🌹【August 21 Morning News Highlights】
1. Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, conducted a survey on the development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Beijing on August 20. He emphasized the need to deeply implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on the development of the biopharmaceutical industry, increase high-quality technological supply and policy support, fully leverage the innovative role of enterprises, and focus on promoting the quality upgrade of the biopharmaceutical industry, researching and producing more high-quality and efficient new drugs to continuously enhance people's health and well-being.
2. To implement the (Implementation Plan for Childcare Subsidy System) issued by the General Office of the Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation announced: 1. Childcare subsidies issued in accordance with the childcare subsidy system will be exempt from individual income tax. 2. Health departments will establish an information sharing mechanism with finance and tax departments. County-level health departments will handle personal income tax exemption declarations for individuals applying for subsidies as required. 3. This announcement will take effect from January 1, 2025.
3. The State Council forwarded the Ministry of Finance's (Guiding Opinions on Regulating the Construction and Operation of Existing Projects of Government and Social Capital Cooperation), which proposed that local governments should prioritize the implementation of projects with certain returns, reasonably sorting them according to economic and social development needs, project characteristics, and financial conditions, ensuring that projects are completed and delivered.
4. On August 20, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning held a regular press conference. A reporter asked which foreign leaders would attend the 'September 3 Military Parade.' Mao Ning stated that the information would be released in due course.
5. The National Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau is publicly soliciting opinions on the (Management Measures for Commercial Bank Mergers and Acquisitions Loans (Draft for Comments)). The draft states that commercial banks accepting merger and acquisition loan applications should have a high degree of industry relevance or strategic synergy between the acquirer and the target enterprise; merger and acquisition loans can be used to replace the acquirer's previously paid acquisition price, but cannot be used to replace already obtained merger and acquisition loans; the proportion of controlling merger and acquisition loans to the total transaction price cannot exceed 70%, and the term generally should not exceed ten years.
6. Recently, the research team from the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences achieved an important breakthrough. They observed the 'full temperature zone pressure card effect' for the first time in an inorganic plastic crystal material called potassium hexafluorophosphate (KPF6). By applying pressure, KPF6 can achieve a cooling effect in the extremely low temperature range from room temperature (about 25°C) to liquid nitrogen (-196°C), liquid hydrogen (-253°C), and even liquid helium (-269°C). This is currently the only solid-state phase change cooling material that works across the entire temperature range.
7. At the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's 2025 interim performance meeting, CEO Charles Li stated that regarding the topic of extending trading hours, Nasdaq plans to implement a 24-hour trading mechanism five days a week in the second half of 2026. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will adhere to a prudent and gradual principle, conducting research based on international industry experience while combining local market conditions.
8. The latest research report released by Goldman Sachs' equity strategy analysis team mentioned that if the recent 'anti-involution' actions succeed, they could enhance corporate profitability through three interconnected channels. The team also noted that from an industry perspective, under the condition of profit margins returning to normal, potential supply reductions and industry consolidation are expected to drive an overall increase in profitability in the involution industry by 53% by 2027.
9. The Health Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, along with the Finance Department, Education Department, Women's Federation, and Disease Control Bureau, jointly issued the (Implementation Plan for Free HPV Vaccination Project for Eligible Girls in Guangxi), officially launching the free HPV vaccination project for eligible girls in Guangxi. According to the plan, nearly 960,000 eligible girls will receive free vaccination from 2025 to 2027.
10. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy meeting showed that most members believe that inflation risks outweigh employment risks, with several members stating that current interest rates may not be far above neutral rates. The three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed, with the Nasdaq down 0.67%, the S&P 500 down 0.24%, and the Dow Jones up 0.04%. Most large tech stocks fell, with Intel down about 7%. Building materials supplier JHX fell over 34%, marking the largest drop since 1973. Popular Chinese stocks showed mixed results, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising 0.33%.
