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Hong Kong's lived-in home prices rose 1.4 per cent in March, bringing the first-quarter increase to an accelerated pace of 4.4 per cent, according to the latest official data, indicating the property market's resilience despite uncertainties brought about by the US-Israel war on Iran. The monthly increase was slower than February's 1.8 per cent, but 2026's first-quarter rise was faster than the 2.11 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. The city's rental prices also extended their......

Lightelligence, the first mainland Chinese photonics chipmaker to go public in Hong Kong, saw its share price surge by nearly 400 per cent in its trading debut on Tuesday, as investors banked on the country's quest for a fast-growing alternative to conventional electronic semiconductors in artificial intelligence data centres. The Shanghai-based company opened at HK$880, versus the offer price of HK$183.2 – the top of its marketed range of HK$166.6 to HK$183.2. It raised HK$2.4 billion (US$310......

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), the world's biggest maker of lithium batteries for new-energy vehicles, plans to raise HK$39.2 billion (US$5 billion) in a private share placement, stepping up efforts to expand its renewables business amid a global oil crunch. In a statement to Hong Kong's stock exchange before trading opened on Tuesday morning, the company said it planned to sell 62.4 million Hong Kong-traded shares for HK$628.20 apiece to at least six unspecified investors. The......

British industrial conglomerate Rolls-Royce is strengthening its presence in China via a newly launched engine maintenance joint venture with Air China, as domestic demand for commercial air travel grows. The joint venture, Beijing Aero Engine Services (BAESL), which became operational in December, provides engine maintenance services for Chinese airlines. The company said it planned to leverage this partnership to serve overseas carriers in future. “China is an important market for Rolls-Royce,......

DeepSeek has slashed prices on its artificial intelligence models, including its latest V4 which now costs 97 per cent less than OpenAI products, potentially triggering a price war in the highly competitive AI market. DeepSeek said on Sunday that it would reduce prices for “input cache hits” – where previously processed context was reused – for application programming interface (API) users to one-tenth of the original level, bringing the minimum input cost down to about US$0.14 per million......

Alibaba Group Holding gained approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange to proceed with a proposed spin-off of a warehouse park in mainland China, two years after the tech giant withdrew the listing plan of its logistics arm Cainiao. The e-commerce giant said it could separate an infrastructure real estate investment trust (Reit) and list it on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with the underlying asset being the Jiaxing Park, a logistics and warehousing infrastructure hub in eastern China's Zhejiang......

Chinese optical chipmaker Yuanjie Semiconductor Technology reported an elevenfold surge in first-quarter profits as domestic firms capitalise on soaring demand for computing power amid the artificial intelligence boom and the country's tech self-sufficiency drive. Net profit in the three months ended March 31 jumped 1,153 per cent year on year to 179 million yuan (US$26.2 million), while revenue grew 321 per cent to 355 million yuan, the Shanghai-listed company said in a stock-exchange filing on......

Chinese robotaxi firms from Pony AI to WeRide are accelerating global roll-outs of commercial fleets, leveraging cost competitiveness from the country's world-leading new energy vehicle (NEV) supply chain and improved operational efficiency, company executives have said. China's NEV supply chain had helped reduce the total cost of Pony AI's upgraded seventh-generation robotaxi – including the base vehicle, battery and autonomous driving kit – to below 230,000 yuan (US$33,700), making it cheaper......

Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) has taken a leap forward in commercialising sodium-ion batteries, signing a large supply contract with an energy-storage system (ESS) provider amid high demand for energy infrastructure after the global oil shock. The world's largest electric vehicle (EV) and ESS battery maker announced on Monday that it would deliver 60 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of sodium-ion batteries to Beijing HyperStrong Technology over three years in a landmark deal for the new battery......

China has vowed to better protect the country's vast gig-economy workforce, as an economic slowdown leads millions of people to sign up for delivery, ride-hailing and other informal jobs on online platforms. The 12-point plan – issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, and the Communist Party's powerful Central Committee – pledges stronger labour protections for “new employment groups”, or gig workers, across a number of areas. The document calls for timely and fair wage payments, a stronger......

China's drug maker WuXi AppTec reported record first-quarter revenue, as a robust order backlog and sustained demand from global pharmaceutical companies supported growth. For the three months ended March 31, the Shanghai- and Hong Kong-listed company posted revenue of 12.44 billion yuan (US$1.72 billion), up 28.81 per cent year on year, according to a filing released on Monday. Net profit climbed nearly 27 per cent to 4.65 billion yuan in the quarter. Both revenue and net profit exceeded market......

Chinese toymaker Pop Mart continues to leverage the popularity of its collectibles as it launches two limited-edition Labubu-themed mini-refrigerators on Thursday. Capped at 999 units for each design, the appliances are in high demand, with second-hand resale prices on online platforms up to 80 per cent higher than the original retail price. The two designs, both from The Monsters series, were priced at 5,999 yuan (US$878) each, and they would be available for sale at 10pm on April 30 on......

The long-anticipated state visit by US President Donald Trump to China next month could lift sentiment in mainland and Hong Kong equities, as investors bet that easing tensions between Beijing and Washington will support export-driven sectors and companies pursuing overseas expansion. Trump is scheduled to meet President Xi Jinping on May 14-15, with discussions expected to cover tariffs, purchases of US goods and restrictions on rare earths. Any progress could clear a path for Chinese firms to......

DeepSeek is touting its ultra-low charges for models unveiled last week, stoking price competition as China challenges the United States in artificial intelligence (AI). Developers are being offered 75 per cent discounts on the newly released DeepSeek V4 Pro. Fees for input cache hits across the Hangzhou-based company's AI platforms have also been slashed to 10 per cent of the original price. That provides a cost saving for users who frequently make similar or repeat requests. The V4 Pro and the......

China has officially blocked the proposed purchase of domestic artificial intelligence firm Manus by Meta Platforms. The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, announced the ruling in a statement on Monday. More to follow......

Physical artificial intelligence (AI) – the marriage of advanced machines with “brains” that allow them to interact with their environment – is expanding rapidly in China. It's fuelling the development of smarter robots, drones and driverless cars that are appearing on roads and factory floors, in the skies and even on stage. Delivery drones have taken flight over cities like southern China's Shenzhen, while delivery bots are riding city subways. The first autonomous vehicles are plying public......

China's solar giant Sungrow Power Supply has filed a fresh application to list in Hong Kong, reviving plans initiated last year, as a wave of mainland companies seeks offshore funding to support overseas expansion. The Shenzhen-listed solar inverter and energy storage system maker submitted its latest application proof to the Hong Kong stock exchange after an earlier filing in October lapsed, according to exchange disclosures late on Friday. Sungrow, one of the world's largest suppliers of......

In the third of a three-part series on Anthropic's powerful Mythos AI model, we look at how China is responding to the growing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks and what it means for the country's cybersecurity. China is not immune to any fallout that might result from AI-powered cyberattacks, according to experts, although a sense of panic may not be as high due to the country's strict scrutiny of its artificial intelligence industry. In the weeks since US start-up Anthropic announced its new......

China's recycling platform Zhuanzhuan is preparing to expand into Europe and the US by the end of the year, betting that demand for second-hand goods will continue to rise amid economic uncertainty despite geopolitical tensions. Backed by tech giants Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi, the Beijing-based company plans to export its model – which combines advanced quality inspection technology with door-to-door services – to get a slice of overseas markets. A dedicated international website was expected......

Moore Threads Technology, one of China's challengers to Nvidia, swung to a profit in the first quarter of 2026, as domestic graphics processing unit (GPU) champions capitalised on surging computing demand amid Beijing's push for chip self-sufficiency. The Beijing-based firm reported a net profit of 29.4 million yuan (US$4.3 million) for the January to March period, compared with a net loss of 112.5 million yuan a year earlier, according to a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on......