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Mainland Chinese investors can now buy shares in more than a dozen newly added Hong Kong-listed biotech and pharmaceutical companies after a reshuffle of the Stock Connect southbound trading list took effect on Monday, reflecting the sector's growing role on the international stage. Foreign capital, however, remained cautious, analysts said. “Mainland buyers have been the main force behind the latest healthcare rally. They tend to chase smaller-cap names where a tight free float makes it easier......

China's semiconductor entrepreneurs – including artificial intelligence chipmaker Cambricon Technologies and testing-and-packaging leader Tongfu Microelectronics – have voiced support for the country's 15th five-year plan, which places renewed emphasis on the chip industry as a cornerstone of Beijing's technology ambitions. “National policy direction and planning are very well designed,” said Chen Tianshi, founder and CEO of Beijing-based Cambricon. Speaking on the sidelines of the opening of......

Around the world, news organisations are racing to create rules for artificial intelligence. Editors debate whether reporters may use AI to draft text, summarise documents or help in research. Some outlets promise readers they will disclose when a machine helps write an article. Others hope credibility will come from avoiding AI altogether. But this debate begins with a mistaken assumption: that journalism earns trust because journalists physically write the sentences themselves. That has never......

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) reported a 42 per cent jump in net profit last year to 72.2 billion yuan (US$10.4 billion) on strong battery sales and an expansion into new energy storage scenarios. The Chinese battery giant's sales volume of lithium-ion batteries – a key component for electric vehicles (EVs) – reached 661 gigawatt hours (GWh), up 39 per cent from the previous year, according to a filing released on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Monday night. China's EV industry......

Some local governments in China have rushed to support the adoption of OpenClaw, the artificial intelligence agent sweeping the country, even as warnings about privacy and security risks linger in the background. In Shenzhen, China's southern tech hub, the AI and robotics agency of Longgang district published a draft on Saturday proposing sweeping measures, including subsidies of up to 2 million yuan (US$290,000) for approved projects. The initiative came a day after nearly a thousand people......

Representatives of China's semiconductor industry are calling for stronger state backing in artificial intelligence chips and critical materials, aiming to fast-track core technology breakthroughs. During last week's “two sessions” – the annual meetings of China's top legislature and advisory body – scholars and entrepreneurs in the semiconductor sector urged Beijing to leverage the nation's advantage in strategic chip raw materials and accelerate the commercial application of AI chips to secure......

Private equity and other investment firms remain broadly optimistic about deploying capital in acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs) globally, supported by ample dry powder and diversification efforts while keeping a close eye on geopolitics, according to senior investment bankers. As geopolitical uncertainty had become a constant factor in the global market in recent years, “we are broadly optimistic about the opportunities”, Ashu Khullar, head of global asset managers at Citigroup,......

Crude oil's surge above US$100 a barrel could last longer than expected, reshaping investors' outlook for the global economy and injecting fresh volatility into risk assets as military tensions in the Middle East show no sign of easing, according to analysts. Brent crude jumped 23 per cent to US$114.14 a barrel in London on Monday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 24 per cent to US$113.11. Traders are increasingly pricing in a prolonged supply disruption after Iran closed the Strait of......

Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, former heir apparent to Hong Kong property giant New World Development (NWD), plans to spend more time in mainland China and increase his tech investments this year, with a focus on a range of sectors from artificial intelligence to aerospace, echoing China's latest five-year plan. “If our country can realise [the 15th five-year plan], we would be stable and secure, and our future will definitely be promising,” Cheng, who is a member of the Chinese People's Political......

Semiconductor display manufacturer Everdisplay Optronics (Shanghai) and robotics firm Zhejiang Galaxis Technology Group have received approval to list in Hong Kong, marking steady progress in the city's nearly 500-strong listings pipeline. The two mainland Chinese companies published their post-hearing information packs on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sunday, as the initial public offering (IPO) market in the city gathers pace once again after the Chinese New Year holiday. Neither firm......

Hong Kong stocks slumped on Monday, tracking the slide across Asia-Pacific markets, after crude oil crossed US$100 a barrel, as the conflict in the Middle East continues to worsen, stoking inflation and growth concerns in oil-dependent countries. Over the weekend, Israeli air strikes targeted Iranian oil storage depots and energy infrastructure, further escalating supply disruption fears. Since the war broke out on February 28, Iran has virtually shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through......

Developers in Hong Kong are testing the housing market's recovery by nudging prices up or paring discounts as improving sentiment and a rebound in transactions boost confidence in the city's property sector. But analysts said the moves remained uneven, with many newly launched projects still offering sizeable concessions as developers continued to prioritise clearing unsold inventory accumulated during the market downturn. New World Development plans to cut the discount offered under the 120-day......

HSBC Holdings, Xiaomi, AIA, Pop Mart International, Tsingtao Brewery and others are among about 650 listed companies that may need to change their trading unit under proposed reforms by bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX). Market participants generally support the reform as it would bring Hong Kong's stock market trading in line with international practices and allow retail investors to more easily trade a wider range of stocks, but they also warn of challenges in......

Escalating geopolitical tensions and the rapid growth of Chinese technology companies are prompting international investors to shift more assets to Hong Kong, according to the head of HSBC's local unit. The trend is benefiting the bank's wealth management business. HSBC had added nearly 2 million new individual customers in the city over the past two years, bringing its total customer base in Hong Kong to about 7 million, said Maggie Ng, CEO of HSBC Hong Kong, in her first media interview since......

China's push to position Hong Kong as a global gold trading hub is not merely a commodities story. It is a strategic play unfolding at a time when the architecture of global finance is fragmenting and questions of monetary sovereignty are returning to the forefront. Recent reporting has highlighted Beijing's efforts to strengthen Hong Kong's role in international gold trading as part of a broader bid for market influence. Behind the move lies the ambition to reshape pricing power and the......

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Gartner has recently published its “Vendor Insight Report: Amazon Web Services.” This comprehensive analysis authored by industry experts Jim Hare, Lydia Leong, Ed Anderson, and Dolores Ianni helps Chief Information Officers (CIOs) evaluate strategic investments in complex IT vendors. The Vendor Insight Report complements other Gartner market and product research with a high-level overview of select vendors and their top......

As global concern rises over artificial intelligence and the potential for AI agents to disrupt lives and industries, people in southern China are rushing to embrace the technology even as privacy concerns intensify. On Friday, nearly 1,000 people lined up outside Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings' Shenzhen headquarters to install OpenClaw – a popular open-source AI agent software – on their computers. The crowd, a mix of amateur developers, retired space engineers, housewives, students and AI......

China's commerce ministry warned that the “Dutch side” should be held accountable if the latest dispute between Nexperia and its Chinese subsidiary triggers another global chip supply crisis, adding to concerns over further worldwide disruption. “Nexperia's [latest] action has seriously disrupted the company's normal production and operations,” a ministry spokesperson said in a press conference on Saturday. “If this again triggers a global semiconductor supply chain crisis, the Dutch side must......

The mobile industry buzzed with excitement over the artificial intelligence revolution showcased at MWC Barcelona 2026, but the optimism was overshadowed by the Middle East crisis and a memory crunch that could reshape the global smartphone supply chain. The AI showcase drew a large crowd, including King Felipe VI of Spain, to the booth of Chinese smartphone maker Honor, which displayed its “Robot Phone” with a built-in camera gimbal designed to become a companion to users. “This brings a......

The supply of oil and other essential commodities may be grabbing the headlines as the US-Iran conflict escalates, but the ripple effects are being felt far beyond energy markets – all the way to the global supply of the saffron used in footbath packs and heat patches. Chinese retail investors have been peppering listed companies with questions about how disruptions tied to the conflict could affect everything from fertiliser imports to the pharmaceutical products containing the prized......