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On August 17th, sources close to the deal revealed that Zhou Bingshu, CEO of Lingxi Interactive Entertainment, confirmed in an internal letter that Alibaba Group and CITIC Capital's Xinchen Capital have officially reached a transaction agreement. According to the agreement, Alibaba will transfer its shares in Lingxi Interactive Entertainment, and Xinchen Capital will become the new shareholder. Previously, reports indicated that CITIC Capital's Xinchen Capital would acquire Alibaba's Lingxi Interactive Entertainment for over US$1.5 billion (over RMB 10.1 billion).

Futures News, August 17th: The progress of diplomatic contacts between the US and Iran has slowed, and the geopolitical dynamics are exhibiting multiple characteristics. Changes in expectations regarding the Strait of Hormuz's reopening: Initial estimates of US-Iran negotiations and the resumption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz pushed down crude oil prices. However, with Iran demanding the lifting of sanctions and compensation, and the US also making corresponding claims, the pace of negotiations slowed, and previous expectations for a rapid resumption of navigation were revised. Traders are now incorporating the uncertainty of the shipping route into asset pricing. Supply recovery progress assessment: The ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East continues to affect the recovery of regional oil production and logistics. Assessment data indicates that although OPEC's total production in July is estimated at approximately 19.4 million barrels per day, this is still below the pre-war level of 27 million barrels per day. According to EIA estimates, approximately 5.5 million barrels per day of production capacity in the Middle East remained shut down in July. If shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to be disrupted in August, the scale of production shutdowns is estimated to expand to 6.6 million barrels per day. From the perspective of market capital and position changes, with the increasing uncertainty of diplomatic negotiations, short positions previously established based on the expectation of a rapid resumption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have been adjusted, and geopolitical risk factors are once again reflected in market pricing. Against the backdrop of low traffic volume in the Strait of Hormuz, short-term prices have broken away from the previous downward trend, and the market's sensitivity to geopolitical news has significantly increased. Overall, the fluctuating progress of US-Iran negotiations and expectations of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have prompted the market to reassess the risk premium on the supply side of crude oil. The core focus of the market going forward will remain on: the actual navigation status of the Strait of Hormuz, the subsequent progress of US-Iran diplomatic negotiations, and the evolution of the regional geopolitical situation. The subsequent development of these fundamental and logistical variables will continue to serve as the main basis for the market's assessment of the supply structure.

On August 17th, the General Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Intelligent Robot Industry." The opinions propose cultivating a number of leading enterprises across the entire intelligent robot industry chain, establishing a regular support mechanism involving provincial and municipal governments, supporting enterprises in integrating resources across industries, and promoting their transformation into technology-exporting and ecosystem-operating enterprises. The opinions also call for improving the listing service mechanism for various intelligent robot companies and supporting them in accelerating their access to the capital market. Furthermore, the opinions encourage leading enterprises to take the lead in establishing innovative application consortia to undertake major national and provincial scientific and technological research projects.

On August 17th, the General Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Intelligent Robot Industry." The opinions propose focusing on industrial robots, service and consumer robots, and special-purpose robots, to build an intelligent robot industry chain integrating key materials, core components, complete machine R&D, pilot testing and verification, intelligent manufacturing, scenario applications, and data feedback, promoting collaborative research and development and industrialization across all links. By 2028, the province aims to achieve a revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan for the intelligent robot industry chain; significantly improve the development level of key basic materials, advanced manufacturing processes, and core components; cultivate approximately 5 leading enterprises in the chain; and create a number of specialized and innovative supporting enterprises. By 2030, the province aims to achieve a revenue exceeding 200 billion yuan for the intelligent robot industry chain; mature the independent supporting system for core components and key materials such as precision transmission, high-precision sensing, motion control, and lightweight alloys; cultivate approximately 10 leading enterprises in the chain; and achieve a comprehensive industrial strength ranking among the top tier nationwide.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea says the $200 billion investment plan reached with the United States in tariff negotiations still has unresolved issues.

August 17th - The State Council Information Office will hold a press conference at 3:00 PM on August 18th, 2026. Assistant Minister of Commerce Yuan Xiaoming and relevant officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the State Administration for Market Regulation will introduce the relevant situation regarding stimulating the vitality of lower-tier markets and boosting county-level consumption, and answer questions from reporters.

On August 17, according to Iran's Tasnim News Agency on August 16, the Iranian parliament passed an anti-infiltration bill that day to combat infiltration by enemy intelligence agencies and foreign governments or institutions. Hassan Kashkawi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, explained that while Iran already has laws against espionage, there is a legal gap regarding anti-infiltration, and this bill aims to fill that gap.

The China Earthquake Networks Center officially determined that a magnitude 3.0 earthquake occurred at 10:02 on August 17 in Longchang City, Neijiang City, Sichuan Province (29.22 degrees north latitude, 105.21 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 5 kilometers.

August 17th - According to Shanghai Customs statistics, in the first seven months of this year, Shanghai's ship exports reached 40.09 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 64.1%, with high-end vessels such as liquid cargo ships and large container ships accounting for 83.9%. Shanghai is an important industrial base for high-end shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment in my country, possessing a relatively complete system for R&D, design, assembly, construction, core components, and supply chain services. Surveys show that major shipbuilding companies in Shanghai currently have full production capacity and ample order backlogs, with some companies' production schedules extending to 2030.

According to Shanghai Customs statistics, in the first seven months of this year, Shanghai's ship exports reached 40.09 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 64.1%, with high-end vessels such as liquid cargo ships and large container ships accounting for 83.9%. Shanghai is an important industrial base for high-end shipbuilding and marine engineering equipment in my country, possessing a relatively complete system for R&D, design, assembly, construction, core components, and supply chain services. Surveys show that major shipbuilding companies in Shanghai currently have full production capacity and ample order backlogs, with some companies' production schedules extending to 2030.

On August 17th, the highest 7-day annualized yield of Tencent Wealth Management's "Current Account +" was 1.1020%, and the lowest was 0.7100%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of WeChat Pay's "Lingqian Tong" was 1.0120%, and the lowest was 0.9000%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of Alipay's "Yu'ebao" was 1.0550%, and the lowest was 0.9020%.

On August 17th, Jia Yueting, founder, partner, and chief product and user ecosystem officer of Faraday Future (FF), announced that FF robots have entered a new stage of rapid revenue growth and are exploring independent financing and listing for robots.

On August 17th, Futures News reported that South Africa's platinum group metals (PGM) production declined by 8.4% year-on-year in June, becoming the main factor dragging down the country's total mining output, which fell by 4.0% year-on-year in June. PGM production had surged by 36.5% year-on-year in April due to a low base, but turned negative in May and June, indicating that the recovery on the supply side was slower than expected. Mineral sales benefited from high year-on-year growth in international platinum and palladium prices. The data are preliminary; the National Bureau of Statistics does not break down the physical production of individual platinum and palladium products.

Hong Kong stocks opened higher and continued to rise, with the Hang Seng Index up more than 1% in the morning session and the Hang Seng Tech Index up 1.62%.

According to Futures News on August 17, as of 09:30 Beijing time, New York gold futures rose 0.72%, New York silver futures rose 1.88%, and New York copper futures rose 1.59%.

On Monday, August 17, the Hang Seng Index opened 186.56 points higher, or 0.74%, at 25,303.41; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened 53.58 points higher, or 1.14%, at 4,761.2; the H-share Index opened 71.04 points higher, or 0.85%, at 8,411.87; and the Red Chip Index opened 18.92 points higher, or 0.46%, at 4,151.61.

Hang Seng Index futures opened 0.79% higher at 25,291 points, a premium of 174 points.

August 17th - It is reported that the implementation plan for this year's new policy-based financial instruments has recently been issued to local governments, who will then submit project applications accordingly. Unlike last year, this year the government will provide interest subsidies for eligible funds from these new policy-based financial instruments; in terms of investment allocation, it will emphasize key support for private investment and industrial projects. By 2025, policy-based financial instruments will primarily invest in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, consumer infrastructure, and urban renewal areas such as transportation, energy, and underground pipeline construction and renovation. This year, the allocation of new policy-based financial instruments has been further optimized, with a greater emphasis on supporting private investment projects and industrial projects.