Daily Buzz: 29 May 2026

Top News

Deal or No Deal? US Officials Say Tentative Accord With Iran Struck

US and Iranian negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on a deal that would extend a bilateral ceasefire for 60 says, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin two months of talks on Iran's nuclear program, the BBC and multiple media reported. However, the agreement reached via third-party mediation still awaits approval from US President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders. Iranian media said the text of a potential memorandum of agreement hasn't been confirmed, a day after Trump called Tehran's version of the settlement "complete fabrication."Oil traders chose to focus on the positive, with crude prices dropping. Benchmark Brent crude futures tumbled to US$93.31 a barrel in New York after rising as high as US$98 in Asian trading earlier in the day. News of a possible settlement came after a reprise of attacks between both countries this week. Iran fired a ballistic missile at a US military installation in Kuwait after the US military earlier struck coasting sites in Iran.

Israel Military Pushes Into Gaza, War in Lebanon Continues

Israeli Prime Minister has ordered the army to seize control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip in violation of a ceasefire that has proven porous. The ceasefire, reached last October, gave Israel control of 53 percent of the occupied territory, but Israel has since been steadily advancing forward. At the same time, Israel is pressing its military campaign against Iran-ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, after ordering the mass evacuation of civilians from a large swathe of southern Lebanon and conducting its first strikes near Beirut in weeks. Lebanon's health ministry said at least 19 people were killed and 58 wounded in the latest attacks.

Top Business

Nio Chief Says Glory Days of China Auto Industry Have Ended

William Li, chief executive of Chinese carmaker Nio, said the golden era of China's auto industry is over and unlikely to return. His comments to reporters in Beijing came as two rival carmakers, Li Auto and XPeng, both reported losses for the first quarter. Many analysts are predicting a stagnating domestic auto market this year, and Li said industry hopes for a rebound have yet to materialize, despite strides in overseas sales. The domestic market, Li said, is "no longer a growth market, but rather a saturated market." The industry has been hit by periodic price wars, intense competition as more companies move into the market, and slower consumer spending.

The market woes have rippled across the industry. The China Automobile Dealers Association reported that about 56 percent car dealers are suffering losses, as higher sales are offset by lower prices.

Li Auto Swings to Quarterly Loss

Chinese electric-vehicle maker Li Auto swung to a first-quarter net loss of 2.3 billion yuan (US$340) from a year earlier profit of 650.2 million yuan as intensifying competition and price pressure weighed on earnings, the company said on Thursday. Revenue fell 11.4 percent to 23 billion yuan, while vehicle sales dropped 12.7 percent to 21.5 billion yuan due to a lower average selling price and changes in product mix. The Beijing-based automaker delivered 95,142 vehicles during the quarter, up 2.5 percent year on year. Li Auto forecast second-quarter deliveries of up to 100,000 vehicles, down 10 percent from a year earlier. Revenue is expected to range from 24.1 billion yuan to 25.4 billion yuan, representing a decline of as much as 20.2 percent. In a recent interview, Chief Executive Li Xiang said the company would not pursue large-scale layoffs despite rapid advances in AI, arguing that firms risk losing valuable talent during industry shifts.

XPeng Loss Widens in First Quarter

Chinese electric-vehicle maker XPeng widened its first-quarter loss to 1.78 billion yuan (US$263 million) from 664 million yuan a year earlier on slowing demand in the domestic market. Revenue fell 17.6 percent to 13 billion yuan, missing analysts' expectations. Vehicle deliveries dropped a third to 62,682 units, while vehicle sales revenue declined 24 percent to 11 billion yuan. Despite weaker sales, XPeng improved some profitability metrics. Gross margin rose to 20.6 percent from 15.6 percent a year earlier, while vehicle margin climbed to 12 percent, supported by lower costs and an improved product mix. The Guangzhou-based company said it expects a recovery in the second quarter, forecasting deliveries of 100,000-106,000 vehicles and revenue of up to 20.8 billion yuan.

Dajin Heavy Begins Share Sale for Hong Kong IPO

China's Dajin Heavy Industry, a leading global maker of offshore wind-power equipment, began sale of shares for a Hong Kong initial public offering, where it hopes to raise up to 5.8 billion yuan (US$741 million). The company said it is offering 86.97 million shares at a maximum price of HK$$66.40, with 10 percent of shares reserved for retail investors and the rest to go to institutional investors. Dajin has the option to increase the offering by 15 percent, depending on demand. Trading in the shares is scheduled to begin on June 5. Cornerstone investors include including Singapore fund ​GIC, investment management fund Hillhouse and UBS Asset Management Singapore. The company said it will allocate 55 percent of proceeds to enhancing ​deep-sea services, 20 percent to build an assembly factory in Europe, and the remainder toward research and development, and overseas market expansion. Dajin reported net profit last year doubled to 1.1 billion yuan (US$162 million) on a 63 percent increase in revenue to ​6.2 billion yuan.

Also planning a trading debut on the same day in Hong Kong is Suzhou-based LongBio Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharma startup. The company is seeking to raise HK$1.4 billion with the sale of 14.2 million shares.

Toyota Reports Third Month of Declining Sales, China's Drop a Quarter

Toyota Motor reported the third straight month of sales declines for April, led by slower sales in China and the Middle East. Global sales dropped 3.1 percent from a year earlier, with a 25 percent plunge in China and a one-third decline in the Middle East on the Iran conflict. Total overseas sales slumped 7.5 percent, but domestic sales rose 24 percent, Reuters reported. Sales to the US, Toyota's biggest market were down 4.6 percent.

Economy & Markets

EU Fines PDD Platform Temu for Dangerous Sales Practices

The EU has fined Chinese-owned online discount retailer Temu 200m euros (US$232 million) for allowing dangerous baby toys and faulty chargers to be sold on its platform. Temu, operated by Chinese e-commerce giant PDD Holdings, has been under investigation in Europe since October 2024 for its business practices. It said it disagreed with the decision and is considering its options.

Taiwan Tech Companies Borrow Record US$14.5 Billion Since January

Taiwan advanced technology companies have borrowed a record US$14.5 billion so far this year to finance efforts to meet the booming demand of AI technologies, Bloomberg News reported. The debt spans chipmakers, semiconductor component makers and builders of servers and data centers. The rise in debt financing is a global phenomenon in the tech industry, but the demand comes as borrowing costs around the world rise on fears the Iran war will trigger escalating inflation.

China Tightens Oversight of Prescription Drugs Sold Online

China is tightening sales of prescription drugs online, requiring oversight by certified pharmacists and presentation of a doctor's prescription. Platforms selling the drugs will be barred from using AI to approve or renew prescriptions, must audit drug merchants and report suspicious activity to authorities, and cannot use videos or livestreaming to promote drugs.

Looking for a Job AI Won't Snatch? How About Sheep Herding in China?

Inner Mongolian farmer Zuo Xiaoyong was surprised to see his ad for shepherds to tend his flock of 3,000 sheep on the grasslands of a remote farm go viral on Chinese social media and even more stunned when 700 candidates applied. The applicants included urban factory workers and even university graduates. The ad drew 59 million online views within hours of being posted on the Weibo social media platform. "I didn't expect it to go viral," said Zuo. "It seems ordinary people are having a hard time finding work." China's urban unemployment rate has been hovering around 5 percent, with a record 12.7 million university graduates to begin job hunting this summer. Some of the applicants said they don't want the grinding work and demanding schedules of factory jobs, finding the idea of working in the open air attractive, even in a region with harsh winters. Zuo, who also owns 200 ​cattle, said the pay matches the hardship off the job but didn't disclose the salary he offered. In the end, he hired four shepherds with farm experience.

Corporate

Weibo Profit Drops Despite Revenue Growth

US-listed Chinese social media platform Weibo posted a sharp decline in first-quarter profit despite higher revenue, as growth in advertising failed to offset pressure on other business segments. Net profit attributable to shareholders fell 68 percent to US$34.7 million from a year earlier. Net revenue rose 6 percent to US$421.3 million, with advertising and marketing sales increasing 9 percent to US$369.8 million, driven by stronger demand from key advertising sectors. Revenue from Weibo's value-added businesses, which includes membership and gaming-related services, declined 11 percent to US$51.6 million.

ByteDance Develops Custom Chips for AI

Chinese technology company ByteDance is developing its own central processing units to support growing demand for AI infrastructure, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move comes as soaring chip costs, supply shortages and US export restrictions push Chinese tech firms to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers such as Nvidia.

BYD Unveils Self-Developed 4nm Autonomous Driving Chip

BYD unveiled its self-developed Xuanji A3 autonomous-driving chip at a company event on Thursday, with Chairman Wang Chuanfu saying the 4-nanometer processor supports Levels 3 and 4 self-driving functions. The company said the chip has entered mass production.

RedNote to Stream World Cup Matches

Chinese online lifestyle platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu) signed a deal to stream 2026 FIFA World Cup matches that begin next month in an effort to boost users. The agreement was signed with China Media Group, which has national rights to the broadcasts. The 104 World Cup matches will be hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. RedNote didn't reveal how much it paid for streaming rights. The platform has 400 million monthly active users.

Kaifa Tech to Invest in Expanded Capacity

Shenzhen-based Kaifa Technology, a chip packaging and testing company, said it plans to invest 1.5 billion yuan (US$217 million) to expand capacity for high-end storage chips. The project will upgrade Kaifa's facilities in Shenzhen and Hefei for packaging and testing dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips to meet growing demand. Kaifa invested 740 million yuan last year in capacity buildup.

Tencent Ties Up With PayPal

Tencent said its cross-border platform TenPay Global is partnering with PayPal to allow international PayPal users without a local bank account to scan QR codes to pay millions of Weixin Pay merchants in China.

LG Energy Signs US$1.6 Billion Battery Deal

South Korea's LG Energy Solutions inked a US$1.6 billion deal to supply battery cells to eight US-based DTE Energy storage projects. LG Energy said it is seeing growing customer demand for stage systems, which allowing electricity to be stored when there's excess power and distributed when there is less available.

LG Electronics, another arm of the conglomerate, denied South Korean reports that it is considering the sale of its TV business to China home appliance maker Hisense. The speculation arose after claims that LG executives met Hisense officials in Beijing to discuss possible options, which the company termed "baseless." In April, rival Samsung Electronics said it is withdrawing from sales of TVs and other home appliances in China this year.

Defu to Spend US$457 million on Copper Foil Plant

Defu Technology said it plans to spend 3.1 billion yuan (US$457 million) to build a factory for AI electronic circuit copper foil in its home base in the city of Jiujiang in Jiangxi Province. The factory will have annual capacity of 50,000 tons. Defu focuses on research, development, production and sales of high-performance lithium battery copper foil and electronic circuit copper foil – products used in electric cars, consumer electronics and fifth-generation mobile communications.