involving debt of about 20.9 billion yuan. The sellers include China Everbright Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Ping An Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China.

Major Revamp of Hang Seng Tech Index Planned

In a planned major revamp of Hong Kong's Hang Seng tech index that will tilt toward AI-related shares, the number of constituent companies are proposed to be increased to 50 from 30. The top 40 will be selected by market capitalization and the remainder by revenue growth. That means fast-growth tech companies with smaller market caps will be given a berth for the first time. In addition, the selection poll will narrow from all Hang Seng listed shares to those on the large-cap and mid-cap indexes. The change will also remove fixed-sector requirements because so much tech innovation spans traditional industries, the South China Morning Post reported. The expanded index will focus on six tech areas: digital platforms, artificial intelligence, advanced hardware, robotics; cloud computing and frontier technology. The changes are expected by December.

Deutsche Becomes First Yuan-Clearing European Bank

Deutsche Bank became the first European lender to be authorized as a clearing bank for the yuan by the People's Bank of China. The move is part of China's ambition to encourage cross-border trading of the currency.

Cost of Hiring a Supertanker on Gulf-China Route Skyrockets

Hiring a supertanker to carry oil on the Middle East-to-China route is near US$500,000 a day as shipowners shy away from transit through the Strait of Hormuz on the southern end of the Persian Gulf oil states, Bloomberg reported. South Korea's Sinokor Group, the world's largest supertanker operator, hired out one of its ships at that rate to pick up a cargo from inside the Persian Gulf to Asia. Tanker traffic through the strait remains at a one-year low.

Corporate

Manus Poised to Operate Independently After Foiled Meta Takeover

China AI agent developer Manus said it will soon resume operating as an independent company, after Chinese mainland regulators forced Meta to unwind its US$2 billion acquisition of the company. The company, founded in Beijing, had relocated to Singapore when the National Development and Reform Commission began a probe to see if the acquisition violated China's rules on foreign investment.

Tingyi Reports Net Profit Rise

Shanghai-based Tingyi Holding Corp, which owns the iconic Master Kong brand of instant noodles and beverages, reported first-half net profit increased 7.5 percent year on year to 2.9 billion yuan (US$429 million) on a 1.1 percent increase in revenue to 45.5 billion yuan. Income from its instant noodles rose 2 percent, while income of beverages gained 0.7 percent. Its juice segment fell 13 percent, but tea rose 9.1 percent.

Foxconn Industrial Internet Reports Profit Jump

Shanghai-listed tech giant Foxconn Industrial Internet reported a net profit of 23.7 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in the first half, up 95 percent year on year. Revenue jumped 54 percent to 557.8 billion yuan on strong demand for AI servers and products tied to AI chips and generative AI expansions across industries.

Huya Swings to Profit From Loss

Nasdaq-listed Huya, a Chinese livestreaming platform focused on video games and esports, said it turned to profit of 1.6 million yuan (US$200,000) in the second quarter from a year-earlier loss of 5.5 million yuan. Revenue rose 11 percent to 1.7 billion. The company announced it was doubling the size of this year's share buyback program to US$100 million. Second-quarter livestreaming revenue was flat at about 1.1 billion yuan, and game-related services and advertising increased 54 percent to 638 million yuan. Huya said its "Goose Goose Duck" mobile game re-entered the Top 5 on the Apple App Store free games chart for Chinese mainland at the end of July, and said its games pipeline includes "The Legend of Swordman: Reunion" and "Xiao Xiao Qi Yu."

Gan & Lee Licenses Weight-Loss Drug to Italian Drugmaker

Beijing-based Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals said it sold the rights to its Bofenglutide weight loss drug in Europe to Italy's Menarini Group for up to 726 million euros (US$838.6 million). Menarini acquired the rights to market the drug in the EU, UK, Switzerland and seven Balkan countries. The Italian drug company will pay an upfront payment of 62 million euros, with milestone payments of up to 664 million euros at key stages of research and development.

Alo Yoga Enters Chinese Mainland Athletics-Wear Market

Los Angeles-based apparel brand Alo Yoga, a rival of Lululemon, will open its first online flagship store on Alibaba's Tmall e-commerce platform today as the first step of its expansion into the Chinese mainland. The company also plans bricks-and-mortar stores. Alo Yoga is seeking to capture part of the growing market for athletics leisure wear. The company is entering a highly competitive market where consumer spending has slowed.