Daily Buzz: 18 August 2026

Unitree Shares to Begin Trading on Wednesday

Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics announced that trading of shares in its much-vaunted US$900 million initial public offering will begin in Shanghai on Wednesday. The IPO was heavily oversubscribed at the retail level, leading to speculation of a big upward pop from their offer price of 150.80 (US$22.37). Unitree will become the first humanoid robot maker listed on the Chinese mainland. Ahead of the debut, Unitree unveiled a "Superman" humanoid robot that can jump 2 meters vertically from a standing position, with a top speed of 12.66 meters per second, surpassing global human records for standing vertical jumps and running speed. The new model was developed in just over three months.

Trump Threatens to Bomb Ally Oman

President Donald Trump threatened to bomb longtime Gulf ally Oman if the sultanate "gets in the way" of negotiations to end the Iran war. His warning came as the 60-day ceasefire signed by Tehran and Washington in June expired on paper, weeks after it collapsed on the ground. Oman, which sits across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has been in talks with Tehran on a system for managing shipping channels, possibly with fees, to reopen the waterway. The talks have not involved the US, which wants the strait opened unconditionally. Trump continues to insist that Washington and Tehran are negotiating through direct backchannels, which Iran denies.

Alibaba Sells Lingxi Games Unit to Double Down on AI

Alibaba has agreed to sell its Lingxi Games unit to private equity firm Trustar Capital, according to an internal letter from Lingxi Chief Executive Zhou Bingshu. The value of the cash deal was not disclosed, but Bloomberg News earlier reported that Trustar Capital valued the business at US$1.5 billion. Trustar is a Hong Kong-based affiliate of Citic Capital. Lingxi's top-grossing game, "Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition," is a multiplayer online title developed in partnership with Japan's Koei Tecmo Holdings.

The divestment aligns with a broader trend of some Chinese tech majors unwinding gaming assets to double down on AI development. ByteDance sold its gaming studio Moonton earlier this year. Both Alibaba and ByteDance have drastically ramped up AI investment, with their generative AI applications currently leading adoption across China.

US Says Hamas May Begin Disarming in 30 Days

Trump son-in-law and Middle East envoy Jared Kushner said the process of disarming Hamas in Gaza could begin within 30 days, after he met with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the latest US-backed peace plan. Netanyahu earlier rejected the deal. Kushner said "some valid concerns" were addressed. Israel has opposed a phased plan, saying it will withdraw troops from Gaza only after Hamas has completely disarmed. Earlier, a senior Israeli government official said one of points agreed at the talks was no military redeployment or reconstruction would take place until Hamas surrenders all its weapons. Netanyahu faces general elections in late October, with his Likud Party trailing in polls.

Top Business

China Retail Sales Slow, Industrial Output Rises

China retail sales in July slowed to growth of 0.6 percent from a gain of 1 percent in June, but industrial output rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier, with big gains in production of 3D printing equipment, lithium-ion batteries and industrial robots, the national Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday. Investment in urban fixed assets in the first seven months of the year contracted 6.7 percent, with property development plunging 19.2 percent. New home sales by floor area dropped 11.8 percent, and prices declined 3.2 percent, underscoring continued weakness. Urban unemployment in July ticked up to 5.2 percent from 5 percent in June. Bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui said global geopolitical pressures and high summer temperatures affected the economy last month.

Geely Profit Slips Despite Record Revenue, Li Steps Down as Chairman

Hangzhou-based automaker Geely said profit in the first half fell 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 9.1 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) on a foreign-exchange loss of 550 million yuan and an impairment loss of 46 million yuan on non-financial assets. Core profit gained 46 percent to 9.7 billion yuan. Revenue rose 15 percent from a year earlier to a record 173.6 billion yuan. Research and development costs increased to 9.2 billion yuan from 7.3 billion yuan. The carmaker said it spent 682 million yuan on share buybacks.

For the half year, vehicle sales rose 1 percent from a year earlier to 1.4 million, with the average selling price per vehicle increasing by 15,000 yuan to 112,000 yuan. Chinese mainland sales totaled 948,730, comprising 11 percent of the domestic market. New energy vehicles rose 10 percent to 799,454, accounting for 56 percent of total sales. Sales of its premium Zeekr brand nearly doubled to 178,370. Export sales volume was 474,228 units, a 158 percent increase.

Geely founder Li Shufu is stepping down as chairman of Geely and has been appointed lifetime honorary chairman, with An Conghui succeeding him, the carmaker announced. Li Donghui, chairman of the British luxury car marque Lotus owned by Geely, also resigned as vice chairman of Geely but will remain an executive director.

US Advises Apple Against Using Chips from China's CXMT

The Trump Administration has urged Apple not to purchase memory chips from China's CXMT despite a supply crunch driven by AI, the Wall Street Journal reported. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted as saying there must be other solutions to the current memory chip issue, but it is not "great American companies using Chinese memory." Earlier media reports said Apple has been testing use of CXMT chips for use in its China-sold products. Apple Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan said only that the company is "looking at all options.

Fudan Microelectronics Reports 338 Percent Surge Profit

Shanghai-based Fudan Microelectronics Group posted a 338 percent gain in first-half net profit to 849 million yuan (US$126 million), thanks to booming growth across its core semiconductor businesses. Revenue jumped 21 percent to 2.23 billion yuan. The chip firm specializes in the design, development and testing of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits.

Economy & Markets

China Plans Fuel Tax, Pricing Reforms

China is studying changes to its consumption tax on refined oil products and improvements in fuel pricing mechanisms to aid oil and gas development, the government said on Monday. The plan aims to encourage more diversified natural gas suppliers, consolidate urban gas companies and improve the linkage between upstream and downstream gas prices. The government will strengthen gas storage and "peak-shaving" market mechanisms and ensure supplies for residential users. It will also regularly review pipeline transportation prices for cross-provincial natural gas.

Biren Forecasts Narrower Loss for First Half

Shanghai-based Biren Technology said it expects to post a first-half loss of as much as 400 million yuan (US$59 million), narrowing from a 1.6 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue is projected to surge as high as 22-fold to 1.3 billion yuan. The chip developer listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in January. The company's shares rose 7 percent in Hong Kong on Monday to close at HK$38.98, compared with their IPO offer price of HK$19.60.

CATL Claims to Be World's First Zero-Carbon Battery Maker

Contemporary Amperex Technology said Monday it became the world's only battery company to achieve carbon neutrality in its core operations by the end of 2025. The company also disclosed for the first time its value-chain carbon neutrality roadmap through 2035, expanding its green credentials to broader industry ecosystem collaboration. By the end of last year, CATL's 20 battery factories had become zero-carbon facilities, using carbon-neutral electricity in core operations. Currently, the CATL's "carbon chain" covers battery production processes and upstream core suppliers.

Warnings of Looming Stock Market Corrections Mount

The European Central Bank, in an online blog not necessarily representative of the bank's official policy, warned of a market correction in technology stocks in the US that is likely to have far-reaching consequences. Investors have been piling into tech stocks on bets that AI will fundamentally alter the global economy, pushing valuations far above historic averages. "Economic research on past technological revolutions points to a worrisome conclusion: a correction of current stock market valuations is likely," the post said.

It came just two days after US investor Jim Rogers told a Hong Kong investors' summit that he fears a global stock market meltdown is looming. He called the current situation "highly unusual" and advised investors to be prepared. He pointed out the world's massive debt load, especially of the US, and has to be repaid at some point. Rogers said the only shares he continues to hold are Chinese and Uzbek.

Corporate

AI Firm SenseTime Flags First Profit

Chinese AI software company SenseTime said it expects to post its first profit since listing in 2012 when it reports first-half results on August 26, noting that a rally in AI asset prices helped cover operational losses. The company is flagging profit of between 500 million yuan (US$74 million) and 700 million yuan for the period, compared with a loss of 1.6 billion yuan a year earlier. The company, which is involved in facial recognition, medical imaging and voice analysis, autonomous driving technology and remote sensing, reported a full-year 2025 loss of 1.8 billion yuan.

Hisense Profit Drops 20 Percent Amid Cost Pressures

Leading Chinese home appliances maker Hisense reported a 20 percent decline in first-half net profit to 1.66 billion yuan (US$246 million), with revenue dropping 5.2 percent to 46.77 billion yuan. About 46 percent of its revenue came from overseas sales of air conditioners, refrigerators and other household appliances. The company cited rising raw materials cost and soft domestic demand for squeezed margins.

Helius Biotech Signs Drug Deal With Swiss-Based Sandoz

Shanghai-based Henlius Biotech signed a deal with Swiss-based drugmaker Sandoz for up to 10 of the Chinese drugmaker's biosimilars or drug substances, in an agreement that could be valued at up to US$322 million. Henlius is a unit of Fosun Pharmaceuticals. Sandoz will have global commercialization rights outside China, while Henlius will be responsible for the development and manufacturing processes. One of the products in the agreement is a cancer therapy drug sold under the name Erbitux.

CSPC Pharma Swings to Profit From Loss

CSPC Pharmaceutical, based in Hebei Province, said it turned to a first-half profit of 1.26 billion yuan (US$187 million) from a year-earlier loss of 2.7 million yuan on a tripling of revenue to 3.2 billion yuan. The Hong Kong-listed company's product line includes penicillin, synthetic vitamins, antibiotics and analgesics.

ByteDance Closes Fiction App Hongzhu

ByteDance shuttered its paid online fiction app Hongzhu Story, originally launched for paid reading of serials, Yicai reported. It has struggled to compete with free platform Tomato Novel. Hongzhu Story offered both paid and free content, with members receiving a 20 percent discount on fee titles.

China Telecom Backs AI Startup Maniformer

Chinese physical AI data services startup Maniformer raised several hundred million yuan in a new funding round led by China Telecom, as investors step up bets on data infrastructure for embodied AI. Zhangjiang Group also participated, while existing investors like private equity firm HSG and Yuanqi Innovation increased their stakes. Founded in early 2026, Maniformer has completed several funding rounds in about six months. It plans to use the latest proceeds to expand production of its MEgo data-collection products and strengthen data collection, governance and model evaluation capabilities.

JD.com Opens Coffee Shop Manned Entirely by Robots

JD.com launched 7Fresh Coffee, a 24-hour, robot-operated "smart" coffee shop in downtown Beijing. JD claims it's the first coffee shop in the world without human staff. Robots grind beans, brew them and serve customers at a pickup window. The shop can handle up to eight coffee orders at the same time, and completed 202 cups in one hour on its launch day this weekend.

Nio Reports Expanded Battery-Charging Options

Chinese electric carmaker Nio said its nationwide charging stations have expanded to include 4,020 battery-swap stations, 5,190 charging stations and 29,915 charging piles. The battery-swap stations have accumulated 120 million uses.