BBW Weekly: 15th Five-Year Plan: Inside China’s push to become a financial powerhouse
15th Five-Year Plan: Inside China’s push to become a financial powerhouse
A debut of the term ‘financial powerhouse’ in China’s new five-year plan will push the financial system to the front lines of industrial transformation
By Lee Shih Ta
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan is not just another five-year roadmap, but instead represents a critical starting point toward achieving basic modernization by 2035. Against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, intensifying technology competition and a slowing domestic economy, policy priorities are shifting from stabilizing growth to reshaping the development model. Stock markets in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong have all rebounded over the last year, with authorities repeatedly signaling support for market stability. Investors, however, are increasingly focused on what role the financial system will play in the latest transition.
China’s “Recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan,” released late last year, included...
Daqo waits for signs of new warmth from Beijing
DQ.US | Latest close: 23.95 | 52-week range: 12.41-36.59
The solar materials company reported a second consecutive quarter of revenue growth in the final three months of 2025, ending two years of steep declines
By Doug Young
China’s annual political season that kicks off next week has always been a closely watched event for people trying to determine where national priorities will lie in the year ahead. The country’s solar manufacturing sector is one group that will be watching the event, known as the “Two Sessions,” with special attention, looking for signs of how Beijing plans to further support the sector mired in cutthroat competition that has resulted in a sea of red ink.
Adding to the anticipation this year is the expected unveiling of China’s 15th Five Year Plan, which will run from 2026 to 2030, and is...
Kingboard rides AI boom with strong demand for conductive copper
1888.HK | Latest close: 23.64 | 52-week range: 6.484-24.76
The supplier of materials for electronic circuit boards is enjoying a rush of orders for use in AI servers and advanced computing, boosting its earnings
By Lee Shih Ta
They function as the nervous system of advanced electronics and AI hardware, with circuity made from compressed copper.
Copper-clad laminates (CCL) serve as a base material for the circuit boards that drive electronic devices and high-performance computing, enabling the ongoing boom in artificial intelligence.
Kingboard Laminates Holdings Ltd. (1888.HK), as one of the leading suppliers of the copper-based electronic laminates, is cashing in on the AI-fueled demand, telling investors it expects to post a big leap in annual profits for 2025.
In a Feb. 23 earnings alert, Kingboard Laminates estimated that its annual net profit would achieve a year-on-year rise of...
Profit-challenged Lanvin slims down with Caruso sale. Who’s next?
LANV.US | Latest close: 1.72 | 52-week range: 1.03-2.69
With a new team at the top and a worldwide slowdown in luxury retail, the Fosun-owned company’s Sergio Rossi footwear brand may be next to go
By Edith Terry
After years of losses, conglomerate Fosun Group seems determined to refashion its Lanvin Group (LANV.US) luxury unit into a profitable business.
The sale of the company’s Caruso Menswear unit, announced earlier this month, looks like just the beginning of a much-needed shakeup. It came not long after Lanvin’s Sergio Rossi footwear brand announced it was parting ways with its latest creative director less than two years after Paul Andrew joined the company. The two moves almost certainly signal more changes to come at what was once seen as China’s challenge to global fashion heavyweights like LVMH (MC.PA) and Kering (KER.PA).
While...
Eye drug maker VivaVision feels the strain in IPO funding dash
The developer of new treatments for ocular disorders is in a race against time to secure a Hong Kong listing before its cash reserves run out
By Molly Wen
You could say this company has an eye for an opportunity.
After biotech stocks staged a rebound last year, a cash-strapped developer of eye drugs has joined the queue of IPO hopefuls looking to stabilize their finances by listing on the Hong Kong equity market.
And VivaVision Biotech (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd. is under particularly strong pressure to succeed in its quest before its funds run out.
The ophthalmology biotech submitted its application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in mid-February, seeking a main board listing with CICC as sole sponsor.
Founded in 2016, VivaVision aims to develop innovative therapies for diseases...
Its accounting scandal wrapping up, Lufax faces bigger challenge from China’s economy
LU.US | Latest close: 2.7 | 52-week range: 2.3-4.57
The loan facilitator revealed previously undisclosed transactions and changed its CEO as it tries to resume trading of its Hong Kong shares after a year-long suspension
By Warren Yang
Lufax Holding Ltd. (LU.US; 6623.HK) has been busy taking steps to shake free from an accounting scandal that has haunted it for the past year. But the online loan facilitator may emerge from that scandal only to face a much bigger issue that it can’t do much to overcome, namely, a weak economic reality that is hurting its core lending business.
In a flurry of filings to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange over the last week and a half, much of that over China’s long Lunar New Year holiday, the Ping An Group-backed company provided details of previously undisclosed transactions that...
Survival and protectionism: Dingdong surrenders to Meituan as India blocks a Chinese buyout
DDL.US | Latest close: 2.95 | 52-week range: 1.65-3.68
Key Takeaways
By Doug Young & Rene Vanguestaine
The global M&A landscape is shifting rapidly, shaped by harsh new realities on both domestic and international fronts. Two recent major developments perfectly encapsulate these modern challenges. In one case, a major acquisition in China’s internet sector highlights the brutal wars taking place as companies try to gain scale in an underperforming post-Covid economy. In the other, a collapsed cross-border deal with an Indian element underscores how geopolitical tensions are increasingly erecting roadblocks for global investments. Both events reflect a broader theme: companies are being forced to navigate an increasingly complex competitive environment.
In the domestic arena, we look at one of the bigger M&A deals on the Chinese internet in quite a while. Dingdong (DDL.US), an early pioneer in online-to-offline (O2O)...
Robosense steers into the black on robotic LiDAR rage
2498.HK | Latest close: 36.1 | 52-week range: 25.4-50.8
The positioning technology specialist rang up its first quarterly profit after years in the red, turbocharged by torrid growth across products like sensors for robots
Lee Shih Ta
The Year of the Horse is known for speed and breakthroughs — themes that are already resonating for Robosense Technology Co. Ltd. (2498.HK), a maker of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology used in autonomous driving and a growing number of other mobile applications. The company rang in the Lunar New Year by crossing the finish line in its steeplechase toward profitability, as its sales soared in 2025.
On Feb. 19, the third day of the Lunar New Year, Robosense delighted investors by announcing its net loss for 2025 narrowed by more than half to 180 million yuan ($26 million) or less,...
Guofu eyes nuclear fusion as its hydrogen vehicle business stalls
2582.HK | Latest close: 45.72 | 52-week range: 24.5-153.0
The hydrogen fuel technology maker said it won a small contract to supply a national-level project working on experimental nuclear fusion
By Doug Young
What do you do when your core business in the hydrogen-powered vehicle sector isn’t going anywhere fast? You try your hand in another related industry with bigger potential, in this case the equally experimental market for power derived from nuclear fusion.
That appears to be the approach from Jiangsu Guofu Hydrogen Energy Equipment Co. Ltd. (2582.HK), which on Monday announced a winning bid for a nuclear fusion-related project. Nuclear fusion and the green energy vehicle technologies that are Guofu’s main business line both share the common element of being powered by hydrogen. Both technologies also require the ability to cool hydrogen down to super low temperatures...
Fading interest in animal health takes bite out of Sinder
The company’s valuation plunged 40% in its latest funding round from four years earlier, as it seeks a Hong Kong listing
By Cheng Shui Tong
China’s rising living standards have heightened awareness of food safety and livestock health, driving growth in related industries. Shandong Sinder Technology Co. Ltd. rode that wave to prominence, thriving on rising demand for its animal health products. Now, the company is hoping to bring its animal health story to investors with its filing this month for a Hong Kong IPO, adding its name to a long list of hundreds of companies seeking similar listings.
The company is feeding off a Chinese animal health market that expanded from 50.9 billion yuan ($7.37 billion) in sales in 2019 to 68 billion yuan in 2024, averaging 6% annual...
EV dealer AoChuang charges up Nasdaq IPO
The company has quadrupled the size of its listing plan to comply with new Nasdaq rules requiring a minimum of $25 million in fundraising
By Doug Young
An electric vehicle (EV) dealership operator is one of the first major Chinese applicants for a U.S. IPO in the Year of the Horse, looking to raise up to $36 million. But AoChuang Holdings Inc.’s plan could face some major headwinds, most notably because it’s seeking quite a rich valuation in a climate where such Chinese companies are coming under growing regulatory scrutiny.
Many of the Chinese companies seeking Nasdaq IPOs these days have sought similarly aggressive valuations, with the result that shares of most to complete their listings plunged within months or even days after their trading debuts. The Nasdaq stepped in...
Despite years of losses, Hai Robotics has some strong selling points
The world’s largest case-handling robotics manufacturer has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, aiming to ride a wave of popularity for industrial robotic stocks
By Lau Chi Hang
Humanoid robot performances on this year’s CCTV “Spring Festival Gala” – the world’s most watched show broadcast each Lunar New Year’s Eve – evoked awe among viewers, depicting a future world where such robots might soon replace humans for everyday tasks. But the reality is quite a bit different, with humanoid robots in workplaces still very much a work in progress – with lots of distance to cover.
Instead, practical considerations are a better gauge for picking robotic stocks, with commercialized products looking most attractive. Within that group, industrial or mobile robots look like one of the best bets for robotic-minded investors....
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