GMT EIGHT - OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA

According to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange documents, Sichuan Yingfa Rui Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

According to Xiaomi's official Weibo account, the company plans to invest over 60 billion yuan in the AI field in the next three years.

In the United States, the number of initial jobless claims fell to 205,000 in the week ending March 14, the lowest since the week of January 10, compared to market expectations of 215,000.

Ali Wu Yongming: Pingtouge chip annual revenue scale exceeds 10 billion yuan, IPO is not ruled out, but no specific timing is given.

On March 19, during the analyst call for Alibaba Group's Q3 financial report for the 2026 fiscal year, CEO Wu Yongming stated that Pingtouge has already achieved successful commercialization, with the scale of its chips exceeding 470,000 pieces and annual revenue scale exceeding billions. In 2026 and 2027, the high-quality AI chip production scale of Pingtouge will continue to expand, providing sufficient computing power guarantee for the Group's AI business. He also mentioned that Pingtouge does not rule out going public in the future, but there is currently no specific timing for it.

Lei Jun: The starting price for the new generation SU7 is 219,900 yuan.

Inter-ministerial Joint Meeting on Promoting the Use of Genuine Software Held, Emphasizing the Acceleration of Promoting the Legitimization of Industry Software.

The 15th plenary session of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Meeting on the Promotion of the Use of Genuine Software was held in Beijing on the 19th. The meeting emphasized the need to strengthen the bottom line thinking, as the risk of large-scale use of pirated software still exists, and preventing the task of widespread use of pirated software remains arduous. It is necessary to highlight the key areas of work and accelerate the promotion of the genuine software transformation in the industry. This year is a crucial year for achieving the genuine software transformation in the education and health systems. Various regions and units need to speed up the work. Emphasis should be placed on inspections to ensure that measures for genuine software transformation are effectively implemented and inspections play a long-term role in promoting the work effectively. It is necessary to continuously standardize the inspections for software transformation and focus on the application of inspection results. Attention should be paid to daily management to strengthen the long-term mechanism for genuine software transformation. Efforts should be made to promote the establishment of a sound long-term mechanism for genuine software transformation in key industries, focusing on software procurement, daily use, and monitoring inspections.

Alibaba announced its AI strategic business goals: in the next five years, commercialization revenue from cloud and AI will exceed 100 billion US dollars.

During the analyst conference call for Alibaba Group's Q3 financial report for the 2026 fiscal year, CEO Wu Yongming said that the external commercialization revenue of Alibaba Cloud for the fiscal year ending in February exceeded 100 billion yuan. In the face of long-term growth momentum in the AI market, Alibaba Group's AI strategy has a very clear business goal - to exceed 100 billion US dollars in commercial revenue from cloud and AI, including MaaS, in the next five years.

The 71st meeting of the Energy Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was successfully held in Nanchang, Jiangxi.

The National Energy Administration announced that the 71st meeting of the APEC Energy Working Group was successfully held in Nanchang, Jiangxi on March 18th to 19th. This meeting is the first mechanized meeting in the energy sector held during China's third hosting of APEC. The meeting focused on the theme of "Building an Asia-Pacific Community and Promoting Common Prosperity" for the 2026 APEC China Year, proposing the energy theme of "Building a Common Asia-Pacific Energy Community with Inclusiveness, Innovation, and Collaboration." Representatives of various economies discussed in depth around the three major priority directions of "High-quality Energy Universal Service," "Artificial Intelligence + Energy," and "Collaborative Governance of Asia-Pacific Energy," regarding the effectiveness of existing initiatives and design of achievements for the 2026 APEC China Year, exchanging views frankly and laying the groundwork for achieving consensus in the energy sector for the 2026 APEC China Year.

Xiaomi's new SU7 launch event will invite half of the car circle! Wang Xingxing, Wang Chuanfu, Li Xiang, and others will attend.

On the evening of March 19, the 2026 new generation SU7 Xiaomi Spring New Product Launch Conference will be held. According to observations by Sina Technology on site, this Xiaomi conference will be attended by many heavyweight guests from the automotive industry, such as Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and CEO of BYD Group, Li Xiang, CEO of Ideal Car, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Car. In addition, Wang Xingxing, founder of Yunshu Technology, will also bring Yunshu robots to the scene to support the new generation SU7.

HORIZONROBOT-W (09660) releases annual performance, with total revenue of 3.758 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 57.7%.

Horizon Robotics-W (09660) released its annual performance for the year ending on December 31, 2025. The group achieved revenues of 3.758 billion RMB from customer contracts, an increase of 57.7% compared to the previous year; gross profit was 2.426 billion RMB, an increase of 31.7% compared to the previous year; adjusted net loss was 2.812 billion RMB, an increase of 67.3% compared to the previous year.

BLOCKFIN HLDG(00888) issued a profit warning, expecting the net loss attributable to shareholders for the year 2025 not to exceed HK$68 million, an increase compared to the previous year.

Chain Trust Holdings (00888) announced that the group is expected to incur a loss attributable to the owners of the parent company of not more than HK$68 million for the year ending December 31, 2025, compared to a loss of approximately HK$27.2 million for the same period in 2024. The increase in the expected loss for the year is primarily due to (including) (i) unrealized losses on investments in a private equity fund confirmed; and (ii) an increase in the provision for impairment losses on financial assets.

BABA-W (09988) released its third-quarter results, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 16.322 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 67%. Revenue from Alibaba Cloud saw strong growth of 36%.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (09988.HK) announced its third quarter performance for the three months ending December 31, 2025. The revenue was 284.843 billion yuan, an increase of 2% year-on-year; operating profit was 10.645 billion yuan, a decrease of 74% year-on-year; net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was 16.322 billion yuan, a decrease of 67% year-on-year; diluted earnings per American Depositary Share were 5.93 yuan.

Alibaba stated that the company has put its self-developed Big Brother GPU into mass production.

Alibaba announced that the company has put its self-developed PlatHead GPU into large-scale production, supporting end-to-end AI workloads from training, fine-tuning to inference.

Alibaba: Real-time retail scale expands, AIDC continues to improve efficiency.

Alibaba's revenue in China's e-commerce group increased by 6% year-on-year to 159.347 billion yuan, with steady user growth, continuing to consolidate its competitive advantage. This quarter, the monthly active consumers on the Taobao app saw double-digit growth year-on-year, while the number of 88VIP members continued to grow by double digits year-on-year, exceeding 59 million. This quarter, the scale of the instant retail business further expanded, improving user experience and optimizing operational efficiency. Benefiting from the improvement of fulfillment logistics efficiency, improvement of order structure, and high customer retention rate, the revenue of the instant retail business increased by 56% year-on-year, with continuous improvement in unit economic benefits and average order value on a month-on-month basis.

Today, southbound funds saw a net inflow of 26.19 billion yuan. In terms of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Yingfu Fund and Hang Seng China Enterprises received net inflows of 10.747 billion yuan and 3.294 billion yuan respectively. Xiaomi-W was the top seller with a net outflow of 806 million yuan. In terms of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, Yingfu Fund and Hang Seng China Enterprises received net inflows of 3.905 billion yuan and 2.03 billion yuan respectively. Alibaba-W was the top seller with a net outflow of 203 million yuan.

Alibaba's third quarter revenue was 2848.4 billion RMB, estimated at 2897.9 billion RMB.

BOC AVIATION (02588) released its 2025 annual performance report, with net profit of 787 million US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 14.8%.

China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (02588) announced its annual performance for the year ending December 31, 2025. The operational revenue and other income were 2.619 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.4% compared to the previous year. Net profit was 787 million US dollars, a decrease of 14.8% compared to the previous year. Basic earnings per share were 1.13 US dollars.

ZA ONLINE (06060) announced its annual performance, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.102 billion yuan, an increase of 82.55% year-on-year.

Zhongan Online (06060) announced its annual performance for the year ending on December 31, 2025. The group achieved an insurance service revenue of 33.485 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.48%; the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company was 1.102 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 82.55%; basic earnings per share were 0.7 yuan.

MGM CHINA (02282) has announced its annual performance, with a shareholder profit of 5.075 billion Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 10.24% year-on-year, and a final dividend of 0.353 Hong Kong dollars per share.

MGM China (02282) released its annual performance ending on December 31, 2025. The group achieved a casino revenue of HK$30.472 billion, an increase of 11.69% year-on-year. The company's owners' profit for the year was HK$5.075 billion, an increase of 10.24% year-on-year. Basic earnings per share were HK$1.335, with a proposed final dividend of HK$0.353 per share.

CKH Holdings (00001) announced its annual performance, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$11.841 billion, a decrease of 31% compared to the previous year.

Cheung Kong (00001) announced its performance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025. The group achieved a total revenue of HK$507.297 billion after the implementation of IFRS 16, a 6% increase year-on-year. EBITDA totaled HK$129.105 billion, a 3% increase year-on-year. Net profit after tax was HK$19.233 billion, a 19% decrease year-on-year. Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders was HK$11.841 billion, a 31% decrease year-on-year. A final dividend of HK$1.602 per share is proposed to be distributed.

CRYSTAL INTL (02232) released its annual performance with a net profit attributable to shareholders of $225 million USD, an increase of 12.05% year-on-year.

Crystal International (02232) announced its annual performance for the year ending December 31, 2025. The company achieved a revenue of 2.641 billion US dollars, an increase of 6.95% year-on-year. The company's shareholders' profit for the year amounted to 225 million US dollars, representing a 12.05% increase year-on-year. Earnings per share were 7.87 US cents. The company plans to pay a final dividend of 24.5 Hong Kong cents (approximately 3.1 US cents) per share.

CK ASSET (01113) announced its annual performance, with a net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$10.847 billion, a decrease of 20.58% year-on-year.

Cheung Kong Group (01113) announced its financial performance for the year ending on December 31, 2025. The group achieved a revenue of 57.935 billion Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 27.25% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 10.847 billion Hong Kong dollars, a decrease of 20.58% year-on-year; earnings per share were 3.1 Hong Kong dollars, and a final dividend of 1.39 Hong Kong dollars per share is proposed.

Apple's COO and his team visited Rwanda.

According to Xingwangda news, on March 17th, Apple's Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan and his delegation visited Xingwangda headquarters. Accompanied by Xingwangda's chairman Wang Wei, they visited the highly automated iPhone battery production line, and conducted a thorough investigation on the latest developments of China's "fruit chain" in intelligent manufacturing.

Revenue and net profit for the whole year were 11.84 billion Hong Kong dollars, estimated at 21.74 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Ministry of Commerce responds to Nvidia's chip sales situation in China.

At the routine press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce on March 19th, a journalist from the US media asked, "Reports suggest that the Chinese government has approved some companies to purchase NVIDIA's H200 chips. Can you provide more details and any comments?" Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yongqian responded, "I am not aware of the situation you mentioned."

Central Bank: Firmly maintain the stable operation of stock, bond, foreign exchange and other financial markets.

On March 18th, the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China held an expanded meeting. It actively and prudently resolves financial risks in key areas. It grasps the dynamic balance between economic growth, economic structural adjustment, and financial risk prevention at the macro level. It continues to promote the resolution of debt risks for financing platforms. It adheres to the principles of marketization and rule of law, and actively and prudently disposes of risks in small and medium-sized financial institutions. It fully demonstrates the role of the central bank in macro-prudential management and financial stability maintenance, and firmly maintains the stable operation of stock, bond, and foreign exchange markets. It is studying the establishment of a liquidity support mechanism for non-bank financial institutions in specific scenarios. It will continue to crack down on illegal financial activities together with relevant departments.

Spot gold lost the key level of $4750 per troy ounce, falling 1.43% intraday.

Polycrystalline silicon continuous main contract fell 8% intraday, now reporting at 37520.00 yuan.

Lithium carbonate main futures contract fell by 8% intraday, now trading at 140100.00 yuan.

Spot gold fell below $4770 per ounce, down 1.12% intraday.

The continuous main contract for lithium carbonate fell by 5% intraday, now standing at 144,600.00 yuan.

The Bank of Japan follows the Federal Reserve's "wait-and-see" approach, but key wording raises the probability of a rate hike in April.

The Bank of Japan stated that if the growth outlook is as planned, it will return to raising interest rates after standing pat.

AAC TECH (02018) announced its annual performance with a net profit attributable to shareholders of 2.512 billion yuan, an increase of 39.8% year-on-year. Its revenue reached 31.82 billion yuan, setting a new record high.

Rayson Technology (02018) announced its annual performance for the year ending December 31, 2025. The group achieved a revenue of 31.817 billion yuan, an increase of 16.4% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to owners of the company was 2.512 billion yuan, an increase of 39.8% year-on-year. The basic earnings per share were 2.18 yuan. It is proposed to distribute a final dividend of 0.35 Hong Kong dollars per share.

The total turnover of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets exceeded 1 trillion yuan, an increase of 89 billion yuan compared to the same time the previous day.

Brent crude oil prices rose by 5%.

Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining (06693) has temporarily suspended trading on March 19th.

Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining (06693) issued an announcement that the trading of its H shares will be temporarily suspended from 9:00 am on March 19, 2026. Therefore, all structured products related to the company will also be temporarily suspended from trading at the same time.

AI + drones + defense industry! As the Middle East conflict escalates, this obscure company with hot concepts saw its stock price soar 1000%.

Capital frenzy under the shadow of Middle East war is becoming more and more exaggerated, with a small artificial intelligence drone technology company's stock price skyrocketing 1000% in two days. From the Ukrainian battlefield to Wall Street, Swarmer ignites a frenzy of AI drone investments.

Powell: Will not cut interest rates before inflation improves, will not leave the Federal Reserve during the investigation, and will temporarily serve as chair if necessary (full text attached)

Powell stated at a press conference that he will not lower interest rates until further improvement is seen in inflation, and discussions about a possible future rate hike have been mentioned. He said that the impact of the Iran war on the economy cannot yet be determined, progress in inflation reduction has stalled, tariffs and rising oil prices are creating additional pressure and gradually transmitting to core inflation, and a cooling of commodities will need to wait at least until mid-year.

AIA (01299) releases annual performance with new business value increasing by 15% year-on-year to $5.516 billion.

(01299) announced its annual performance ending December 31, 2025, with growth rates shown based on fixed exchange rates: - New Business Value increased by 15% to 5.516 billion US dollars - After-tax operating surplus amounted to 7.136 billion US dollars, with an increase of 12% per share - Shareholder distribution equity operating return reached 15.5%, up by 70 basis points - Final dividend rose by 10% to 0.14408 Hong Kong dollars per share.

Spot gold lost the key level of $4810 per ounce, falling 0.19% intraday.

WTI crude oil rose 3% intraday and is now trading at $98.34 per barrel.

FTSE A50 futures continued to fall by 1.03% in night trading, closing at 14,731 points.

Iran launches "Real Commitment 4" 63rd round action in retaliation for energy infrastructure attacks.

The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued an urgent statement in the early hours of the 19th local time, announcing a large-scale missile attack on oil and energy facilities in the region related to the United States. This action is a direct retaliation for the attack on Iranian energy infrastructure earlier on the 18th. The statement pointed out that the retaliatory action aimed to strike energy facilities "related to American interests and owned by American shareholders." The statement emphasized that Iran originally did not want to expand the war to the energy sector or affect the economies of neighboring countries, but provocations from the enemy have pushed the war into a "new phase." The statement confirmed that Iran's armed forces have conducted multiple rounds of strikes to ensure that the losses suffered by the enemy match the damage to Iranian infrastructure. The statement also warned that if the attacks continue, Iran will expand the scope of the strikes to all energy facilities of the United States and Israeli allies, until they are "completely destroyed."

International oil prices rose on the 18th.

As of the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for delivery in April on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 11 cents to close at $96.32 per barrel, an increase of 0.11%; the price of Brent crude oil futures for delivery in May rose by $3.96 to close at $107.38 per barrel, an increase of 3.83%.

Micron Technology's cloud storage revenue for the second fiscal quarter was $7.75 billion, with core data center revenue reaching $5.69 billion. Total revenue for the second fiscal quarter was $23.86 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations of $19.74 billion.

The three major U.S. stock indexes fell more than 1%.

The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed down collectively, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 1.68%, the Nasdaq falling by 1.43%, and the S&P 500 Index falling by 1.36%. Most large-cap tech stocks declined, with Intel rising more than 2%, AMD rising more than 1%, Amazon falling more than 2%, Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Oracle all falling by more than 1%, while Nvidia closed slightly lower.

Powell said he is prepared to stay on as Federal Reserve Chairman on an interim basis after his term ends.

The Federal Reserve ended its two-day monetary policy meeting on the 18th and announced that it would keep the federal fund target rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75%. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that from September to December last year, the Fed lowered the policy rate by 0.75 percentage points, bringing it back to a reasonable range within the estimated neutral rate. However, the impact of the evolving situation in the Middle East on the US economy remains uncertain. In the short term, rising energy prices will push up overall inflation levels, but it is still too early to judge the breadth and duration of its potential impact on the economy. Powell also stated that, according to median forecasts of participants, the appropriate level of the federal fund rate will reach 3.4% by the end of this year and 3.1% by the end of next year, consistent with forecasts from December last year. However, Powell noted that as always, these individual forecasts are uncertain and do not represent the committee's plans or decisions. Monetary policy is not predetermined on a fixed path, and the Fed will make decisions at each meeting. Powell's term as Chairman of the Fed will end in May of this year. Powell stated that if the successor has not been confirmed by the end of his term as Chairman of the Fed, he will continue to serve as "Acting Chairman" until the successor is officially confirmed.

The Federal Reserve's dot plot shows that the median expectations for the federal funds rate at the end of 2026, 2027, 2028, and in the long term are 3.4%, 3.1%, 3.1%, and 3.1%, respectively. (The December expectations are 3.4%, 3.1%, 3.1%, and 3.0%, respectively).

Wanguo Gold GP (03939) announces its performance for 2025, with a net profit attributable to owners of approximately 1.355 billion yuan, an increase of 135.5% year-on-year. The final dividend is 10.1 cents per share.

The World Gold Group (03939) announced its performance in 2025, with revenue of about 3.161 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 68.5%; gross profit increased by 135.5% to about 2.348 billion yuan, and the net profit attributable to the company's owners was about 1.355 billion yuan, an increase of 135.5% year-on-year; basic earnings per share was 31.04 cents, and a final dividend of 10.1 cents per share is recommended.

Middle East conflict continues to escalate, Iran claims Persian Gulf energy facilities as target, Brent oil briefly rises above $108.

As the Middle East conflict continues to escalate, the global energy market is once again facing disruption.

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WTI April crude oil futures closed at $96.14 per barrel. NYMEX April natural gas futures closed at $3.1660 per million British thermal units. NYMEX April gasoline futures closed at $3.1271 per gallon, and NYMEX March heating oil futures closed at $4.3420 per gallon.

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