Mannings, one of Hong Kong’s largest health and beauty chains, will cease all retail operations in mainland China, both online and offline, as it adjusts its strategy in the highly competitive market. In a letter to its members, Mannings China said “its physical stores on the mainland will close permanently after January 15, 2026”. Its…
Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has pressed ahead with its strategic move into the fast-growing healthcare sector with a major upgrade to its artificial intelligence health app AQ, positioning the platform to work like a fitness companion or a family doctor. The new features included integration of records from smart devices made by Apple, Huawei…
TH International (NASDAQ: THCH) launched an eco-friendly drinking straw on December 3, 2025, developed with Tencent’s CarbonXmade program and Suzhou Kunshen using Carbon Capture Utilization (CCU) to convert industrial CO₂ into PPC-TPU biodegradable material. The straw debuts in stores across Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen and was showcased…
Apple last week introduced a Mini Apps Partner Program whereby it would ask a 15% cut of purchases made using its systems in mini apps and games on the iPhone. The announcement was the result of a protracted negotiation with Tencent, China’s most valuable company, whose WeChat serves as the world’s preeminent mini apps collection….
A draft of the “Anti-Monopoly Compliance Guidelines for Internet Platforms”, published over the weekend by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), focused heavily on the sophisticated, often opaque ways in which online platforms with significant market power can exploit technological advantages to exclude rivals and harm consumer interests. The document identified eight “new risks”,…
China’s internet giants are poised to drive the continued adoption of artificial intelligence in the country, with AI chip shortages unlikely to pose significant obstacles for the sector in the short term, according to JPMorgan analysts. Sustained user adoption of AI features would be a key theme in the coming year despite the absence of…
Key News After the market closed overnight, the government released the “Recommendations of the Central Committee on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development”, which covered 15 key focus areas comprising sixty-one sub-areas. For investors, a few key points stood out: Accelerate high-level self-reliance in science and technology, and lead the…
China can learn from the United States when it comes to applying civilian innovations to the military, a Chinese geopolitical expert has said. In an article last week, Gu Jianyi, a researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said China could consider developing a new industrial ecosystem inspired by successful US firms such as SpaceX, Palantir…
Hong Kong stocks jumped on Thursday after a one-day break, as signs of stabilisation in the property sector and gains in technology firms boosted sentiment. The Hang Seng Index shot up 1.3 per cent to 27,191.99 as of 9.55am local time. The Hang Seng Tech Index added 2.2 per cent. Mainland stock exchanges are closed…
Key News Asian equities were mixed overnight, as Hong Kong outperformed and Thailand underperformed. After an initial dip, growth stocks in Hong Kong climbed higher on robust volume, propelling the Hang Seng Tech Index to a four-year high as it closed above recent resistance. Concerned with Hong Kong outperforming and Thailand underperforming about missing the…