Daily Buzz: 16 December 2025

China Maps Capital Market Reforms

China's securities regulator has laid out a sweeping reform agenda for capital markets following the Central Economic Work Conference, underscoring a push to stabilize markets, deepen reforms and strengthen oversight. Key priorities include encouraging higher dividends and share buybacks, while attracting more long-term institutional investors to enhance the market's "intrinsic stability". The China Securities Regulatory Commission will accelerate upgrading of the technology-oriented STAR Market in Shanghai and the ChiNext in Shenzhen, and roll out new instrument products, such as commercial real estate investment trusts (REITs). The regulator also pledged tougher enforcement against financial misconduct, including fraud, insider trading and market manipulation, supported by greater use of monitoring technology. Commission Chairman Wu Qing said China would foster a stronger pool of high-quality listed companies through improved corporate governance and new rules for listed-firm oversight.

Ukrainian Peace Deal '90 Percent' Completed

US officials said 90 percent of issues in a Ukraine peace plan have been resolved after talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin on Monday. Europe cited "significant progress." Zelensky has agreed to give up his nation's ambition to join NATO in a major concession, but that still leaves the sticking issues of territory and NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine. European leaders said in a statement that the creation of a "European-led multinational force" in Ukraine was discussed as insurance against any future Russian attacks. Russia would still need to approval any revisions.

Chilean Far-Right Hardliner Wins Presidency

Chilean voters swung to the far right, electing Jose Antonio Kast as their new president amid concerns over rising crime rates and a wave of immigration from Venezuela. Kast, a lawyer and right-wing hardliner, secured 58 percent of the vote in a runoff against leftist Jeannette Jara. It was the biggest swing to the right since the end of the military dictatorship in 1990.

Australia Discusses Even Tighter Gun Laws

Australia, which already has among the toughest gun-control laws in the world, is considering tightening them even further after a shooter involved in massacre on Bondi beach in Sydney on Sunday was found to have legal licenses for six firearms. That shooter, identified as Sajid Akram, was killed by police at the scene; his son Naveed, who participated in the mass shooting, is in critical condition in hospital. Both men are Sydney residents. Fifteen people were killed and 25 remain hospitalized after two men opened fire on the famous beach, where hundreds of people were holding a Jewish holiday festival. Authorities are treating the shooting as a terrorist event.

Top Business

Xi Urges Income Reform to Boost Demand

China must accelerate efforts to widen income distribution and increase the spending power of middle-income households as part of its broader efforts to boost domestic demand, President Xi Jinping said in an article to be published today in the Qiushi journal. Consumer spending is a key driver of the economy, Xi wrote, and its growth depends on promoting employment, improving the social security system and raising household incomes. He said the defining advantage of a major economy lies in its ability to tap domestic strengths. He called for anchoring production, distribution, circulation and consumption to the domestic market, noting that the expansion of domestic demand isn't incompatible with China's opening its markets wider to foreign participation. A smoother domestic cycle would enhance China's ability to attract global capital, technology and resources, building a development model of domestic capital circulation reinforced by international markets. Xi also urged expansion of systems related to efficient investment.

China Gives Nod to First L3 Cars

China has granted its first approvals for so-called Level 3 autonomous cars, marking a milestone in the country's push to commercialize self-driving technology. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it has conditionally approved two electric sedan models, submitted by Chongqing-based Changan Automobile and a unit of state-owned BAIC Group. L3 is one of six international standards for autonomous driving. Vehicles in that group have the capability of detecting the environment around them and make informed decisions for themselves, such as accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle. But they still require human override.

Changan's approved model can operate autonomous driving functions within a single lane on highways during traffic jams, at speeds of up to 50 kilometers an hour. Its use is currently limited to designated sections of Chongqing's expressway network. The BAIC model offers similar features at speeds of up to 80 kilometers and is restricted to specific expressways m Beijing, including routes to the city's international airport.

China Vanke to Revise Its Debt-Payment Delay Plan

Debt-plagued Chinese property developer China Vanke said it will sweeten its proposal to creditors for a one-year delay in repayment on a 2 billion yuan (US$283 million) bond that came due on Monday, Bloomberg News reported. Bondholders rejected its original plan, leaving the company with a five-day grace period to make good on its obligations. Vanke said it will meet with creditors on Thursday to discuss revised terms for a delay. The company is laden with US$50 million in mainland and offshore debt, and has been kept afloat for years by loans from its principal shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group. If Vanke were to default, it could lead to the largest ever bankruptcy proceedings in China.

China's AI Industry Thrives in Pivotal Year

China's AI industry is expected to top 1.2 trillion yuan (US$1.2 trillion) in revenue this year, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Development of artificial intelligence has reached a pivotal point, shifting from concepts in research labs to industrial and social applications, it said. Upgrades to large language models have increased 30 percent and the capability for their language and multi-modal understanding have improved by half. Embodied intelligence, which integrates AI with robots, has secured more than 40 billion in financing spread across more than 350 companies. The agency also predicted that Chinese development of 6G communications will result in commercial application by 2030, with widespread deployment expected five years later.

Economy & Markets

Top Battery Materials Suppliers Raising Prices

Chinese suppliers of materials for lithium iron phosphate batteries, vital in an array of industrial production, are signaling price increases in 2026 to stanch losses and address rising raw materials costs. Some companies have already raised prices, Yicai Global reported. An industry association said the sector has suffered losses for three years, and six of its listed companies have debt-to-asset ratios as high as 68 percent. Wanrun New Energy Technology has accumulated losses of 3.5 billion yuan (US$500 million) since 2023, and Lopal Tech has racked up losses of 2 billion, the report said.

Prices increases could ripple down the supply chain. The batteries are used in production of electric cars, solar and wind systems, sensors and energy storage, among other applications.

China Economic Indicators Soften, Policymakers Pledge Stimulus

China's retail sales, investment and industrial output in November fell short of market expectations in a monthly data report issued by the National Bureau of Statistics just days after Chinese leaders pledged to strengthen policies stimulating consumer spending, industrial growth and the property market. Analysts said China is still expected to meet its 5 percent economic growth target this year, helped by record exports.

Retail sales in November rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier amid poorer-than-expected sales during the Double 11 shopping festival and a decline in auto sales. November figures slowed from a 2.9 percent increase in October. Industrial production rose 4.8 percent in November, its weakest growth since August 2024. Investment in fixed assets, which includes property and is reported on a year-to-date basis, contracted 2.6 percent in the January-November period, steepening from the 1.7 percent drop in the first 10 months of the year.

In the ailing property market, investment plunged 15.9 percent in the first 11 months of the year, widening from a 10.3 percent drop in the January-October period. The bureau reported that home prices fell across 70 major cities. In major urban areas that include Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, prices for new homes were down 1.2 percent from a year earlier, and resale prices for existing homes tumbled 5.8 percent.

Household Loans in China Weaken

Household demand for lending weakened in November, with corporate loans also remaining low as more companies used bonds to raise capital. The People's Bank of China said lending to households in the month decreased 206.3 billion yuan (US$29 billion) from a year earlier, compared with an increase of 270 billion in the same period of 2024. Total loans in November rose 390 billion yuan, down from 580 billion yuan a year earlier. Yuan deposits in the month increased 1.4 trillion yuan from a year earlier, with household deposits rising 670 billion yuan.

Corporate

South Korea's Musina Opens Flagship Shop in Shanghai

South Korean fashion retailer Musinsa opened its first overseas flagship store in Shanghai. The company said it plans to expand to 100 shops in China in the next five years. It describes its clothing lines as K-fashion trendy.

Toyota China to Recall 100,000 Vehicles

Toyota China and its joint ventures will recall nearly 100,000 vehicles with panoramic view monitors due to a software bug. It is part of Toyota's recent major recall of over 1 million vehicles worldwide due to the glitch, which causes the rearview camera to freeze or go blank.

XPeng to Make Cars in Malaysia

China electric carmaker XPeng said formed an alliance with Malaysia's EP Manufacturing Berhad to localize production in Malacca, with mass production to start next year. It's Xpeng's second overseas project in the Asia-Pacific region.