Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 749
Alibaba’s Qianwen Rolls Out ¥3bn Lunar New Year Giveaway to Push AI Shopping into the Mass Market
Alibaba’s Qianwen launched a ¥3 billion Lunar New Year promotion that hands every user a 25-yuan no-threshold voucher and rewards referrals with additional coupons, leveraging integrations into Taobao Flash Buy, Fliggy and Amap to promote AI-enabled, one-sentence shopping. The campaign aims to convert holiday-driven trial into habitual, AI-mediated commerce, but presents operational, competitive and regulatory risks.
Companies Cash In as Gold and Silver Plunge — Luxury bricks, inventory sales and leveraged punts reveal fault lines
A sharp correction in gold and silver markets has driven corporates in Greater China to monetise physical holdings while leveraged investors rushed to buy the dip. High volatility has prompted exchange margin adjustments and revealed divergent strategies across companies, insiders and margin traders, with consequences for mining equities and commodity markets more broadly.
Food‑safety warning clouds Ban U hotpot’s Hong Kong IPO push
Nanjing regulators detected excessive bifenthrin residue on oranges served at a Ban U hotpot branch, a finding that collides with the chain's quiet‑period preparations for a Hong Kong IPO. The incident highlights how food‑safety lapses and governance questions can complicate capital‑markets plans for consumer brands in China.
Chinese Stocks Recover Midday as Chemicals and Robotics Lead Rotation; Consumer Names Slip
Chinese markets recovered from an early sell-off to close the morning session in the green, led by gains in chemicals, robotics and commodity-linked stocks while consumer sectors lagged. Trading volume dipped modestly and leadership concentrated in a few themes, signaling a rotation rather than broad-based conviction.
China’s Silver-Linked Fund Plunges Into Fifth Straight Limit-Down as Metals Market Unravels
Guotou’s Silver LOF hit its fifth straight limit‑down after trading resumed, with the market quote falling to ¥3.099 and a still‑elevated premium of 28.73%. The collapse reflects a wider silver sell‑off, late NAV adjustments and structural liquidity shortfalls in commodity‑linked funds, prompting probable regulatory scrutiny and calls for reforms in valuation and market‑making practices.
China Says Delivery Crisis Over as Beijing Pushes Shift to ‘Sell What You Build’ Model
Beijing says the acute ‘delivery difficulty’ that left millions of buyers waiting for homes has largely been resolved after a multi‑year, centrally coordinated campaign. Policy now shifts from finishing projects to institutional reforms — ring‑fenced project companies, lead‑bank financing and a push toward sales of completed homes — reshaping the sector’s business model and growth trajectory.
China’s Small Banks Raise Deposit Stakes: Rural Lenders Lead a Wave of Short‑Term, High‑Threshold CDs
Regional and rural commercial banks in China have aggressively issued short‑term, large‑denomination certificates of deposit and modestly raised one‑to‑three‑year time deposit rates to attract funds ahead of the spring lending season. These moves contrast with state banks’ retrenchment from long‑dated high‑coupon deposits and reflect margin pressure and fierce local competition for deposits.
China’s MBA Bubble Deflates: Steep Fee Cuts and Falling Demand Force a Reboot of Management Education
China’s MBA market is undergoing a sharp correction as tuition cuts and weak enrolment expose a fading wage premium for management degrees. Oversupply, shifting industrial priorities toward STEM and AI, and disappointing returns on investment are forcing programmes to cut fees, exit, or specialise to stay relevant.
Hefei’s Industrial Surge and Shenzhen’s Sprint: China’s City GDP Race Heats Up
Hefei has overtaken Jinan in momentum by leaning into high-tech manufacturing and policy-backed investment, tying both cities at 1.42 trillion yuan in 2025. Shenzhen is the leading candidate to break the 4-trillion-yuan barrier in 2026, while Nanjing, Ningbo and Tianjin compete to reach the 2-trillion mark, each with different strengths and constraints.
Moutai’s Price Rollercoaster: Scarcity Spurs Volatility as China’s Baijiu Market Splits
Feitian Moutai is experiencing renewed scarcity and sharp price moves ahead of China’s spring festival, even as other premium baijiu brands show relative price stability. Online sales at promotional prices are heavily contested but have not significantly displaced offline demand, and producers are shifting to non‑price promotions to stimulate consumption.
How Jiangxi Became China’s Lone Province to Raise Its 2026 Growth Target — and Why It Matters
Jiangxi is the only Chinese province to raise its 2026 GDP target, setting it at 5–5.5% after a 5.2% rebound in 2025. The revision reflects a concerted industrial-policy push, emerging high-tech clusters and an ambition to pair manufacturing upgrades with deeper science investment, even as talent shortages and weak external demand pose risks.
Tech Earnings and Memory Shortages Trigger Global Risk-Off; Crypto and Silver Plummet as Chinese Stocks Buck the Trend
A sharp risk-off episode on February 5–6 swept US equities, precious metals and cryptocurrencies after mixed earnings and worrying guidance from chip suppliers. Microsoft lost about $152 billion in market value, spot silver plunged nearly 20%, and bitcoin fell over 14% as more than 430,000 leveraged crypto positions were liquidated. Chinese ADRs bucked the trend, posting gains in a selective rally.