Real-time News

On March 12, Swire Properties (01972.HK) announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Long Yanyi has resigned as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the company due to retirement from the Swire Group; Shi Shihua will succeed Long Yanyi as Chief Financial Officer upon her retirement and has been appointed as Managing Director; Ma Tianwei will no longer serve as a Non-Executive Director to focus on other businesses of the Swire Group. He will no longer serve as a member of the Audit Committee, but will continue to participate in the committee as an observer. Cen Mingyan has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director and a member of the Audit Committee. These resignations and appointments will take effect upon the conclusion of the Company's 2026 Annual General Meeting to be held on May 12, 2026.

On March 12, Deepali Bhargava, Head of Research for Asia Pacific at ING, wrote in a report that the impact of rising oil prices on Asia will be uneven. Thailand, the Philippines, and South Korea are likely to be hit hardest, due to their weak buffers, rapid price transmission, and heavy reliance on imports, respectively. She stated, "India and China benefit from built-in shock absorbers because more than half of their energy supply still comes from coal." She pointed out that regions like Singapore appear best positioned to withstand rising oil prices should disruptions escalate. This is because they have relatively strong fiscal positions, healthier current account dynamics, and are better able to provide targeted support.

Traders said the Reserve Bank of India is likely to sell dollars to support the rupee, given the surge in oil prices.

On March 12th, it was observed on Alibaba's judicial auction platform that several equity stakes in banks such as Jiujiang Bank and Guangdong Huaxing Bank, valued at over 100 million yuan, were recently listed again, ultimately entering the disposal process after multiple failed auctions. According to JD.com's asset trading platform, several more bank equity auctions exceeding 100 million yuan have recently been added, including approximately 223 million shares of Guangfa Bank held by Jiangsu Sugang Group, which will be auctioned in early April with a starting price of 784 million yuan, making it the highest single bank equity auction listed this year. Industry analysts point out that "in the short term, the market for auctioning equity in small and medium-sized banks will continue to be sluggish, and may exhibit characteristics of 'deepening discounts and reduced transaction volume.'" Bai Wenxi, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, believes that from the perspective of industry development patterns, the "winter" in the auction of equity in small and medium-sized banks is a concentrated release of risks accumulated from the past extensive development model. The key to breaking the deadlock lies not in waiting for the market to recover, but in restoring investment value to the equity of small and medium-sized banks through substantial risk clearing, governance restructuring, and mechanism innovation.

March 12 - According to CNBC, the International Energy Agency's (IEA) plan to release the largest oil reserves in history sends a clear signal that the energy market believes the war with Iran may last far longer than expected. Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, stated that some in the market interpret the IEA's action as indicating the conflict could last for weeks. Saul Kavonic, energy analyst at MST Marquee, also believes the scale of the release highlights the severity of the oil shortage risk, suggesting the IEA believes the war is unlikely to end quickly. Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, said traders realize the release plan can only compensate for a small portion of the shortage caused by the Strait of Hormuz blockade, and oil prices are likely to continue rising unless a ceasefire is achieved or Iran's military offensive capabilities decline, allowing tanker shipments to resume.

On March 12th, WeChat officially announced a new feature: users can now click "Ignore" on unwanted WeChat voice/video calls. The pop-up will disappear after clicking, and the recipient will not receive a "rejected" message. WeChat video calls also support screen locking, a feature that is being rolled out gradually. Furthermore, WeChat voice-to-text now supports simultaneous interpretation, and currently supports 18 languages, including Chinese.

March 12 – According to Iranian sources, Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi and UN Secretary-General Guterres spoke by phone on the evening of March 10 to exchange views on the latest developments regarding the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Araqchi emphasized that Iranian schools, hospitals, residential areas, and historical sites were all deliberately attacked, an act that blatantly violates international law and basic humanitarian principles. He stated that Iran's retaliation against the US and Israel was within the framework of its legitimate right to self-defense, and that Iran considers protecting the lives of its citizens an inescapable fundamental responsibility. Guterres stated that the attacks on Iran by the US and Israel were a clear and undeniable act of aggression. He stressed the need to adhere to the principles of international law, prevent further escalation, and curb the spillover of the conflict.

March 12 – Economies reliant on the Gulf region face considerable uncertainty. For example, the IMF stated that talks with Pakistan were extended, partly to allow for a “more comprehensive assessment of the impact of recent global developments on the Pakistani economy.” Shankar Tareja, an analyst at brokerage firm Topline Securities, said that since Pakistan imports most of its oil from Gulf countries, the continued surge in crude oil prices could rapidly increase its import bill and exacerbate inflation in this economy, which still relies on IMF financing.

March 12th - US President Trump earlier praised the International Energy Agency's (IEA) massive release of emergency oil reserves, saying it would ease pressure on energy prices while the US sought to "get the job done" in its actions against Iran. However, this clearly failed to reassure the market. Darrell Fletcher, Director of Commodities Management at Bannockburn Capital Markets, stated, "This is exactly what I was worried about regarding the IEA's release—completely ignored by the market, and now prices are even higher. This may be sending the wrong signal. What do they know that we don't?"

Market news: Australia will temporarily allow higher sulfur content in fuel oil.

On March 12, the Bank of Korea stated in its semi-annual monetary policy report that the pressure on the won to depreciate will gradually ease this year as supply and demand conditions improve, noting that the current account surplus was larger than expected. Hwang Kun-il, a policy board member of the Bank of Korea, stated that to assess the uncertainty of the escalating conflict in the Middle East and its impact on the domestic economy, monetary policy should remain neutral for the time being, rather than forming expectations of any particular direction. He pointed out that in March, due to the Middle East conflict, uncertainty about the economic outlook increased significantly, and volatility in financial and foreign exchange markets intensified. Bond yield and exchange rate fluctuations were inconsistent with domestic economic fundamentals, and he added that the authorities would actively take market stabilization measures if necessary.

March 12th - It was learned today that in response to strong public complaints about the difficulty of identifying food labels and the persistent problems of "ghost deliveries" in online catering, the State Administration for Market Regulation has issued 13 regulations covering multiple areas including production and operation, labeling, centralized catering, and online transactions. The "Measures for the Supervision and Management of Food Labeling" directly addresses the prominent issues of labels being "unreadable, difficult to find, and unclear," mandating that production dates and expiration dates be clearly marked in separate areas with high contrast and significantly larger font sizes, and directly labeling expiration dates without conversion. At the same time, it standardizes the labeling of special foods, strengthens the exclusive "blue hat" and "blue flower" logos and warning statements, and prohibits false advertising such as "specially supplied" or "exclusively supplied," effectively protecting consumers' right to know and right to choose, so that the public can buy with confidence and eat with peace of mind.

March 12th - It was learned today that the State Council Food Safety Office will accelerate the improvement of the legal and standard system this year, promote the comprehensive revision of the Food Safety Law, and expedite the formulation and revision of food safety-related standards such as pre-prepared vegetables, pesticide and veterinary drug residue testing, and cold chain transportation, ensuring that supervision has clear standards and regulations to follow. It will also improve cross-departmental consultation, joint inspection, and joint enforcement mechanisms, and conduct regular special campaigns targeting key areas and products that have drawn strong public concern, such as school food safety, "ghost food delivery," and the abuse of food additives. Regarding school food safety, it will continue to deepen the construction of "Internet + transparent kitchens," improve the school food procurement mechanism, strengthen regular joint inspections, and strictly prevent unqualified food from entering schools.

March 12th - Nexperia (China) recently launched a new series of LDOs with 40V input and 120mA/150mA/300mA output current. This series integrates complete input and output protection functions, making it perfectly suited for automotive electronic applications where power is supplied off-board via wiring harnesses, such as body control, BMS, lighting, steering, and powertrain products. Furthermore, Nexperia (China)'s full range of automotive-grade off-board protection LDO chips is now in mass production.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 1.1%, German DAX futures fell 1.2%, and UK FTSE 100 futures fell 0.2%.

The SC crude oil futures contract surged 18.00% intraday, currently trading at 766.20 yuan per barrel.