Daily Buzz: 29 April 2026

Top News

BYD Profit Plunges on Sluggish Home Market

BYD, China's biggest electric carmaker, reported a 55 percent plunge in first-quarter profit to 4.1 billion yuan (US$567.3 million), its steepest quarterly decline in six years. Revenue fell 11.8 percent to 150.2 billion yuan, the third straight three-month decline. New-energy vehicle sales tumbled 30 percent to 700,463 units, reflecting weak consumer demand at home and this year's halving of the government's tax exemption on new-energy car purchases. Foreign-exchange losses caused by currency fluctuations and a shift in BYD's product mix also hurt the bottom line. Research and development spending for the quarter dropped 20 percent to 11.3 billion yuan, slightly below market forecasts.

The carmaker, considered one of Tesla's major competitors globally, is facing increasing domestic competition from rivals like Geely and Leapmotor and is trying to offset a sluggish market at home with expansion overseas. BYD's export sales jumped by more than 50 percent during the first quarter, accounting for about 45 percent of total deliveries. The company has set a target of 1.5 million overseas sales overseas and is also stepping up deployment of super-fast charging technology.

United Arab Emirates Withdraws From OPEC

The United Arab Emirates, a major world oil supplier, is withdrawing from the 12-member OPEC oil cartel, where it was the fourth biggest producer last year and the most influential member after Saudi Arabia. The UAE said its decision would give it more flexibility as it meets growing global energy demand in the long term after recent investments to boost its production capacity. Saul Kavonic, head of energy research at MST Financial, was quoted by the BBC as calling it "the beginning of the end" for the alliance. "With the UAE leaving, OPEC loses about 15 percent of its capacity," he said. Although the UAE made no reference to the Middle East war for its decision, UAE oil infrastructure has been damaged from weeks of missile and drone attacks from Iran, and closure of the Strait of Hormuz has constrained shipping exports. Other analysts said the exit could be bearish for prices in the long term. Saudi Arabia and the UAE together control a majority of the world's total spare capacity of more than 4 million barrels per day, making them particularly influential during periods of distress.

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures, already heightened by the Iran war, rose to US$111.22 a barrel in New York trading on the UAE news and on reports that President Donald Trump is unhappy with Iran's latest peace proposal, extending uncertainty about the future of negotiations to end the war.

Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict Erupts in Violence Again

Afghanistan said mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan struck a university and residential area in the northeast of the country, killing seven people and wounding at least 85. Pakistan denied the accusations. The strikes were the first deadly incidents since Chinese-mediated peace talks between the two sides earlier this month. The neighbors have been embroiled in cross-border attacks since late February, with temporary truces not holding. The latest violence comes ironically as Pakistan is acting as peace broker in the US-Iran war.

Top Business

IFlytek Narrows Loss in First Quarter

Hefei-based technology company iFlytek posted a net loss of 170 million yuan (US$24.3 million) in the first quarter, narrowing from a 193 million yuan loss a year earlier. The company's bottom line was affected by increased spending on research and development as it expands into artificial intelligence. Revenue in the first quarter grew 13.2 percent to 5.27 billion yuan. IFlytek made its name in voice-recognition software. Its diversification is seen as part of China's campaign to become self-sufficient in semiconductor development and manufacturing. IFlytek was placed on a US government blacklist of companies considered national security risks in 2019, which banned the company from buying US-made chips.

Chery Profit Drops 10 Percent

Chinese automaker Chery posted a 10 percent drop in first-quarter profit to 4.3 billion yuan (US$634 million) in the first quarter on weak demand in its home market and a reduction in the government's tax exemption on purchases of new-energy vehicles. Revenue dropped 3 percent to 65.9 billion yuan. Spending on research and development rose 25 percent to 2.8 billion yuan. Chery is a leader in Chinese vehicle exports.

CATL Seals Record Sodium-Ion Battery Deal

Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) said it signed an agreement with Beijing-based HyperStrong Technology for three-year, 60 gigawatt-hour sodium-ion battery supply, calling it the world's largest order of its kind. Under the deal, the companies will collaborate on technology development, product applications and project deployment. CATL said the deal signals it has overcome key hurdles in mass production, enabling large-scale delivery and accelerated commercialization of sodium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a cheaper, safer and easier-to-recycle alternative to lithium-ion batteries, which are dependent on fluctuating supplies of lithium.

SF Express Posts Steady Growth in Q1

SF Express, China's largest and the world's fourth-largest express delivery service provider, reported first-quarter profit rose 13 percent from a year earlier to 2.5 billion yuan (US$370 million) on a 6 percent gain in revenue to 74 billion yuan. Business was improved by structural reforms and cost controls. The company's profit margin rose 0.4 percentage points to 13.7 percent on an annualized basis. Overall parcel volume increased 4.9 percent to 3.7 billion, while revenue from overseas businesses increased 8.2 percent.

JAL to Deploy Unitree Robots as Baggage Handlers

Japan Airlines said it will begin deploying Chinese-made humanoid robots as baggage handlers on a trial basis at Tokyo's Haneda airport. The robots, manufactured by Hangzhou-based Unitree, will move luggage and cargo on the tarmac, taking breaks only for recharging. However, humans will continue to perform tasks such as safety management, the airline said. The mechanical help comes as one solution to Japan's chronic labor shortage.

Economy & Markets

Lightelligence Shares Surge in HK Trading Debut

Shares in Lightelligence, a Shanghai-based maker of photonics chips, surged 383 percent from their offer price after an initial public offering that raised HK$2.5 billion (US$319 million). Investors were attracted to the company's technology, used in AI data centers, which replaces conventional graphics processing units that rely on electrons moving through silicon. Optical computing chips use photons to carry out computations and data transmission. The retail portion of the IPO was oversubscribed 5,784 times. The listing attracted cornerstone investors that included Alibaba Investment, Singapore sovereign fund GIC and Temasek, which together subscribed for more than 71 percent of the offering. The company, formally known as Xizhi Technology, was founded in 2017 by MIT graduate Shen Yichen and was the first company to achieve large-scale deployment of hybrid optical-electronic computing globally. It posted a loss of 1.3 billion yuan (US$190 million) in 2025.

US Bans Certain Shipments to Hua Hong

The US Department of Commerce has ordered multiple chip-equipment companies to halt certain tool shipments to Hua Hong, China's second-largest chipmaker, Reuters reported. The move is seen as part of Washington's attempts to slow China's development of advanced chips. Several US company reported receiving letters from the commerce department advising them of the ban. Hua Hong has developed advanced chip technologies used to produce AI chips.

China Extends Zero-Tariff Policy in Africa

China said it is expanding its zero-tariff policy to all African countries with which it has diplomatic relations. That will raise to 53 countries the number of countries covered by the policy, adding to zero-tariffs granted in 2024 to 33 of Africa's least developed nations.

Japan Central Bank Keeps Rate Unchanged Despite Inflation Forecast

Japan's central bank kept its key interest rate steady at 0.75 percent on Tuesday, despite raising its estimates for inflation on the impact of the Iran war. The decision came on a 6-3 vote, with dissenters urging the rate be increased to 1 percent as a pre-emptive move against inflation. The Bank of Japan raised its forecast for core inflation to 2.8 percent – above its 2 percent target – from 1.9 percent, citing rising crude oil prices.

Corporate

China AI Companies Make Top 10 List

China's ByteDance, Zhipu, and Alibaba have made Time magazine's 2026 list of the 10 most influential AI companies in the world, joining global heavyweights such as Amazon, OpenAI, Google Alphabet, Meta, Anthropic, Mistral, and Hugging Face.

CMOC Signs US$1.7 Billion Gold Mine Contract With Ecuador

China's CMOC, one of the world's largest miners of molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt and copper, signed a contract valued at up to US$1.7 billion with Ecuador to develop the Los Cangrejos gold mining project. Under the deal, Ecuador will retain half of the project's value and receive US$54 million in advance royalties, Reuters reported. Further payments will be tied to milestones such as the start of a processing plant and the beginning or ore extraction. CMOC acquired an interest in the project last June through its takeover of Canada's Lumina Gold Corp.

Rimag Imaging, Tencent to Trial 'Doctor-Buddy'

Hong Kong-listed Rimag Imaging, China's largest independent medical imaging service provider, announced it will partner with tech giant Tencent and some hospitals to trial its new AI agent called Doctor-Buddy. The AI tool can create digital avatars for doctors to improve their capability and efficiency in providing imaging services, while collecting data for potential research. The company has also invested HK$350 million (US$44 million) to acquire a 25 percent share in Shanghai-based Medical Image Insights to enhance its strength in AI.

OpenAI Reportedly Missing Goals for Users, Sales

Unlisted OpenAI has failed to meet its own goals for new users and sales, fueling internal concerns that the company may not be able to finance its plans for massive investment in AI, the Wall Street Journal reported. It said monthly sales targets this year have been eroded by gains from rival Anthropic. OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot also did not hit the company's target of one billion weekly active users by the end of 2025, the newspaper said.