Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 3074
China’s Small‑Cap Growth Board Rallies on a Wave of AI Compute Stocks as Consumption Lags
China’s ChiNext and tech‑heavy STAR board outperformed as investors poured money into stocks tied to AI computing power and data‑centre infrastructure, lifting several mid‑caps to multi‑day gains. The rally was narrow: overall market breadth was weak with more than 3,200 decliners, and consumer sectors registered significant losses.
China Imposes Five-Year Countervailing Duties on EU Dairy, Escalating Trade Pressure on European Exporters
China will levy countervailing duties on certain dairy imports from the EU for five years starting 13 February 2026, following an investigation that found EU subsidies harmed China’s dairy industry. The decision imposes company-specific duties, includes limited retroactivity for provisional bonds, and opens administrative and judicial review pathways.
Hang Seng Falters as Big Internet Names Slip, While Chips and AI Model Stocks Rally
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.86% with major internet platforms declining as investors grew cautious on consumer‑facing tech. At the same time, semiconductor suppliers and AI model companies jumped sharply, reflecting a thematic shift toward hardware and generative‑AI plays.
Vanke’s Shadow Network: Middlemen, Billions of Receivables and a Corporate‑Governance Crisis
An investigative report links a network of ‘shadow’ firms tied to Vanke insiders with a string of quick‑turn land and project transfers into the listed group. These arrangements coincide with hundreds of billions of yuan in intercompany receivables and large impairment charges that have substantially worsened Vanke’s financial losses and raised fresh governance questions.
Xiaomi Auto Backs Beijing’s Pricing Code — A Signal that China’s EV Market Must Compete on Quality, Not Discounts
Xiaomi Auto has publicly endorsed China’s new automotive pricing compliance guidelines, committing to transparent pricing, an end to price fraud and coordination with partners to enforce the rules. The move aligns Xiaomi with Beijing’s push to shift the auto industry away from discount‑led competition toward quality and technology‑driven value creation.
Xiaomi’s YU7 Tops China Retail Rankings in January — A New Challenger to Tesla and Incumbent SUVs
Xiaomi’s YU7 SUV sold 37,869 units in January, claiming the top spot on China’s passenger‑car retail chart and signaling the brand’s growing strength in the EV market. The result reflects Xiaomi’s retail channels and brand pull amid a soft season for car sales and comes as the company prepares for further model updates and possible overseas attention.
From Expo King to Tax Debtor: How Deng Hong’s Sauce‑Aroma Baijiu Empire Unravelled
Deng Hong’s Hengchang distillery has been hit with RMB 132 million in tax arrears, exposing the failure of an aggressive, real‑estate style expansion into premium sauce‑aroma baijiu. Flooded by “debt wine,” collapsing retail prices and heavy fixed investments, Hengchang’s plight exemplifies a wider sector correction that is forcing mid‑tier brands to confront inventory, leverage and channel risks.
Insta360 Hands Out Five Bay‑Area Apartments to Young Staff — A Bold Talent Play With Broader Signals
Insta360 awarded five Greater Bay Area apartments and six luxury cars at its 2026 annual gala, with all winners from the post‑90s generation and none senior executives. The move underscores intense competition for young talent in China’s tech sector and raises questions about corporate optics, tax implications, and long‑term effectiveness as a retention strategy.
Yuan Strengthens Past 6.90 Against the Dollar, Hitting Highest Level in 33 Months
The yuan climbed past 6.90 per dollar on February 12, reaching levels not seen since May 2023 as both onshore and offshore markets rallied. The move reflects softer dollar dynamics, renewed foreign inflows and cautious central-bank guidance via a conservative midpoint setting, but risks from U.S. policy shifts and domestic growth surprises remain.
Beijing Summons 12 Travel Platforms Over Misleading Train‑ticket Practices — A Test of China’s Tech Oversight
Beijing’s market regulator held administrative talks with 12 major platforms over misleading practices in online railway‑ticket sales, demanding clearer pricing, the end of implied paid priorities, and fixes to deceptive add‑on products. The move underscores broader Chinese efforts to rein in opaque platform monetization and signals that repeat offenders face stricter enforcement rather than further admonitions.
When an Egg Becomes Premium: How ‘Functional’ Labels Repriced China’s Staple
China’s egg market has fractured into multiple price tiers as producers and retailers attach nutrient and production‑process labels to ordinary eggs. The premium reflects real feed and logistics costs for some features and ambiguous, often unverifiable claims for others; regulatory tightening in 2025 is beginning to force a reckoning over which labels correspond to enduring supply‑chain investments.
The ‘Hermès of Nuts’: How Xueji’s Luxury Snack Play Exposes China’s Emotional Consumption and Its Limits
Xueji Chaohuo, a fast-growing Chinese chain that styles itself as the luxury choice for roasted nuts, has provoked both ridicule and long queues with high prices and glossy mall stores. Its premium rests on mall location, heavy investment in store design and a carefully cultivated emotional pitch to middle-class gift buyers, but supply stabilization, fierce peer competition and wavering freshness claims expose the model’s fragility.