Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 433
China’s Economic Powerhouses Lower 2026 Growth Targets, Pointing to a Softer National Aim
Major Chinese provinces have trimmed their 2026 GDP growth targets, with six of the top ten lowering their goals and Guangdong setting its target below 5% for the first time since 2000. Analysts see the moves as a realistic response to structural limits, debt adjustment and a policy tilt toward quality over quantity, raising the likelihood of a national target in the 4.5–5% range.
Off-Season Rebound: China’s Big-City Second‑Hand Housing Market Warms Ahead of Spring
Second‑hand home sales in China’s four first‑tier cities have warmed in January despite the traditional off‑season, led by Beijing and Shanghai where transactions rose while listings fell. The rebound is concentrated in core districts and school‑district properties and reflects a mix of policy support, reduced asking inventories and recovering buyer confidence, though price recovery remains uneven and fragile.
After a Whiplash Week for Precious Metals, Is the Gold Rally Still Intact?
A dramatic January swing saw gold spike to near $5,600 then fall almost 9% in a single day before rebounding, exposing the fragility of a momentum‑driven rally. Analysts say the sell‑off was driven by profit‑taking, margin hikes and a reaction to a hawkish Fed nominee, but many argue the underlying structural case for metals — central‑bank buying and questions about the dollar — remains intact.
China’s “Gilded” Snacks: Why Mall‑Boutique Nuts Have Triggered a Consumer Backlash
High‑end Chinese snack brands have moved traditional roasted seeds and nuts from street stalls into glossy mall stores, prompting sticker‑shock and online backlash as prices climb into the hundreds of yuan per jin. The premium push is driven by mall costs, higher‑grade raw materials and craft processes, but it collides with entrenched consumer expectations and a category that lacks coffee‑style habitual demand.
China Pushes EVs and Rural Consumption While Tightening Auto Data Controls — What It Means for Global Auto Markets
China’s central government has made rural consumption and NEV adoption a policy priority while issuing stricter rules on automotive data leaving the country. Complementary municipal support in Shanghai and robust private financing in autonomy and supply-chain contracts signal expanding demand and deepening domestic capabilities, even as data governance raises compliance costs for foreign firms.
Insiders Cash Out as Pickled‑Cabbage Champion Sees Profits Slide by About 70%
Zhu Laoliu’s controlling family and two executives sold about RMB 47.41 million of shares after the company reported multi‑year revenue and profit declines. Net profit fell from RMB 64.04m in 2022 to RMB 18.40m in 2024 and margins have eroded sharply, prompting investor concern and signalling challenges for the pickled‑vegetable maker on the Beijing Stock Exchange.
China’s Mulinsen Posts First Annual Loss Since Listing as It Buys Upstream LED Chipmaker
Mulinsen (木林森) warned of its first annual loss since going public in 2015, forecasting a 2025 net loss of 11–15 billion yuan. The company is simultaneously buying a controlling stake in Purui Optoelectronics to secure LED chip and packaging capabilities, a long-term strategic bet that won’t offset near-term financial pain.
China’s Xintianxia Seeks Hong Kong IPO Despite Weak Margins and Questionable Market Claims
Xintianxia, a Chinese fabless designer of NOR and SLC NAND Flash, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO despite falling revenues, low gross margins relative to peers and past regulatory warnings over disclosure. The company’s profitability lags larger rivals largely because of a product mix tilted to lower-capacity, lower-margin parts and a decision to report market share only among Fabless peers, which may give a distorted view of its competitive position.
China’s New ‘No.1’ Policy Pushes EVs, Smart Appliances and Green Materials into the Countryside to Drive Rural Consumption
China’s central No.1 document for the new Five‑Year period targets a boost to rural consumption by promoting NEVs, smart appliances and green building materials in the countryside and by improving recycling systems. Recent data show rural retail growth already outpaced urban areas in 2025, and policymakers hope to translate rising rural incomes into sustained demand, while facing infrastructure and implementation challenges.
Hang Seng Edges Higher as Tech Stocks Slip and AI Plays Rally
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed marginally higher while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell, as AI-related ‘large-model’ stocks and gold miners rallied and major internet platforms like Tencent slid. The session illustrated a market split: speculative AI plays attracted flows even as policy-sensitive mega-cap tech names remained susceptible to rumor-driven volatility.
China’s Defence Stocks Spike as ‘Space Compute’ Dream and Homegrown Wide‑body Jet Gain Momentum
A surge in Chinese defence and aerospace stocks reflects investor excitement about SpaceX’s merger with xAI and a renewed push on China’s large civilian aircraft programmes. The merger reframes commercial space as a potential trillion‑dollar market for space‑grade power, laser communications and thermal systems, while COMAC’s accelerated C929 testing signals upward movement in China’s civil aerospace supply chain.
China’s New-For-Old Subsidies Spark Surge in Appliance and Smart-Device Sales, Selling Over 15 Million Units in January
China’s subsidy programme for appliance trade‑ins and purchases of digital and smart products produced more than 15 million unit sales in January, generating nearly 590 billion yuan in turnover. The rapid local rollout — with all 32 regions activating subsidies — signals an early policy success in boosting consumption and encouraging greener, higher‑tech upgrades, though risks remain around front‑loading, fiscal cost and recycling capacity.