Weekend Buzz: 11-12 July 2026

China Retrieves Orbital Class Rocket in Sea-Based First

China successfully tested an experimental ‌rocket retrieval system using a net attached to a sea platform, aiming to break US dominance in reusable rockets, state broadcaster CCTV reported. A Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China, on Friday, with the booster and upper stage separating six minutes later. The booster fell down into the net, becoming the first in history recovered by that method. China is now the second country after the US to demonstrate a full engineering pipeline for large-payload reusable rockets. The Long March 10B can carry at least 16 tons into low-Earth orbit. Shares in Chinese aerospace firms rose on the news.

Lull Descends on Middle East Conflict, Oil Traders Wary

There were no reports of attacks by the US or Iran overnight, after three days of stepped-up strikes related to a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz. Behind-the-scenes technical talks between both sides have continued despite the flareup of hostilities. Global oil prices eased somewhat but remained higher than a week ago as investors wait to see if the lull in fighting signals a return to their June 17 ceasefire agreement. Benchmark Brent crude closed at US$76 a barrel in New York.

Israel shared intelligence with the US that it claims shows Iran was devising a recent plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, CNN reported. Iran has threatened to kill Trump as far back as 2020, when a drone strike he ordered killed top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani. Anti-Trump fervor in Iran was stirred this week by the burial of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei and family members killed by Israeli and US attacks on the first day of the war. Trump brushed off the threats this week, saying, "I'm on every single one of their lists. These are evil, sick people, and we have to root out that cancer."

Ukraine Strikes Russian Tankers Headed for Crimea

Ukraine stepped up attacks on Russian fuel tankers in the sea of Azov, seeking to disrupt supplies to Russian-occupied Crimea. Ukraine said 14 ships were hit by drones, taking the number of Russian vessels struck by Ukraine to 35 in 96 hours. Kiev is targeting Russian energy to try to force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war.

Burnham Set to Become Seventh UK Prime Minister in 10 Years

Former Manchester mayor and popular Labour Party politician Andy Burnham is poised to replace UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer next week, becoming the seventh prime minister in 10 years. He is the only candidate for the top job after no one else put forth their names for nomination. Burnham won a by-election in June to return to Parliament, with the express purpose of challenging Starmer, who subsequently resigned amid loss of party confidence after a series of policy missteps. Burnham, who comes from the left-wing of the party, is expected to become the latest occupant of 10 Downing Street on July 20.

Top Business

SK Hynix Shares Surge in New York's Biggest Foreign IPO

Shares in South Korean chip giant SK Hynix surged 13 percent in their trading debut on the Nasdaq after the biggest-ever foreign initial public offering in New York. The company, second largest in South Korea after Samsung, raised US$26.5 billion in the IPO. SK Hynix makes chips and computer memory storage used in phones, computers and other electronics. Nvidia and Apple are among its high-profile clients. The company's shares have been surging in South Korea for a year as booming demand for AI has caused a shortage of computer memory and sent prices soaring. SK Hynix has specialized in high bandwidth memory used in AI chips.

Nexchip Shares End Flat in Hong Kong Trading Debut

Shares in Nexchip Semiconductor ended flat from their offer price in Hong Kong on Friday after one of the largest chip-industry IPOs in the city this year. The company raised HK$7 billion (US$890 million) in the share sale. The company said will allocate about half of the proceeds to research and development, with another portion helping fund the US$5.1 billion manufacturing facility it is building in its home base of Hefei. Nexchip is China's third-largest pure-play foundry.

In another Chinese IPO that debuted on Friday, shares in diversified chemical company Befar dropped 18.7 percent, following a HK$1.2 billion share sale.

China's Tencent Said in Talks to Become Biggest Manus Shareholder

China's Tencent is in talks to become the largest shareholder in Manus, the Chinese AI agent developer whose US$2 billion acquisition earlier this year by US-based Meta was unwound by Beijing authorities, the Financial Times and Reuters reported. Tencent and other early investors are seeking to buy back Manus for about the same price as Meta paid. Chinese authorities in April ordered Meta to unwind the purchase amid concerns about key technology falling into the hands of foreign ownership. Manus is an offshoot of technology developed by Beijing-based Butterfly Effect. Manus moved its headquarters to Singapore last year on geopolitical concerns.

GAC Group Forecasts Wider Loss for First Half

Guangzhou Automobile Group said it expects to post a net loss of up to 4.6 billion yuan (US$679 million) for the first half, widening from a loss of 2.5 billion yuan in the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, the company forecasts a loss as high as 5.6 billion yuan. It cited the effects of a brutal domestic price war, despite a surge in exports.

Apple Sues OpenAI Over Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets

Apple sued OpenAI in US federal court alleging its former partner stole the iPhone maker's intellectual property in order to develop its own consumer hardware. The two companies entered a partnership in 2024 to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into the iPhone operating system. Apple's updated version of its Siri assistant, due out this autumn, is based on Google's Gemini AI models instead of OpenAI technology.

Economy & Markets

MiniMax Seeks US$2 Billion in Share Placement, Bond Sale

Chinese AI startup MiniMax announced plans to raise HK$16 billion (US$2 billion) in a share placement and an issue of convertible bonds to fund research and development and global marketing. The Hong Kong-listed company said it is seeking HK$9.54 billion by placing 35.6 million shares, which represent about 11.4 percent of existing share capital. It also said it is issuing HK$6.5 billion in zero-coupon bonds due 2027 and convertible into shares. The fundraising follows share placements this week by Chinese tech companies Zhipu AI and Iluvatar CoreX.

China Imposes Temporary Export Ban on Helium

China imposed an immediate temporary ban on the export of helium, which is used in chipmaking and has been in short supply since the Iran war crimped supplies from Persian Gulf producers. The Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs on Friday said the action was taken under China's Foreign Trade Law.

China's Power Use Hits Record High Amid Heatwave, High-Tech Boom

China's national electricity load hit a record 1.51 billion kilowatts on July 10, up 10 million kilowatts from the previous peak, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Extreme summer temperatures have pushed grids in regions like Guangdong and Shaanxi provinces to historic peaks more than 20 times this summer.

The surge is driven by growth in industrial power use, particularly in emerging sectors like electric vehicles, energy storage and AI data centers; a 40 percent demand spike in internet data and electric-vehicle charging services; and rising use of business and home air conditioning, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the peak power load in several provinces.

China Approves Shein's Planned Hong Kong IPO

Chinese regulators approved a planned Hong Kong initial public offering by global fast-fashion e-commerce giant Shein, which wants to issue up to 34 million shares.

The green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission cleared a major regulatory hurdle for the retail giant, which dropped earlier attempts to list in New York and London. Shein was founded in China but has moved its headquarters to Singapore. In the past year, it has run afoul of European regulators for alleged business malpractices. Shein hasn't priced shares for its Hong Kong listing, but Bloomberg News reported it may seek up to HK$7.8 billion (US$1 billion).

Japan Producer Prices Rise Faster Than Expected

Japan wholesale inflation in June accelerated at the fastest pace on higher costs of energy and raw materials resulting from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The producer price index surged 7.1 percent from a year earlier, exceeding economists' forecasts. The Bank of Japan has warned that producers are passing along rising input costs to consumers faster than expected.

China Summer Grain Harvest Hits Record

China's summer grain harvest production rose 0.7 to record 150.7 million tons this year, surpassing 150 million tons for the first time, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Area under grain cultivation fell 0.2 percent.

China Reports Surging Foreign Visitor Influx

Foreign visitors entering China in the first half surged 20 percent from a year earlier to about 23 million, according to the National Immigration Administration. Some 78 percent of entries were under the nation's visa-free program. South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, the US, Japan, Mongolia and Australia comprised two-thirds of arrivals.

Deep Dive

Shanghai Pushes Biotechnology Beyond the Lab

At Shanghai's Zhangjiang Pharma Valley, the challenge is no longer discovering a new drug but turning scientific breakthroughs into successful businesses.

Battle Lines Drawn as China Carmakers Challenge Tesla in Self-Driving

Autonomous driving moves toward a standard car feature, with hot competition to see who can triumph in technology and sales.

Corporate

GigaDevice Signals Surge in First-Half Profit

GigaDevice Semiconductor, a leading Chinese designer of flash memory chips, said it expects to report up to a 12-fold increase in first-half profit to 6.9 billion yuan (US$1 billion). Revenue is forecast to surged 177 percent to 11.5 billion yuan. The company cited rising prices amid a global shortage of memory chips.

Separately, GigaDevice and Sichuan Changhong launched a joint laboratory focusing on research, testing and production of microcontrollers, storage products and analog devices for home appliances.

Juneyao Airlines Flags Sharp Profit Decline

Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines issued a profit warning for the first half of 2026, forecasting a net profit attributable to shareholders to fall up to 72 percent to 210 million yuan (US$31 million). Excluding one-time items, profit is projected to plummet by up to 85.5 percent to 88.5 million yuan. The carrier said a loss in the second quarter was caused by surging jet-fuel prices related to the war in Iran, which drove up its core operating costs.

PDD Acquires Building in Shanghai Financial District

E-commerce giant PDD acquired the 19-story DBS Bank Tower in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district for 3.3 billion yuan (US$490 million), Cailianshe reported. The building has floor area of about 46,000 square meters.

BYD to Launch Flash Chargers Across Europe

Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD plans to install 3,000 of its proprietary ultra-fast Flash Chargers across Europe within the next 12 months, according to Bono Ge, the company UK general manager. At least 300 of the high-power units will be deployed in Britain.

Daimon Robotics Adds China Telecom to Shareholders

Shenzhen-based Daimon Robotics Technology added China Telecom and other shareholders as it seeks to expand its business scope in intelligent robots, development of AI software and Internet of Things applications, Chinese media reported.