Daily Buzz: 21 October 2026

CATL Posts Slower Profit Growth, Unveils New Battery System for Trucks

China's Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's largest vehicle-battery maker, reported third-quarter profit rose 14.5 percent from a year earlier to 21.2 billion yuan (US$3.2 billion), as market competition intensified and Chinese mainland car sales cooled. It was a slowdown from net income growth of 36 percent in the second quarter and a peak of 57 percent growth in the final quarter of 2025. Revenue in the latest quarter climbed 59 percent to 165.2 billion yuan. The results came in below market forecasts. For the first nine months of this year, profit rose 31.6 percent to 64.53 billion yuan on a 56 percent increase in revenue to 442 billion yuan. CATL's shares slumped 6.6 percent in Hong Kong on Tuesday ahead of the earnings release and after JPMorgan lowered its rating of CATL shares to "neutral" on concerns about deteriorating profitability in the Chinese electric-car industry.

Separately, CATL rolled out a new dual-electric range extension battery system for heavy-duty trucks on Tuesday as it pushes deeper into freight electrification. The new system comprises a standardized, chassis-mounted swappable main battery and a 77-kilowatt-hour range-extension battery behind the cab. In conventional battery-swapping trucks, drivers often return for a battery swap with unused capacity on the old one because they are reluctant to run the battery too low. The new range-extension battery allows trucks to run batteries down to below 5 percent of charging capacity. Sales of new energy trucks rose 37 percent in September.

CATL and Huawei's smart driving unit announced they are teaming up to build a battery-swapping system to serve the emerging era of autonomous driving. The subsidiary, Yinwang Intelligent Technology, will integrate its Qiankun automated driving solution and CATL's Choco-Swap network to connect data and services across vehicles, swap stations and the cloud. That will allow motorists in electric cars to complete the entire battery-swapping process on their own in just 99 seconds.

SpaceX Swings to Profit, Merger With Tesla Under Discussion

Elon Musk's SpaceX turned to a profit of US$4.4 billion in the third quarter from a year earlier loss of 1.1 billion. Revenue surged 161 percent to US$14.6 billion. Capital spending nearly tripled to US$19.6 billion, with the lion's share allocated to AI development. The Starlink satellite-internet system and SpaceX's broader connectivity operations have been the company's main financial engine, while its own AI software, including xAI's Grok, has so far been overshadowed by rivals OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. Starlink reached 13.6 million subscribers in the third quarter. Starship, SpaceX's next-generation reusable rocket system, has yet to enter commercial service. It is expected to enable deployment of higher-bandwidth Starlink satellites and orbital AI-computing infrastructure. The company's ability to turn Starship into a reliably reusable vehicle is central to its longer-term strategy. Earlier this year, SpaceX completed the world's largest initial public offering.

On an earnings call with investors, Musk said SpaceX and Tesla, a company he also controls, have formed committees to discuss a potential merger. "This is definitely kind of a question where I feel like I'm tap dancing through a minefield… but I do think there's a lot of merit to combining the companies," he said.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk ordered the slowdown of Starlink services to Ukraine, countering his earlier claim that the White House was to blame, not him. The disruption in intelligence sharing on Russian drone and missile strikes hampered Ukraine's defenses against the attacks and left some Ukrainian drones virtually inoperable. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said intelligence-sharing "works now" after talks with President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Anthropic Reported First-Half Loss Reflects Accounting Charges

Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, recorded a first-half net loss of US$80.7 billion, largely reflecting financing-related accounting charges, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a draft IPO prospectus. Revenue reached US$16.3 billion. Approximately US$72 billion of the loss stemmed from changes in the value of financial instruments issued to raise funding, rather than equivalent cash spending.

The disclosure follows Anthropic's investor briefing last week, when it reported third-quarter revenue of US$16.8 billion, up 45 percent from the previous quarter, and profitability on an adjusted basis.

Alberta Rejects Referendum on Independence From Canada

Residents in the Canadian province of Alberta have defeated a referendum to kick-start the process of declaring independence from Canada. More than two-thirds of voters rejected separatism. The referendum was built on long-held grievances that too much of Alberta's oil and gas wealth is allocated to poorer parts of the country.

Top Business

China Mobile Profit Declines 7.9 Percent

China Mobile, the nation's largest telecom company, posted a 7.9 percent decline in nine-month net profit to 106.2 billion yuan (US$16 billion) as its computing power business failed to offset a drop in traditional telecom revenue. Revenue edged down 1.8 percent to 780.3 billion yuan, with income from principal businesses falling 3.7 percent. As of the end of September, the telecom giant had 1 billion mobile users, 702 million 5G network subscribers and 342 million broadband connections. China Mobile said it will continue to integrate deployment of communications, computing and AI networks.

ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent Order Nvidia Chips Amid Short Supply

Chinese tech giants ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have ordered more than 3 million of Nvidia's new RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards, with a collective sticker price of over US$35 billion, Reuters reported. The chips comply with US restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. Nvidia has told some customers and partners it cannot guarantee fulfilment of all orders because demand from Chinese tech companies far exceeds planned production. One customer said Nvidia has indicated it can produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally next year. The RTX PRO 5500 is a workstation chip, designed for powerful professional computers rather than the large data-centre clusters that use Nvidia's more advanced AI processors.

Dongshan Precision Seeks to Raise Up to US$1.4 Billion in HK IPO

Suzhou-based Dongshan Precision, a printed circuit board maker, began its Hong Kong initial public offering, seeking to raise as much as HK$10.7 billion (US$1.4 billion). The company priced 114 million shares on offer at a maximum price of HK$93.80. The shares are expected to begin trading on October 28. By 2025 revenue, the company was ranked the world's third-largest supplier of the circuit boards. It has entered the optical module segment through its acquisition of Source Photonics. Cornerstone investors in the IPO include Alibaba Investment, Montage Technology, Nexchip Semiconductor, Jane Street and Jump Trading.

China's Economy Resilient, Recovery Slow in Some Sectors, Official Says

China's economy is resilient and continues to expand steadily, but recovery momentum in some sectors is relatively weak, an official at the National Development and Reform Commission told a press conference on Tuesday. Zuo Gang, deputy at Department of National Economic Comprehensive Affairs, said the impact of external shocks is deepening, while a mismatch between strong supply and weak demand at home remains pronounced. Divergence across industries is also evident, he said. The commission is drafting plans to strengthen domestic demand for 2026-30. Zuo's comments came after national data showing 4.5 percent growth in the economy in the third quarter, with robust exports offsetting a tepid rise in retail spending and a decline in nine-month investment in urban fixed-assets, including a widening drop in the property market.

GM Reports Positive Results in Q3 and Announces New Share Purchase Program

General Motors reported its third-quarter profit up 151 percent from a year earlier to US$3.3 billion, with revenue edging up 2.9 percent to US$50 billion. The US automaker also announced a new US$20 billion share buyback program after completing a previous US$6 billion share repurchase. For its operations in China, GM reported a profit for the eighth consecutive quarter but gave no figures. Sales of new-energy vehicles for the first time surpassed 60 percent of revenue, hitting a record. In August, GM extended the partnership with the Shanghai-based SAIC Motor for another 20 years.

Economy & Markets

China Central Bank Leaves Prime Lending Rates Unchanged

China's central bank kept benchmark lending rates unchanged for the 17th straight month, in line with market expectations. The one-year rate, used principally for corporate and consumer loans, remains at 3 percent, and the five-year rate used to benchmark mortgages stays at 3.5 percent. The People's Bank of China is considering switching its main policy rate to the overnight reverse repurchase rate, bank Governor Pan Gongsheng said this week. Financially strong companies could ⁠opt for either the overnight reverse repo rate or the loan prime rate for floating-rate loans, while the overnight rate could also serve as an alternative pricing benchmark for bonds and financial derivatives, Pan said.

Mizuho, Daiwa Reportedly Gain Approval for China Wholly Owned Units

Japan's Mizuho Financial Group and Daiwa Securities Group have reportedly cleared the final regulatory review for wholly owned securities operations on the Chinese mainland, according to Bloomberg News. Mizuho obtained its securities license in September 2025 and applied to set up a local unit in November 2023. Daiwa this year agreed to buy out its Chinese joint-venture partners, Beijing-based Xicheng Capital Holding and Beijing Capital Operation & Management, for US$100 million. Meanwhile, US heavyweights, including Citigroup and Citadel Securities, are still waiting for final approval from Beijing to set up wholly owned units.

China Condemns US Ban on DeepSeek AI Technology

China condemned a US ban on use of DeepSeek AI technology in government agencies, calling it a "politicization of scientific, technological and economic and trade issues." Mao Ning, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said China will "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises." The ban was issued by the US Department of Homeland Security, citing security risks. It excludes agencies under the Department of Defense. US tech companies, including Anthropic and OpenAI, have accused DeepSeek and other Chinese AI companies of pinching their technologies. DeepSeek's free chatbot app is one of the most downloaded apps in the Apple App Store rankings, and various US companies have included access to the app in their customer offerings. DeepSeek's open models operate at a fraction of the cost of US rivals.

Hangzhou Turing Fund Hit With Regulatory Warning Letters

Regulators in Zhejiang Province sent three warning letters on the same day to Hangzhou Turing, a private hedge fund manager with over 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion) in assets under management, citing violations in record-keeping, unfair treatment of investors and inadequate internal controls, The regulators have given the fund 15 days to report how problems will be rectified. This year, China's private fund industry has come under increased regulatory scrutiny as the number of managers shrink while assets under management hit record highs.

China National Data Group Founded to Advance 'AI Plus' Strategy

China National Data Group, a company under the direct administration of the central government, was officially launched in the northern province of Hebei. The company will specialize in the development and utilization of data resources. It is positioned as a "national team" for data services, focusing on the nation's "AI Plus" initiative.

Corporate

Fuyao Glass Profit Falls on Foreign-Exchange Losses

China's Fuyao Glass, which operates factories in the US, said third-quarter net profit fell 10 percent to 2 billion yuan (US$300 million) and revenue edged up 2.5 percent to 12.2 billion yuan. Gross margin was 38 percent, up 0.14 percentage point. The maker of specialty glass for automobiles and other industrial uses said nine-month profit declined 15 percent to 6 billion yuan on a 2.5 percent rise in revenue to 34 billion yuan. Foreign-exchange losses for the January-September period rose to 1 billion yuan, reflecting a stronger Chinese currency against the US dollar when American earnings are converted to the balance sheet. Excluding foreign-exchange volatility, profit in the nine months rose 1.2 percent.

Metis TechBio Signs Drug Agreement With Eli Lilly

Chinese biotech company Metis TechBio said it entered into an agreement with US pharma giant Eli Lilly valued at up to US$1.1 billion to research and develop tissue-specific drug delivery technologies. Metis will deploy its proprietary AI-driven drug-delivery platform to develop next-generation improvements in how lipid nanoparticle-based drugs reach target tissues.

YTO Express Profit Rises on Higher Parcel Volumes

China's YTO Express posted a 39 percent rise in third-quarter profit to 1.5 billion yuan (US$218 million), on a 6.7 percent increase in revenue to 19.5 billion yuan, citing higher parcel volumes. For the first nine months of the year, net profit attributable to shareholders rose 61 percent to 4.6 billion yuan on a 7.8 percent gain in revenue to 58.4 billion yuan. Parcel volume in the first three quarters rose 10.5 percent to 25 billion pieces.

JinkoSolar Signals Narrower Loss

JinkoSolar forecasts a nine-month loss of up to 3.6 billion yuan (US$536 million), narrowing from a 3.9-billion-yuan loss a year earlier as its energy storage business begins to contribute to profit. The company has unveiled its Tiger Neo 5 module, with a conversion efficiency of 25.5 percent, aimed at the premium overseas residential market, with 2027 capacity already locked up by customers in Australia, Europe and Japan. Jinko Vice President Qian Jing said the narrowing loss is good news but does not mean an industry turning point has arrived. The solar industry has been suffering from overcapacity and lower prices.

Starbucks Denies 'Purchase-to-Sit' Enforcement Rumors

Word that Starbucks China outlets will enforce a "purchase-to-sit" policy spread rapidly across social media, but the company denied the reports, saying it will release a statement on the issue this week. Leaked materials showed signage reading "please make a purchase to be seated." The rumors arose amid restructuring at Starbucks China after Boyu Capital acquired a 60 percent stake last April. Starbucks has about 8,000 outlets on the Chinese mainland.

East Buy Bets on Bricks-and-Mortar Retailing

East Buy, a Chinese livestreaming e-commerce platform and subsidiary of New Oriental Education & Technology Group, has opened physical stores in Beijing, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and Chongli, with two about to open in Hefei and Shijiazhuang. New Oriental founder Yu Minhong, betting on bricks-and-mortar retailing, said he's raised his target from dozens of offline shops to 1,000 in three years. His blueprint largely involves private-label goods and differentiated formats from location to location. The first Beijing store relies on retail supplemented by drinks and light meals, while the outlet in Xi'an integrates educational materials and cultural tourism. The Chongli store offers local specialties and a focus on winter sports.