ByteDance's newest venture post TikTok: engaging Chinese mini-series

The firm is on a quest for its subsequent blockbuster in the realm of brief dramas, targeting Southeast Asia and English-speaking audiences.

Melolo, launched in November by ByteDance's subsidiary Poligon, provides a range of brief dramas at no cost, with each installment typically lasting only a few minutes. These internet mini-series, brimming with captivating story turns aimed to engage the audience, are rapidly growing in popularity in China.

Currently, the app can be accessed in areas such as Indonesia and the Philippines, as stated by a representative from Melolo. They also noted that they are continuously seeking fresh business prospects.

ByteDance seems to be considering the possibility of introducing short dramas to the Western market too.

The social media powerhouse based in Beijing is presently on the hunt for an English-language editor and proofreader. Their role would entail transforming Chinese dramas into material that would resonate with viewers from Europe and America, as stated on their online job listings page.

Zijin of China plans to commence lithium production in Congo by the start of 2026. The Manono project is also under contention by Australia's AVZ Minerals, which has initiated arbitration proceedings against the government and Zijin.

Zijin Mining Group from China intends to begin lithium production in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the start of the upcoming year, utilizing one of the world's most extensive reserves of this battery metal.

Zijin is ramping up operations at a location in southeast Congo, a site that is still reportedly owned by AVZ Minerals. The Australian company has begun arbitration processes against both the government and Zijin, in an attempt to regain an exploration license.

The Zijin spokesperson stated via email that the Manono project is slated to begin production in the initial three months of 2026. This would establish it as Congo's first functional lithium mine. Congo is globally recognized as the second-largest producer of copper and the most significant source of cobalt.

Firms from China, such as Zijin, are pouring significant funds into Africa's lithium reserves spanning from Mali to Zimbabwe. This is happening despite nearly a 90% drop in prices from their highest point in 2022. These companies aim to secure supplies for their domestic refineries, anticipating a dramatic increase in the metal's usage in the future.

Despite the ongoing surplus in supply expected to persist in the near future, Zijin mentioned in September that there's still potential for demand from worldwide new energy vehicle and energy storage sectors in the long run. The firm also has additional lithium projects underway in China and Argentina.

Zijin, a company with operations in copper, gold, lithium, and zinc mining spread over five continents, is jointly working on the Manono project with the Congolese government and received a comprehensive mining permit about four months ago. The resource is of significant volume and has an average yield of 1.51 percent lithium oxide, according to the representative.

In the current quarter, Hong Kong will only present one parcel of land for sale due to developers' cautiousness. The Tung Chung plot's scheme was modified to permit the construction of 745 apartments after a failed bid in 2023.

Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, the development secretary, announced on Tuesday that Plot 55 in Zone 106B is projected to accommodate 745 apartments.

In 2023, the government introduced the same plot of land measuring 37,268 square meters (401,000 sq ft), but pulled it back when the bid amounts failed to meet the minimum set price.

So far this fiscal year, income from land sales has reached HK$4 billion, equivalent to US$514 million, according to Linn. The financial secretary had projected in last February's 2024-25 budget address that earnings from land sales would amount to HK$33 billion.

Linn stated that it is fitting to put the site up for offer in the quarter ending in March, considering the current market conditions, opinions from stakeholders, the MTR Corp's recent successful bid for a neighboring site, and the nearing completion of public housing in the vicinity.

The updated site blueprint mirrors the sector's preference for more compact locations with less stipulations related to site development and public amenities in light of the present market situation, she further noted.

Lee Kai-fu, founder of the Chinese start-up 01.AI, has refuted the gossip about the sale of assets to Alibaba Cloud. The company has labelled discussions about its intentions to sell its pre-training team and other properties due to business challenges as 'malicious defamation'.

In the firm's announcement, Lee mentioned that 01.AI will focus on AI applications in 2025, a time which is anticipated to witness significant expansion due to fierce rivalry among AI firms in China.

Neither 01.AI nor Alibaba Cloud responded promptly to a comment request on Tuesday.

Tencent's inclusion in the US blacklist fuels concerns about escalating technology conflicts with China. Analysts suggest that Tencent being blacklisted by the Pentagon could lead to more penalties and trade limitations for Chinese companies.

The social media behemoth based in Shenzhen stated that its addition to the Pentagon's list was "undeniably an error", as the firm is "not a military organization or provider".

"This designation doesn't affect our operations, unlike sanctions or export controls," Tencent stated on Tuesday. "However, we will still cooperate with the Department of Defence to clear up any confusion."

Bankers suggest that the IPO modifications proposed by the Hong Kong exchange could attract additional listings. UBS states that the suggested changes by HKEX relating to public float and allocation stipulations would contribute to the city drawing in more listings and institutional investors.

Industry insiders suggest that the recent suggested changes to the listing rules by Hong Kong's stock exchange could enhance the city's appeal for more initial public offerings (IPOs). This could potentially bolster its prospects of reclaiming its status as the leading global location for new stock offerings.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) is actively seeking public opinion until March 19 on its proposal to significantly lower the public float requirement and boost the percentage of new shares available for institutional investors to subscribe.

"Traditionally, Hong Kong's public offering requirement has been stricter compared to other global exchanges like the US," stated John Lee Chen-kwok, vice-chairman and co-head of Asian coverage at the investment bank UBS in Hong Kong. "The suggested change to reduce the public offering would give potential listed companies more room for choice in determining their share offerings, therefore improving Hong Kong's attractiveness as a listing location."

HKEX is going all out to draw in new listings. The money raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong skyrocketed by 87 per cent compared to the previous year, reaching US$11 billion in 2024 as reported by the London Stock Exchange Group. This advancement propelled the city to the fifth position globally on the IPO rankings in December, a significant rise from the 13th spot in June and the eighth in 2023. Between 2009 and 2019, Hong Kong had the distinction of being the world's leading IPO platform seven times.

According to the existing regulations, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) are required to make available to the public, a minimum of 25% of their overall issued shares with a market value of no less than HK$125 million (US$16 million). Major participants have the option to request a reduction of this limit to 15%.

The mandate, established in 1989, is designed to guarantee that there are enough shares accessible for trade.

The Hong Kong-based startup Arbor is targeting 100,000 international investment professionals as potential users of its AI tool. The company's 'reasoning' chatbot is designed to analyze text and distill investment suggestions, thereby improving fundamental stock analysis.

A tech start-up, spearheaded by Hong Kong natives including an ex-analyst from Goldman Sachs, is poised to assist finance experts and investors around the world in making superior investment choices. This will be facilitated through their AI chatbot, capable of executing cycles of "cognitive processing and logic".

Arbor's artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, ArborChat, uses extensive language models to scrutinize text and identify investment strategies, as a way to improve basic stock analysis, the company revealed. It's been tested by around 100 companies, with a handful even purchasing the system, which was introduced just two months earlier, as per Arbor's CEO and co-founder, Cheney Cheng. The objective is to expand their clientele to 100,000 within the next three years, primarily focusing on the worldwide fund industry, Cheng stated.

"Cheng expressed that the current surge in AI technology is revealing a vast untapped potential in the investment sector, thanks to AI's superior task comprehension and analysis skills beyond human capacity. He added that this will lead to many profitable opportunities that have yet to be seized."

Investment has always been seen as a testament to human intelligence due to the vast amount of data and intricate analytical abilities needed, making it a difficult field for artificial intelligence to master, according to Cheng. Cheng, who began his professional journey in basic equity investment at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and later worked as a banker in mergers and acquisitions, emphasized this point.

With the advancement of technology, AI is now capable of assisting with more complex tasks.

For instance, if inquired about the effect of policies from the soon-to-be US President, Donald Trump, on businesses, or a multitude of stocks, ArborChat would perform several procedures to dissect the query and amass relevant information. It would then offer responses supported by internal databases in a matter of minutes.

The method is what the company refers to as a "ThoughtTree" strategy, which mimics the way humans respond to a query. Generally, ArborChat carries out two phases of inquiries and three levels of examination. As the chip industry develops and computing capacity expands, the firm intends to enhance this, according to Cheng.

The retirement fund in Hong Kong saw an impressive growth of 13% in 2024, marking the best progress in four years for retirees. This surge, amounting to HK$102.4 billion (US$13 billion), translates to about HK$21,500 for each member, according to MPF Ratings.

The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) of Hong Kong, which consists of 4.75 million members, saw a 13% growth in their pension assets in 2024. This was due to the highest investment returns they've seen in the past four years.

According to independent research company, MPF Ratings, the MPF accumulated a total of HK$102.4 billion (US$13 billion) in the previous year. This amount corresponds to HK$21,500 per member.

The 379 MPF investment funds yielded an average profit of 8.8% over the year, a significant increase from the 3.5% growth in 2023 and the 15.7% downturn in 2022. This marks the highest annual return since the 11.4% rise in 2020.

The impressive outcomes increased the total assets of the MPF to HK$1.29 trillion. This amount, including investment profits and fresh deposits from members, equates to HK$271,500 for each member. This is a 13% rise compared to the previous year, suggesting an average portfolio growth of HK$31,600 per member.

"2024 has proved to be a fruitful year for investors," stated Mark Konyn, the main investment officer at AIA, a leading MPF provider. "The decrease in inflation and overall positive returns have contributed to the expansion of retirement savings."

In 2025, the Hong Kong real estate market is slated to receive an influx of 10,000 new apartments, further inundating an already saturated market. Experts predict that prices will continue to remain low as builders hurry to sell their inventory. However, this strategy might not be enough to attract investors to the market.

Approximately ten major housing developments, which include a minimum of 10,000 new apartments, are set to launch in the Hong Kong market in 2025. This comes as builders persist in slashing prices to clear stock, in light of declining interest rates and a rise in purchasing interest.

Nonetheless, despite it being an opportune moment for personal purchases, the market might still struggle to attract investors, according to industry professionals.

Joseph Tsang, chairman of JLL Hong Kong, suggests that now might not be the best time for investors to dive into the market. The rental return hasn't shown a positive trend yet and the capital appreciation continues to decline. He noted that although some projects in specific areas have offered enticing prices for final users, it's unlikely that one could purchase at the lowest point.

Property agents have indicated that Kai Tak, the location of Hong Kong's previous airport, is set to become a major hotspot for the introduction of new projects.

Hong Kong shares stumble due to instability in manufacturing as China promises additional policy backing. Shares increased their losses in the first week of 2025 following reports indicating a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth the previous month.

On Monday, the Hang Seng Index experienced a 0.4 per cent dip to 19,688.29, furthering its 1.6 per cent decrease from 2025's initial trading week. The Tech Index also fell by 0.2 per cent, and the Shanghai Composite Index saw a 0.1 per cent reduction.

Nongfu Spring, a company that manufactures bottled water, experienced a 3.4 per cent decrease, dropping to HK$32.50. Likewise, China Resources Beer, a brewing company, also saw a 3.7 per cent fall, landing at HK$23.15. The food delivery service, Meituan, retreated by 2 per cent, settling at HK$150.70. On a more positive note, JD.com, an e-commerce company, managed to increase by 1.1 per cent, reaching HK$135.70. Similarly, the online travel agency, Trip.com, saw a slight rise of 0.8 per cent, bringing its value to HK$520.50.

Two hours and fifty

Trump warns of imposing fresh tariffs targeting narcotics on 'day 1' for China, Canada, Mexico.

The mood was somewhat subdued as a definitive stimulus policy is still pending, despite promises from the government to intensify efforts to boost the consumer sector," stated Ka Liu, chief of advisory support at Citibank Hong Kong. He further added that a deceleration in the rate of export growth is anticipated due to Trump's tariff warnings.

The trader who earned billions in 2008 is back to gamble on fluctuations in the Asia-Pacific market. The ex-trader from a Singapore-based hedge fund is looking for $250 million to speculate on market instability and business collapses in the Asia-Pacific region.

An ex-hedge fund manager, whose company raked in billions during the worldwide economic downturn, is poised to capitalize on market instability once more. He perceives dangers to the stability of the market at an unprecedented level, similar to the situation in 2008.

The family office of Steve Diggle, Vulpes Investment Management, is planning to raise a capital of around $250 million from investors possibly within the first quarter, according to what the investor based in Oxford, UK, stated during a phone interview.

Diggle, the man behind a company that amassed $3 billion between 2007 and 2008, is gathering funds for a hedge fund and handled portfolios intended to yield significant earnings during market downturns, and benefit from bets on both escalating and declining stocks during more stable times.

The concept for the new fund was conceived when the company devised an artificial intelligence model capable of analyzing massive amounts of public data. This allowed the identification of Asia-Pacific businesses at a high risk of failure due to perilous activities like excessive borrowing, asset-liability discrepancies, or even blatant fraud, according to Diggle. The equity portfolio will also include individual stocks or indexes as optimistic bets.

Eight forty-seven

Dramatic fluctuations in stock markets of Hong Kong and mainland China

Diggle is making his most significant move into volatility trading, following the shutdown of his former company, Artradis Fund Management, in March 2011. The hedge fund firm, which was based in Singapore at the time, saw its assets surge to almost US$5 billion in 2008. This was primarily due to profits made from wagering on market crashes and banking issues. However, it eventually succumbed to market changes caused by an unexpected intervention by the central bank.

"There are more fault lines present today, and the likelihood of an issue arising is considerably higher, yet the cost of risks has reduced," stated Diggle, likening the situation to the period of relaxed financial policies experienced over a decade ago. "Thus, our current circumstances parallel those we faced from 2005 to 2007."

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