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China’s telecom sector reported only 0.7% revenue growth in 2025 to ¥1.75 trillion, but underlying activity rose sharply: real telecom output grew 9.1% and investment in 5G, gigabit fibre, data centres and cloud services accelerated. The industry is shifting from legacy voice and SMS to cloud, IoT and industrial connectivity, with heavy capacity build‑out and rising R&D and standards influence.

An open‑source AI agent formerly known as Clawdbot — now Moltbot — surged in popularity before a forced renaming and a brief username vacancy allowed scammers to hijack its identity and pump a fraudulent Solana token, briefly reaching a market value of about $16m. Security researchers have since warned that many instances were exposed to the public internet with plaintext credentials and no authentication, turning the agent into a high‑value target for credential theft.

Tether has been buying physical gold at a rate reportedly exceeding one tonne per week, positioning itself as one of the largest private holders of bullion and signaling an ambition to operate like a central bank in the gold market. CEO Paolo Ardoino says the company will keep reinvesting profits into gold and compete with banks on bullion trading, while warning that geopolitical rivals may pursue gold‑backed currency alternatives.

A decade‑old turnkey highway link in Ziyang has produced a cascade of unpaid bills, about 52 lawsuits and an at‑risk private contractor after competing geotechnical reports, subsequent criminal convictions, and a controversial re‑survey that was later rebranded as a "consultation". The dispute highlights systemic risks in how local platform companies manage legacy debts and could set a dangerous precedent for overturning long‑standing technical findings.

Taiwan’s digital authority published an advisory list of “high‑risk” apps — including Douyin, Weibo, WeChat, Xiaohongshu and Baidu Cloud — aimed at protecting minors and flagging cybersecurity concerns. Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office condemned the move as politically motivated, underscoring how digital‑safety measures are being interpreted through fraught cross‑strait politics and raising questions about business, youth behaviour and influence.

China’s tax authority has announced a 2026 push to deepen tax reform, expand legally authorised local taxes and strengthen social insurance through national pension pooling, provincial medical insurance coordination and accelerated long‑term care pilots. The package aims to stabilise local finances and broaden welfare coverage, but implementation choices will determine the economic and political trade‑offs.

Indonesia’s stock benchmark fell 8% to 8,261.79 on January 28, triggering a 30‑minute trading halt after MSCI paused index adjustments over concerns about concentrated shareholdings. The local index provider froze new constituents and actions that would increase tradable shares, heightening concerns about governance, liquidity and foreign capital flows.

Foshan invested heavily in hydrogen fuel‑cell buses to foster a local hydrogen industry, buying roughly 1,000 vehicles and supporting refuelling infrastructure. High fuel costs, falling ridership and limited fiscal space have left many buses parked after they reach subsidy thresholds, exposing the gap between industrial demonstration and operating economics.

Gaotu reported narrower losses in 2025 despite strong revenue growth, but repeated regulatory penalties, poor after-sales service, employee welfare controversies and underperforming new ventures have left the company’s turnaround fragile. Its diversification into livestreaming, sports, esports and AI has yet to generate sustainable profits, while weak ESG disclosure and compliance lapses heighten execution risk.

Mingming Hen Mang, a China food‑and‑beverage retailer with nearly 20,000 stores, saw its Hong Kong shares jump about 88% on debut after retail investors oversubscribed the public offering 1,899.49 times and institutions bid 44.44 times in the placing. The listing highlights strong investor appetite for large domestic retail chains but raises questions about valuation sustainability and the economics of a rural‑heavy store footprint.

Two high-profile, abrupt departures of senior equity managers at HuaAn Fund have exposed weaknesses in the firm’s talent retention, product strategy and risk governance. The exits, characterised by one-time clearance of all managed funds, come as HuaAn’s active-equity assets have materially contracted despite overall AUM growth.

SK keyfoundry has launched a 200V, 0.18µm BCD process on 8‑inch wafers and plans to begin customer product development with an aim of mass production within the year. The capability targets demand for mature high‑voltage power ICs across EV subsystems, chargers and industrial power electronics and signals intensified competition in the specialty foundry market.

OpenAI has launched Prism, a free GPT‑5.2‑driven workspace aimed at scientists that supports unlimited projects and collaborators and is available now to ChatGPT personal users. The platform promises to streamline research writing and collaboration but raises practical concerns around hallucinations, data governance and institutional lock‑in as OpenAI prepares paid organisational offerings.

A sharp dollar decline, amplified by comments from a US political figure, propelled gold and silver to record levels even as the S&P 500 closed at a new high. Simultaneously Beijing prepares for a high-profile UK prime ministerial visit, rolls out drug-regulatory reform and contends with mixed domestic signals—falling real-estate lending, rising semiconductor prices and tighter futures oversight—that together shape China’s near-term economic trajectory.

OpenAI is expanding into advertising and consumer hardware as it confronts surging compute costs and intensifying competition from Google and others. Strong 2025 revenue growth masks large cash burn and funding needs that could force aggressive monetization or deep capital raises over the next 18 months.

BYD is stepping up its overseas offensive with plans to launch at least three models in South Korea and a target of over 10,000 sales, reflecting a broader trend of Chinese automakers expanding globally. Despite rising volumes and strong EV adoption, China’s auto industry faces thin profit margins and intensifying competition from established international groups such as Stellantis.

SoftBank is reportedly negotiating to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, a potential marquee financing that would deepen the capital race among AI developers. The move would expand OpenAI's resources for compute, talent and product rollout while raising governance and regulatory questions for both companies.

SoftBank is negotiating a potential investment of up to $30 billion in OpenAI that could value the company at about $830 billion. The move would mark one of the largest private bets on an AI firm, accelerating compute and product expansion but raising questions about valuation sustainability, market concentration and regulatory scrutiny.

Anthropic is lining up about $20 billion in investor commitments at a roughly $350 billion valuation, twice its initial fundraising target and driven by strong demand from institutional investors. The round, led by GIC and Coatue with large commitments from Microsoft and Nvidia, highlights investor confidence in Anthropic's enterprise focus even as the company readies an IPO and publicly emphasises AI safety.

A surprise visit by a U.S. congressional delegation to Ushuaia has provoked Argentine opposition and provincial officials to demand explanations, amid speculation about U.S. involvement in a planned naval base project. The episode underscores tensions between Buenos Aires’ new pro-U.S. tilt and domestic sensitivities over sovereignty and Antarctic strategy.