Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 2060
When Selling Cars Stops Paying: Automakers Pivot to Power Sales
As EV sales slow and margins tighten, global automakers are redirecting battery capacity and engineering into energy storage and grid services. The pivot leverages shared manufacturing, high storage margins, and new market opportunities in grid balancing and AI-driven demand, but success depends on policy, market design and managing battery-life economics for owners.
China’s ChiNext Rally Driven by Green Power and Energy‑Storage Frenzy, but Breadth Remains Weak
China’s ChiNext led mid‑day gains as green power and energy‑storage stocks surged, driving a pickup in trading volume to RMB 1.67 trillion. The advance was narrow, however, with more than 3,200 stocks falling — a sign that investor flows remain concentrated and the rally may be fragile.
NIO Posts First Quarterly Profit, Touts New 5nm Chip and Battery‑Swap Bet as It Hunts Annual Profitability
NIO reported its first profitable quarter in Q4 2025 and narrowed its full‑year loss, while announcing the successful tape‑out of a second 5nm automotive chip and reiterating a strategic focus on battery swapping. Management set ambitious 2026 volume and revenue targets but warned of supply‑side cost pressures and acknowledged liquidity and margin risks that make annual profitability contingent on execution.
Foxconn Industrial Internet Rides AI Server Boom — But Cash, Margins and Concentration Leave Questions
Foxconn Industrial Internet posted sharply higher 2025 revenue and profits driven by explosive AI server demand, with cloud computing accounting for over 60% of sales. The boom has produced record sales but thin gross margins, a steep drop in operating cash flow, rising material costs and high customer concentration, leaving questions about cash conversion and sustainability.
China Trials Mortgage-Interest Subsidies to Rekindle Homebuying — Pilots, Not a Nationwide Bailout
Mortgage-interest subsidies have re-emerged as a policy option during China’s national legislative meetings, with delegates proposing targeted fiscal support and tax deductions to revive homebuying. Several cities are already piloting such schemes, but analysts warn that subsidies alone cannot fix deeper structural problems and that nationwide roll-out would be fiscally challenging.
Chinese Households Queue for Savings Bonds as 5-Year Paper Yields Top Bank Deposits by ~40bp
China's first 2026 savings treasury bond issuance—300 billion yuan split between three- and five-year tranches—sold out quickly at many bank branches as yields sat about 40 basis points above comparable bank deposit rates. Retail demand concentrated on the five-year paper, reflecting households' continued preference for safe, higher-yield assets and creating potential headwinds for banks' funding costs and margins.
China’s Robot Vacuum Wars Go Public: Ecovacs and Dreame Escalate from Patents to Paid-attack Allegations
Dreame has publicly accused Ecovacs of hiring paid online attackers to denigrate Dreame products, escalating a feud that began with Dreame’s 2025 patent victory. The confrontation highlights competing strategies—Ecovacs’ domestic dominance versus Dreame’s overseas-first growth—and signals a more combative phase for the global robot‑vacuum market.
China’s Consumer-Lending Shakeout: Regulation No.9 Ends the Easy Money Era for Fintechs
China’s Regulation No.9 has triggered rapid restructuring across its consumer-finance and online lending sectors, forcing layoffs, shrinking loan volumes and wiping out valuations of previously high-flying fintechs. By tightening bank oversight, banning disguised borrower fees and demanding in-house risk controls, the rule ends a long era of regulatory arbitrage and favours well-capitalised players and firms with demonstrable, end-to-end risk technology.
Capcom Scores with Monster Hunter Spin‑Off as Tencent’s Mobile Hits Keep Monetisation Crown — February Gaming Revenues Dip but Headliners Hold Strong
Capcom’s Monster Hunter Stories 3 has earned strong critical scores ahead of its March 13 release, reinforcing the commercial value of high‑quality franchise spin‑offs. Sensor Tower’s February data show global mobile game revenue fell 8% month‑on‑month to about $6.55 billion, but Tencent titles Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite remain top performers thanks to seasonal updates and brand tie‑ins. Tencent is also testing a paid, wipe beta for an Honor of Kings auto‑chess spin‑off, signalling continued IP monetisation strategies.
Amazon Lines Up as Much as $42bn in Bonds to Fund an AI Infrastructure Arms Race
Amazon is seeking $37bn–$42bn via simultaneous dollar and euro bond issuances across a wide range of maturities to finance a major build‑out of AI infrastructure. The move reflects a broader industry rush to fund data centres and chips, and it will test investor appetite for very large, long‑dated technology debt amid geopolitical and market volatility.
Chinese Platforms Reckon with AI, Consolidation and Service Monetisation — From Xiaohongshu’s Authenticity Drive to Dingdong’s Leadership Shift and JD’s ‘OpenClaw’ Push
Xiaohongshu has vowed to crack down on accounts run through AI-managed workflows to protect the platform’s user-generated authenticity. Dingdong Maicai’s founder has stepped down as CEO but will remain chairman as the company integrates under a new parent, while JD.com launched an ‘OpenClaw’ remote deployment service that monetises AI through paid on-site and remote installation.
A‑Share Drama: Outdoor Retailer Sanfu Sues Over Rmb121m Shortfall as Family‑park Flops Force Strategic Pivot
Sanfu Outdoor has sued parties linked to its former subsidiary Shanghai Xile for about Rmb121 million after the family‑park operator missed performance targets and posted deep losses. The dispute underscores risks in earn‑out deals, the fragility of experiential consumer businesses amid demographic decline, and Sanfu’s strategic shift toward high‑end performance apparel to restore profitability.