BBW Weekly: Navigating China’s gluts - Cheap parcels and plunging pork prices
Navigating China’s gluts: Cheap parcels and plunging pork prices
2419.HK | Latest close: 51.5 | 52-week range: 37.76-96.5
“Nobody wants to miss the boat and not be able to capitalize or capture part of the growth going forward. This is emblematic of China in just about every type of business.” – on why price wars are so common in China
- China’s parcel delivery sector is finally seeing prices stabilize after government intervention to curtail years of cutthroat price wars
- Hog breeders are suffering massive losses due to plunging prices, yet they continue to expand capacity to grab market share
By Doug Young & Rene Vanguestaine
Oversupply is a common theme in China these days, affecting a wide range of industries. We’re currently watching this dynamic play out in two distinctly different areas: the country’s express parcel delivery sector and its massive pork industry. In the delivery space, several years of intense price wars may finally be easing under government pressure, while in the hog breeding business, top producers are swinging sharply into the red due to plummeting prices — driven by massive excess capacity. Despite their differences, both sectors highlight a uniquely Chinese business approach: an aggressive, unrelenting drive to capture market share, often at the expense of rational market economics.
China’s roughly half-a-dozen major delivery players have spent the last few years duking it out to see who can ship packages the cheapest. After a prolonged...
How AI’s growth left consumer electronics facing an uncertain future
AI-driven memory demand is raising costs and squeezing smartphone and PC makers, while creating opportunities for Chinese chipmakers
By CLS Marketwatch
The global memory chip market is witnessing a profound transformation this year sparked by the rising tide of AI. Since 2022, the booming AI market has prompted the world’s three largest DRAM manufacturers to shift a massive portion of their capacity toward the AI sector. At the same time, traditional DRAM product prices continue to climb, creating cost pressures throughout the supply chain – from upstream wafers all the way down to the consumer market. That, in turn, has led to a wave of price hikes across the entire consumer electronics industry in China, for everything from smartphones to laptops.
Since 2022, the global DRAM market has undergone a...
MicroPort MedBot serves up inaugural profit on booming exports
2252.HK | Latest close: 20.22 | 52-week range: 18.76-35.34
The medical robot maker expects to report a profit of 28 million yuan to 40 million yuan for the first half of 2026, reversing years of losses
- MicroPort MedBot recorded its maiden profit in the first half of this year, as its revenue surged 200% to 230% and its gross margin rose more than 15 percentage points
- The company’s Toumai laparoscopic surgical robots have become its star product, surging since last year to account for more than three-quarters of its overall orders to date
By Doug Young
Shanghai MicroPort MedBot (Group) Co. Ltd. (2252.HK) is cranking out milestones these days, as its laparoscopic robots rapidly gain traction after years of development. After achieving its first positive cash flow in the second half of last year, the company announced...
FS.com rides high-speed AI networks to higher profits
3355.HK | Latest close: 34.6 | 52-week range: 27.96-56.1498
The provider of network equipment and solutions has flagged up a jump in first-half earnings, driven by demand for high-density AI computing
- The company expects its net profit for the first half of this year to surge between 60% and 70%, boosted by rising sales of high-performance network solutions
- It is also spending around $49 million to acquire a Shanghai-based provider of network technology, aiming to strengthen its research and manufacturing capability
By Lee Shih Ta
The rapid expansion of AI computing is driving demand for the switches, cables and optical transceivers that help to connect high-speed networks.
A jump in projected profits at newly listed FS.com Ltd. (3355.HK) underscores this trend. The company, which supplies networking equipment and solutions to enterprise customers worldwide, served notice this week...
Investors flee Yan Palace as aging brand struggles to find new audience
1497.HK | Latest close: 5.5 | 52-week range: 4.6094-8.3616
China’s largest maker of bird’s nest products has yet to find a winning formula beyond its traditional niche of high-spending older women
- Yan Palace said its revenue and profit rose up to 20% and 50%, respectively, in the first half of 2026, but its shares still fell 14% in the two days after the announcement
- The company’s efforts to expand beyond its niche in traditional bird’s nest products have largely failed, leaving it dependent on cost cutting for profit growth
By Edith Terry
Xiamen Yan Palace Bird’s Nest Industry Co. Ltd. (1497.HK) has faced headwinds ever since it became China’s first “bird’s nest stock” with its Hong Kong IPO in 2023. That’s reflected in its shares, which have lost more than 40% of their value over that time....
Dobot’s Shenzhen listing approved by stock exchange
2432.HK | Latest close: 24.84 | 52-week range: 22.52-64.5
Robotics maker Shenzhen Dobot Corp. Ltd. (2432.HK) said on Wednesday that its application for a second listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s ChiNext board was approved by the exchange on Tuesday. Previous market rumors had placed Dobot’s fundraising target at about 1.2 billion yuan ($177 million).
Proceeds from the offering will be used to develop embodied AI robots, with 45.8% earmarked for the development and industrialization of multi-legged models. Another 20.8% will be used to advance humanoid robotics technologies, and 8.3% will be used for marketing. The remaining 25% will go toward replenishing working capital.
Shares of Dobot opened up 5.3% at HK$26.56 on Thursday. The stock is down over 60% from its 52-week high.
By Lau Chi Hang
Joinn’s profit figures spark market outbreak of “monkey fever”
6127.HK | Latest close: 24.46 | 52-week range: 15.006-29.98
Projected earnings at the drug research company have been inflated by the soaring value of research monkeys, but the on-paper gains may not be sustainable
- Joinn Laboratories uses its macaques for in-house testing purposes and does not sell many on the open market, so the fair-value gains are largely unrealized
- Its principal business as a contract research organization has been hit by a price war, squeezing operating margins
By Molly Wen
China’s dash to develop novel drugs for cancer and other diseases has caused a curious side effect: a speculative rally centered on the supply of monkeys for medical research.
The frenzy on Chinese equity markets began with drug research firm Joinn Laboratories (China) Co. Ltd. (603127.SH; 6127.HK), which holds a valuable stock of research primates for use...
CICC chases wealthy Chinese as hedge against cyclical investment banking
3908.HK | Latest close: 22.14 | 52-week range: 16.6923-23.9126
Net profit for the elite dealmaker’s wealth management subsidiary more than doubled in the first half of the year, providing crucial earnings stability as investors shun real estate
- Profits from CICC’s wealth management unit surged in the first half of this year to account for at least 29% of the company’s earnings
- Unlike the company’s core investment banking business, which is highly variable, fee-based wealth management is a more stable income source
By Warren Yang
As China’s elite investment bank, China International Capital Corp. Ltd. (CICC)(3908.HK; 601995.SH) has thrived for decades on its close relationship with the nation’s institutional capital. Now, it’s after retail wealth as well.
That addition was evident in the latest financials for the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, China CICC Wealth Management Securities, which showed that...
Ganfeng rediscovers profitability as volatile lithium prices test its mettle
1772.HK | Latest close: 38.38 | 52-week range: 25.6747-90.9687
Rebounding lithium prices returned the miner to the black this year, but falling spot prices and planned supply restarts are testing the durability of its rebound
- Ganfeng Lithium returned to the black in the first half of the year with a profit of 3.65 billion yuan to 4.6 billion yuan for the six-month period
- Rebounding lithium prices have already pulled back from recent highs, as Ganfeng hopes to leverage volume ramp-ups at its mines to lower costs
By Lee Shih Ta
After a rough period of nearly three years, the lithium market has finally rebounded this year, driving a rapid recovery for miners like Ganfeng Lithium Group Co. Ltd. (1772.HK; 002460.SZ). This industry leader, whose business spans lithium mining, lithium salts, and battery production, is once again at...
XTX Technology rides surging memory prices to Hong Kong IPO
The SLC NAND flash memory maker is capitalizing on strong demand for its chips, which lifted it into the black this year
- XTX Technology has filed to list in Hong Kong, reporting it swung to a profit in this year’s first quarter on booming demand for its memory chips
- Prices for the company’s SLC NAND flash memory more than tripled during in the first three months of 2026 from a year earlier
By Bai Xin Rui
The global AI explosion is shining a spotlight on the importance of related infrastructure, touching off parallel booms for related hardware like servers, computing chips and data centers. That’s lit a fire under many companies’ stocks, especially makers of computing and memory chips used in high-end AI computing.
Now, XTX Technology Inc.,...
Yonyou IPO tests whether AI will rewrite the software business
600588.SHG | Latest close: 8.97 | 52-week range: 8.73-19.01
The Chinese enterprise software pioneer is pitching AI as its next growth engine, even as the technology forces investors to rethink the future of the global software industry
- Yonyou is seeking a Hong Kong listing after years of weak revenue growth and heavy losses, as AI reshapes the economics of enterprise software worldwide
- The Chinese enterprise software leader argues AI will make enterprise software more valuable, even as some bet AI will eventually make traditional software vendors irrelevant
By Hu Minghe
When Wang Wenjing borrowed 50,000 yuan – a huge sum at the time – to start his accounting software company in Beijing in 1988, his mission was straightforward: replace paper ledgers with computers.
Nearly four decades later, the founder of Yonyou Network Technology Co. Ltd. (600588.SH) faces...
Xinyi Energy’s profit dives as China suffers from ‘solar hangover’
3868.HK | Latest close: 0.9 | 52-week range: 0.86-1.3992
The solar farm operator said it expects to report its profit fell between 25% and 35% in the first half of this year
- Xinyi Energy said its profit fell sharply in the first half of 2026, as its margins declined on falling prices with the phasing out of government subsidies for solar power
- China added a massive 315 GW of solar capacity last year, causing the abandonment rate for new plants to rise above 6% as the grid struggled to accommodate new supply
By Doug Young
Call it a “solar hangover.”
After several years of frantic building, China is suddenly struggling to digest massive amounts of new solar power capacity built by companies eager to cash in on state subsidies over the last three years. Many of those...
Lingbao glitter fades with gold peak’s passing
3330.HK | Latest close: 18.67 | 52-week range: 9.7676-31.1008
The gold producer’s profit boomed in the first half of this year on record gold prices, but it faces an uncertain future with the precious metal’s recent pullback
- Lingbao Gold said it expects to report its profit jumped about 50% in the first half of 2026
- The company’s outlook is cloudy as gold prices move sharply lower from record highs reached early this year
By Lau Chi Hang
Gold was on a tear for most of the past two years, more than doubling from about $2,000 an ounce at the end of 2023 to nearly $4,600 by the end of last year. The rally continued into 2026, as the price climbed higher still, like a runaway horse, skyrocketing to $5,600 within a single month at the start of...
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