CX Daily: The Key Ingredients to Sustain Hong Kong’s Stock Rally
TOP STORIES
Stocks?/
China’s show of determination to revive growth and rescue the property sector boosted investors’ confidence , triggering a surge in the Hong Kong stock market in April and May.
However, the rally has since lost steam and analysts say further gains will hinge on a range of factors, including policymakers’ strategy to resolve the most pressing problems and the direction of U.S. interest rates. ?
Power?/
Industry experts said China’s power industry reforms are now centered on new energy , with a primary focus on streamlining pricing mechanisms. There is an urgent need to accelerate the development of robust power markets to enhance resource allocation efficiency and overhaul the power system, thereby correcting market distortions, they said.
Industry insiders are expecting a more significant reform plan to be unveiled at a key policy meeting of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) 20th Central Committee scheduled for July 15-18. ?
Kidnap?/
After the deadly kidnapping of two ethnic Chinese medical executives in the Philippines last month made headlines, a very similar case involving two other ethnic Chinese men kidnapped in the country in January has surfaced.
Li Jia, a Chinese citizen working for a Chinese company in Germany, was kidnapped in January after he and an Austrian-Chinese friend, Zhao Dong, were invited to the Philippines for a business trip. ?
FINANCE & ECONOMY
Bonds?/
Global investors will be able to use Chinese onshore government or policy bank bonds as collateral in swap trading through a program connecting the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
This decision, announced Tuesday by the People’s Bank of China, will allow these bonds to be used as collateral for swap transactions through the Northbound Swap Connect if they are purchased under the Bond Connect program. ?
IPOs?/
A staggering 315 Chinese companies have withdrawn their initial public offering (IPO) applications so far this year, with more than 100 pulling out in June alone.
The withdrawals followed the release of the National Nine Articles policies, which have led to stricter listing standards on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges since April 30. ?
Quick hits?/
BUSINESS & TECH
Oil?/
A handful of central government agencies have launched an investigation into the transportation of cooking oil in China after domestic media reported some companies were hauling the consumer staple in the same tankers used to carry chemical oils.
The report has triggered a public outcry and prompted several e-commerce platforms to take the products of implicated brands off the shelves. ?
AI music?/
While the promise of music generated by artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn significant investments to U.S. companies like Udio and Suno, their Chinese peers have taken a more targeted approach as making big profits off AI-created chart toppers remains tantalizingly out of reach.
Unlike in the U.S., where AI-driven platforms that allow users to create songs almost instantly with a text prompt have sought to challenge the conventional music industry, China’s initiatives in the space take more of a support role. Rather than trying to create Top 40 hits, they focus on enhancing song recommendation algorithms and auxiliary functions like providing soundtracks for short videos. ?
Travel?/
China saw a surge in inbound travel in the first half of this year, official data showed, as the country ramps up efforts to revive tourism, including expanding its visa-free scheme.
Trips by foreigners to China jumped 152.7% year-on-year to 14.64 million, Lin Yongsheng, an official with the National Immigration Administration, said at a news conference Friday. Among them, 8.54 million trips were made visa-free, up 190.1%. ?
Quick hits?/
Daily Tech Roundup?/
Long Read?/
GALLERY
Under the influence of subtropical high pressure, Shanghai was hit with searing temperatures for six straight days. With the mercury nearing 39 degrees Celsius, authorities issued orange weather alerts from July 4 to 9 for high temperatures. Many sightseers were undeterred but could be seen clad in protective head gear and shading themselves with umbrellas along the Bund and Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street. The weather is forecast to cool from Wednesday with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds expected over the following few days.