Daily Buzz: 4 November 2025

Starbucks Sells 60 Percent Stake in China Business

Starbucks said it has agreed to sell a controlling stake in its China coffee chain to Hong Kong-based private equity firm Boyu Capital for US$4 billion. Under deal, Boyu will hold a 60 percent interest in the retail operations of the venture, and Starbucks will maintain licensing of the brand and intellectual property used by their joint venture.

Starbucks opened its first outlet in China in 1999 and now has more than 8,000 venues in China, its second-largest market, but it has been steadily been losing market share in recent years to lower-price domestic rivals such as Luckin Coffee. The announcement of the new joint venture came months after the global coffee chain said it was entertaining bids to sell part of its China operations. Starbucks said it values its China business at more than US$13 billion, including proceeds from the stake sale, its retained interest and ongoing licensing fees. The new joint venture will be headquartered in Shanghai.

Trump Sidesteps Tomahawks for Ukraine

US President Donald Trump said he is not at present considering any deal to give Ukraine access to long-range Tomahawk missiles for use against Russia. Earlier interest in the idea seemed to have cooled when Trump met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky last month at the White House. However, true to form, Trump told reporters that he could change his mind. The US in the past has expressed concerns that such a deal could intensify the war and make it harder to get Moscow to negotiate a peace deal.

China Team to Complete Work on Antarctic Station

China dispatched its 42nd expedition team to Antarctica with the mission of completing work on the Qinling station, the nation's fifth base on the frozen continent. The station is due to be completed by February, at the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer. All construction materials have been custom made and are eco-friendly, CCTV News reported. Qinling is the first base to be digitally advanced, with a smart system tracking supplies to automatically signal if they are running low.

Top Business

China Fines Banks, Sets Up Debt Office

China's top financial regulator has fined five major banks, including Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, for "imprudent business management," in one of the most sweeping enforcement actions this year. The National Financial Regulatory Administration said Bank of China was fined 97.9 million yuan (US$13.7 million) for lapses in corporate governance, loan and interbank management, and bad asset disposal. Five executives were also penalized. Other institutions fined include Agricultural Bank of China, 27.2 million yuan; China Minsheng Bank, 58.7 million yuan; Ping An Bank, 18.8 million yuan; and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, 12.7 million yuan. Such penalties – increasingly frequent in 2025 – reflect heightened regulatory scrutiny of risk control, data reporting and online lending practices to ensure financial stability.

Separately, China's Ministry of Finance has created a new Department of Debt Management, which will oversee both domestic and external government borrowing, formulate management frameworks for central and local liabilities, and strengthen monitoring to mitigate hidden debt risks. The move highlights Beijing's focus on curbing local government debt and improving fiscal discipline.

Trump Slams Door on Exports of Top-End Nvidia AI Chips

US President Trump said Nvidia's top-end Blackwell AI chips will be banned from export to China or any other country, but suggested in Sunday interviews that the door may be open to overseas sales of scaled-down versions of the chip. The president said the semiconductor issue didn't come up in his meeting last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where both leaders agreed on several measure to ease trade tensions. However, last week, Nvidia said it would supply 60,000 Blackwell chips to South Korea, including Samsung Electronics. It isn't clear if the deal involves scaled-down versions of the chips.

Xpeng Flying-Car Factory Begins Trial Production

The flying car affiliate of Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng began trial operations of the world's first factory for mass-produced, low-altitude aerial transport, a next-generation technology. The plant, located in the southern city of Guangzhou, will have production capacity to make 10,000 detachable electric modular flying cars. The company has received orders for 5,000 of the vehicles, which comprise a six-wheel ground vehicle, referred to as the "mothership," and a detachable electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Economy & Markets

PBOC, Bank of Korea Renew Currency Swap

China and South Korea have renewed their bilateral currency swap agreement, maintaining a 400-billion-yuan (US$56 billion) line aimed at facilitating trade between the two economies. The People's Bank of China said on Monday the five-year agreement with the Bank of Korea can be extended. The two countries first signed the swap in 2008 for 180 billion yuan, expanding it in subsequent renewals. China's central bank has been actively extending such deals around the world this year to strengthen international use of the yuan. It has renewed swap agreements with central banks in Switzerland, Hungary, Iceland and other nations. At the end of September, China had 4.5 trillion yuan in swap agreements with more than 32 central banking authorities.

Chinese Carmakers Post Robust October Sales

Chinese electric carmaker BYD sold 441,706 vehicles in October, a record high for the year, bringing sales in the first 10 months to 3.7 million and retaining its top spot in domestic auto sales.

Rivals also posted strong gains in the month. Geely sold record 307,133 vehicles in October, up 35 percent from a year earlier, with 10-month sales of 2.5 million units. Sales of new energy vehicles surged 44 percent. Chery Auto sold 281,161 vehicles last month, with the total for the 10 months rising 13 percent to 2.3 million. New energy vehicle sales increased 55 percent to a record 1.1 million, and exports grew 13 percent.

Great Wall Motor sold 143,078 vehicles, bringing its sales in the 10 months to about 1 million, up 10 percent. New energy car sales rose 44 percent, and exports were up 29 percent. Nio delivered 40,397 vehicles in October, up 93 percent, and Xpeng's deliveries rose 76 percent to 42,013. However, Li Auto's deliveries fell 38 percent to 31,767 units.

Nanjing AI Firm Files for Hong Kong IPO

Nanjing-based Silicon Intelligence Technology, China's largest provider of AI-powered "digital human" solutions, has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong. The company hasn't yet announced the size of the share sale. Founded in 2017, Silicon Intelligence develops humanoid multimodal AI interaction technology and offers one-stop solutions for digital human video production, live-streaming and automated content generation. It holds 145 patents, including 21 in the US. The company reported revenue of 326 million yuan (US$45.7 million) in the first half, yielding its first six-month profit, at an adjusted net of 5.3 million yuan. Proceeds from the IPO will fund research and development, marketing and global acquisitions.

Hong Kong Expanding Market Derivatives

Hong Kong's stock market will begin five new weekly stock options and a futures contract on the Hang Seng biotech index this month to expand hedging tools for investors, the South China Morning Post reported. The new options will track shares of China oil giant CNOOC, China Mobile, insurer AIA Group, electric car and phone maker Xiaomi, and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, the largest chip maker on Chinese mainland. Trading on the options will begin November 10; the biotech futures contract will debut on November 28. Hong Kong debuted weekly stock options last year on shares that included Tencent Holdings, HSBC and Alibaba Group, with Contemporary Amperex Technology added in June.

Corporate

Baidu's Apollo Go Increases Robotaxi Rides

Chinese technology giant Baidu said its Apollo Go robotaxi arm is drawing 250,000 riders a week worldwide, and has clocked 17 million rides to date globally. The company didn't say how long it has been maintaining that passenger level. For the quarter ended June 30, the company averaged about 169,000 rides a week, CNBC reported, citing its own calculations. Apollo Go operates robotaxis in Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen on Chinese mainland and is expanding to Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Switzerland.

Separately, Tesla said will showcase its Cybercab robotaxi at the Chinese Internation Import Expo that opens this week in Shanghai. It will be the first time the model is exhibited in Asia.

OpenAI-Amazon Web Deal

OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, signed a seven-year, US$38 billion agreement to buy cloud services from Amazon Web Services in the latest mega-deal seeking computing power in artificial intelligence. Amazon shares in New York closed at a record on the agreement. The deal will OpenAI access to hundreds of thousands of Nvidia graphics processors to train and run its artificial intelligence models. OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman earlier said the company is committed to spending US$1.4 trillion to develop 30 gigawatts of computing power.

Shanghai Disney to Build Fourth Hotel

Shanghai Disney Resort is planning to build a fourth hotel, to be located adjacent to the main entrance of the theme park. The project will include shopping and dining facilities. The park recently celebrated its 100 millionth visitor since it opened in 2016. Last year, it was the world's fifth most visited theme park.