SMIC Q2 Results Show Margin Expansion

On August 13, SMIC announced its second-quarter results, reporting sales revenue of $3 billion, a 36.1% year-over-year increase and a 20% sequential rise. Profit attributable to equity holders reached $479 million, surging 261.7% from a year ago. Capital expenditure stood at $1.836 billion, up from $1.563 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

Zhongji Innolight to Acquire Stake in Jones Tech

On the evening of August 13, optical module leader Zhongji Innolight disclosed a share transfer agreement signed with the controlling family of Jones Tech, including Wu Xiaoning, Ye Lu, and Han Wu. The company plans to acquire 31.3725 million shares at 55.70 yuan per share, representing 10.47% of Jones Tech's total equity, for a total consideration of 1.747 billion yuan. The move aims to strengthen upstream and downstream collaboration in the computing power supply chain.

China Mobile Announces Massive Interim Dividend

On the evening of August 13, China Mobile released its 2026 interim results. In the first half of 2026, operating revenue reached 538 billion yuan, a 1.1% year-over-year decline. Core business revenue was 452.7 billion yuan, down 3.1%, while other business revenue grew 11.2% to 85.4 billion yuan. Revenue from computing and intelligent services accounted for 22.6% of core business revenue, up 2.2 percentage points. Net profit fell 6.3% to 78.9 billion yuan, with EBITDA at 173.6 billion yuan, down 6.6%.

DeepSeek to Adjust API Pricing from August 17

On August 13, DeepSeek announced the official release of the DeepSeek-V4-Pro version. Starting from 00:00 Beijing time on August 17, API prices will be raised comprehensively with peak-hour pricing applied. Off-peak prices will be half of peak-hour rates. Peak hours are 9:00-12:00 and 14:00-18:00 Beijing time, with the remaining hours designated as off-peak.

AI Drives Semiconductor Boom as Foundries Post Record Revenue

On the evening of August 13, SMIC and Hua Hong Semiconductor both released their second-quarter results, showing year-over-year and sequential growth in revenue and gross margins. Both foundries achieved record-high sales revenue, reflecting the high prosperity of the semiconductor industry. Their optimistic guidance for the third quarter suggests continued strong demand. AI remains the most powerful growth driver, expanding from memory and logic to power and analog products.

US Memory Chip Stocks Surge Late Night

On August 13, the three major US stock indices opened higher. The Dow turned negative, down 0.13%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.57% after briefly gaining over 1%. The S&P 500 increased by more than 0.4%. Memory chip stocks led gains, with SanDisk surging over 17% to a high of $1,580.88 per share before settling at $1,531.92, giving it a market cap of $228.3 billion. Western Digital and SK Hynix rose over 7%, Micron Technology gained over 5%, and Seagate Technology added over 4%.

MSCI Quarterly Index Rebalance Adds 31 A-Shares and 2 Hong Kong Stocks

On August 13, index compiler MSCI announced additions and deletions for its major indices, including the MSCI Global Standard, Small Cap, and Micro Cap series. For the MSCI China Index, 31 A-share stocks, including Copper Copper Foil, Huafeng Test & Control, Fenghua Advanced Technology, and others, were added. Two Hong Kong-listed stocks, Zhipu and Kingboard Holdings, were also included.

Gbit Semi Reports Near 1.1 Billion Yuan Profit in H1, Plans Generous Dividend

On the evening of August 13, A-share gaming leader Gbit Semi disclosed its half-year report. The company posted operating revenue of 3.727 billion yuan in the first half, up 48.01% year-over-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 1.092 billion yuan, a 69.31% increase. The company attributed the growth to its dual-driver strategy in domestic and overseas gaming businesses.

Overnight Reverse Repo Frequency Adjusted for More Precise Short-Term Rate Management

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the seven-day reverse repo operations in the open market saw zero activity for two consecutive days, leading to market speculation that the central bank was tightening short-term liquidity to control bond yield declines. However, on Wednesday evening, the central bank announced plans to conduct overnight reverse repo operations for four days, with a daily cap of 600 billion yuan. This news boosted market sentiment, and bonds strengthened.

AI Film and TV Boom Creates New Job Roles with Average Monthly Salary Reaching 30,000 Yuan

At leading short-drama company Jiaxing Jiuzhou Culture Media, AI-related content creation roles now account for 60% of all employees. Unique positions like AIGC director, AI audio scriptwriter, AI image generator, and AI video generator have emerged, with some roles offering average monthly salaries of up to 30,000 yuan.

Provident Fund Reforms Accelerate; New Policies for Renovation and Property Fee Withdrawals Introduced

Following the State Council's executive meeting on July 31, which approved the draft amendment to the Housing Provident Fund Management Regulations, multiple regions have implemented new policies in August. These allow for fund withdrawals for self-owned housing renovations, property management fees, and upgrades. The scope of provident fund withdrawals has traditionally been limited to purchasing, building, and major repairs, but this year, the central government has repeatedly emphasized deepening fund reform. On June 5, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development publicly solicited opinions on the revised regulations, which for the first time included renovation and property fee withdrawals. The State Council's approval on July 31 provides a clear institutional basis for local policy adjustments.

Three Gorges Hub Reaches 100 Million Tonnes in Throughput for 2026

According to the Yangtze River Three Gorges Navigation Authority, as of 00:40 on August 13, the total throughput of the Three Gorges Hub in 2026 reached 100 million tonnes. The Three Gorges ship lock operated 5,863 times, passing 21,562 vessels with a throughput of 97.276 million tonnes. The ship lift operated 2,557 times, passing 2,590 vessels and 446,000 passengers.

Banks Ramp Up Gold Accumulation Product Marketing

Since August, gold prices have rebounded rapidly, boosting investment interest. Several commercial banks have intensified their promotion of gold accumulation products, using point spread reductions, per-gram discounts, and coupons to attract investors. For example, Bank of China launched a gold accumulation promotion from July 1 to December 31, 2026, offering up to 5 yuan per gram in discounts. China Citic Bank started a gold experience officer recruitment program, where investors who complete a gold purchase by August 12 can qualify for point spread discounts.

Long-Haul Travel Booking Heats Up Ahead of Mid-Autumn and National Day Holidays

With the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays approaching, the "take 3 days off, get 13 days off" strategy is prompting many travelers to combine annual leave with statutory holidays, creating a nearly two-week travel window. This has extended planning lead times, with summer travel and 'Golden Week' bookings seamlessly connecting.

PBOC Conducts 1 Trillion Yuan in 6-Month Outright Reverse Repo Operations

On August 13, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced a public market outright reverse repo bidding notice. To maintain ample liquidity in the banking system, the PBOC will conduct 1 trillion yuan in outright reverse repo operations on August 14, 2026, with a fixed quantity, interest rate bidding, and multiple-price中标 method. The term is 6 months (185 days), maturing on February 15, 2027.

Key Signals from the Q2 Monetary Policy Implementation Report

The People's Bank of China recently released the Q2 2026 China Monetary Policy Implementation Report, stating that it continues to implement moderately accommodative monetary policy, leveraging the combined effects of existing and incremental policies to create a favorable monetary and financial environment for consolidating the economy's stable and improving trend.