Top News
Chinese President Xi lauds era of a new global order
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed a new global order, urging members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to reject "cold war mentality" and strengthen cooperation in development areas such as artificial intelligence. "We should advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and promote a more just global governance system," he said in a keynote address on Monday. Xi was hosting the largest-ever summit of the organization, where more than 20 foreign leaders -- including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- gathered for a two-day meeting. The trade and security group has become a high-profile foil against the perception of the US as a global troublemaker. Xi pledged 2 billion yuan (US$280 million) of free aid to member states, along with 100 "small and beautiful" livelihood projects, and said a development bank for the group will be established as soon as possible.
Deadly earthquake in Afghanistan
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan at a relatively shallow depth of 8 kilometers, reducing villages in the mountainous region to rubble, killing at least 800 and injuring at least 3,000, according to the UN. The quake shook buildings as far as the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, 300 kilometers away.
Top Business
Alibaba shares soar as investors focus on AI, not food delivery
Alibaba shares surged 18.5 percent to HK$137.10 (US$17.58) in Hong Kong on their first trading day after the Chinese multinational giant reported a 79 percent surge in profit for its fiscal first quarter ending June 30. Investors shrugged off scant detail of the company's entry into the cutthroat fast-food delivery market in the earnings report, focusing instead on its steady progress in artificial intelligence technologies, where it posted a 26 percent jump in revenue and is a frontrunner in development. The company reported a decline in operating income for its e-commerce segment, where the food-delivery service is lumped with trading platforms Tmall and Taobao.
UBTech Robotics, Horizon Robotics post losses in industry of the future
Shenzhen-based UBTech Robotics narrowed its first-half loss to 440 million yuan (US$61.7 million) from 540 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 28 percent to 621.5 million yuan, fueled in part by a 49 percent rise in sales of consumer-related products that include robots for pool cleaning, lawn mowing, vacuum cleaners and pet care. In July, the company unveiled its Walker S2 robot, the world's first humanoid robot capable of replacing its own batteries. For the first half, the company's research and development expenditure fell to 218 million yuan and borrowings increased to 1.5 billion yuan from 1.4 billion yuan a year earlier. The Hong Kong-listed company completed a share placement in July that raised 2.4 billion yuan for research and development, and debt repayment.
Beijing-based Horizon Robotics, a pioneer in advanced intelligent assisted driving algorithms, said its first-half loss widened to 5.2 million yuan from 5.1 million yuan a year earlier, reflecting a 62 percent increase in spending on research and development. Revenue surged 68 percent to 1.6 billion yuan. The company said its Horizon SuperDrive advanced intelligent driving system will serve as the technological foundation for future robotaxi companies.
Tesla cuts Model 3 price in China
Tesla cut the starting price of its new longer-range Model 3 by 3.7 percent to 259,500 yuan (US$36,378) in China, less than a month after its unveiling, according to the company's website. Existing buyers who haven't taken delivery will also get the discount. The reduction in the Shanghai-manufactured car comes as Tesla continues to struggle with slowing sales in its biggest overseas market, where it operates a mega production plant. In the first seven months, deliveries in China fell 13.6 percent from a year earlier to 432,000 units. The new discount underscores a price war in the domestic car industry that has made Tesla more uncompetitive against local electric vehicle makers like BYD. The new Model 3 and a six-seat version of its Model Y, made exclusively for the Chinese market, are poised to begin deliveries this month.
Economy & Markets
China's electric car makers power ahead in August
China's electric vehicle deliveries grew in August, according to Monday reports. Leapmotor said it delivered 57,066 vehicles in August, up 88 percent from a year earlier to its highest-ever monthly total. Li Auto reported a 38 percent increase from a year earlier to 48,122 vehicles. XPeng deliveries surged 169 percent to a monthly record of 37,709. Xiaomi said deliveries topped 30,000 for a second straight month, but didn't give specific figures. Nio is expected to report deliveries along with its latest earnings report on Tuesday. New energy vehicles, including hybrids, account for more than half of all vehicles sales in China.
Dosilicon raising stake in GPU maker
Chinese memory chipmaker Dosilicon Co said it will raise its stake in Lisun Tech, a Shanghai-based maker of graphic processing units, to 35.9 percent with a 211 million yuan (US$29.6 million) investment -- part of a 500 million yuan funding round involving other investors. Lisuan specializes in chips for rendering and AI acceleration, with applications in computers and cloud gaming. The investment for Dosilicon will deepen its "storage-compute-connectivity" focus as it seeks to expand beyond memory.
By road, rail and air, China had a bumper summer travel season
China's summer travel season chalked up 12 billion cross-regional trips, rising 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV. Road trips are estimated to have hit 8.7 billion, accounting for 73 percent of all domestic inter-regional travel. The nation's vast railway system surpassed 2.5 billion trips, and airlines recorded 147 million passenger trips.
China updating its law on fair market practices
China is overhauling its 27-year-old law on market pricing to root out cutthroat price wars and end algorithm discrimination and other unfair market practices in the world's second-largest economy. A draft amendment from the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation, the nation's top market regulator has been issued for public comment. "The amendment sends a clear signal that maintaining fair market competition is non-negotiable," said Guo Liyan, deputy director of the Economic Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.
Corporate
CATL selling stake in Finnish automotive supplier
China's Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world's biggest maker of batteries for electric cars, is selling its 20.6 percent stake in Finnish contract automotive supplier Valmet Automotive to the Finnish government and another shareholder, Helsinki said. The government's stake will increase to 79 percent from almost 50 percent, with Pontos Group holding the remainder. No price was disclosed. Valmet is turning its focus to defense manufacturing amid a downturn in the European auto industry and government concerns about the military buildup of neighboring Russia. CATL bought into Valmet in 2017.
Trip.com earnings ride the post-Covid travel industry recovery
Shanghai-based Trip.com Group, the world's largest online travel service, said profit in the second quarter surged 26 percent to 4.8 billion yuan (US$676 million) as tourism continued its rebound from the Covid slump. Revenue in the three months ended June 30 rose 16 percent to 14.8 billion, with accommodation bookings up 21 percent, ticketing up 11 percent and packaged tours up 5 percent. The company said business has more than doubled since pre-Covid years. For the first half, the company reported revenue of 28 billion yuan and net profit of 9 billion yuan.
Coca-Cola mulls Costa Coffee sale
Coca-Cola Co is exploring the potential sale of Costa Coffee, one of the world's largest coffeehouse chains, six years after buying the UK-based company for US$4.9 billion, Sky News reported. Coke has hired asset management firm Lazard to test buyer interest among private equity firms. Costa operates 4,000 cafés around the world, with a static 380 outlets stores in China. Coca-Cola has been shifting its focus to ready-to-drink coffee and vending machines, away from rapid café expansion. Costa and Starbucks are the two largest foreign coffee chains in China, and Starbucks has put out feelers for the possible sale of a state in its China unit, which has suffered from a drop in market share to 14 percent in 2024 from 34 percent in 2019.
China tea chains show mixed results
Chinese bubble chain Chagee said second-quarter net income fell 88 percent from a year earlier to 77.2 million yuan (US$10.8 million), though revenue rose 10 percent to 3.3 billion yuan on the opening of new shops at home and abroad. The Chengdu-based vendor listed on the Nasdaq in May. It reported 7,038 teahouses globally as of June 30, most of them on the mainland. Revenue from company-owned outlet doubled, while sales in franchise shops were up 32 percent. Sales and marketing expenses rose 55 percent. Chagee said in a statement that it intends to reshape the global tea industry.
Zhengzhou-based Mixue, a chain that specializes in low-cost tea drinks and ice cream, reported first-half income rose 44 percent from a year earlier to 2.7 billion yuan on a 39 percent increase in revenue to 15 billion yuan. But virtue of 45,000 global outlets, it is among the world's biggest food service chains. The company listed in Hong Kong in March.
SMIC to take control of a foundry subsidiary
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), China's largest contract chipmaker, said it plans to buy the 49 percent stake it doesn't already own in one of its subsidiary foundries, under a wave of consolidation in the industry. It gave no cost for the takeover of outstanding shares in Semiconductor Manufacturing North China (Beijing) Corp held by various state-owned investors. SMIC said details of the takeover are in progress.
Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Rail profit slips
Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Co reported half-year net income slipped 0.6 percent from a year earlier to 6.3 billion yuan (US$869 million on a revenue gain of 0.7 percent to 21 billion yuan. The Shanghai-listed company operates the high-speed rail line connecting two of China's largest cities. Opened in 2011, it is one of the busiest rail corridors in the world. In June, China unveiled the prototype of a new maglev train, developed by China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, that will cut current travel time between Shanghai and Beijing to 2.5 hours.