DeepSeek's technological advancement is celebrated in China as the solution for triumphing in the AI battle. In a post on Weibo, Zhou Hongyi from Qihoo 360 expressed his belief that China will ultimately emerge victorious in the AI conflict with the US.

In their domestic environment, Chinese technology leaders and assorted analysts quickly praised the groundbreaking impact of DeepSeek.

Feng Ji, the founder and CEO of Game Science, the developers behind Black Myth: Wukong, expressed in a popular Weibo post that DeepSeek's advancements in AI have the potential to alter China's destiny amidst its ongoing technological clash with the US.

DeepSeek made a public announcement on January 20, unveiling their open-source R1 reasoning model. They assert that this model matches the performance of OpenAI's o1. According to the American start-up, this model has the capacity to navigate complex tasks and solve more challenging problems in fields such as science, coding, and mathematics compared to its predecessors.

The major advancement by DeepSeek and the plummeting stocks of Nvidia have sparked worries about the necessity for substantial investments in Artificial Intelligence. Big American tech firms might potentially adopt and emulate some of the training strategies that DeepSeek utilized to decrease the price of R1.

DeepSeek, an under-the-radar Chinese start-up offering competitively priced technology that rivals major US tech giants like OpenAI and Meta Platforms, has sparked investor worries about the need for massive investment in research and development.

The AI firm from China unveiled its open-source logic model, R1, in the early part of this month. The aptitude of this model is nearly equivalent to the sophisticated models offered by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, but it comes with a much more affordable training expense.

The remarkable ratio of performance to cost has sparked worries among investors regarding the need for the billions of dollars that major US tech firms are investing, along with the additional billions they intend to put into generative AI in the forthcoming years," stated Malik Ahmed Khan, a stock analyst at Morningstar.

He mentioned in a research note on Tuesday that several major American technology firms might consider adopting similar AI training methods that DeepSeek used to reduce the cost of R1.

Upon its release, DeepSeek rapidly rose to become the top downloaded app in Apple's US AppStore. The app's unexpected success led to a significant drop in the stock value of Nvidia and other tech companies on Wall Street on Monday. The company's shares plummeted by 17 percent, dropping to US$118.58, and wiping out nearly US$600 billion in market capitalization.

The story on Monday suggested that the massive amounts spent on AI by massive tech firms could become outdated if a less expensive alternative is available, according to analysts at BCA Research in Montreal. Basically, the defensive barrier around the "Magnificent Seven" US tech titans might not be as broad as once believed, they stated.

Analysts suggest that the management changes at China Vanke indicate a rescue plan for the struggling property developer. Raymond Cheng from CGS believes that backing Vanke may lead banks to provide more loans, decrease markdowns on asset transactions and enhance the confidence of property buyers.

After the announcement of alterations to the board on Monday, Vanke's stocks experienced a significant increase, rising up to 6.89 per cent on Tuesday. However, the gains were later reduced, settling at a closing increase of 2.1 per cent, with a value of HK$5.78.

Vanke, previously the second biggest property developer in China in terms of sales, has appointed Xin Jie as its new chairman. In addition to this role, Xin also holds the position of chairman at the state-owned Shenzhen Metro Group (SZMC), which is the largest shareholder in the company.

Raymond Cheng, the managing director at CGS International, believes that Vanke's primary supporter has enough financial strength to save the developer.

He highlighted that SZMC is supported by the Shenzhen State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which has assets exceeding 5 trillion yuan (around US$689 billion). On the other hand, SZMC independently holds assets worth 800 billion yuan.

Ten fifty-seven

Upsurge, downfall, and debt: Has China's real estate market collapsed?

Cheng suggested that a rescue could result in three beneficial shifts for Vanke, such as reassurance for financial institutions to provide loans, decrease in asset sale discounts, and increased confidence from homebuyers in its projects.

The accounting organization in Hong Kong is urging for increased proficiency in sustainable practices. According to a council report, only 21% of Hang Seng Index participants achieved a 'fair' score, while more than half, 53%, were given a 'modest' rating.

Over fifty percent of the companies that make up the Hang Seng Index chose to release their sustainability performance reports last year, says Hong Kong's accounting regulatory organization. They urge companies to further enhance their skills in this area.

The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council reported on Monday that around 21% of the audited companies received a "fair" evaluation from sustainability assurance auditors. In contrast, about 53% were given a "limited" assessment. The remaining companies fell into the "mixed or other" category, according to the report.

Auditors, under the stipulation of reasonable assurance, need to gather enough proof to minimize the possibility of inaccuracies to a level that can be deemed acceptable. On the other hand, with limited assurance, it implies that auditors couldn't find any solid proof to dispute the assertions made by the entity presenting the report.

Research examining market preparedness for sustainability reporting and verification took place from May 6 to 23 of the previous year, during which time there were 82 members in the Hang Seng Index. In addition, the council independently questioned listed companies and auditors about their procedures and future strategies.

The council stated that these organizations claimed that guarantees could boost the confidence of investors, their sustainability rankings, and brand image. The study concluded that the most critical problem identified by listed organizations was the absence of internal expertise in sustainability reporting.

The council anticipates initiating a public discussion regarding a regulatory structure for sustainability verification later this year. In March, the government pledged to be one of the initial regions to harmonize domestic stipulations with the International Financial Reporting Standards for Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

The Chinese AI newcomer, DeepSeek, takes a break for the Lunar New Year, causing a stir on Wall Street.

The Hangzhou headquarters of China's most buzzed-about start-up has experienced a number of unexpected visitors attempting to meet the team behind the significant AI disruption.

Despite being based in Hangzhou and including founder Liang Wenfeng and a team of youthful scientists, the start-up has maintained a low profile as China commenced its Lunar New Year celebrations that last a week. The company's most recent communication was made at the stroke of midnight on Monday, the eve of the Lunar New Year, a time typically reserved for family gatherings. They announced the launch of their inaugural multimodal model, Janus-Pro. In the company's technical report, they state that this 7 billion-parameter version of the image generation model has surpassed the performance of OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 and Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion in benchmark tests.

On a Tuesday morning trip to their main office in Hangzhou, the heart of eastern Zhejiang province, the commercial space where DeepSeek holds a single floor was vacant. A security officer stated that no staff were present in the office that day due to a national holiday, but also noted that there had been numerous unsolicited visitors over the previous couple of days. All these individuals were denied entry, some even attempted to knock on the door of what is currently considered the most buzz-worthy tech start-up in the nation.

In contrast to many tech start-ups that typically establish themselves in technology parks, DeepSeek operates from a skyscraper primarily occupied by finance industry companies. The hedge fund High-Flyer Quant, owned by DeepSeek's Liang, is registered at the same address as this building.

An insider informed the Post that the company maintains such a discreet presence that they lack a public relations representative. Another individual with close ties to the firm remarked that the company's young workforce is astonished by the global response to their affordable yet high-performing AI models.

High interest rates in December caused a 21.1% decrease in Hong Kong's mortgage rates, pushing potential homebuyers to hold off. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority reported a drop in mortgage applications to 6,306 last month, marking the first dip since September.

According to the city's unofficial central bank, there was a drop of over 20% in mortgage applications in Hong Kong in December. This indicates a sense of caution among potential homeowners due to political instability and increasing interest rates.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently reported that there was a 21.1% decrease in mortgages last month, dropping to 6,306 from November's figures. This is the first monthly decline since September, which experienced a 15.9% dip in demand.

The standard interest rate in Hong Kong, which has been closely aligning with US monetary policy since 1983, is predicted to stay elevated for an extended period. This is largely due to the anticipated return of US President Donald Trump to the presidency, which may introduce a wave of tariffs and isolationist policies potentially triggering increased inflation.

"Interest rates continue to be the primary influence on the real estate market this year," stated Martin Wong, Senior Director and Head of Research for Knight Frank's Greater China division.

The mortgage and loan interest rates in Hong Kong remained at their peak, the highest in 23 years, following 11 hikes from March 2022 to July 2023. However, a trend of reduction started in September 2024, with further decreases seen in October and December.

In order to sustain their operations, banks have hastened their mortgage approval process. This resulted in 5,342 applications worth HK$25.53 billion (US$3.28 billion) being approved last month. This is a 2.6% increase compared to the same period last year and a 5.4% rise from November.

According to mReferral, throughout the entire year, mortgage loans saw a decrease of over 20% to 76,752 instances. The total worth of these loans was HK$275.9 billion, marking a drop of over 25% from HK$374.9 billion in 2023 and reaching the lowest point in 11 years.

Business magnate Richard Li is planning to offload the HKEJ publisher to PCCW in an asset reshuffle with a price tag of US$9 million. PCCW will purchase the unprofitable publishing company at a rate of 0.69 times its revenue, which is slightly higher than the industry average of 0.64 times.

Business magnate Richard Li Tzar-kai from Hong Kong is once more reorganizing his holdings, currently through liquidating his private shares in the company that publishes the Hong Kong Economic Journal (HKEJ). The shares are being sold to the telecommunication firm PCCW, with a transaction value of HK$70 million (US$9 million).

The Alibaba Group Holding-owned South China Morning Post is in competition with HKEJ.

The cost was determined by multiplying the revenue by 0.69, which was calculated using the average rate of 0.64 from three anonymous industry counterparts listed in Hong Kong, as shown in the document. This estimation places HKEJ's 2023 income around HK$100 million, based on its buying price and earnings multiplier.

Understanding | The unexpected breakthrough of tech start-up DeepSeek in the US-China AI rivalry

Under the leadership of the far-sighted founder Liang Wenfeng and his team of committed young scientists, DeepSeek is charting a unique path in the realm of AI.

This is the information we have up to this point regarding the business and the apparent factors contributing to its prosperity:

A forward-thinking chief

Snake Year: High gold prices expected to curb jewelry purchases

The cost of the valuable commodity, which saw a 35 per cent increase during the Dragon Year, is predicted to keep up its high trend.

The sales of gold jewelry are predicted to keep falling in the Year of the Snake, as sky-high costs of the valuable metal have dampened consumer desire, say industry insiders.

The cost of precious metals in the Year of the Dragon, that concluded this past Tuesday, surged by 35% to HK$25,600 per tael (equivalent to US$3,282 for 37.9 grams) on the final trading day, which was Monday.

Global gold prices have seen a significant increase since the previous year. On Monday, the price of spot gold reached US$2,772 per ounce, barely falling short of its record peak of US$2,790.07 in October.

"During the Year of the Dragon, the value of gold continued to hit unprecedented levels due to political conflicts and a series of interest rate reductions that started in September," stated Robert Lee Wai-wang, a legislator and head of Hong Kong's financial company, Grand Finance Group.

The Dragon Year witnessed one of the most significant surges in gold prices in recent history, following a 6 per cent increase in the prior Rabbit Year and a 7 per cent rise in the Tiger Year before it, as per the information from the Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX).

Snake Year: Digital Age sees Hong Kong companies leveraging lai see envelopes for promotion

HSBC and ICBC (Asia) are advertising their achievements through lai see envelopes, in the meantime, the recently renamed Hong Kong Gold Exchange has distributed 60,000 red packets.

Despite the complete adoption of digital banking by Hong Kong and its technologically adept inhabitants, businesses persist in providing distinctive and luxurious red envelopes, known as lai see packets, to customers. This is seen as a cost-effective method of marketing their company and operations.

Starting this Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Year of the Snake, HSBC and ICBC (Asia) are highlighting significant achievements. HSBC, the biggest bank in Hong Kong, is marking its 160th year, whereas ICBC is celebrating a quarter-century in the city. Concurrently, the Hong Kong Gold Exchange is leveraging the tradition of lai see to publicize its new brand identity, after being recognized as the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society for the past 114 years.

HSBC has launched a unique limited edition collection of lai see envelopes, showcasing the bank's emblematic lions and representations of its Hong Kong base throughout various periods.

"Even with the introduction of e-lai see, we've noticed a steady interest in lai see envelopes, which usually get depleted rapidly," stated Cheuk Shum, the marketing chief for wealth and personal banking at HSBC Hong Kong. He also pointed out that the bank provides e-lai see services via its PayMe and smartphone applications.

Shum mentioned that the tradition of giving lai see envelopes plays a significant role as it provides an opportunity for individuals to personally connect with their loved ones and extend their good wishes.

Snake Year: Hong Kong banks compete to attract mainland tourists with everything from fireworks to money

Anticipating 1.43 million visitors from the mainland in the 'golden week', the city's financial institutions are getting ready with a host of incentives.

With the commencement of the Year of the Snake, authorities predict the city will greet roughly 1.43 million individuals from the mainland throughout the "golden week" vacation, which runs from January 28 to February 4.

In a bid to attract new customers in this golden period, all the significant banks in Hong Kong including HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China (Hong Kong), as well as digital banks like ZA Bank, Mox Bank and WeLab Bank, have devised exclusive promotions.

"The Lunar New Year is a significant event expected to attract numerous guests to Hong Kong this year," stated Luanne Lim, the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Hong Kong. "HSBC is thrilled to contribute to the festivities by organizing an impressive fireworks show for both locals and travelers."

The Spring Gala show was lit up by Unitree humanoid robots, supported by Alibaba technology, who turned out to be the stars of the dance floor.

During the Lunar New Year's eve program, these 16 H1 robots teamed up with a group of human dancers to deliver an unprecedented performance of the Chinese folk dance, Yangge.

One minute and one

Robots showcasing dance moves were a highlight at China's Spring Festival Gala show.

Unitree announced on Wednesday that the show represented the globe's inaugural fully automated, AI-controlled large-scale humanoid robot performance, which perfectly blends technology with traditional culture.