Weekend Buzz: 13-14 December 2025

Thailand Parliament Dissolved Amid Political Instability

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections within 60 days amid renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over their long-disputed border broke a two-month ceasefire. Anutin, who has been leading a wobbly minority government for three months, said an election is the only way to restore political stability. His Bhumjaithai party was heavily criticized for its handling of serious flooding in southern Thailand last month, which left at least 176 people dead.

EU Takes Step to Tap Frozen Russian Funds

The EU took a step toward tapping frozen Russian assets valued at up to 210 billion euros (US$247 billion) to underwrite a loan to Ukraine for military needs and reconstruction costs. The bloc took the technical step of "indefinitely" freezing the assets held in Belgian bank Euroclear until the war ends and Russian compensates Ukraine for damage inflicted during the nearly four-year war. The assets were frozen under sanctions the EU imposed on Russia when the war began, and all 27 members of the bloc must approve their renewal every six month. Freezing the fund "indefinitely" is designed to circumvent opposition to Ukraine financing from Moscow-friendly members Hungary and Slovakia. EU leaders are meeting at a summit next week to discuss the loan. One sticking point has been providing a system of shared legal liability for Euroclear. Russia said use of the funds would be illegal and it will sue the Belgian bank.

Reddit Challenges Australia's Under-16s Ban

Reddit, the popular community-chat forum, filed a legal challenge against Australia's social media ban for teens under the age of 16 – the first law of its kind in the world. The platform, which is complying with the ban, filed suit in High Court contending that the new law restricts freedom of speech and creates "an illogical patchwork" of platforms that are affected and platforms that aren't. Reddit said its service is primarily for adults and doesn't have the "traditional social media features the government has taken issue with." Reddit was one of 10 high-profile global platforms, including Facebook, X and TikTok, specifically targeted by the ban, which was enacted to shield children from harmful online content.

Hong Kong Fire Probe to Take Up to Nine Months

Hong Kong leader John Lee said it may take up to nine months for an independent panel to complete its investigation into the fire that swept through seven high-rise blocks in a residential housing complex in the Tai Po district last month, killing at least 160 people. Thousands of residents were displaced when the inferno left their homes in ashes. The probe into possible use of substandard construction materials in a major renovation at the site and possible graft in awarding subcontracts is being led Judge David Lok.

Top Business

MiniMax Preparing to Go Public in 2026

Shanghai-based AI startup MiniMax, sometimes dubbed one of China's "AI tiger" companies by investors, plans an initial public offering in Hong Kong as early as next month, the South China Morning Post reported, though the company hasn't commented on news reports that it may seek to raise up to HK$5 billion (US$642 million). The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO for research and development to enhance its competitiveness against global and Chinese mainland rivals. MiniMax is backed by Alibaba and Tencent, two domestic AI giants. Its listing application, filed in Hong Kong, has yet to be approved by mainland regulators.

The company develops multimodal models that can process text, audio, images, video and music, serving 212 million users across the world. MiniMax founder Yan Junjie said in a recent podcast, "The best American companies may be valued at a hundred times more than Chinese start-ups, earn a hundred times as much revenue, and spend dozens of times more money – yet their technology might only be about 5 per cent ahead, and even that gap is narrowing."

Is China Vanke Headed for Bankruptcy?

China Vanke, the last big property developer to survive the nation's four-year housing slump, may be losing the government support that has kept it afloat, Bloomberg News reported. Vanke has more than US$50 billion in domestic and offshore debt. Regulators, bankers and investors are now bracing for what could be the nation's largest ever bankruptcy proceedings. State-owned Shenzhen Metro Group, Vanke's largest shareholder, has been shoring up the company with emergency funding for two years, but its most recent rescue put a cap on any future funding and demanded that Vanke make payment on collateral for loans totaling US$2.8 billion. Vanke recently rattled the markets by seeking to delay payment on two yuan-denominated domestic bonds.

Musk Confirms SpaceX to Go Public Next Year

US tech magnate Elon Musk confirmed media reports that SpaceX will go public in 2026. Reports in multiple media said the company may seek to raise more than US$30 billion in an initial public offering, valuing SpaceX at US$800 billion. If accurate, it would be the world's largest IPO to date.

Tech Titans Turn AI Investment to India

Multinational technology companies are pouring money into AI development India, with Amazon and Microsoft investing more than US$50 billion in just 24 hours, CNBC reported. They are attracted by opportunities to build data centers there and the large national talent pool of engineers. Intel announced earlier in the week that it plans to make chips in the country. Stanford University ranks India alongside the US, China and UK in terms of "global and national AI vibrancy."

Economy & Markets

China to Extend Trade-In Subsidies to a Third Year

China will continue subsidies for consumers who trade in older consumer goods and buy new ones, extending the program into a third year, Xinhua reported, citing one outcome of the Central Economic Work Conference held in Beijing this week. The program, initially aimed at kick-starting the economy after the coronavirus pandemic, has driven sales of 2.5 trillion yuan (US$354 billion) in the first 11 months of his year and benefited 360 consumers. The program, which spans purchases of cars, home appliances and electronic devices, is financed by government sale of special treasury bonds.

China's Broad Money Supply Grows

China's broadest measure of money supply (M2) in November rose 8 percent from a year earlier to 337 trillion yuan (US$47.7 trillion), the People's Bank of China reported. M2 includes cash on hand, money in checking and savings accounts, and money market funds and certificates of deposit. The central bank said social financing in the month gained 8.5 percent to 440 trillion yuan, while government bond balances climbed nearly 19 percent to 94.2 trillion yuan. Government loans rose 6.4 percent to 271 trillion yuan.

Global Electric-Car Sales Losing Traction

Global sales of electric and hybrid cars grew in November at the slowest rate in 22 months amid slower sales in China and the end of a tax credit in the US, Reuters reported, citing consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Once considered a game-changer in the auto industry and the fight against climate change, new energy vehicles appear to be hitting a saturation point for now with consumers. Global registrations of the cars rose 6 percent in November from a year earlier to 2 million vehicles, with China, the world's largest maker of electric cars, posting a 3 percent gain. A government subsidy there on purchases of electric cars, which have climbed to about half of all auto sales, is due to halve come January 1. North American registrations fell 42 percent and are down 1 percent this year, while the EU is considering proposals to water down its 2035 ban on new combustion-engine vehicles.

China Aims to Reduce Housing Supply Glut

China will seek to stabilize the housing next year with policies to reduce an existing glut of homes. Among other initiatives, China will encourage local government to buy some of the overstock for use as affordable housing, promote the building of more quality homes and reform the housing provident fund system, a primary tool in real-estate financing. China's housing market has been in a four-year slump that began with a liquidity squeeze leading to developer defaults. Consumer demand remains weak and declining home prices in some segments of the market have left some homeowners with property worth less than their mortgages.

China Eases Battery Trade Rules

China will relax import and export controls on certain lithium thionyl chloride batteries starting next year. The change applies to single batteries or packs containing no more than 1 kilogram of thionyl chloride, a controlled chemical. The batteries are used in smart meters and medical devices. Regulators determined these products pose minimal risk due to low, difficult-to-extract chemical content. Under the reform, these specific items will no longer require chemical-control approvals or dual-use import or export licenses for customs clearance. It brings China into line with international standards and aims to boost the sector's competitiveness in global supply chains.

Deep Dive

China Launches First National Drug Price Registration System

China has rolled out its first national drug price registration and query system, a move that could fundamentally reshape how innovative medicines are priced domestically and referenced globally.

Not All Proteins Are Created Equal. Chinese Biosynthesis Aims at the Best

Imagine your next protein shake didn't come from a cow or a soybean, but rather from a tank bubbling with microbes.

Corporate

Avolta, China Duty Free Win Shanghai Airports Contract

The China unit of Swiss-based Avolta and state-owned China Duty Free Group won the contract to operate duty-free concessions at Shanghai's two major airports, unseating the long-time incumbent Sunrise Duty Free Shanghai Co. The two bid winners will split concession rights at Pudong International and Hongqiao airports. The announcement of tender winners followed a boardroom rift at Sunrise that rendered it unable to submit a bid by the deadline.

Jiangxi Copper Lifts Bid for SolGold

Jiangxi Copper raised its takeover bid for Ecuador-based miner SolGold to US$1.1 billion, Reuters reported. Jiangxi is SolGold's biggest shareholder with a 12 percent stake. The revised offer is 7.7 percent higher than a bid rejected last month. London-listed SolGold controls the Cascabel project, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in South America. The bid still requires approval from Chinese regulators.

Hisense Forecasts 6 Percent Gain in European Revenue

Chinese appliance maker Hisense said its European unit, based in Slovenia, is expected to close out the year with revenue of about 4.8 billion euros (US$5.2 billion), up 6 percent from a year earlier. Profit for 2025 is expected to exceed last year's 31.7 billion euros. Hisense said sales of TVs in Europe rose 9 percent, ranking it third in the market.

Disney Invests US$1 Billion in OpenAI

Disney said it's investing US$1 billion in OpenAI and becoming a licensing partner on the short-video platform Sora. Under the three-year deal, Sora can create videos featuring 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. Disney operates a major theme park and resort in Shanghai.

JD to Invest in Housing for Delivery Staff

JD.com said it will invest 22 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) over the next five years to provide 150,000 homes for its parcel and food-delivery riders. Delivery staff are the backbone of online commerce, and major industry players are trying to improve pay and benefits to retain workers.

Gree to Open New Fully Robotic Assembly Line

Gree Electric Appliances said it's launching its third fully robotic production line at an air conditioner factory in the southern city of Zhuhai. The robotic model will eventually be rolled out to other Gree assembly lines across China and extend to products beyond air conditioners. The company's existing two robotic lines deploy 2,000 industrial robots in automated work that includes welding, loading, testing and packaging.

Heytea Scales Back in Size

Heytea, a China beverage chain, closed more than 600 outlets in the year ended October 31. By the end of the month, it was down to 3,900 shops. The company, founded in 2012 and a pioneer in China's novelty tea market, operates outlets on the Chinese mainland and overseas, and faces increasing competition in the popular market segment.