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Markets

Shares of major Hong Kong insurance, finance firms tumble following report of 20% levy

Prudential, AIA, and HSBC slid following report of the levy, though Goldman Sachs says profit fallout may be limited Shares of major Hong Kong-listed insurance and financial institutions tumbled on Thursday, after reports surfaced that mainland Chinese authorities had begun taxing gains on offshore insurance policies bought by mainland visitors in the city, reviving fears of tighter curbs on cross-border capital flows. In early trading as of 9.45am, Prudential, whose Hong Kong hub was its biggest profit driver last year, fell 5.9 per cent, while pan-Asian life insurer AIA Group dropped 6.6 per cent. Major banking giants with significant wealth management arms also tracked lower, with HSBC Holdings losing 4.1 per cent and Standard Chartered trading down 3.4 per cent. The sell-off was triggered by a report from domestic financial media outlet Caixin saying that Chinese tax officials in cities like Beijing and Hangzhou had begun imposing a 20 per cent levy on income from Hong Kong insurance products, including dividend distributions and interest on prepaid premiums.

August 6, 2026

Markets

How SAIC’s recharged venture with GM plans to catch up with top EV makers in China

Renewed partnership aims to roll out 30 EVs by 2030, pairing China’s supply chain muscle with GM’s global reach and loyal base SAIC and GM, the largest carmakers in China and the United States, respectively, in terms of sales volume, signed the agreement on Wednesday, building on a partnership that began in 1995 and led to the SAIC-GM joint venture in 1997. Wang Xiaoqiu, chairman of state-owned SAIC, said both sides should leverage their strengths in technology, branding, global distribution and local resources, opening new avenues for development with a global perspective. The renewal comes as sales from SAIC-GM and affiliates slumped from a peak of more than 4 million vehicles in 2017 to about 2.17 million units last year, according to data from SAIC. GM’s global car sales also shrank sharply to about 6.2 million units last year from over 10 million units in 2016.

August 5, 2026

Markets

From wealth transfer to living legacy: How Asia’s founders are architecting the future

As its latest research reveals a 'Knowledge Paradox' stalling succession plans, HSBC Life is building a comprehensive ecosystem to safeguard wealth, health, and family values. [The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Asia is on the precipice of a monumental economic shift. By 2030, an estimated US$5.8 trillion of wealth is expected to pass from the region’s founding generations to their successors. In today’s world, wealth is rarely held in one place or one form. Families increasingly live cross-border lives with complex corporate holdings - making succession a formidable challenge to execute smoothly. At the inaugural Legacy Continuum Summit recently hosted by HSBC Life in Hong Kong, the dialogue ventured far beyond traditional asset allocation. The event served as a real-world corroboration of a shifting paradigm: modern succession planning must safeguard not only financial portfolios, but also human capital, family values, and long-term health. “Legacy planning has become a matter of continuity,” Daisy Tsang, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Life Hong Kong and Macau, said in her opening address. “In a cross-border world, good intentions are no longer enough.

August 5, 2026

Markets

Chinese and Western firms are teaming up even as governments fight

To survive trade restrictions and regulatory barriers, companies on both sides are turning to joint ventures In an era defined by escalating geopolitical tensions and the weaponisation of supply chains, a counterintuitive phenomenon is taking root in the industrial heartlands of China, the United States and Europe. While governments in Beijing, Washington and Brussels engage in high-stakes chess matches of tariffs, export controls, sanctions and investment screening mechanisms, a parallel universe of corporate deal-making is flourishing. The prevailing logic among multinational executives is that state-level divergence does not necessitate commercial divorce. Instead, Chinese and Western manufacturing giants are increasingly aligning their interests through complex joint ventures and strategic production alliances, not in spite of government friction but as a direct hedge against it. This corporate pragmatism could transform joint ventures from mere tools of market access into sophisticated risk-mitigation vehicles designed to bypass trade barriers, localise supply chains and secure a foothold in multiple regulatory blocs at the same time.

August 5, 2026

Markets

Peninsula group to renovate Hong Kong flagship, Tokyo hotel in US$268m project

No timeline has been set, but the operator says it will minimise disruption while preserving the heritage of its iconic Hong Kong hotel The board also approved the capital expenditure programme for The Peninsula Hong Kong and The Peninsula Tokyo, which accounted for most of the group’s total HK$2.5 billion in outstanding capital commitments. “These capital expenditure programmes reflect our confidence in the long-term value of our owned portfolio,” CEO Benjamin Vuchot said in the group’s statement on Wednesday. “Preserving the heritage and character of the building is a key consideration,” said Lynne Mulholland, HSH general manager, group corporate affairs. While the timeline for the renovations was yet to be finalised, the hotel would aim to minimise disruption during the works, Mulholland added. The investment comes as Hong Kong’s tourism sector continues to recover, with international visitor arrivals supporting a rebound in luxury hospitality. For the six months ended June 30, HSH posted a profit attributable to shareholders of HK$23 million, compared with a loss of HK$289 million a year earlier.

August 5, 2026

Markets

China’s AI revenue projected to reach US$13b on breakthroughs, adoption: Goldman Sachs

Bank forecasts a sharp revenue surge after Chinese AI models slash costs, boost capabilities and capture global token share Goldman Sachs lifted projected year-end ARRs of Hong Kong-listed Zhipu AI and MiniMax to US$2.5 billion and US$1 billion, respectively. “We expect competition for the best performance-to-price balance to intensify among Chinese AI models,” the report said, noting that recent releases from domestic pioneers had reached new frontiers in performance per dollar. The heightened competition followed MiniMax’s launch last Friday of its H3 model under an open-weight approach. The multi-modal system – capable of processing text, image, video, audio and music – was priced at just 30 to 50 per cent of incumbent market levels, according to Goldman Sachs. On the same day, DeepSeek officially launched application programming interface (API) access for its V4 Flash model, achieving front-end coding capabilities that rival Zhipu’s flagship GLM-5.2. According to Arena AI’s latest leaderboard, GLM-5.2 ranks seventh in front-end coding globally, while DeepSeek V4 Flash closely follows in eighth place.

August 5, 2026

Markets

Amid slowing hotpot growth in China, Haidilao takes on biggest American burger brands

As burger outlets crowd the domestic market, Haidilao attempts to expand amid declining demand for hotpot China’s largest hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding is aiming to further diversify its business with hamburger stores – following the example set by American brands like McDonald’s and KFC – and has also opened up more sushi stores to tap new growth drivers, as its core hotpot business shows slowing momentum. The domestic market is crowded with Western-style burger outlets, including Shake Shack and Burger King, and home-grown chains Slowboat and NewYoBo. “We don’t expect these sub-brands to make a major contribution to Haidilao’s earnings. Haidilao has been building sub-brands for years – it now runs more than 20 under its umbrella – but none has gained meaningful traction,” said Ivan Su, a director at Morningstar. “While the group can support them with a stronger supply chain and cost structure, China’s restaurant industry is hypercompetitive, and Haidilao’s brand halo doesn’t transfer to new concepts,” Su added. This is Haidilao’s second attempt at the burger business, after it launched the Hiburger brand in 2024 and closed the stores in 2025.

August 5, 2026

Markets

China’s Moonshot AI aims for US$50b round as year-end Hong Kong IPO targeted: sources

Unicorn dismantles offshore structure to pave way for potential listing as investor appetite surges after release of Kimi K3 model The company was expected to raise capital at a valuation of up to US$50 billion in this latest round, one of the sources said. The round, set to be its final fundraising before the IPO, comes shortly after Moonshot completed another financing round last month at a roughly US$30 billion valuation. The open-weights model outperformed leading US systems from Anthropic and OpenAI in certain capabilities, according to the company, bolstering Moonshot’s standing in a competitive domestic market.

August 5, 2026

Markets

China’s X Square Robot submits confidential filing for Hong Kong IPO, sources say

The start-up joins a growing list of domestic robot makers in China raising capital Chinese start-up X Square Robot has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, according to two sources familiar with the matter, joining a growing wave of domestic robot makers flocking to capital markets, despite new US trade restrictions. The Shenzhen-based firm has tapped Huatai Securities and Morgan Stanley as sponsors for the prospective float, one of the sources said. X Square and Morgan Stanley declined to comment, while the other companies and securities firms did not respond to requests for comment. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said it does not comment on individual companies. An expanding list of Chinese robotic makers is pursuing an IPO this year, spearheaded by Unitree Robotics, which began price consultations on Wednesday for a flotation on Shanghai’s Star Market. The Hangzhou-based company plans to sell 40.45 million shares, or 10 per cent of its enlarged share capital.

August 5, 2026

Markets

China’s foreign reserves hold steady as external earnings stay in private hands

Hong Kong absorbed nearly two-thirds of mainland China’s portfolio outflows last year and now holds about half of the total external stock, IIF says China’s foreign exchange reserves barely budged last year despite a record US$1.18 trillion trade surplus, as the country’s massive external earnings increasingly wound up on the balance sheets of domestic households, commercial banks and corporations rather than in Beijing’s central coffers, a new report from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) shows. China has long been a major net creditor to the rest of the world. But in 2025, its non-reserve sector – banks, companies and investors operating outside the central bank’s reserve holdings – became a net creditor in its own right for the first time, according to the IIF report, published on Monday. “The institutional centre of surplus recycling has shifted,” wrote Gene Ma and Phoebe Feng of the global financial services trade group, adding activity had moved from the People’s Bank of China’s reserve portfolio and towards firms, investors and, above all, banks. The shift reflects a broader change in how China deploys its savings abroad.

August 5, 2026

Markets

BYD’s first humanoid robots; Brazil named biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. BYD to debut first humanoid robots in August as rivalry with Tesla intensifies Electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD plans to unveil its first humanoid robots within the next few weeks, as China’s electric car makers accelerate their push into the embodied artificial intelligence market. 2....

August 5, 2026

Markets

Amid AI tumult, more Chinese investors seek haven in undervalued Hang Seng Index

Mainland traders poured US$8 billion into Hong Kong equities in July, eyeing refuge from global tech sector volatility, in a market trading at just 12.2 times earnings Mainland Chinese investors bought more Hong Kong stocks than they sold for a second consecutive month in July, rotating into the undervalued market to take shelter from the tumult in artificial intelligence-linked shares. A faltering in the global AI trade pummelled the mainland’s yuan-denominated stocks, particularly technology companies, over the past month, prompting investors to seek alternative assets that could relatively withstand the turmoil. The Hang Seng Index is among the cheapest key equity benchmarks globally, partly because of its low exposure to the AI frenzy. The city’s benchmark rose 13 per cent in July, defying sell-offs that roiled most of the world’s major markets, while the mainland’s tech-heavy Star Market 50 Index tumbled 26 per cent – its biggest monthly decline on record. “While risk-aversion rose, global funds didn’t pull out of equities significantly. And instead, they were seeking rebalancing across markets and sectors,” said Melody Lai, an analyst at SPDB International in Hong Kong.

August 5, 2026