Daily Buzz: 3 October 2025

By Rail and Road, Chinese Holidaymakers Are Setting Records

China's railway system, which spans nearly 160,000 kilometers nationwide, logged a record 23 million trips on Day 1 of the eight-day National Day holiday, with 19 million trips forecast on Day 2. Rail passengers are exceeding last year's totals. Shanghai's railway stations alone are expected to handle 6.25 million passenger trips during the holiday, almost a 15 percent increase from last year.

Those taking to the highways for holiday trips are also rising. Alibaba's Amap navigation system reported a record 360 million users on the first day of the holiday, with mapping requests covering 9 billion kilometers. In addition, Amap's new AI assistant Xiaogao processed 1.6 billion user requests in one day, Alibaba said. China's system of expressways spans more than 190,000 kilometers.

Travel platform Trip.com earlier predicted that this year's holiday, called the Golden Week in China, would be one of the busiest ever, especially since it coincides with the lunar Mid-Autumn Festival. That has buoyed expectations that tourism will give a big boost to the government's campaign to increase consumer spending. Many popular tourist attractions are reporting capacity crowds. Jiuzhaigou National Park said tickets for October 1–6 were sold out. It was a similar story at the Giant Panda Breeding Base in Chengdu. Major museums, including the National Museum of China, the Palace Museum and the Nanjing Museum, have also had to turn visitors away.

AI Remains A-1 With Investors, Sending Global Markets Surging

The investor frenzy for AI-related shares has continued unabated into the fourth quarter, with the tech heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in New York, and the Kospi in South Korea closing at all-time highs on Thursday. Nvidia shares closed at a record. The Hang Seng tech index in Hong Kong rose 3.4 percent to a four-year high, and Europe's Stoxx 600 index hit an intraday record, with its technology index closing up 2.4 percent.

The latest wave of global enthusiasm was generated in part by unlisted OpenAI's US$6.6 billion secondary share sale that valued the company at an all-time high of US$500 billion. OpenAI's new partnerships with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix triggered the surge in South Korea. Samsung shares hit a four-year high, and SK Hynix skyrocketed to a 25-year high after both chipmakers signed deals with OpenAI to provide advanced memory chips for the company's next-generation AI Stargate initiative.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Hong Kong market rose 1.6 percent, led by tech giants. SMIC surged 12.7 percent, and Kuaishou was up 8.6 percent. Alibaba gained 3.5 percent. Strong sentiment also spilled over to other sectors, including semiconductors, gold and consumer electronics. Japan's Nikkei 225, which posted record closes last week, also rose, led by chip-related shares. Chinese mainland markets are closed for an eight-day holiday.

Gaza-Bound Aid Flotilla Fails to Break Israeli Blockade

Israeli forces intercepted about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying 450 activists, foreign politicians, lawyers and aid workers, aiming to break Israel's 18-year sea blockade of Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among those detained. The vessels were carrying food and medicine to the enclave in a high-profile effort to dramatize the plight of Palestinians suffering from famine amid an Israeli ground and aerial offensive. The Israeli interception sparked demonstrations in Rome, Brussels, Athens, Buenos Aires and Berlin.

Separately, the BBC reported that the head of Hamas's military wing in Gaza told mediators he doesn't agree to the new US ceasefire plan, balking at provisions that would require Hamas to disarm and don't set a timetable for withdrawal of Israeli troops, among other objections. President Donald Trump earlier gave the group days to accept his 20-point framework or face "the hell" of a continued Israeli assault.

Top Business

China Rebukes US Coercion on Mexico Over Chips

The Chinese Embassy in Mexico City, in an online post, rebuked the US for browbeating Mexico to join its campaign against use of China-made semiconductors, calling the tactic "economic bullying," the South China Morning Post reported. The criticism followed remarks by Mark Johnson, a diplomat at the US Embassy in the city, who said Mexico must play "a key role" in ending reliance on Chinese chips. The Chinese Embassy rebuttal said, "This type of rhetoric brazenly exposes the mentality of the US in trying to impose geopolitical competition on others." China last month accused the US of coercing Mexico into imposing tariffs on some Chinese goods.

China Advances Nuclear Fusion Project

China has achieved a major milestone in the pursuit of nuclear fusion power, with its flagship BEST project completing the installation of the Dewar base, state media reported this week. The move signals the start of the main assembly phase for the national program. The Dewar is a super-insulated container that preserves the extreme cold needed for fusion reactions. BEST is designed to become the world's first fusion device capable of verifying and demonstrating power generation at a practical scale, with the goal of lighting a bulb with fusion-generated electricity by 2030. Fusion, often dubbed the "ultimate clean energy," replicates the process powering the sun, producing vast energy without long-life radioactive waste or carbon emissions.

Elon Musk Briefly Becomes the World's First Half-Trillionaire

Tesla founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk became the world's first half-trillionaire for a few hours this week as the value of his electric car company, rocket company SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI kept rising. Musk's personal wealth has improved since he ditched his brief role in the Trump administration and returned to his core businesses. His net worth briefly hit US$500 billion on Wednesday before slipping back to US$486 billion on Thursday, according to the Forbes billionaires index. Musk remains the world's richest person, trailed by Oracle founder Larry Ellison.

Tesla shares rose on Thursday after the carmaker reported a higher-than-expected delivery of 497,009 vehicles for the second quarter, a rise of 7 percent from a year earlier.

Economy & Markets

Zhida Launches Hong Kong IPO

Zhida Technology, the world's top seller of home electric-vehicle chargers, kicked off its Hong Kong initial public offering this week, aiming to raise more than HK$500 million (US$64.2 million). The company plans to issue 5.98 million Class H shares at a price range of HK$66.92 to HK$ 83.63 each. About 10 percent of shares will be offered in Hong Kong, with the rest allocated to global investors. Proceeds will fund overseas expansion, research and development, and acquisitions. Founded in 2010, Zhida posted a 39 percent rise in first-quarter revenue, halving losses.

Singapore Retail Real Estate Investment Trust Lists in Shanghai

Singapore-listed CapitaL and Investment listed its CapitaLand Commercial C-REIT on the Shanghai Stock Exchange earlier this week, the first international-sponsored retail real-estate investment trust to trade on the exchange. Units in the REIT, which raised 2.3 billion yuan (US$323 million), debuted at 20 percent above their offer price on Monday. The REIT describes its holdings as high-quality, income-producing retail assets in China's top-tier cities. A real estate investment trust typically owns a portfolio of income-producing properties in a variety of categories, including residential property, commercial offices, warehouses, hotels and shopping malls, and sells units in the trust to investors.

Corporate

China's Huayou Cobalt Signs Lithium Contract With LG Energy

Huayou Cobalt, a producer of lithium battery materials, said it signed a five-year supply contract with South Korea's LG Energy, one of the world's largest battery manufacturers. The value of the deal wasn't disclosed. Under the contract, the company's factory in the city of Quzhou in Zhejiang Province will supply around 76,000 tons of cathode materials to LG Energy, and its plant in Hungary will provide about 88,000 tons of materials to an LG plant in Poland.

Composite-Materials Company to Expand Into Energy Storage

Shanghai-based Pret Composites said it plans to invest 800 million yuan (US$112 million) to expand into the energy-storage business. The company said it will build a sodium-ion battery plant in the southwestern province of Sichuan with eventual annual capacity of 6 gigawatt hours. A fund controlled by a local government where the plant will be located will invest 90 million yuan in the project.

Buffett's Berkshire Signs Biggest Investment Deal Since 2022

Warren Buffett's widely watch Berkshire Hathaway announced a cash deal to buy Occidental Petroleum's petrochemical unit OxyChem for US$9.7 billion, its largest investment in three years. Berkshire already holds a 28.2 percent stake in Occidental. Buffett, 95, called the "Oracle of Omaha" for his years-long investment prowess, is due to step down as chief executive at the end of the year.

Apple Hastens Smart Glasses Development, Halts Lighter Vision Pro Plans

Apple is accelerating its smart glasses development to compete with similar offerings from Meta, according to a Bloomberg report. The tech giant has concurrently halted plans for a lighter Vision Pro headset and is focusing on two new glasses models: a display-less version anticipated for a 2027 launch, and a pair with a display whose development has been "accelerated" from its original 2028 target.

Amazon Launches Private Grocery Label

Amazon announced the launch of its Amazon Grocery private label, featuring an extensive selection of over 1,000 food items rated four stars or above. The collection, which unites the former Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly brands, spans grocery essentials like milk, olive oil, fresh produce, meat and seafood. The company said most products are priced under US$5.