🌹【August 15 Morning News Highlights】
1. Li Qiang recently signed a State Council order to publish the decision on amending the 'Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners', which will take effect on October 1, 2025. It stipulates that a new K visa category will be added to ordinary visa categories, issued to foreign youth science and technology talents entering the country. It also states that applicants for the K visa must meet the conditions and requirements set by the relevant authorities of the Chinese government and submit the corresponding supporting materials.
2. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission issued a joint statement regarding the market fluctuations related to stablecoins. The statement noted that the HKMA and SFC have observed recent market fluctuations associated with the concept of stablecoins. These fluctuations appear to stem from announcements, news, social media posts, or market speculation regarding the application for stablecoin issuer licenses in Hong Kong, engaging in related activities, or exploring the feasibility of such plans. Some claims also mentioned recent contact with Hong Kong financial regulators. The HKMA reiterated that it will adopt a prudent and cautious approach when considering applications for stablecoin issuer licenses and will set high thresholds. The HKMA emphasized that expressing intent or submitting an application for a stablecoin license, as well as communication with relevant institutions, is merely part of the application process, and whether a license is ultimately granted will depend on whether the application meets the licensing conditions.
3. The central bank announced that to maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, on August 15, 2025, the People's Bank of China will conduct a 500 billion yuan reverse repurchase operation with a fixed quantity and interest rate bidding, with multiple price levels, for a term of six months (182 days).
4. The U.S. July PPI year-on-year rate was 3.3%, significantly exceeding market expectations of 2.5%, reaching a high since February. The month-on-month PPI for July recorded 0.9%, the largest increase since June 2022, with an expectation of 0.2%.
5. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian answered questions from reporters yesterday. A reporter asked about reports that China and India are expected to resume direct flights as early as next month. Lin Jian stated that the total population of China and India exceeds 2.8 billion, and resuming direct flights between mainland China and India will facilitate personnel exchanges and cooperation between the two sides. For some time, the Chinese side has maintained close communication with the Indian side to promote the early resumption of direct flights.
6. Statistics show that on August 13, the number of investors participating in margin trading reached 523,400, setting a new high for the year, surpassing the previous high of 521,400 on February 21. Compared to the previous trading day, the number of investors increased by 46,100, a month-on-month growth of 9.67%.
7. On August 14 at 10 a.m., an independent garden villa located at 532 Yu Yuan Road, Jing'an District, Shanghai, with a starting price of 150 million yuan and a unit price of approximately 430,000 yuan/square meter, ended its auction on the Alibaba auction platform without any bids and was unsold. The villa, built in 1924, is an excellent historical preservation building that has been used in popular film and television productions such as 'An Jia' and 'Thirty Only'.
8. Yesterday, market news indicated that Douyin is testing the 'My Express' service, which is located in the Douyin App's wallet, alongside other life functions such as Douyin Pay and ride-hailing. Insiders close to Douyin told the (Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily) that it can only query loose item information and is unrelated to e-commerce platforms.
9. On August 13, the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association released a draft for consultation regarding the maintenance of fair competition and the promotion of healthy development in the energy storage industry. As of August 14, the association revealed that 152 energy storage companies have participated in this initiative.
10. The three major U.S. stock indices closed near flat, with the S&P 500 index up 0.03%, the Nasdaq down 0.01%, and the Dow down 0.02%. The S&P 500 index has set a new historical closing high for three consecutive trading days. Most large tech stocks rose, with Intel up more than 7%, and Amazon and Netflix up more than 2%. The 'third tier' exchange MIAX closed up more than 33% on its first day of IPO. Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell, and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 2.13%.
