The stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen are attempting to attract foreign investors following their poorest opening since 2016. The markets held meetings with representatives from 16 international fund managers and investment banks, hoping to gain their insights to revitalize the market.

The leading pair of Chinese stock exchanges convened with delegates from international investment firms and banks. This comes as authorities are exploring methods to boost confidence among foreign investors following the market's most dismal commencement of a year since 2016.

The attendees proposed an increase in briefings about Chinese regulations and international promotional events by leading businesses. This would aid overseas investors in gaining a deeper comprehension of the economic swings and publicly listed companies, according to the declarations.

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Extreme fluctuations in stock markets of Hong Kong and mainland China

UBS predicts that China will eliminate surplus solar-panel capacity by 2027. Reductions in production from major participants and government-imposed restrictions on new facilities will aid in correcting the imbalance, according to an analyst.

UBS suggests that by eliminating surplus production within the next two years and imposing restrictions on new factories, along with consensus among providers, China's solar panel manufacturing sector could regain balance as soon as 2027.

The Swiss investment bank predicts that supply will begin to decrease annually by 7% from 2024 to 2026. This is a stark difference from the 70% yearly increase observed from 2021 to 2023, according to analyst Yan Yishu, who stated this during a webinar on Monday. Yan Yishu estimates that China has approximately 1,200 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacity, which is double the market demand.

Beijing has implemented rules to control the growth of new infrastructures by increasing the minimum capital necessities and restricting their usage of energy and water. The administration also reduced export tax rebates from 13 per cent to 9 per cent on solar products, aiming to accelerate industry amalgamation and alleviate trade disputes.

"She stated that the revival of the industry will be spearheaded by the government and businesses from the supply side. As soon as the top businesses decide to cut down on their production, the total capacity will rapidly decrease," she added.

In order to address the disparity between supply and demand, more than 30 of the top competitors consented last month to reduce output during the yearly gathering of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association. They committed to sticking to future production limits and to stop excessive price reductions to curb losses across the industry.

The Asia-Pacific loan market is set for a robust recovery in 2025, driven by a wave of mergers and acquisitions. The loan volumes in this region hit a high of US$164 billion in the last quarter of 2024, marking the best performance in the last three years.

Loan activity in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, is poised for a recovery this year. This resurgence is motivated by merger and acquisition movements and a conducive rate landscape, following a three-year continuous decline.

In the last quarter of 2024, the area reported loan volumes of $164 billion, making it the best fourth-quarter outcome in three years, based on data gathered by Bloomberg. This trend indicates a promising beginning for 2025, possibly overturning a three-year drop from the highest yearly total of $672.5 billion in 2021.

"Andrew Ashman, the head of loan syndicate for Barclays Bank in the Asia-Pacific region, expressed that the steady rate forecast along with the end of election periods in numerous key economies will stimulate corporate assurance. This will, in turn, catalyze mergers and acquisitions as well as capital expenditure actions. He predicts a considerable increase in financing volumes."

The value of the asset class' loans for 2024 dropped by 4.6% to US$590 billion in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan. This is the lowest annual total since 2020, according to the data.

The set of potential deals for 2025 is already being established. In Australia, a takeover of the car leasing company SG Fleet Group by Pacific Equity Partners is being supported by an A$800 million (US$497 million) buyout loan, which is expected to kick off this quarter. Meanwhile, Peabody Energy, a US coal company, has plans to refinance a US$2.1 billion bridge facility in the first half of the year, which will fund its purchase of Anglo American's steelmaking coal mines.

Reliance Industries in India is attempting to secure a loan of up to US$3 billion, which could potentially be the country's largest loan since 2023. Meanwhile, Shriram Finance is exploring the possibility of syndicating a portion of a US$1.28 billion multicurrency social financing, marking the largest offshore transaction from an Indian shadow lender to date. In other news, Marina Bay Sands is potentially setting a new record in Singapore by promoting a facility worth up to S$12 billion (US$8.8 billion).

Trina Solar from China has established a new global achievement in solar conversion technology. The firm's solar module has surpassed a longstanding efficiency record for solar cells, previously held by the University of New South Wales laboratory.

Trina Solar from China has established a new global benchmark for the conversion effectiveness of a specific kind of solar panel, the firm reported on Monday.

In lab experiments, Trina's n-type fully passivated heterojunction (HJT) modules, which have a sizable surface area, demonstrated an efficiency of 25.44 per cent. These findings have been authenticated by the Fraunhofer CalLab in Germany, an organization that specializes in solar research.

Passivation is a technique used to conceal flaws on a solar cell's surface, whereas cell efficiency is the proportion of solar power received by a device that gets transformed into practical electricity. Enhancing cell efficiency can aid in minimizing the space required for solar setups and in reducing expenses.

Professor Martin Green, from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, whose research lab has maintained the record for solar cell efficiency for many years, has indicated that the recent output demonstrates the promise of HJT solar technology. This is one of the many technologies vying to be the leading future technology in the industry.

"Ultimately, it all boils down to efficiency. Even if certain processes are currently more expensive, the trend is that as the industry adopts new technology, the costs tend to drop fairly rapidly," stated Green.

Goldman Sachs suggests China to prioritize fiscal stimulus over policy relaxation to boost share prices. The US investment bank asserts that government expenditures and demand-side strategies yield more substantial effects on equity returns compared to monetary relaxation.

Goldman Sachs suggests that China could benefit from taking a leaf out of history's book and focusing more on fiscal strategies rather than reducing interest rates to stimulate stock market growth. This follows Goldman Sachs' increase of its objectives for Chinese stocks in November.

According to a study from a US investment bank, financial strategies involving government spending and demand-related actions have traditionally had a more significant influence on the returns of Chinese stocks compared to monetary relaxation policies.

The bank confirmed that this pattern has been consistent since 2016, drawing parallels between steps such as resuming operations post-Covid-19 outbreak and the stimulus plans that stimulated stock market surges.

From the end of September onwards, China has implemented a range of strategies to stimulate their slow economy. This includes reducing the barriers to buy properties, exchanging municipal government debt, and providing subsidies to increase consumer spending. These initiatives led to a surge in the stock market, with the CSI 300 Index, which represents the largest domestic stocks, experiencing a 21 per cent rise in September – a record-breaking monthly increase not seen in nearly ten years.

The MSCI China Index, which includes 581 Chinese stocks from both domestic and international markets, experienced a significant rise from 58 to 76 in the early part of October. However, by Monday, it had slightly decreased to around

The report, published on Monday, suggests that the significant ups and downs witnessed in the market recently are largely due to shifts in investor expectations. These shifts pertain to when, how large, and how detailed the expected fiscal stimulus announcements will be in different policy discussions.

TikTok broadens its e-commerce business to Mexico despite possible prohibition in the U.S

The geographical growth of TikTok Shop beyond the U.S demonstrates its resilience against the 'sell-or-ban' legislation from Washington.

Duan Yongping, a billionaire investor of Chinese-American descent affiliated with PDD, lavishes commendations on Temu. While addressing his former university, Zhejiang University, Duan expresses his respect for the originator of PDD and his fellow graduate, Colin Huang Zheng.

"The Super Bowl offers an exceptional opportunity for promotion, yet I never succeeded in achieving that," Duan confessed while speaking at his former school, Zhejiang University, on Sunday. "It was Colin Huang Zheng, the person behind Temu, who accomplished it."

"Nearly everyone in America is aware of Temu now… even my domestic helper is utilizing it," he continued. "A large number of individuals are making purchases on the platform. The business concept is innovative, and the quality is progressively getting better."

Temu has made a bold move in its marketing strategy by investing a massive amount of money, in the tens of millions, on advertisements that aired during the Super Bowl in the last two years. The Super Bowl, which is the National Football League's yearly championship event, is also the most costly night for television advertising in the United States.

The campaign greatly enhanced Temu's profile in the US, enabling the bargain shopping platform to rapidly gain popularity among buyers.

Additional evidence ties Credit Suisse bank to Nazi accounts, says US committee

A massive amount of paperwork provides further evidence of accounts associated with the Nazis, the Senate Budget Committee announced on Saturday.

A U.S. Senate committee's inquiry has discovered that the beleaguered investment bank, Credit Suisse, hid details in earlier probes concerning bank accounts controlled by the Nazis during World War II.

The ongoing investigation has unearthed a multitude of documents, offering fresh evidence of account holders associated with the Nazis, according to a statement issued by the Senate Budget Committee on Saturday.

The committee stated that the bank had failed to disclose the presence of these accounts in past probes, particularly those conducted in the 1990s.

The Senate panel announced on Saturday that they have unearthed a batch of new files, comprising 3,600 hardcopy documents and 40,000 microfilms, which were found to be significantly linked to the Nazis.

The information has been traced back to a preliminary report by ex-prosecutor Neil Barofsky. He was previously dismissed from his role as an "independent ombudsperson" by the bank in 2022, under pressure to restrict his investigative duties.

Barofsky was reappointed to his position in 2023, following the Committee's inquiry and subsequent acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS.

US committee uncovers additional evidence tying Credit Suisse bank to Nazi accounts

An abundance of documents have been discovered that further substantiate the presence of account holders with Nazi connections, announced the Senate Budget Committee on Saturday.

A US Senate committee's probe has revealed that the beleaguered investment bank, Credit Suisse, had hidden details in past investigations concerning bank accounts controlled by Nazis during World War II.

A comprehensive review has unearthed a plethora of documents, which according to a statement from the Senate Budget Committee released on Saturday, offer fresh evidence about the presence of account holders with ties to the Nazis.

The committee indicated that the bank had failed to disclose the presence of these accounts in past inquiries, particularly those conducted in the 1990s.

The Senate panel announced on Saturday that they found a set of newly uncovered records, comprising 3,600 hard copy documents and 40,000 microfilms, which were identified to have significant links to the Nazis.

The information reportedly comes from a preliminary report by ex-prosecutor Neil Barofsky, who was terminated from his position as an "independent watchdog" by the bank in 2022, following pressure to restrict his investigative activities.

In 2023, Barofsky was reinstated to his position due to the Committee's investigation, following UBS' acquisition of Credit Suisse.

Alibaba intensifies its advancement into AI smart glasses in collaboration with Hong Kong's RayNeo. The partnership is set to have Alibaba Cloud create tailored AI models for RayNeo products, according to the companies.

"This alliance signifies a fresh utilization of the Qwen LLM in the realm of intelligent eyewear," stated Zhou Jingren, the head of technology at Alibaba Cloud. This also denotes the inaugural comprehensive partnership between a developer of LLM and a producer of AI eyewear in China, as per Alibaba Cloud.

Alibaba is the proprietor of the South China Morning Post.

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Augmented reality glasses that provide live transcriptions enable hearing-impaired individuals to visually follow dialogues

Intelligent eyewear, which is more compact and sleeker than Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality headsets, has experienced a renewed curiosity due to new features brought about by generative AI.

A grim future in 2025 is in store for China's 30,000 car dealers as the escalating price conflict contributes to losses amounting to US$24 billion. While there was a 4.7 per cent increase in car sales across the country, around 4,000 car dealerships have had to shut their doors due to financial pressures.

Over 30,000 automobile retailers in mainland China are bracing for another challenging year in 2025. The previous two years have seen many of these businesses go from being profitable to being financially failing entities due to intense price competition and the rise of e-commerce.

The China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) reported at the end of December that over 50% of industry players didn't meet their sales goals for 2024. The report further added that most of them are either grappling with significant financial losses or facing a capital shortfall.

Approximately 27% of merchants across the country failed to reach even 70% of their expected sales the previous year, as stated by CADA. Additionally, around 4,000 dealers, which equates to 10%, have been forced to close due to financial difficulties, they further added.

The group anticipates a dubious forecast for the car industry in the future, as stated in the report. It also suggests that diminished car deliveries in January are probable due to the impending eight-day Lunar New Year holiday starting on January 28. The report further advises all car dealerships to sensibly evaluate market demand in their business activities.

The typical cost of a fully electric vehicle dropped by 10 per cent, equivalent to a decrease of 20,000 yuan, and the prices of hybrid cars were brought down by 4.3 per cent, the report mentioned. On average, buyers saved around 10,500 yuan for each car. Industry statistics showed that there was a 4.7 per cent increase in car sales across the country, hitting 20.3 million vehicles in the first 11 months of last year.

CES 2025: Major players missing as Chinese firms make a comeback in Las Vegas despite US tech conflict

Despite Chinese businesses making up more than 25% of registered participants, the absence of numerous tech heavyweights is conspicuous.

Over 1,300 firms from China, with 1,212 originating from the mainland and 98 from Hong Kong, are preparing to display their newest products at a significant exhibition put together by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), as per the event's website. Collectively, they make up over one-fourth of the 4,500 signed up exhibitors, crowning China as the biggest international participant this year.

This marks a rise from the 1,115 Chinese firms that attended CES in 2024 and the 493 noted in 2023, a year when Covid limitations hindered global travel. However, this year's count still doesn't surpass the highest ever 1,551 Chinese exhibitors in 2018, who constituted more than one-third of all attendees.