Weekend Buzz: 8-9 August 2026

Unitree Seeks to Raise US$904 Million in IPO, DeepSeek Takes Stake

Leading Chinese robot maker Unitree will begin taking IPO subscriptions next week, pricing its shares at 150.8 yuan each to raise 6.1 billion yuan (US$904 million) on Shanghai's STAR market. It will be the first Chinese mainland listing of a humanoid-robot maker. Unitree said its offer carries a price-to-earnings ratio of 219.23 times, significantly higher than the average industry ratio of 38.56.

In its prospectus, the robot-maker said 2025 revenue more than quadrupled to 1.7 billion yuan, but first-quarter profit, excluding one-off items, fell 53 percent as the company increased spending on research and marketing. Sales in the US accounted for 13 percent of sales last year. It's unclear if the new Trump administration restrictions on imports of advanced robots will affect investor sentiment toward the IPO.

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has invested 140.8 million yuan for a 2.3 percent stake in Unitree and agreed to jointly develop AI models for humanoid machines, according to a stock-exchange filing. Both companies, based in Hangzhou, said they would combine DeepSeek's expertise in AI models with Unitree's work in mechanical engineering, motion control and embodied intelligence. In addition, Unitree will give preference to DeepSeek when procuring model-training and other technical services.

Iran Accuses US of Theatrics, Saudis Sign NATO-Style Pact

Iran parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalifab accused US President Donald Trump "theater diplomacy" as Washington and Tehran offer conflicting statements on the reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the strait has declined dramatically this week, according to maritime shipping tracker Kpler. Global benchmark Brent crude futures closed New York trading at US$83.55 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a NATO-style defense agreement on Friday that stipulates an attack on one country would be an attack on all. It came amid intelligence reports warning of "multiple coordinated attacks" on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed factions in Iraq and Yemen. The Houthis in Yemen have already declared a maritime embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and have attacked several Saudi oil tankers there. Iran said a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring Saudi security, "just as decades of one-sided dependence on the Americans failed to do so." Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey are governed by Sunni Muslims, while Iran and its proxies follow the Shi'ite branch of the faith.

Ukraine, Russia Continue Exchange of Air Attacks

Ukraine carried out another long-range, overnight strike on a factory owned by Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, which it accuses of abetting Russian drones. A Russian airstrike on Ukraine ripped a hole in the roof of a 34,000-seat stadium in Odessa, a day before it is due to host a major match.

Top Business

Cambricon Profit Surges on Demand for AI Chips

Chinese AI chipmaker Cambricon posted a 122.6 percent jump in first-half net profit from a year earlier to 2.3 billion yuan (US$342.2 million), propelled by booming demand for AI computing power. Revenue for the first six months of 2026 grew 108 percent to about 6 billion yuan, marking the first time the company's half-year revenue crossed the 5-billion-yuan threshold. The surging financial performance signals a transition into scaled commercialization, driven primarily by core clients in the finance and internet sectors. However, Cambricon highlighted ongoing risks in its report. Remaining on a US "entity list" leaves its supply chain vulnerable, it said, and an inventory surged to 8.25 billion yuan, comprising 45 percent of assets, exposes the chipmaker to potential devaluation risks if market demand shifts.

China Rare Earth Posts Higher Profit

China Rare Earth Resources & Technology reported a 46.5 percent year-on-year increase in net profit to 237 million yuan (US$33 million) for the first half of 2026, despite a 12.2 percent drop in revenue to 1.65 billion yuan. The company attributed the earnings growth to ongoing supply-demand adjustments, supportive industry policies and recovering downstream demand. The favorable conditions drove an overall market recovery, resulting in a noticeable price increase for key praseodymium-neodymium products compared with the same period last year.

Alibaba Poised to Ask Big Users of Qwen3.8-Max to Share Revenue

China tech titan Alibaba is poised to ask major users of its newly released, next-generation Qwen3.8-Max open-source model for revenue-sharing deals based on money they earn from deploying the system, Reuters reported. It would be a part of an escalating drive from Chinese AI developers to monetize their advanced models. "Open-source" may imply no fees, but the licensing terms of Moonshot's Kimi K3 included a provision that requires anyone offering the model for sale as a service and generating more than US$20 million in annual sales must negotiate a commercial agreement with Moonshot. Alibaba in the past has charged developers for use of its models when hosted on its own cloud computing platform but has allowed most of its open-source offerings to be used in customers' own data centers without payment.

ByteDance Said to Be Training Mega Model

Chinese tech giant ByteDance is training an AI model with as many as 10 trillion parameters that would be close to the 8 trillion parameters of Anthropic's cutting-edge Mythos system, the Financial Times reported. At that size, the model would be more than three times the size of Chinese startup Moonshot AI's Kimi K3, which has 2.8 trillion parameters. An AI model's parameters refer to the numerical settings a model learns from data to recognize patterns, generate answers, and carry out tasks.

Separately, research firm Frontier Security said the new Kimi K3 escaped a testing environment developed by the UK AI Safety Institute. It said Kimi K3 bypassed one "sandbox," a term that refers to isolated environments used during testing to block access to external information sources, Reuters reported. That followed earlier disclosures of rogue AI agents from Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic during testing.

Economy & Markets

China Forex Reserves Edge Higher

China's foreign-exchange reserves rose slightly in July, while the central bank continued to increase its holdings of gold for the 21st consecutive month. The country's forex reserves stood at US$3.42 trillion at the end of July, up 0.07 percent from June, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Friday. The regulator said changes in exchange rates and global asset prices contributed to the increase. The People's Bank of China said gold reserves at the end of July rose to 76.08 million ounces from 75.44 million ounces a month earlier. Separately, Hong Kong's foreign currency reserves rose by US$1.9 billion last month to US$447.8 billion, according to the city's Monetary Authority.

China's Exports Expand Faster Than Forecast

China's exports in July rose a faster-than-forecast 23.9 percent from a year earlier on overseas demand for high-tech components used in semiconductor manufacturing, AI data centers, advanced manufacturing and consumer electronics. Imports rose 27.5 percent. Chip exports surged 117 percent, and integrated circuit exports by value nearly doubled in the first seven months of the year. Exports of mechanical and electrical products accounted for more than 60 percent of outbound shipments in the January-July period, driven by demand for electric vehicles, lithium batteries and wind power generating equipment. Among other fast-growing export categories were 3D printers and industrial robotics. Exports to the US in July grew 17 percent, and shipments to the EU expanded 16 percent. China ended July with a trade surplus of US$112.5 billion, narrowing from US$125.6 in June.

ChiNext to Expand Tech Exchange-Traded Funds

Chinese fund managers have filed applications for 16 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking stock groups on the tech-focused ChiNext board in Shenzhen. The applications include 10 from asset managers targeting computing power and six aimed at financial technology shares. Exchange-traded funds allow investors to buy into a sector without purchasing any individual company shares.

Beijing Loosens Homebuying Rules

Beijing housing authorities shortened to one year from two years a requirement for non-residents to have paid income tax or social insurance before buying homes within the city's Fifth Ring Road. The measure is aimed at boosting a sluggish residential real estate market. Qualification checks for parents gifting local homes to children were also eliminated. Furthermore, Beijing expanded housing provident fund support, increasing maximum loan caps up to 2.4 million yuan (US$355,600) for couples buying a first home.

US Payrolls Unexpectedly Fall in July

The US economy lost an unexpected 23,000 nonfarm jobs in July, significantly missing market expectations of an 80,000 gain. Unemployment eased to 4.1 percent. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised down figures for job increases in May and June. The unexpectedly weak labor market sent Treasury yields down amid expectations it gives the Federal Reserve more reason to hold interest rates rather than increase them.

Meta Ordered to Pay US$567 Million Into Youth Mental-Health Fund

Facebook owner Meta was ordered by a New Mexico court in the US to pay US$567 million into a fund dedicated to mental health services for young people suffering adverse effects from what authorities say is addictive screen time. It was the largest punitive action to date against Meta over child-safety concerns. The order came on top of US$375 million in earlier civil penalties on Meta for violations of the state's unfair practices law. Many countries are now enacting laws to ban access by children and younger adolescents to social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

In response, Meta outlines its ongoing efforts to protect young users through features like default Teen Accounts and AI-driven safeguards, emphasizing its collaboration with parents and experts to address safety concerns and support teen mental health.

Japanese Insurers Face Bond Losses

Paper losses on domestic bonds held by Japan's four major life insurers rose 7 percent in the April-June quarter, highlighting growing pressure from higher interest rates. Nippon Life Insurance, Dai-Ichi Life Holdings, Sumitomo Life Insurance and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance reported combined unrealized losses of 15.13 trillion yen (US$96 billion) on their bond holdings as of the end of June.

Deep Dive

China's Robotaxi 'Profit Milestone' Depends on How You Calculate It

China's robotaxi industry buzzed recently with claims of the "first year of robotaxi profitability" after Pony.ai announced monthly per-vehicle operational profit in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and Baidu's sixth-generation self-driving vehicle drove down per-vehicle costs drastically.

However, do "positive unit economics" equate to "comprehensive corporate profitability?"

Rx for Medical AI: Saves Time on Mundane Tasks, Poor Substitute for Doctors

For years, medical artificial intelligence has been shadowed by a blunt question: Will algorithms replace doctors?

Corporate

Guotai Junan International Receives Privatization Offer

Hong Kong-listed securities firm Guotai Junan International received a nearly HK$10 billion (US$1.3 billion) privatization proposal from its Chinese mainland parent at a 44 percent premium to its share price. Guotai Haitong Group is offering HK$3 apiece for the 34.5 percent shares it doesn't already own, according to a stock exchange filing on Friday.

SK Hynix to Invest US$38.3 Billion in Chipmaking Expansion

SK Hynix said it will invest 54.3 trillion won (US$38.3 billion) to build new semiconductor fabrication plants in South Korea, as the company expands capacity to meet surging demand for AI memory chips. The investment includes 35.2 trillion won for the Y2 fab in Yongin and 19.1 trillion won for the M17 fab in Cheongju. SK Hynix said the ability to supply ample products when customers need them has become a key competitive advantage.

Haidilao Expands From Hotpots to Burgers

Amid a slowdown in popularity of hotpot fare, Haidailao, China's largest hotpot chain, is expanding into hamburgers and also opening additional outlets selling sushi. In the burger realm, it faces stiff competition from both foreign and domestic burger chains. Hong Kong-listed Haidilao officially launched its Fresh Burger outlet in the city of Wuhan late last month.

Bain to Acquire Gong Cha Bubble-Tea Chain

Private investment firm Bain Capital said it will acquire global bubble-tea chain Gong Cha, founded in Taiwan, from US-based private equity firm TA Associates. Gong Cha operates 2,200 outlets in 33 markets across the Asia-Pacific and Americas. Financial details of the purchase weren't disclosed.

Didi Inks Deal With Brazilian Car Rental Company

Beijing-based Didi Chuxing, which is involved in ride-hailing, taxi and bike-sharing services, said its Brazil unit 99 has signed an agreement with Movida, a vehicle rental company in Brazil, to provide electric cars for drivers on its platform. Movida is part of Simpar, one of Brazil's leading transportation, logistics and automotive service groups. The 99 platform provides mobility, food delivery and digital financial solutions, with more than 60 million users.