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Geely Auto's Galaxy brand launched the Galaxy TT electric sedan in China on Sept. 10 at a limited-time starting price of 129,900 yuan, or roughly $19,170, according to CnEVPost. The entry version carries a 63.8-kWh lithium iron phosphate pack from CATL and delivers 640 km of range on the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle, with every trim in the lineup shipping an 800-volt architecture and 6C fast charging that moves the battery from 10% to 80% in about 11.8 minutes. The launch price landed 16,000 yuan below the August pre-sale figure, and the entry trim gained 100 km of range, while rear-drive models produce 245 kW, or 329 horsepower, and reach 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. The sedan will not reach U.S. buyers: a China-built car faces a 2.5% base duty, the 100% Section 301 tariff imposed in 2024 and the 25% Section 232 tariff applied in 2025, landing a $19,170 sedan closer to $43,600 at the port, and the Commerce Department's Connected Vehicle Rule blocks cars with meaningful Chinese ownership or software ties starting with the 2027 model year. Geely-controlled Polestar said the Commerce Department declined its authorization covering new model variants from the 2027 model year onwards, while Volvo Cars, also controlled by Geely, was cleared in May after reworking how its vehicle data is governed and routed. Geely's exports rose 205% year over year in August to 110,094 vehicles, roughly 41% of total sales, while domestic volume fell about 25%, according to CnEVPost.

Geely Auto Group announced the launch of the Geely TT under the Geely Auto brand in China, expanding its lineup with an electric sports sedan featuring 800V fast charging, standard LiDAR and an AI-powered cockpit. Alongside the standard trim, Geely launched the limited-edition TT Ultra, which delivers a combined maximum power of 425 kW and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, with a chassis tuned by Lotus and a Handling by Lotus badge on each vehicle. Across the range, an 800V electrical architecture is paired with a CATL Shenxing TT battery supporting up to 6C fast charging, adding nearly 500 kilometers of driving range in 11 minutes. Built on Geely's GEA EVO electric architecture, the standard TT features rear-wheel drive, double-wishbone front suspension and five-link rear suspension, and it set a Guinness World Record with a continuous wet-road drift of more than 46 kilometers. All models come with LiDAR and the G-ASD advanced driver assistance system, while the Super Eva AI cockpit assistant supports multilingual interaction; at nearly five meters long with a 2,920 mm wheelbase, the TT offers a flat rear floor and a 23-speaker Flyme Sound system.

Yuanyuan Landscape, stock code 605303, is planning to acquire a controlling stake in Hangzhou Hualan Microelectronics by issuing shares and paying cash, which is expected to constitute a major asset restructuring, and trading in the company's shares has been halted. CATL repurchased 604,300 A-shares of the company for the first time, with a transaction value of about 200 million yuan. Inspur Information plans to raise no more than 9 billion yuan through a private placement to invest in AI infrastructure and other projects. Sungrow Power Supply has raised prices of photovoltaic inverters, energy storage converters, and energy storage systems by 5 to 15 percent, while Sanan Optoelectronics has raised prices for some LED chips, RF chips, power electronics chips, and optical technology chips. Zhongjuxin's investee company plans to invest 1.1 billion yuan to build a high-purity quartz materials project. Longban Media has completed its trading halt review and will resume trading on September 14.

DeepSeek's implied valuation on the secondary market has climbed to approximately $71 billion even after its formal fundraising process stalled, according to reports cited by the Financial Times. The company closed its first major external round in June 2026 at a $52 billion post-money valuation, raising $7.4 billion from investors including Tencent, CATL, and NetEase, with founder Liang Wenfeng personally committing $3 billion. A follow-on attempt to raise a second round at a $71 billion pre-money target was suspended on July 25, 2026, after leaked comments from the founder about China's AI lag and dependence on Nvidia chips went viral. With the primary market closed, Special Purpose Vehicles offering DeepSeek equity with escalating fees and five-year lock-ups have proliferated, as investors weigh the liquidity risk against a potential Q2 2027 debut on the Shanghai STAR Market. The company, which generates $500 million in annualized revenue and posts 70-80% gross margins on cloud access, is being valued as national infrastructure rather than on standard revenue multiples, with a STAR Market filing targeted for the end of 2026.

DeepCtrls recently completed a new Series B+ financing round led by CATL, with strategic investment from Aramco Ventures and participation from Taiping Innovation Investment, GF Xinde Investment Management and Fosun Capital, while existing investors Source Code Capital and Forebright Capital increased their investments. The round is the third consecutive financing for the Physical AI company in the past two months. DeepCtrls, which has been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program, serves more than 390 leading enterprise customers worldwide and says it is one of the earliest companies globally to achieve industrial closed-loop control powered by Physical AI. CATL, a long-standing strategic customer of DeepCtrls, said the investment will deepen exploration across AI and new-energy applications, while Aramco Ventures said the investment reflects its conviction in the company's Physical AI technology and supports its international growth. Founder and CEO Li Hui said the next phase of AI will be defined by the ability to control complex systems in the real world, and that connecting computing and energy through Physical AI transforms energy systems from a constraint on AI growth into intelligent infrastructure.

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, is moving forward with plans for an initial public offering in the country, selecting CITIC Securities as its financial advisor for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, according to two sources. The company aims to begin the IPO process by 2026, but has not yet set an official timeline, amount, or target valuation. This move comes amid a new funding round that could value the company at up to 500 billion yuan, or approximately $75 billion. Previously, the company raised $7.4 billion in June, with a post-money valuation of over $50 billion. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested 20 billion yuan, while Tencent Holdings invested 10 billion yuan and CATL invested 5 billion yuan. The new funds will be used to support computing infrastructure, AI model development, and talent retention, amid intense competition with leading AI companies in China and the United States.

Albemarle Corp. has named BHP Group Limited's Chief Commercial Officer Ragnar "Rag" Udd as its next CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2027, succeeding Kent Masters, who will become executive chairman at the 2027 annual meeting. The transition comes as the lithium producer faces a market shaped by Chinese oversupply and shifting demand toward grid-scale storage. JPMorgan analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas cut Albemarle's 2026 adjusted EBITDA estimate by 14.4% to $2.88 billion, noting that each $1-per-kilogram move in lithium prices shifts annual EBITDA by roughly $250 million. Meanwhile, China's revocation of environmental approval for CATL's Jianxiawo mine has led Benchmark Mineral Intelligence to halve its 2026 output forecast for that site to 32,000 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. Udd brings over 25 years of experience in resource businesses across Australia, Asia, and the Americas, and will oversee Albemarle's Energy Storage and Specialties businesses as the company positions for a market recovery.

Range Technology plans to contribute 1 billion yuan of its own funds to invest in Xiamen Shidai Shenyuan Venture Capital Fund Partnership, a limited partnership. The fund has a total committed size of 4.90001 billion yuan, with Range Technology holding a 20.4081 percent stake. The fund will focus on frontier technology areas such as artificial intelligence and embodied intelligence. Bestechnic plans to repurchase shares worth 50 million to 100 million yuan, at a price not exceeding 150 yuan per share, for employee stock ownership plans or equity incentives. CATL's wholly owned subsidiary Ningbo Wending plans to participate as a limited partner in Xiamen Shidai Yiyuan Venture Capital Fund Partnership, with a committed contribution of 1.12 billion yuan and a 19.4175 percent stake in the fund. The company's controlling shareholder Xiamen Ruiting will also participate in the fund as a limited partner, making this investment a related-party co-investment. Hangcha Group plans to issue convertible bonds to raise no more than 2.259 billion yuan, with a term of six years, for a forklift robot smart factory project, a new energy forklift expansion project, a forklift robot and logistics robot research and development project, and to supplement working capital. Weikang Pharmaceutical has received an approval notice from the National Medical Products Administration for a supplementary application for clinical trials of its Huangjia Ruangan Granules, agreeing to conduct a Phase III clinical trial for liver fibrosis caused by chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Lithium miners are reporting strong first-half profits driven by surging battery storage demand, with major producers planning output increases. Tianqi Lithium and Ganfeng Lithium posted their biggest profits in three years, while Albemarle noted global lithium demand rose 45% year-over-year through May. Supply growth has lagged, creating a gap that benefits miners, and Tianqi warned that overseas supply may face policy and logistics hurdles, suggesting further price upside. CATL expects energy storage to account for half of its sales by 2030, and Middle East tensions are boosting demand as countries seek energy independence.

GAC Group released its 2026 half-year report on the evening of August 28. Consolidated operating revenue for the first half was 46.5 billion yuan, up 9.13 percent year on year, of which overseas market revenue was 14.013 billion yuan, up 109.27 percent. Vehicle sales in the first half were 773,100 units, up 2.35 percent year on year, and new energy vehicle sales were 260,200 units, up 68.80 percent, accounting for 33.65 percent of total sales. Among its own brands, GAC Aion sales rose 67.08 percent year on year, and GAC Trumpchi rose 12.36 percent. The first model of Qijing Auto, jointly developed with Huawei Qiankun, began mass production and went on sale at the end of June, and completed a capital increase of about 1.1 billion yuan in May, bringing in strategic investors including CATL and Bosch. In overseas business, own-brand exports reached 121,500 units, up 132 percent year on year, with 32 new overseas markets added, covering 110 countries and regions worldwide. Two new KD plants were added in Cambodia and Kazakhstan, bringing the global total to seven, and Inpai Battery began construction of its first overseas battery pack plant in Thailand. R&D investment was 4.834 billion yuan, up 27.58 percent year on year, accounting for 10.4 percent. In addition, humanoid robot company Huilun Technology completed financing of 100 million yuan, the flying car GOVY AirCab received nearly 2,000 intended orders, and OnTime operated more than 550 robotaxis.

Vnet Group reported second quarter 2026 results with total net revenues up 14.2% year-over-year to RMB 2.78 billion, driven by a 29.3% increase in wholesale revenues to RMB 1.10 billion. The company secured 347 megawatts of new orders in the quarter, bringing year-to-date wholesale orders to 862 megawatts, and its wholesale capacity in service surpassed 1 gigawatt for the first time, reaching 1,007 megawatts. Adjusted EBITDA rose 25.4% to RMB 918.3 million, and adjusted net income turned positive at RMB 7.4 million. Vnet also announced a strategic cooperation agreement with CATL to jointly develop a three-layer integrated compute energy ecosystem, and reiterated its full-year 2026 guidance for total net revenues of RMB 11.5 billion to RMB 11.8 billion and adjusted EBITDA of RMB 3.55 billion to RMB 3.75 billion.

Jiayuan Technology released its 2026 semi-annual report. In the first half of the year, it achieved operating revenue of 7.513 billion yuan, up 89.57% year on year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 382 million yuan, an increase of 940% compared with the same period last year. The company said the sharp rise in performance was mainly due to the continued improvement in downstream new energy industry sentiment, which drove steady growth in copper foil market demand. Copper foil product production and sales rose significantly, capacity utilization improved markedly, the proportion of high value-added products increased, and product gross margin rose from the same period last year. In addition, the company benefited from increased fair value changes and investment income from companies it invested in, which also had a relatively large positive impact on profit levels. During the reporting period, the company's total research and development investment was 308 million yuan, up 61.95% year on year, and it achieved technological breakthroughs in high-performance products such as RTF copper foil, HVLP copper foil, and carrier copper foil in the electronic circuit copper foil field. As of the end of the reporting period, the company's production capacity had reached more than 155,000 tonnes, and it signed a cooperation framework agreement with CATL, planning to give priority to guaranteeing copper foil product demand of no less than 626,000 tonnes of capacity from 2026 to 2028.

InnovestX Securities views AI as still a key driver for Chinese tech, as hyperscalers accelerate capital spending to support data centers and AI computing, while foreign chip technology restrictions push China to build a domestic supply chain. The firm expects the share of AI server system production in China to reach more than 90% by 2030, up from about 70% in 2025, and the share of chip production for AI inference to rise to more than 50% from below 10% over the same period. Capital expenditure estimates for Chinese hyperscalers Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and Baidu have been revised up by 28%, 74%, 67% and 82% respectively, reflecting an acceleration in expanding AI and data processing capabilities. Mr. Sittichai Duangrattanachaya, Head of Investment Strategy at InnovestX Securities, said at the economic and investment seminar "Final Call 2026" that the next phase of the AI game is not about investing in the trend, but about finding winners in each layer of the ecosystem, from chips to data centers and energy. Investors should shift from buying the AI theme to selecting companies that genuinely benefit from AI. He recommended three groups of Chinese stocks: China Internet and Tech such as Tencent, Alibaba and GDS; China Semiconductor such as SMIC, Hua Hong and NAURA; and China Non-Tech such as CATL, HKEX and AIA.

As of 5 p.m. on August 20, 498 companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange had released their 2026 half-year reports. Among them, 313 companies posted year-on-year profit growth in the first half, accounting for more than 60 percent. A total of 157 companies saw growth of more than 50 percent, and 112 companies more than doubled their earnings. The sectors with high growth were mainly concentrated in five areas: basic chemicals, power equipment, electronics, machinery equipment, and nonferrous metals. In basic chemicals, Do-Fluoride New Materials reported net profit attributable to shareholders of 512 million yuan in the first half, up 897.19 percent year on year. Huachang Chemical posted net profit of 123 million yuan, up 1,026.90 percent. Hebang Biotechnology reported net profit of 380 million yuan, up 634.30 percent. In power equipment, CATL posted net profit attributable to shareholders of 43.28 billion yuan in the first half, up 42.0 percent year on year. In electronics, Yunhan Xin Cheng achieved operating revenue of 2.746 billion yuan, up 90.66 percent, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 166 million yuan. In nonferrous metals, Tin Industry Company achieved operating revenue of 31.573 billion yuan, up 49.68 percent, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.504 billion yuan, up 41.60 percent. In machinery equipment, Ding Tai High-Tech achieved operating revenue of 1.943 billion yuan, up 114.85 percent, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 679 million yuan, up 325.12 percent. Industry insiders noted that the overall performance of Shenzhen-listed companies that have disclosed half-year reports is improving, and the five major sectors have become concentrated areas of high profit growth, reflecting a positive trend of recovery in the real economy's industrial cycle and continuously strengthening momentum in emerging industries.

As of 5 p.m. on August 17, a total of 124 A-share listed companies had announced cash dividend plans for the first half of 2026, with combined proposed cash payouts of 101.885 billion yuan including tax. China Mobile led with a proposed payout of 54.426 billion yuan, while CATL and Hikvision each proposed more than 5 billion yuan. The chemicals sector was the most active in paying dividends, followed by machinery and equipment and electronics. Huatai Securities noted that A-share dividend patterns are shifting from single cash payouts to a two-way return of cash dividends plus share buybacks, and that dividend strategies offer both a margin of safety and income certainty, making them a core allocation theme over the medium to long term. At the midday close on August 18, the CSI Dividend Index rose 0.20 percent, and the Bosera Dividend ETF gained 0.34 percent to trade at 1.46 yuan.

Bernstein said global electric vehicle demand recovered in the second quarter, with the U.S. market showing signs of stabilization after a weak start to the year. Global passenger xEV sales, covering battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, reached 1.98 million units in June, up 9% year over year, with China accounting for 51% of the total, Europe 27%, the rest of the world 15%, and North America 7%. U.S. sales fell to 136,000 units in June, down 4% year over year, but have posted five consecutive months of growth from January lows. Chinese sales rose 6% month over month to 1.02 million units but declined 11% from a year earlier following subsidy reductions, while European volumes grew 34% to 539,000 units and rest-of-world sales doubled to 288,000. Pure battery electric sales rose 20% to 1.42 million units while plug-in hybrid sales fell 12%, and BYD led manufacturers with 283,000 units despite a 25% decline, followed by Tesla at 208,000 units, up 19%. Battery demand outpaced vehicle sales as automakers opt for larger packs, with lithium-ion demand rising 22% to 112 GWh and CATL's year-to-date market share climbing to 39% from 36% in 2025.

CICC said CATL and Techtronic Industries could be included in the index as part of the Hang Seng Tech Index reform. In a list of Hong Kong and China related articles distributed on the afternoon of the 17th, it was also reported that Power Assets Holdings and CK Infrastructure significantly increased interim net profit on gains from selling their UK businesses, that CATL will invest 4.1 billion yuan in the parent company of Hangzhou Zhongheng Electric, and that Alibaba Group will sell its gaming business brand Lingxi Games to Trustar Capital. In addition, China's industrial production rose 4.5 percent year on year in July, retail sales rose 0.6 percent, fixed asset investment fell 6.7 percent in the January to July period, property sales fell 13 percent, and investment fell 19 percent. A Reuters report that the United States is asking countries to choose sides in the AI development race with China was also introduced.

The trial production plan for the 6,666.6-tonne-per-year VC project of Inner Mongolia Yongtai Chemical, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yongtai Technology, has passed expert review and officially met the conditions for trial production, which will now commence. The project is part of the company's annual 25,000-tonne VC and 5,000-tonne FEC projects. After it comes on stream, the company's total VC capacity will increase from 10,000 tonnes per year to 16,700 tonnes per year, a rise of about two-thirds. The company previously started production at another 5,000-tonne-per-year VC line in November 2025 and signed a supply agreement with CATL for a total of 90,000 tonnes of VC from 2027 to 2029. The company expects net profit attributable to the parent of 265 million to 330 million yuan in the first half of the year, up 350.68% to 461.22% year on year.

Zhongheng Electric's controlling shareholder, Hangzhou Zhongheng Technology Investment Co., Ltd., has received a 4.1 billion yuan capital increase from CATL. CATL plans to subscribe to 14.41176471 million yuan of newly increased registered capital in Zhongheng Technology Investment for 4.09985882353 billion yuan, of which 3.51185882353 billion yuan will be paid in cash, and its 241.815 million yuan registered capital in Shidai Tianyuan will be valued at 588 million yuan as a capital contribution. After the transaction is completed, CATL will hold a 49% equity stake in Zhongheng Technology Investment, while Zhu Guoding and his concert party Bao Xiaoru will hold a combined 51% stake, with the controlling shareholder and actual controller remaining unchanged. The company stated that this capital increase is conducive to promoting business synergy and strategic cooperation between CATL and Zhongheng Electric.

CATL has secured another 3 GWh overseas energy storage order in Australia, while domestic brain-computer interface technology is being rapidly deployed in the medical field. On the evening of August 14, CATL's official WeChat account announced that the second phase of the Supernode energy storage project in Australia, developed by Quinbrook, has officially entered commercial operation. Financing of 469 million Australian dollars for the third phase was completed simultaneously. Once the third phase is built, total storage capacity will exceed 3 GWh, making it the largest operating battery energy storage project in Australia's National Electricity Market. CATL is the sole supplier for the project. In brain-computer interfaces, Tongji Hospital completed the country's first high-throughput single-neuron-level fully invasive brain-computer interface surgery. Hangzhou Nuochip Electronics achieved China's first high-resolution visual brain-computer GCP clinical trial. Weihai Municipal Hospital affiliated with Shandong University completed an implantable brain-computer interface surgery at a prefecture-level hospital. On the policy front, Zhejiang Province issued 18 measures to promote industry-academia-research collaboration in brain-computer interfaces. China Securities believes the global brain-computer interface industry is still in an early window period. Zheshang Securities expects the global market to grow from 2.41 billion US dollars in 2025 to 12.11 billion US dollars in 2035. More than 30 A-share brain-computer interface concept stocks exist, and 12 have a trailing price-to-earnings ratio below 40 times. Among them, 37 Interactive Entertainment ranks lowest at 13.58 times.

The Matthew effect in the power battery industry has become more pronounced. CATL posted attributable net profit of 43.284 billion yuan in the first half, up 41.98 percent year on year, averaging about 240 million yuan in net profit per day. According to SNE Research, CATL held a 40.2 percent global market share in power battery usage from January to May 2026, up 2.2 percentage points year on year, and ranked first globally in energy storage battery shipments. By contrast, second-tier manufacturers are seeing profit margins keep shrinking. Gotion High-tech expects first-half attributable net profit of 1.2 billion to 1.55 billion yuan, with non-recurring gains and losses contributing about 1.1 billion to 1.4 billion yuan. Zenergy New Energy launched A-share listing tutoring just 15 months after its Hong Kong listing, while SVOLT Energy Technology has raised a cumulative 23 billion yuan and is steadily advancing IPO filing preparations. Facing cost pressure, second-tier companies are seeking breakthroughs through energy storage and overseas markets. SVOLT has set a target for overseas shipments to account for 63 percent by 2028.

On the evening of August 14, multiple listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges issued announcements covering major matters, half-year results, shareholding changes, and large orders. Keda Manufacturing terminated its purchase of a 51.55 percent stake in Tefu International. Zhongheng Electric's controlling shareholder, Zhongheng Technology Investment, received a capital increase of 4.1 billion yuan from CATL, subscribing to 14.4118 million yuan of new registered capital, and the two sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement. Huashi Technology plans to buy a 30 percent stake in Aoxing Technology for 300 million yuan. Haitong Development's wholly owned subsidiary plans to invest no more than 600 million yuan to build two 62,000 deadweight ton multipurpose heavy-lift vessels. Zhiyang Innovation plans to raise no more than 904 million yuan through a private placement. Fuleide plans to raise no more than 1.176 billion yuan through convertible bonds. In half-year results, Kweichow Moutai posted first-half net profit of 44.517 billion yuan, down 1.95 percent year on year. Satellite Chemical posted net profit of 6.226 billion yuan, up 126.94 percent. Shengyi Technology posted net profit of 3.287 billion yuan, up 130.42 percent. Ping An Bank posted net profit of 25.696 billion yuan, up 3.3 percent, and plans to pay a dividend of 2.49 yuan per 10 shares. China Communications Construction signed new contracts worth 902.949 billion yuan in the first half, down 8.89 percent year on year. In addition, Fuwei Shares received a seat project nomination from a joint-venture brand customer, with an estimated total life-cycle sales value of 2.86 billion yuan. A subsidiary of Shaanxi Construction Engineering won the bid for a 1.156 billion yuan Yunjing Intelligent Computing Center project. A subsidiary of Zhejiang Construction Investment won the bid for a project worth 2.497 billion Hong Kong dollars.

In the first half of this year, overseas markets became the largest destination for global energy storage cells for the first time, with their share exceeding 50% for the first time in the same period in history. InfoLink Consulting data shows that global energy storage cell shipments totaled 467.84 GWh in the first half, up 94.76% year on year, of which overseas market shipments were 248.73 GWh, accounting for 53.2% of the global total. SNE Research statistics show that energy storage cell shipments in North America and Europe grew 83% and 74% year on year respectively, with market shares of 16.5% and 15.8%, while large projects in emerging markets such as the Middle East and Australia accelerated into the execution phase. China's market share fell to 43.9% from 50.5% in the same period last year, with shipments of 202.5 GWh, up 49% year on year, still the world's largest single market. The top ten companies in global energy storage cell shipments are all Chinese companies, with CATL firmly in first place with 125 GWh of shipments and a 27.1% market share, followed by Hithium and EVE Energy in second and third. Although LG Energy Solution ranked only eleventh, its first-half shipments surged 357% year on year to 12 GWh, rapidly approaching the top ten. ICCSINO predicts that global energy storage cell shipments for the full year 2026 could reach 1,200 GWh.

On the evening of August 12, multiple listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges issued major announcements. Antong Holdings announced that its single largest shareholder, Sinotrans Container Lines, plans to reorganize the board of directors. If the relevant proposals are approved by the shareholders' meeting, the company's controlling shareholder will change from Fujian Zhaohang Logistics Management Partnership to Sinotrans Container Lines, and the actual controller will change from having no actual controller to China Merchants Group. Speed Wireless Technology plans to raise no more than 1.096 billion yuan through a private placement, for projects including server cooling modules, lightweight radio frequency components for smart glasses, and low-orbit satellite communication antennas and modules. Hybio Pharmaceutical signed a cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals for the blood glucose control indication of semaglutide injection, under which the two parties will cooperate in development, registration, production, and commercialization in China. CATL plans to participate as a limited partner in the Hainan Times Green Industry Investment Fund, with a committed capital contribution of 2.475 billion yuan, holding a 49.5% stake in the fund. Sinosun Technology announced that Jinghexing plans to acquire a 14.18% stake in the company held by Xinjiang Chaojun for 539 million yuan. After the transaction is completed, Jinghexing will become the controlling shareholder, and Qu Jialin will become the actual controller. The company's shares will resume trading on August 13. In terms of financial results, Yihai Kerry Arawana reported a net profit of 2.294 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 30.69% year-on-year; Shanghai Pudong Development Bank reported a net profit of 30.951 billion yuan in the first half, up 4.08% year-on-year; Baofeng Energy reported a net profit of 9.728 billion yuan in the first half, up 70.14% year-on-year; Quectel Wireless Solutions reported a net profit of 602 million yuan in the first half, up 27.84% year-on-year.

The Chinese government has systematically deployed national team funds to support the stock market after concerns over AI stock valuations triggered severe volatility in recent weeks. China Reform Holdings and China Chengtong Holdings used 60 billion yuan, or 8.9 billion dollars, through a relending facility backed by the central bank to stabilize the market ahead of the IPO of CXMT, a memory chip maker, which is China's largest IPO this year. China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing met with investors on July 20, while dozens of companies including CATL announced share buyback programs, sending CXMT's share price up more than fivefold after its first trading day on July 27. Data from Wind Information shows that ETFs tracking the Shanghai STAR 50 and Shenzhen ChiNext indices saw record combined net purchases of 73.7 billion yuan, or 10.9 billion dollars, in July, reflecting that the national team is rebalancing its portfolio by increasing its allocation to technology stocks. Analysts view this intervention as aimed at building long-term confidence rather than merely stemming falling share prices.

Toyota Motor will begin production of next-generation batteries for hybrid vehicles in Japan from 2027 to 2028. At a financial results briefing on the 4th, General Manager of the Accounting Division Takanori Azuma revealed that the company will switch its domestic production lines, which have a capacity of 600,000 units, to high-performance, low-cost next-generation batteries. The next-generation batteries are expected to reduce costs by tens of thousands of yen per vehicle, and by 2030, Toyota plans to sequentially switch its battery production lines from nickel-metal hydride batteries to lithium-ion batteries while also boosting production capacity. Additionally, as a long-term plan, it was disclosed that China's leading automotive battery maker CATL will produce 200,000 hybrid vehicle batteries for Toyota in Indonesia. Toyota's global hybrid vehicle sales are projected to exceed 5 million units for the first time in 2026, and these initiatives aim to strengthen the competitiveness of its hybrids, leading to further demand and profit growth.

Ronbay Technology announced plans to invest 4.723 billion yuan to build an integrated project in Xiantao with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes of sodium-ion battery cathode materials. The construction period is expected to be 24 months, with phased construction and gradual commissioning in three stages: 50,000 tonnes in the first phase, 100,000 tonnes in the second, and 150,000 tonnes in the third. The first phase is scheduled from August 2026 to May 2027. In the first half of the year, the company shipped nearly a thousand tonnes of sodium-ion cathode materials, and the business unit has already reduced losses. It is expected to reach a shipment scale of around 10,000 tonnes in 2026. The market widely believes that 2026 will mark the start of mass production for sodium-ion batteries. As the top supplier of sodium-ion cathode powder to CATL, Ronbay Technology supplies no less than 60 percent of CATL's total procurement of sodium-ion cathode materials. Over the past year and a half, the company's cumulative investment in major domestic and international expansion projects has exceeded 10 billion yuan, and its asset-liability ratio has risen to 69.33 percent. For this expansion project, the proportions of self-owned funds, bank loans, and other self-raised funds in the total investment are approximately 20 percent, 43 percent, and 37 percent, respectively.

A fund manager at Janus Henderson Investors has revealed that global investors are beginning to diversify their portfolios away from US stocks, turning to increase weightings in European, Japanese, South Korean, and Chinese equities to reduce the risk of concentration in the Magnificent Seven mega-cap technology stocks. Julian McManus, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson, which has around 480 billion dollars in assets under management, noted that the MSCI ACWI ex-US index has risen more than 8% since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%. He recommends bank stocks in Europe and Japan, as well as Samsung Electronics, Tencent, and CATL, among others. Meanwhile, Polka Mishra from Javelin Wealth Management continues to favour US stocks, citing the still-strong US economy and its leadership in AI technology.

CMOC announced plans to revise the annual caps under its continuing connected transaction agreements with CATL Group and KFM Group. The annual caps for product sales to CATL Group for 2026, 2027, and 2028 will be revised to 3.85 billion US dollars, 4.3 billion US dollars, and 5 billion US dollars, respectively. The annual caps for product purchases from KFM Group will be revised to 6.05 billion US dollars, 7.8 billion US dollars, and 14 billion US dollars, respectively. The above proposals are subject to shareholder approval.

Chinese listed companies announced share buyback plans totalling 67.6 billion yuan, or roughly 9.99 billion US dollars, in July, a level close to that seen during the 2025 trade war crisis, aimed at supporting share prices and restoring investor confidence battered by global sell-offs. Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, proposed a buyback of up to 40 billion yuan, while Foxconn Industrial Internet announced a plan of up to 2 billion yuan. The accelerated buybacks come amid a sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks and concerns over the Chinese economy, with the CSI 300 Index falling more than 7 percent in July and the STAR 50 Index tumbling around 24 percent, its steepest decline since the index was launched in 2020. Analysts view the measures as providing short-term support to the market, but a sustainable recovery still hinges on earnings growth and the Chinese government's economic policies in the second half of the year.

SAIC Motor's MG brand officially opened pre-sales for the MG 07 on the evening of July 29, launching five variants with a starting pre-sale price of 125,900 yuan. The vehicle packs premium features such as a CATL battery offering 845 kilometers of range, a semi-solid-state battery with 650 kilometers of range, an 800-volt high-voltage platform, 5C fast charging, the Momenta R7 lidar intelligent driving solution, mCDC intelligent electromagnetic suspension, and a HeatMatrix active-cooling electric motor, bringing technologies previously reserved for luxury models down to the 120,000 to 160,000 yuan market and realizing SAIC's vision of technology equality. The MG 07 comes standard with mCDC intelligent electromagnetic suspension across the lineup, and all but the entry-level variant include an AI preview function that scans for speed bumps and manhole covers in advance and adjusts damping firmness in milliseconds. Its 18-in-1 active-cooling electric drive system, HeatMatrix, integrates thermal management into the motor, enabling unlimited launch control without heat degradation and solving the durability challenge of motor cooling. The car also features a VMC blowout stability control system and the Momenta R7 lidar-based advanced intelligent driving solution, supporting AES automatic evasive steering at 130 kilometers per hour at night. SAIC's nearly 190 billion yuan in R&D investment in intelligent electric technologies and over 24,000 valid patents form a technological moat, with its technology foundation fully entering the 2.0 era. In addition, SAIC is rolling out a pop-up store marketing model for the MG 07, with 100 pop-up stores set to open gradually across 59 cities nationwide, signaling a shift in its marketing approach.

CATL, China's leading automotive battery maker, reported second-quarter net profit of 22.5 billion yuan, up 36.5 percent from a year earlier, beating analyst estimates for a 29.7 percent increase. Revenue rose 56.9 percent to 147.8 billion yuan, accelerating from 52.5 percent growth in the previous quarter. Amid softening demand in the electric vehicle market, robust growth in the energy storage business underpinned results, with first-quarter shipments of energy storage lithium-ion batteries nearly doubling year-on-year and global market share rising to 29.9 percent. However, gross margins for energy storage batteries in the first half fell to 24.0 percent and for EV batteries to 20.6 percent, both down from a year earlier. CATL also announced plans for a share buyback of its yuan-denominated A-shares worth between 20 billion and 40 billion yuan.