GMT EIGHT

Ministry of Culture and Tourism: The number of domestic travelers in 2024 is 5.615 billion, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year.

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 22 (Reporter Xu Zhuang) According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, based on the results of a sampling survey of domestic tourism, the number of domestic trips in 2024 was 5.615 billion, an increase of 724 million compared to the same period last year, an increase of 14.8%. Among them, the number of domestic trips by urban residents was 4.37 billion, an increase of 16.3% year-on-year; the number of domestic trips by rural residents was 1.245 billion, an increase of 9.9% year-on-year. Looking at the quarters, the number of domestic trips in the first quarter was 1.419 billion, an increase of 16.7% year-on-year; the number of domestic trips in the second quarter was 1.306 billion, an increase of 11.8% year-on-year; the number of domestic trips in the third quarter was 1.512 billion, an increase of 17.2% year-on-year; the number of domestic trips in the fourth quarter was 1.378 billion, an increase of 13.2% year-on-year. In 2024, the total expenditure of domestic tourists was 5.75 trillion yuan, an increase of 840 billion yuan compared to the previous year, an increase of 17.1% year-on-year. Among them, urban residents spent 4.93 trillion yuan on travel, an increase of 18.0% year-on-year; rural residents spent 0.83 trillion yuan on travel, an increase of 12.2% year-on-year. This article is reprinted from "Xinhua News Agency", GMTEight editor: Xu Wenqiang.

24 min ago

Four departments: Each region should prepare a three-year rolling plan for land reserve based on national economic and social development plans and national land space planning.

On January 22, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission issued a notice on the issuance of the "Land Reserve Management Measures". The measures propose that localities should formulate a three-year rolling plan for land reserve based on national economic and social development planning, land space planning, reasonably determine the scale of land reserve for the next three years, make overall arrangements for land resources that can be collected and reserved within three years in terms of total quantity, structure, layout, and timing, delineate reserve zones in conjunction with urban renewal, large-scale development, etc., and prioritize the reserve of existing construction land that is vacant or underutilized. The original text is as follows: Provincial, autonomous region, and directly governed municipality departments responsible for natural resources, finance departments (bureaus), Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Bureau of Natural Resources, Finance Bureau, People's Bank of China Shanghai Head Office, provincial, autonomous region, directly governed municipality branches, and financial regulatory authorities: In order to strengthen and standardize land reserve management, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the provisions of relevant documents of the State Council on the management of state-owned land assets, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission jointly revised the "Land Reserve Management Measures". Now it is issued for your implementation. Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Finance, People's Bank of China China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission January 10, 2025 Land Reserve Management Measures 1. General Requirements (1) In order to improve the land reserve system, promote the efficient use and allocation of land resources, enhance the support and guarantee capability of construction land, and promote high-quality development, in accordance with the "Land Management Law" and the State Council's Notice on Strengthening the Management of State-owned Land Assets (State Council Document No. 15 [2001]), the State Council's Notice on Promoting the Economical and Intensive Use of Land (State Council Document No. 3 [2008]), and the State Council's Office's Notice on Regulating the Revenue and Expenditure Management of State-owned Land Use Rights (State Council Document No. 100 [2006]), these measures are formulated. (2) Land reserve refers to the behavior of county-level (inclusive) and above natural resources authorities acquiring land legally, carrying out asset management, organizing preliminary development, and storing for supply in order to regulate the land market, promote the rational use of land resources, implement and safeguard the rights of owners. Land reserve work is unified under the management of the natural resources authority, and land reserve institutions are responsible for the specific implementation of land reserve work. The finance department is responsible for the supervision of land reserve funds and the formation of assets. (3) Land reserve institutions should be approved by the people's government at or above the county level, have independent legal personality, be affiliated with the natural resources authority of their administrative division, and be responsible for the land reserve work in their administrative jurisdiction. The natural resources authority shall implement a list-based management system for land reserve institutions. Natural resources authorities at the municipal and county levels should report the information of institutions that meet the regulations to the provincial natural resources authority level by level, and after review by the provincial natural resources authority, report to the Ministry of Natural Resources, include it in the national list of land reserve institutions, and update it dynamically. 2. Reserve Plan (4) Localities should formulate a three-year rolling plan for land reserve according to national economic and social development planning and land space planning, reasonably determine the scale of land reserve for the next three years, make overall arrangements for land resources that can be collected and reserved within three years in terms of total quantity, structure, layout, and timing, combined with urban renewal, large-scale development, etc., to delineate reserve zones, and prioritize the reserve of existing construction land that is vacant or underutilized. (5) Localities should reasonably formulate annual land reserve plans based on the needs of urban construction development and land market regulation, combined with local social development planning, the three-year rolling plan for land reserve, and the annual state-owned construction land supply plan. The content of the annual land reserve plan should include: 1. Carry-over situation of reserve land at the end of the previous year (including the list of proposed reserve land at the end of the previous year and the land already in the reserve); 2. Plan for new reserve land in the year (including the scale and list of proposed reserve land to be acquired and the newly added land already in the reserve); 3. Preliminary development plan for the year (including the list of preliminary development land for the year); 4. Land supply plan for the year (including the list of land to be supplied in the year); 5. Temporary management plan for reserve land in the year; 6. Total amount of land reserve funds required for the year. In which, proposed reserve land refers to land that has been included in the land reserve plan or has been approved by the people's government at or above the county level, and work such as reclamation, acquisition, or expropriation has been initiated but complete ownership has not been obtained; land already in the reserve refers to land that the land reserve institution has obtained complete ownership of and has been included in the management of reserve land. (6) In the third quarter of each year, the natural resources authority, together with the finance department, should organize the preparation of the land reserve plan for the next year, submit it for approval to the same level of people's government, and report it to the provincial natural resources authority for the record. If there is a need to adjust the annual land reserve plan due to changes in land market regulation policies or re-development of inefficient land, the land reserve plan should be submitted for approval and record according to the original approval procedure. 3. Standards for Reserve Land Entry (7) Reserved land must comply with land space planning. Land with pollution, cultural relics, overlay of mineral deposits, flood risks, geological hazards, etc., shall not be included in the reserve until related units have completed verification, evaluation, and management according to relevant regulations. (8) The following types of land can be included in the reserve: 1. State-owned construction land that has been legally reclaimed and whose original land use rights have been cancelled; 2. State-owned construction land acquired through purchase; 3. State-owned construction land obtained through exercising the right of first refusal; 4. Land for which approval has been obtained for conversion from agricultural land or expropriation and expropriation has been completed; 5. Other state-owned construction land obtained legally. The land to be included in the reserve must have clear property rights. Land reserve institutions should audit the legality of the acquisition method and procedure, economic compensation, ownership status (including ownership and usufructuary rights, security rights), etc., and must not harm the legitimate land rights for the sake of acquisition. Land that does not meet the legal requirements for acquisition method and procedure, insufficient compensation, unclear land ownership, and various types of real estate rights registration procedures such as original collective land ownership or state-owned construction land use rights have not been completed, should not be included in the reserve. (9) The compensation standard for acquired land shall be determined by the land reserve institution and the land user based on land assessment results, etc., in accordance with established procedures.Business, confirmed by the same level natural resources regulatory authority and finance department. () () () (10) Reserved land will no longer handle the first registration of state-owned land use rights, and will not handle real estate mortgage registration. 4. Pre-development, Management and Supply (11) Land reserve agencies are responsible for clearing the property rights of reserved land deposited, and evaluating the asset value of reserved land deposited. (12) Land reserve agencies should organize necessary pre-development of reserved land to provide guarantees for land supply for the government. Pre-development of reserved land should strengthen the protection of cultural relics, historical sites, ancient trees and other heritage in accordance with the planning of the plot, complete the construction of basic infrastructure such as roads, water supply, electricity supply, gas supply, drainage, communication, and fences within the plot, and carry out land leveling to meet the necessary "leveling" requirements. Specific projects should be constructed by selecting units for engineering exploration, design, construction, and supervision in accordance with relevant regulations. During the construction of pre-development projects, land reserve agencies should supervise and manage the implementation of the projects. After the completion of the project, land reserve agencies should organize acceptance according to regulations or entrust a professional organization to conduct acceptance, and report to the competent natural resources department in accordance with relevant regulations for the record. (13) Land reserve agencies should manage the land included in the reserve through self-management, entrusted management, or temporary use, establish a patrol system, and early identify, stop, and deal with behaviors that infringe on the rights of reserved land. The management of reserved land can be assigned to the internal institutions of the land reserve agency, or the land reserve agency can select a management unit according to relevant regulations. (14) Before the reserved land is supplied, land reserve agencies may utilize the reserved land or buildings (structures) above the ground through leasing, temporary use, etc. Temporary use of reserved land generally does not exceed two years and should not affect land supply. Temporary use of reserved land should be approved by the competent natural resources department at the same level. Temporary use of reserved land in urban planning areas that require the construction of buildings must go through approval procedures in accordance with the law and must not construct permanent buildings. (15) After the pre-development of reserved land is completed and has supply conditions, it should be included in the local state-owned construction land supply plan, which will be organized by the competent natural resources department of the city/county for land supply. Before supplying registered and certified reserved land, the land reserve agency should first apply for cancellation of real estate registration, otherwise, it will not be supplied. 5. Fund Management (16) The income and expenditure management of land reserve funds shall strictly follow the financial regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the financial management of land reserve funds. The Ministry of Finance sets aside a certain proportion of funds from land transfer revenue to establish a state-owned land revenue fund, mainly used for land reserve, with the specific proportion determined by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and planned cities, and submitted to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources for the record. Land reserve funds are arranged through government budgeting and implemented on a dedicated basis. (17) Land reserve agencies should strictly use land reserve funds for designated purposes and should not misappropriate them. The daily expenses required by land reserve agencies are included in the government budget, and are separately accounted for from the land reserve funds, without mixing them. After land supply, the land acquisition costs should be settled in a timely manner. (18) Land reserve agencies should prepare a budget for land reserve fund income and expenditure projects in accordance with regulations, which should be audited by the competent natural resources department at the same level and approved by the same-level Ministry of Finance before implementation. At the end of the year, land reserve agencies should submit the final accounts of the income and expenditure projects of the land reserve funds to the same-level Ministry of Finance for review, either by the same-level Ministry of Finance or by designated reputable accounting firms with high professional quality. (19) Land reserve funds should establish a performance evaluation system, with the performance evaluation results serving as the basis for the Ministry of Finance to arrange the annual income and expenditure projects of land reserve funds. (20) The management of special bonds used for land reserve shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and other relevant departments. 6. Supervision Responsibilities (21) Informatization management. The Ministry of Natural Resources shall establish the National Land Assets Management Information System, which is used for the information management of reserved land and integrated into the supervision and implementation of the national land spatial planning "map". For land reserve projects involving the use of special bonds, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Finance should link and share project information through the local government debt management information system, and the Ministry of Finance should provide the list of land reserve projects using special bonds to the Ministry of Natural Resources. Land reserve agencies should enter the land reserve plan, project, plot, and special bond-related information into the system as required, and carry out work in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and normative documents. Failure to comply with relevant requirements will result in warnings until the entity is removed from the national land reserve agency list. The competent natural resources departments at all levels should strengthen the audit and supervision of the data in the National Land Assets Management Information System, ensuring the authenticity, completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of the data. They should establish random checks and data verification mechanisms, regularly monitor, analyze, and evaluate the related data indicators of reserved land, and adjust as needed. (22) Departmental supervision. The competent natural resources departments and finance departments at all levels should cooperate according to their respective responsibilities to ensure the smooth progress of land reserve work. The natural resources departments at the city/county level should develop relevant management measures to supervise land reserve agencies, business operations, asset management, and fund utilization, conduct regular assessments, strengthen the management and guidance of land reserve agencies, review and adjust land reserve plans and fund requirements, ensure the financing balance of land reserve projects using special bonds, guide relevant entities to timely hand over funds for repayment of the special bond principal and interest, and cooperate with the city/county finance department in the management of related special bond issuances. The provincial natural resources department is responsible for formulating the supervision system for land reserve in its administrative jurisdiction, providing policy and business guidance for land reserve operations, supervising the operation of land reserve agencies and local land reserve businesses, reviewing the directory of land reserve agencies, the scale of land reserve, and the needs of funds and special bonds, ensuring the financing balance of land reserve projects using special bonds, guiding relevant entities to timely hand over funds for repayment of the special bond principal and interest, and coordinating with the provincial finance department in the management of related special bond issuances and other related work. The finance department is responsible for auditing the budget, final accounts of land reserve funds, establishment and disbursement of state-owned land revenue funds, and allocation of land transfer income, ensuring the legal use of funds and dedicated purposes.Supervise the payment and collection of funds, settle the cost of land acquisition and storage, and manage the issuance of special bonds for land reserves.(23) Natural resources regulatory departments at all levels, financial departments, branches of the People's Bank of China, and agencies dispatched by the China Banking Regulatory Commission should establish a joint regulatory mechanism that is in line with local realities. According to their respective responsibilities, they should supervise and guide the reserve of land, assets, funds, and special bonds. VII. Other requirements (24) Natural resources regulatory departments in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and separately listed cities may, in accordance with the provisions of these measures, in conjunction with the local financial departments, branches of the People's Bank of China, and agencies dispatched by the China Banking Regulatory Commission, formulate specific implementation measures based on local conditions. (25) These measures are to be interpreted by the Ministry of Natural Resources in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, the People's Bank of China, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission. (26) These measures shall be implemented from the date of issuance. The "Notice of the Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Finance, People's Bank of China, and China Banking Regulatory Commission on Issuing the Measures for the Management of Land Reserves" (Guo Tu Zi Gui [2017] No.17) is hereby repealed. This article is excerpted from the Ministry of Natural Resources, GMTEight Editor: Chen Wenfang.

33 min ago

AI text coding startup StackBlitz is in discussions for a new round of financing with a valuation of $700 million.

The CEO of the artificial intelligence text encoding startup StackBlitz, Eric Simons, has announced that the company is in final negotiations with investors to secure funding at a valuation of $700 million. Eric Simons stated that the company will raise $83.5 million in a deal led by Emergence Capital and GV (formerly Google Ventures), with participation from Madrona Venture Group, Conviction, and Mantis. Additionally, PitchBook data shows that StackBlitz's other investors include Flex Capital, Greylock Partners, and Tribe Capital. Established in 2017, StackBlitz is a web development software startup that has recently found its niche with the launch of its new artificial intelligence product, Bolt.new. Bolt.new is a platform that utilizes AI to help build websites. Eric Simons mentioned that the platform was launched in October last year and already has nearly 1 million users each month, experiencing growth through word-of-mouth. He added that this service brings in tens of millions of dollars in recurring revenue for the startup each year. Eric Simons highlighted the appeal of the platform, stating that even those with limited technical expertise can use it to create something. Users can describe the application they want in natural language and create complex web applications without any coding experience. He mentioned that in some ways, StackBlitz competes with the development technology company Replit. Emergence Capital's General Partner Joe Floyd will join StackBlitz's board of directors in this funding round. Joe Floyd noted that the company's revenue has rapidly grown in the three months since the launch of their new product, outpacing the growth of Zoom, Salesforce, or any of their previous investments. He mentioned that both technical and non-technical users are utilizing the tool. GV's General Partner Erik Nordlander stated that this startup makes software development easier and added, "There's no faster way to develop applications than with their flagship product."

1 h ago

With a scale of up to $500 billion! Trump officially announces the "Stargate" AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle.

President Trump appeared at the White House with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle Corporation Chairman Larry Ellison to announce that the private sector will make massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the United States. Trump announced an AI infrastructure investment plan called "Stargate." He stated that these three companies will each contribute $100 billion as startup capital, with the investment amount increasing to $500 billion over the next four years, starting with a data center in Texas. Trump stated that the Stargate project will build physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI, including data centers across the country. He also mentioned that the project is the largest AI infrastructure project in history. Microsoft Corporation, Arm, and NVIDIA Corporation are reported to be participating as technical partners in the project. The Middle East AI fund MGX will invest with SoftBank. In a statement, OpenAI said, "The Stargate project plans to invest $500 billion in the United States to build new AI infrastructure for OpenAI over the next four years. We will start deploying $100 billion immediately. This infrastructure will ensure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S., and bring significant economic benefits to the world. The project will not only support American reindustrialization but also provide strategic capabilities to protect the security of the United States and its allied countries." OpenAI added that SoftBank and OpenAI are the main partners of Stargate, with SoftBank handling finances and OpenAI managing operations; Masayoshi Son will serve as chairman of Stargate. As part of Stargate, Oracle Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, and OpenAI will collaborate closely to build and operate the computing system. OpenAI also stated that, by continuing to collaborate with Microsoft Corporation and utilizing additional computing power to train leading models and provide excellent products and services, OpenAI will increase its consumption of Azure. Boosted by this news, Oracle Corporation rose 7.17% on Tuesday, followed by another 6% rise after hours; NVIDIA Corporation rose 2.27%, followed by a 1% rise after hours; Arm rose 3.98%, followed by another 4% rise after hours. Analysts believe that as the lead in this project, OpenAI can gain access to a large amount of data center computing resources through collaboration, Oracle Corporation stands to become a key infrastructure provider, SoftBank gains entry to this significant project with its financial strength. Trump Eases AI Regulation On January 20, local time, Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. That day, he signed over 40 executive orders and revoked nearly 80 executive orders and memoranda signed by former President Biden. Among the many executive orders revoked by Trump from former President Biden, those related to AI regulation were particularly notable. The executive order was signed by Biden in 2023, aimed at reducing the risks that AI systems pose to consumers, workers, and national security. According to reports, the executive order signed by Biden requires developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, economy, public health, or safety to share security test results with the U.S. government before releasing them to the public under the Defense Production Act; the order also instructs agencies to set testing standards and address related risks in chemical, biological, radiological, cyber, and network security. The move announced by Trump on Monday immediately halted crucial security and transparency requirements for AI developers. Reportedly, Trump did not immediately specify what would replace this order, but the government may take a less interventionist approach. American defense policy political scientist Sarah Kreps and Hamid Ekbia, a professor of public affairs at Syracuse University, predict that major AI regulations will not be rolled out by the White House in the next four years. They suggest that Trump's election likely signals the arrival of a light-touch regulatory regime - one that relies on applying existing laws rather than creating new ones, which may empower state governments, especially Democratic strongholds like California, to fill gaps with more courage. However, Trump did not completely reject Biden's AI policies. Before leaving office, Biden issued another executive order requiring federal support to address the significant energy requirements of AI data centers. Trump did not rescind this order. The Trump team has brought in well-known tech figures, including Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks, to help shape its technology and artificial intelligence policies. Analysts believe that the extent to which Trump's AI strategy ultimately relaxes may partly depend on Musk's influence. Musk has long held nuanced views on artificial intelligence technology. Although Musk has invested in AI through his startup xAI, he has also repeatedly warned that AI could pose a threat to human survival if not controlled.

2 h ago

"Core Core" Thriving! A group of chip "top students" with doubled performance, main influencing factors exposed.

With the gradual recovery of the global semiconductor market, several A-share chip companies have released performance forecasts for 2024, expecting a significant increase in net profit. Based on the performance forecasts disclosed in the past two days, several chip companies have shown doubled growth in their 2024 performance. Among them, Hangzhou Changchuan Technology's performance forecast is the most eye-catching, expecting a maximum tenfold increase in net profit in 2024; Will Semiconductor, with a market value of one trillion and GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc., with a market value of 80 billion, are expected to have a year-on-year net profit growth of around 500%. Nexchip Semiconductor Corporation, Jiangsu Jiejie Microelectronics, and Ruixin Microelectronics, which disclosed their performance forecasts on Monday, also saw their performance increase by over 100% in the previous year. Additionally, Shanghai Belling Corp., Ltd. reported a turnaround in net profit. The main reasons for the forecasted increase in performance by the above companies are attributed to the recovery of the semiconductor industry and the rebound in market demand. Specifically, Hangzhou Changchuan Technology's performance forecast shows that it expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 400 million to 500 million yuan in 2024, a growth of 785.75% to 1007.18% compared to the same period last year. The net profit excluding non-recurring gains and losses attributable to shareholders of the listed company is expected to be 359 million to 459 million yuan, an increase of 568.93% to 699.55% compared to the same period last year. The company stated that the main reasons for the performance growth are the recovery of the global semiconductor market, the improvement in the company's market image, brand value, core competitiveness, significant growth in operating income, the manifestation of economies of scale, stabilization of expense ratios, and the impact of government subsidies. GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. released its performance forecast, expecting a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of around 1.09 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year growth of around 576.43%. The net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses attributable to shareholders of listed companies is expected to be around 1.03 billion yuan, an increase of around 3659.04% year-on-year. The main reasons cited by the company are the recovery in downstream market demand in the industry, significant growth in revenue and sales volume in consumer, networking, and computing sectors, increased investment in research and development and product iteration, optimization of product costs, enrichment of product matrices, and enhancement of competitiveness in multiple product lines. Additionally, asset impairment losses in 2024 decreased significantly compared to 2023. Will Semiconductor released its performance forecast, expecting a net profit of 3.155 billion to 3.355 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 467.88% to 503.88% year-on-year. The company stated that during the reporting period, with the continuous penetration of image sensor products in the high-end smartphone market and automotive autonomous driving applications, the market share in related areas has steadily grown, and the company's operating income and gross profit margin achieved significant growth, setting a historical record for operating income; in addition, in response to the impact of industry fluctuations, the company actively promoted the optimization of product structure and supply chain structure, gradually restored product gross margins, and significantly improved overall performance. Nexchip Semiconductor Corporation reported its performance forecast, expecting annual operating income of 9.02 billion to 9.47 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 24.52% to 30.74% year-on-year. It expects a net profit of 455 million to 590 million yuan attributable to the parent company's owners, an increase of 115.00% to 178.79% year-on-year. The company cited the main reasons as the recovery of industry sentiment during the reporting period, maintaining a high utilization rate of overall production capacity, improving operating income and product gross margins, continuous expansion into various application areas and development of high-end products, enhancing competitive advantages and diversification of products. In addition, the company continues to increase R&D investment and promote the mass production and development of new products. Jiangsu Jiejie Microelectronics released its performance forecast, expecting a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 438 million to 504 million yuan from January 1 to December 31, 2024, an increase of 100% to 130% year-on-year. The company stated that the reasons for the performance growth are the moderate recovery of the semiconductor industry during the reporting period, the increase in comprehensive production capacity, maintaining high utilization of production capacity, growth in operating income and net profit compared to the same period last year. Subsidiary Jiangsu Jiejie Microelectronics (Nantong) Technology Co., Ltd. saw improved profitability, with net profit significantly increasing compared to the same period last year. Shanghai Belling Corp., Ltd. released its performance forecast, expecting a net profit of 380 million to 400 million yuan in 2024, a turnaround year-on-year; and an adjusted net profit of 2.68 billion to 2.88 billion yuan, an increase of 58% to 69% year-on-year. The main reasons for the company's performance change are the partial recovery of the integrated circuit industry, the penetration of its products in the automotive electronics and industrial control fields, and a significant increase in revenue. In addition, changes in the fair value of shares held by Wuxi Nce Power Co., Ltd. and investment income of about 126 million yuan, increased by about 397 million yuan compared to the same period last year. Ruixin Microelectronics released its performance forecast on Monday, expecting an annual operating income of 3.1 billion to 3.15 billion yuan in 2024, an increase of 45.23% to 47.57% year-on-year; and expecting a net profit of 550 million to 630 million yuan, an increase of 307.75% to 367.06% year-on-year. The company stated that the performance growth is driven by the recovery of global demand in the electronics market, rapid development of AI technology, continuous expansion of application scenarios, and driving the company's AIo.The growth in various industries was comprehensive. During the reporting period, the company achieved rapid growth in automotive electronics, machine vision, industrial and industrial applications. At the same time, the company will continue to leverage its core technology, products, and scene advantages in AIoT, focusing on the development of automotive electronic products, industrial applications, machine vision, and AIoT product lines such as Siasun Robot and Automation.This article is reposted from Caixin, edited by GMTEight: Chen Wenfang.

4 h ago

Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department: The airport passenger traffic in December 2024 increased by 18.3% year-on-year to 5.1 million persons.

On January 21, according to the Hong Kong Airport Authority, in December 2024, the passenger volume increased by 18.3% year-on-year to 5.1 million. Compared to the same month last year, all categories of passenger volume recorded significant increases, with the most pronounced growth in travel to and from Southeast Asia, mainland China, and Japan. Within the month, the cargo volume increased by 6.6% year-on-year to 446,000 tons, with export cargo volume recording a 6.8% increase, with the largest increases seen in trade with Europe, the Middle East, and Australasia. The export cargo volume in 2024 increased by 20.2%, driving overall cargo volume growth for the year, with the most significant growth seen in trade with Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Data shows that with Hong Kong International Airport entering a new era of three-runway operations in 2024, the airport's air traffic volume grew vigorously, with the aircraft movements in December increasing by 12.5% year-on-year to 33,550 aircraft movements, approaching pre-pandemic levels, and with certain individual days' aircraft movements even surpassing pre-pandemic levels, setting new records. Throughout the year, the airport's passenger volume reached 53.1 million, and aircraft movements reached 363,305, representing jumps of approximately 34.3% and 31.6% compared to 2023. The total cargo volume for 2024 increased by 14.0% year-on-year to 4.9 million tons. The Acting CEO of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, Vivian Cheung, stated: "2024 was a fruitful year for Hong Kong International Airport. The three-runway system was completed on time and within budget, and was commissioned in November. The airport was also selected as the world's busiest cargo airport for the 13th time since 2010. The airport was very busy during the Christmas period, and we are prepared to welcome another peak in travel during the Lunar New Year holiday, with many airlines adding numerous flights to meet the high demand." It was reported that Hong Kong International Airport is further expanding its vast air traffic network, with multiple airlines offering new routes to and from the airport in January 2025. HK Express launched a new route to Sendai, Japan; Hong Kong Airlines resumed direct flights to Vancouver, Canada, and the Gold Coast, Australia; Shenzhen Airlines introduced a new service to Nanjing, while the new passenger airline Air Premia began operating flights between Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea.

5 h ago

Greenlight Capital founder: Speculative behavior in the cryptocurrency field has exceeded common sense

David Einhorn, founder of Greenlight Capital, stated in a letter to investors that speculative behavior in the current bull market has surpassed common sense. He wrote, "We have entered the 'Fartcoin' stage." Einhorn pointed out that cryptocurrencies like "Fartcoin" have no apparent practical use other than trading and speculation, and do not meet any other unmet needs. However, this cryptocurrency, originating from internet memes, quickly gained popularity after Donald Trump was elected president, with market sentiment soaring. Now, the market value of "Fartcoin" has approached nearly $2 billion, surpassing many companies listed in the United States. With the popularity of "Fartcoin", more meme coins have emerged. Trump released the meme coin "$TRUMP" based on the Solana platform, which briefly surpassed $14 billion in market value over the weekend. Although $TRUMP fell by over 20% at one point in the past 24 hours, it has since reduced the drop to about 3%. Trump's wife, Melania, also launched her own cryptocurrency. Einhorn jokingly remarked, "Nothing can stop the launch of more tradable currencies. Perhaps we are leaving the 'Fartcoin' stage and entering the 'Trump (and Melania) meme coin' stage. What will happen next is unpredictable, but it feels like a carnival." At the time Einhorn's letter was published, investors were driving up the stock market in anticipation of tax cuts and relaxed regulatory policies under the Trump administration. On Tuesday, the day after Trump took office, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 400 points, while the S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. In the "crazy stage" of the cryptocurrency market, Greenlight Capital profited by shorting some exchange-traded funds (ETFs) indirectly related to Bitcoin. The company specifically focused on two ETFs: T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU.US) and Defiance Daily Target 2X Long MSTR ETF (MSTX.US). These funds use derivatives to attempt to achieve double the daily return of MicroStrategy (MSTR.US). However, due to the high volatility of MicroStrategy and a shortage of derivatives supply, these funds have struggled to meet their expected targets. Greenlight Capital profited in this quarter by shorting these funds, while also engaging in arbitrage trading by holding MicroStrategy stock, resulting in "significant gains."

5 h ago

On Trump's inauguration day, the US dollar weakened. The market is concerned about the prospects of tariff policies.

According to analysis from Bank of America Global Research, the US dollar showed weakness on President Trump's inauguration day and continued to be under pressure on Tuesday. This is mainly due to Trump not declaring a "trade deficit emergency" in his inauguration speech and not immediately implementing new tariffs, leading to a partial reduction in the market's risk premium on the US dollar. In a report on interest rates and exchange rates released on Tuesday, Bank of America pointed out that due to the lack of a clear timeline for tariff increases by the Trump administration, there is still a certain level of uncertainty in the market. "Even if the tariff policy is delayed, it could still become an important policy pillar of the new government." Investors are closely monitoring Trump's tariff policy to assess the potential impact on US and international economic growth and inflation. Bank of America tracks the gap between the US dollar and the implied level of its interest rate differential. Interest rate differentials are an important fundamental driver of the US dollar trend, with investors typically preferring currencies with higher or rising yields. The current strength of the US dollar exceeds what can be explained by interest rate differentials, which the market interprets as reflecting "tariff risk premium." The dollar's decline on Monday reflected the partial unwinding of the risk premium, but the market still retains some tariff risk premium. As of Tuesday afternoon, the ICE US Dollar Index (DXY) fell by 1.2%, accumulating a decline of about 0.4% since the beginning of the year. Nevertheless, the dollar has still risen by approximately 4.6% in the past 12 months. Bank of America's global research strategist warns that recent selling of the dollar could trigger unwinding risks for commodity trading advisors (CTAs) as the dollar approaches CTA stop loss levels. However, UBS Global Wealth Management stated in a report on January 14th that they expect the dollar to maintain "longer-term strength" in the first half of 2025, due to the strong economic activity in the US and concerns about tariffs in other global regions. In his inauguration speech, Trump announced national emergencies at the southern border and in energy, but did not mention any new tariff measures. He later told reporters in the Oval Office that his administration is considering imposing a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada starting from February 1st. Meanwhile, the US stock market generally rose on Tuesday afternoon, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by 1.24%, the S&P 500 rising by 0.88%, and the Nasdaq Composite rising by 0.64%. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond fell by about 4 basis points to 4.57%, while the yield on the 2-year Treasury bond remained steady at 4.28%.

5 h ago

US Treasury Bonds Suffer Worst Performance in Nearly a Century, Future May Bring Investment Opportunities

US Treasury bonds are experiencing their worst performance in nearly a century. For investors willing to bet on falling interest rates, this may be a major buying opportunity, but for investors seeking only safe, stable diversification, this is undoubtedly bad news. For a long time, investors have relied on Treasury bonds to provide stable returns to hedge against the high volatility of stocks. However, over the past decade, long-term Treasury bonds have shown negative returns for the first time. According to recent research data from Bank of America Securities, this situation is the first since the 1930s. A team led by Bank of America analyst Michael Hartnett stated, "We are now at the peak of 'anything is better than Treasury bonds'." The research shows that over the past decade, the return on long-term bonds with a maturity of 15 years or more has been -0.5%, the worst performance since the mid-1930s. In comparison, US stocks have averaged a yearly return of 13% over the past decade, while short-term bond returns have been 1.8% annually. The slow economic recovery following the 2008-2009 financial crisis is to blame. At that time, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates low by purchasing long-term Treasury bonds, a policy that continued into the 2010s. While this measure helped the US economy return to growth, investors suffered significant losses when the Fed raised rates post-pandemic to curb inflation. It is important to note that bond prices move in the opposite direction to interest rates. Despite poor performance over the past decade, the potential of Treasury bonds in the future should not be ignored. Currently, the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds has risen to 4.57%, more than double what it was a decade ago. This means that if rates continue to rise, bond investors still have a higher buffer for total returns. Additionally, if rates fall, bond investors could see a significant rebound. Given high stock market valuations, investment institutions like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs have recently predicted that bonds may outperform stocks over the next decade. Bank of America is also optimistic about investment opportunities in the bond market. Bank of America recommends constructing a "low-risk" bond portfolio with a balanced allocation to three-month Treasury bonds, 30-year Treasury bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds, high-yield bonds, and emerging market bonds. Currently, the portfolio yields approximately 5.7%. If bond yields drop by one percentage point, the total return on the portfolio within a year could reach 12%. However, for investors unwilling to bet on interest rate movements, they hope that bonds can act as a stabilizer against stock volatility. Faced with continued rising long-term rates and some decline in short-term rates, the predictions of a bond rebound may not be comforting to these investors. An alternative strategy is to reduce bond allocations and shift towards stocks and cash instruments, as their yields are currently comparable to long-term bonds. However, investors need to ensure they hold enough short-term assets to cope with potential market downturns or unemployment crises. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management suggests further diversifying investment risks through globalization and alternative investments. Chief Investment Officer Lisa Shalett pointed out in a report on Monday that the US stock market is currently overvalued, and the sensitivity of bond yields has weakened the hedging effect of Treasury bonds. She recommends that investors look into undervalued foreign stocks, as well as alternative assets such as master limited partnerships (MLPs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), and preferred stocks.

5 h ago

The latest trading strategy of the "Congress Mountain Stock God" revealed! Stock selection logic focuses on AI: covering tech giants, AI applications, and electricity.

A new congressional stock trading record form submitted by Nancy Pelosi, a US congresswoman with the moniker "Stock God of Capitol Hill," shows that she significantly increased her holdings of equity derivatives in Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US), and several other large US tech giants at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, as well as choosing to allocate new funds to Tempus AI (TEM.US) and Vistra Energy (VST.US), two "new forces in AI investment" that have also benefitted greatly from the AI investment boom. According to the congressional document, Congresswoman Pelosi, representing California's 11th district, purchased 50 call options tracking Alphabet Inc. Class C with a strike price of $150, expiring on January 16, 2026, with a holdings value between $250,001 and $500,000. This transaction took place on January 14, 2025. She also purchased 50 call options tracking Amazon.com, Inc. stock, with the same strike price of $150 and expiry date of January 16, 2026, with a holdings value between $250,001 and $500,000. This transaction also took place on January 14, 2025. Undoubtedly, Alphabet Inc. Class C and Amazon.com, Inc., the two major US tech giants, have been the biggest winners of the unparalleled "AI investment wave" since 2023. Alphabet Inc. Class C has been a leader in the generative AI field since 2023, with its Gemini large model constantly integrating into various edge applications and developers leveraging Alphabet Inc. Class C's cloud to develop enterprise or consumer AI applications. Amazon.com, Inc., with a market value of $2.4 trillion, has seen its stock price reach record highs since 2024, with a 50% increase in 2024 alone. AWS, Amazon.com, Inc.'s cloud computing sector, leads the market in cloud computing, attracting a large number of enterprise customers with its low-tech development model for AI applications. On the other hand, Apple Inc., which has not been able to leverage Apple Intelligence to boost iPhone sales, has been dumped by "Stock God of Capitol Hill" Pelosi. Observers in the market say that Pelosi's logic in buying Apple Inc. was based on the expectation that AI would drive a new wave of "iPhone upgrades." However, the latest sales data shows that Apple Intelligence has not boosted sales, and the lack of a local partner for Apple Intelligence in the Chinese market has led to a significant decline in iPhone sales in China. Therefore, Pelosi no longer sees Apple Inc. as a beneficiary of the AI boom. Congressional statistics show that Pelosi sold 31,600 shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) on December 31, 2024, with the sale amount in the range of $5 million to $25 million. Pelosi also adjusted her holdings in NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), the "AI chip leader" and one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI investment boom. She sold 10,000 shares on December 31, 2024, with the sale amount between $1 million and $5 million. However, she also exercised 500 call options on December 20, 2024, purchased at a strike price of $12 on November 22, 2023, with an expiry date of December 20, 2024. Pelosi also purchased NVIDIA Corporation stock worth between $250,000 and $500,000 on January 14, 2025, highlighting her confidence in the future performance and stock price growth potential of the AI chip leader, although her holdings have begun to lean slightly towards caution. Three "new forces" benefiting from the AI investment boom receive approval from the "Stock God of Capitol Hill" The 84-year-old congresswoman also bought shares in Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US), an important player in the cybersecurity field, with a cumulative purchase value between $1 million and $5 million. In the epic wave of global corporate AI technology deployment, US stock market cybersecurity giants are also focusing on integrating revolutionary generative AI technology with cybersecurity technology, which may be one of the core drivers pushing companies to increase their subscriptions to cybersecurity services. Palo Alto, one of the "AI bull stocks," widely applies generative AI and other advanced AI technologies in the cybersecurity field to enhance threat detection and response capabilities. The company focuses on low-tech operations.The "AI+ network security service" with low thresholds and efficient integration of various professional modules has won praise from the vast majority of customers. Precision AI integrates various professional modules of Palo Alto Networks, such as Strata, Prisma, and Cortex, and uses generative AI to automatically coordinate the operations of these modules.The latest statistics from Congress show that Pelosi has chosen to buy shares of the medical technology company Tempus AI (TEM.US), which focuses on "artificial intelligence + healthcare". The cumulative purchase value ranges from $50,001 to $100,000. Tempus AI is a company focused on driving medical development through technology, particularly with significant influence in the areas of cancer treatment and personalized medical technology. The technological platform combines generative artificial intelligence (generative AI), machine learning (ML), genomics, and clinical data analysis to advance the field of precision medicine. Tempus AI focuses on combining genomic data with clinical data, using artificial intelligence and big data analysis to provide personalized treatment plans. After the news of Pelosi's purchase of Tempus AI came out, the stock surged over 20% in pre-market trading. Benefiting from the AI investment boom, the giant American Electric Power Company, Inc. favored by "Congressional Stock God" Pelosi, has accumulated purchases ranging from $500,000 to $1,000,000, with different purchase dates. As AI applications like ChatGPT sweep the globe, the energy demand of major data centers around the world is so huge that some utility stocks that have long been overlooked by the market have entered the sights of top Wall Street investment institutions this year. The global demand for AI training/inference closely related to AI computing power is accelerating, and the demand for power resources by data centers, which are already "power-hungry beasts", is expected to continue to surge in the coming years. Behind the exponential expansion of energy-intensive AI data centers driven by the demand for AI chips, is the core foundation of power supply, which is the origin of the market viewpoint that "AI ends with electricity." The giant Vistra of American Electric Power Company, Inc. has been the best-performing component stock in the S&P 500 index since 2024, with a surge of 265%, surpassing even NVIDIA Corporation's surge of 170% in 2024. The more impressive rise of Palantir was only included in the S&P 500 index in September. Vistra's revenue scale has grown significantly since 2024 due to the large-scale data centers that consume a massive amount of electricity. With some government agencies and American tech giants committing to invest more in the field of artificial intelligence next year, especially in building and expanding energy-hungry data centers, the prospects for power and other infrastructure providers look very optimistic. Data centers are undoubtedly the most core large-scale infrastructure projects of the AI era, essential for the efficient operation of generative AI applications like ChatGPT, and the updating iterations of AI large models like GPT-4o. Why is Pelosi called the "Congressional Stock God"? Pelosi's latest stock market transaction data is the first time since July 2024, when she revealed that she had significantly increased her holdings of NVIDIA Corporation and sold some shares of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US). Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, are considered to have very precise investment decisions in the stock market. For example, the Pelosi family has earned considerable returns on certain tech stocks (such as Tesla, Inc., Apple Inc., etc.) and other stocks. It has been reported in the media that the Pelosi family has made very advantageous trades in some stocks, especially those involving companies related to the policies she leads as Speaker. For instance, the Pelosi family bought Tesla, Inc. stock in 2021, just before Tesla, Inc. stock price started to soar. Pelosi's investment behavior has raised questions about conflicts of interest. As the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Pelosi has access to a significant amount of non-public policy information, especially in the areas of government investments, legislation, and regulation of tech companies. This has made her investment actions the subject of public and media scrutiny, leading to discussions about whether she has used insider information for investment. Therefore, titles like "Congressional Stock God" also carry potential conflicts of interest when public figures engage in stock market operations, as well as questions about investment transparency in the U.S. Congress.

21/01/2025

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