Hong Kong-listed China EV stocks rise on Beijing’s plan to boost sector’s growth
A BYD Seagull small electric car is on display during the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle companies rose in late morning trading after China’s commerce ministry revealed its plan for “healthy development of new energy vehicles” in the country.
Shares of BYD Company rose 2.7%, Nio jumped 3.3%, while Xpeng and Li Auto gained 1.2% each.
“The healthy development of new energy vehicle trade cooperation will help promote the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry, and play an important supporting role in stabilizing and optimizing the structure of foreign trade,” the statement read.
The Hang Seng index gained 0.3%, while the CSI 300 index added 0.4%.
Earlier this year, BYD produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles in 2023, beating U.S. EV leader Tesla‘s production numbers for a second straight year.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
China’s SMIC warns of persistent macroeconomic, geopolitical challenges in 2024
China’s biggest chipmaker SMIC said Wednesday that persistent global macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical tensions could impact its business in 2024.
“In 2024, the company will still face the challenges from macroeconomic, geopolitics, industry competition and inventory for all products,” said SMIC in its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings call on Wednesday.
The company on Tuesday posted a 54.7% drop in fourth-quarter profit, as the semiconductor industry faced several headwinds including inventory corrections and macroeconomic headwinds.
Profit in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $174.68 million, down 54.7% from the same period a year earlier. It was lower than LSEG analysts’ expectations of $225.41 million. Gross margin in the fourth quarter dropped to 16.4% from 32% a year ago.
– Sheila Chiang
Kakaobank shares jump as Q4 profit rises, customer base grows
Kakaobank shares jumped 7% on Wednesday after the digital payments firm reported higher fourth-quarter profit.
The company’s fourth-quarter net profit rose nearly 25% to 75.7 billion Korean won ($57.2 million) from a year earlier.
Kakaobank added 2.42 million new users to its platform, an 11.8% increase.
Operating revenue for the company stood at 663.7 billion Korean won ($501 million), a near 37% increase from the year-ago quarter.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Australia’s Santos is biggest loser on ASX after merger talks with Woodside end
Australian energy firm Santos was the largest loser on the S&P/ASX 200 on Wednesday after merger talks with Woodside ended on Wednesday.
Shares of Santos plunged as much as 8.5%, while Woodside gained 2.38%.
Woodside said in an exchange filing that the two sides “ceased discussions regarding a potential merger.”
Santos also confirmed the announcement: “Following an initial exchange of information, sufficient combination benefits were not identified to support a merger that would be in the best interests of Santos shareholders.”
— Lim Hui Jie
ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox plan joint sports streaming service later this year
Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox and Disney’s ESPN are planning on launching a joint sports streaming service later this year, the companies said on Tuesday.
Each company will own a one-third stake in the new platform, which has yet to have a name or price. Consumers will also have the option to either subscribe via a new app or through a bundle with the companies’ other streaming products including Max, Hulu and Disney+.
Shares of Disney were about 1% lower in extended trading, while Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery stock added 6% and 3%, respectively.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures open little changed
