Daily Buzz: 20 March 2026

Attacks on Natural Gas Facilities in the Gulf Keep Investors on Edge

President Donald Trump said he knew nothing in advance about Israel's attack on Iran's massive Pars gas field, which prompted Iranian retaliatory strikes that heavily damaged a Qatar industrial zone housing the world's biggest liquefied natural gas processing hub. QatarEnergy Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi told Reuters that Iranian attacks have knocked out 17 percent of Qatar's liquefied natural ⁠gas export capacity and full repairs with take three to five years. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel acted alone in attacking Iran's major gas field, though some Israeli officials privately disputed Trump's claim that he was unaware of the move. Trump has warned Israel against any further attacks on Iran energy sites but said the US will unleash a "massive blowup" of major Iranian gas fields if Qatar energy facilities are hit again.

Investors remained skittish about attacks on Gulf energy supplies. Oil shot up at high as US$115 a barrel before easing slightly in New York, with benchmark Brent ending at about US$107.60 a barrel. Natural gas prices in Europe surged as much as 35 percent. Stock markets in New York, Europe and Asia closed lower.

After spending about US$11.3 billion in just the first week on the war against Iran, US Department of Defense has submitted to Congress request for more than US$200 billion in war funding. The Pentagon has an annual budget of about US$900 billion.

The Trump administration is considering deploying thousands of US troops to reinforce its operations in the Middle East, potentially opening up a new front in the conflict, Reuters reported.

The plans under consideration call for troop deployment along Iran's shoreline to help secure oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and the possible sending of ground forces to Kharg Island, which handles 90 percent of Iranian oil exports. Trump denied any ground forces will be deployed.

The death toll from Israeli strikes on Beirut and its ground invasion of southern Lebanon rose to 1,000, including 118 children. About a fifth of Lebanon's population has been displaced by the war.

Alibaba Posts Two-Thirds Drop in 3Q Profit

Alibaba Group, a Chinese conglomerate spanning AI assistants, cloud computing, e-commerce, food delivery, logistics, entertainment and media, digital map services and travel, reported profit in its third quarter ended December 31 plummeted 67 percent from a year earlier to 16.3 billion yuan (US$3.35 billion). Revenue in the quarter missed estimates with a 2 percent rise to 284.8 billion yuan. The drop in net was largely the result of a nearly 75 percent decline in operating income, impacted by investments in fast food-delivery and other services. The company's shares tanked 7 percent in New York.

Alibaba is the world's second-largest online retailer. Revenue from its e-commerce group, which includes Taobao, Tmall Group and travel service Fliggy, rose 6 percent. In its Quick Commerce group, encompassing the fast food-delivery service it began last April, revenue surged 56 percent, but adjusted profit fell 43 percent as the company spent heavily to fend off competition from Meituan and JD.com. The company said in an earnings call with investors that it doesn't expect profitability in the food-delivery initiative until 2029. In a separate group that includes Freshippo supermarkets, Cainiao logistics, Alibaba Health, Amap, media and entertainment, and the Qwen consumer business, revenue dropped 25 percent.

Alibaba has been rapidly shifting its focus to artificial intelligence and how to wring profits from new technologies. Quarterly revenue from the Cloud Intelligence Group increased 35 percent to 43.3 billion yuan last year. Chief Executive Eddie Wu told analysts on a conference call that Alibaba is entering "a new phase of reinvention and critical investment." He laid out an AI "full stack" approach spanning chips, cloud infrastructure and apps, aiming to quintuple cloud and AI revenue to US$100 billion in five years. The company's Qwen AI large language model had cumulative downloads surpassing 1 billion as of January 21, and the Qwen AI assistant is being integrated across the company's consumer businesses. This year, Alibaba introduced JVS Claw to capture a share of the OpenClaw "lobster" craze in China.

Top Business

Cosco Shipping Ekes Out Profit, Monitors the Gulf

Cosco Shipping, a Shanghai-based marine transport conglomerate and subsidiary of state-owned shipping giant Cosco, reported 2025 revenue rose 11 percent to US$1.67 billion, with profit edging up 1.1 percent to US$312.1 million. It said throughput rose 6.2 percent to 13 million twenty-foot equivalent units, the industry measure for container cargo. Throughput at overseas terminals rose 11.5 percent, compared with a 4.6 percent increase on the Chinese mainland. The company said the global market last year faced pressure from tariffs, geopolitical tensions and slower global trade, and noted estimates that growth in global container throughput is projected to slow to 1.8 percent this year.

Cosco Shipping has a port terminal in Abu Dhabi. Chairman Zhu Tao said throughput will be affected by the current war in the Middle East but will have "limited" impact on overall business volume. In a press briefing, Zhu declined to comment on this month's decision to suspend operations through the Panama Canal, where Cosco accounts for about 4 percent of container shipping. The company has become entangled in a dispute between the US and China over control of two canal ports that were transferred to Danish shipping giant Maersk from Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison this year after Panama's Supreme Court ruled existing contracts illegal. The US wants control of the ports out of Chinese hands, but a deal involving their sale to a US-backed consortium stalled last year when China insisted Cosco be part of any new shareholding structure.

Horizon Robotics Posts Annual Loss

Horizon Robotics, a developer and supplier of artificial intelligence chips used in self-driving cars and advanced driver-assistance systems, swung to a loss of 10.5 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in 2025 from a year-earlier profit of 2.35 billion yuan, impacted by research and development spending that surged 63 percent to 5.2 billion yuan. Revenue from client contracts rose 58 percent to 3.8 billion yuan. Product solutions revenue jumped 144 percent, accounting for 43 percent of total sales, compared with 28 percent in 2024. The Beijing-based company said it shipped over 4 million in-vehicle intelligence chips last year, up 39 percent. High-end smart driving chip shipments surged nearly fivefold to 1.8 million, driving over 80 percent of product solutions revenue. The company reported it ranked first in China's sub-200,000 yuan vehicle segment with a 44 percent share. It is also expanding overseas, with two Japanese automakers deploying its Journey 6B technology.

China Unicom Reports Small Profit Growth

China Unicom, the Chinese mainland's third largest telecom carrier and the world's fifth largest, reported 2025 net profit rose 1 percent year from a year earlier to 20.8 billion yuan (US$3 billion). Growth was impacted by investments to attract new users via new technologies and services. Beijing-based Unicom said it had more than 1.2 billion subscribers, up 110 million from a year earlier thanks to development in the Internet of Things, Internet of Vehicles and 5G. The company has been investing in network modernization and digital computing infrastructure, including early-stage 6G development. Revenue in 2025 grew 0.7 percent to 392.2 billion yuan. The company said earlier it plans to spin off its intelligent networking unit China Unicom Smart Connection Technology and list it on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. "China Unicom will pursue a differentiated development path in order to promote new achievements in high-quality development," said Chairman and Chief Executive Dong Xin.

Li Ning Profit Slips Amid Competition

Beijing-based sportswear and athletic gear maker Li Ning said net profit in 2025 fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier to 2.9 billion yuan (US$425 million) in a domestic market of fierce competition and weaker consumer demand. Revenue gained 3.2 percent to 29.6 billion yuan. The Hong Kong-listed company was founded by champion gymnast Li Ning and generates the bulk of its revenue from offline sales on the Chinese mainland. It has resorted to new online gimmicks to woo younger consumers in its latest marketing campaign for athletic shoes.

Economy & Markets

Asian Chip-Related Companies Fall After Attack on Qatar Gas Hub

Asian chipmakers and companies that rely on semiconductors tumbled on Thursday after Iranian missiles heavily damaged Qatar's largest natural gas processing hub. Qatar produces a third of the world's helium, a by-product of gas refining and a key material in manufacture of chips. South Korea memory chip giant SK Hynix fell 4 percent, and Samsung Electronics was down 3.8 percent. Advantest in Japan lost 4.6 percent, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slid 1.8 percent. In Hong Kong trading, the Hang Seng tech index lost 2.2 percent. Among Chinese mainland chipmakers traded in the city, MiniMax plunged 14 percent, Zhipu was down 11.3 percent, and Semiconductor Manufacturing lost 3.2 percent. Broad markets also plunged as global oil prices spiked again. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.4 percent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slid 2 percent, South Korea's Kospi was down 2.7 percent and Japan's Nikkei plunged 3.4 percent.

First Solar Asset-Backed Security Hits the Market

An asset-backed security issued by a unit of solar power giant Trina Solar has begun trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the first such instrument in the solar industry. The security is backed by underlying assets of 28,000 household solar systems in 10 provinces, valued at 1.2 billion yuan (US$177 million). Asset-backed securities are a type of investment collateralized by an underlying pool of assets – in short, a way of making money from assets. Renewable energy projects are capital intensive, requiring upfront investment that may take a longtime to pay back. The solar power industry has suffered from overproduction and rising debt levels, making traditional financing more difficult. Elsewhere in the renewables realm, Envision Group last year issued an asset-backed security worth 285 million yuan, backed by a company wind farm, Sichuan Energy Development Group issued a 2.5 billion yuan asset-backed security based on five hydropower stations.

Japan Keeps Interest Rate Unchanged

The Bank of Japan kept its interest rate steady at 0.75 percent on Thursday but noted that inflation risks are heightened by the Middle East war. The central bank's decision, which was forecast, came on a 9-1 vote split.

Corporate

Apple Posts Sales Surge in China's Tepid Smartphone Market

Apple said smartphone sales in China surged 23 percent in the first nine weeks of 2026, a period when overall domestic sales fell about 4 percent, Reuters reported, citing research firm Counterpoint. Apple sales were driven by online discounts and the inclusion of the iPhone 17 model in government consumer-subsidy programs. Smartphone makers on the mainland are feeling the pinch of higher prices for memory chips used in the devices. Oppo and Vivo have announced price increases.

AstraZeneca to Build Cell-Therapy Center in Shanghai

UK-based pharma giant AstraZeneca said it will build a cell therapy center in Shanghai, aiming to become the first global drugmaker with end-to-end cell therapy capabilities in China. The new facility will develop CAR T cell therapies for China and other Asian markets. The therapies modify human immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The company said earlier this year it plans to invest US$15 billion in China through 2030, Reuters reported.

China Southern Joins Chinese Mainland Carriers Lifting Fuel Surcharges

China Southern Airlines said it will raise fuel surcharges on international flights between 100 yuan (US$15) and 500 yuan depending on the route. China Eastern, Spring Airlines and Yuneyao Airlines have also announced higher surcharges, some as much as double, to help cover a surge in jet fuel prices because of the Middle East war.

First the Dolls, Now the Movie

Chinese collectible toy maker Pop Mart is teaming up with Sony Pictures to bring its much-hyped Labubu dolls to the silver screen. The animation film is in early development. It will be produced and directed by Paul King, best known for the 2014 movie "Paddington" and 2023 film "Wonka." Labubu dolls, which created a buying craze, started as part of artist Kasing Lung "Monsters" toy series and later became one of Pop Mart's "blind boxes. The craze began abating in mid-2025 as prices dropped in the resale market.

Baidu Health Develops 'DoctorClaw'

Baidu Health will release an AI assistant called DoctorClaw to help doctors organize research materials, track paper progress and monitor new publications, Yicai reported. All information transmitted on the platform will be encrypted to ensure privacy. In the past year, Baidu Health launched Super Workbench, which empowers doctors and healthcare professionals to engage in public health education and patient services, as well as the AI Steward, which is similar to Ant Group's Afu, China's largest AI healthcare app by users.

Robot Renter Qingtianzu Secures More Funding

Qingtianzhu, a robot rental platform backed by Shanghai-based humanoid robot maker AgiBot, took in 100 million yuan (US$14.5 million) in fresh fundraising rounds. The proceeds will be used to expand the rental network nationwide and support the industry supply chain. Investors in the latest rounds included existing shareholder Dafeng Industry, Broad-Ocean Motor, Minzhuo Electric, Yuehua Entertainment and a venture fund affiliated with Tsinghua University. Qingtainzu leases robots for activities such as entertainment and commercial performances.