Real-time News

The Indonesian rupiah rose to 17,690 against the US dollar, its highest level since mid-June.

August 21st - According to the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Department, a tropical depression in the South China Sea is expected to linger over the northern Beibu Gulf and Qiongzhou Strait for an extended period over the next three days, gradually intensifying into a tropical storm. From August 22nd to 24th, affected by this storm, the northwestern half of Hainan Island will experience heavy to torrential rain, with localized areas experiencing extremely heavy rain, while other areas will see moderate to heavy rain, with localized areas experiencing torrential rain. From the 22nd to the 24th, most sea areas of Hainan Province will experience gusts of 8-9 on the Beaufort scale, with gusts reaching 9-10 in the northern Beibu Gulf. Prolonged closures of shipping in the Qiongzhou Strait are possible.

On August 21st, the A50 index surged in early trading on Friday, and major A-share indices also rebounded collectively, with AI-related sectors such as CPO and liquid cooling showing significant strength. Meanwhile, the South Korean stock index reversed its losses and rose sharply. The Japanese stock market also saw its losses narrow significantly. Three major positive factors emerged from overseas markets. First, US Treasury yields, which had been a concern for the market, initially fell across the board after the Asian markets opened, and the change in expectations in the US Treasury market opened Pandora's box for a weak dollar, which is beneficial for equity valuations. Second, the Korea Exchange activated the Sidecar mechanism, suspending programmatic selling on KOSDAQ. Finally, the storage industry also received a major boost. Micron Technology stated that artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the cyclical nature of the storage industry, which has historically been trapped in cycles of boom and bust.

On August 21, Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd.'s Huaxia Branch filed for bankruptcy liquidation against Evergrande Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., citing the company's inability to repay its debts and insufficient assets to cover all liabilities. The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province, after review, determined that the application met the requirements of Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the "Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China" and ruled on August 21, 2026, to accept the bankruptcy liquidation application filed by Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank Co., Ltd.'s Huaxia Branch against Evergrande Real Estate Group Co., Ltd.

On August 21, according to the Financial Times, sources revealed that Ukraine is seeking approval to use drones equipped with the Starlink system to strike ballistic missile silos within 200 kilometers of Russian territory due to a severe shortage of air defense interceptors in Kyiv. This move requires approval from Elon Musk, whose stance on Ukraine and its use of his satellite internet service has been inconsistent. Another potential obstacle is the recent dismissal of Mikhailova Fedorov, the former Defense Minister who directly communicated with Musk in Kyiv. Previously, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy had repeatedly requested more interceptor missiles from US President Trump and other partners. Military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady stated that even under the most ideal circumstances, Ukraine is unlikely to acquire a sufficient number of interceptor missiles in time to maintain its current air defense strategy. He described Ukraine's current strategy as "essentially an attempt to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles."

According to the Financial Times, Ukraine is seeking approval to use Starlink-equipped drones to strike ballistic missile launchers within a range of up to 200 kilometers inside Russia.

August 21 - The State Council Information Office will hold a press conference at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. Ling Ji, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, Vice Minister and Deputy Representative for International Trade Negotiations, Zhao Zenglian, Vice Governor of Fujian Province, and relevant officials from Xiamen City, Fujian Province, will introduce the relevant information about the 26th China International Fair for Investment and Trade and answer questions from reporters.

On August 21, the Shanghai Municipal Government held a press conference to interpret the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Lingang New Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone." Tang Hao, Deputy Director of the Lingang New Area Management Committee, stated that the plan aims to achieve 100 billion yuan in bonded maintenance import and export volume and 50 billion US dollars in offshore entrepot trade volume by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. It will also pioneer offshore financial pilot programs, iterate and expand the negative list and operational guidelines for cross-border data, build a global shipping hub, and create an international shipping green energy bunkering center.

Jefferies: Raises its target price for Alibaba (09988.HK) from $185 to $190.

The yield on Japan's 5-year government bond rose 2.5 basis points to 2.125%.

Traders: The Reserve Bank of India may be selling dollars to protect the rupee.

August 21 – As US-Iran peace talks remain stalled and the security situation in the Middle East deteriorates, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz decreased on Thursday compared to the previous day. Preliminary data from ship tracking company Kpler showed that seven cargo ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from 14 on Wednesday; four entered the strait, and three left. Data showed that no Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers passed through this narrow sea passage on Thursday. However, a VLCC carrying propane and butane exited the strait via the Iranian route.

On August 21, Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that as of the end of July, 2.4 trillion yuan of new special bonds for 2026 had been issued nationwide, supporting 18,000 construction projects.

On August 21, Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance, stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on the theme of "Starting the 15th Five-Year Plan" that in the second half of the year, fiscal policy will continue to focus on accelerating the use of funds, intensifying efforts to expand domestic demand, and strengthening fiscal reform and management. Regarding incremental policies, the Ministry of Finance will promptly plan and introduce practical and effective incremental policies based on the macroeconomic situation in the second half of the year to provide strong support for achieving effective qualitative improvement and reasonable quantitative growth of the economy.

Oppenheimer raised its price target for Marwell Technology (MRVL.O) from $250 to $300.

On August 21, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on further improving fiscal and financial coordination policies to boost domestic demand. The notice stipulates that the annual maximum amount of interest subsidies for loans to small and micro enterprises that a single borrower can receive from a single lending institution will be increased from 50 million yuan to 75 million yuan. The annual maximum amount of interest subsidies for loans to service industry operators that a single borrower can receive from a single lending institution will be increased from 10 million yuan to 20 million yuan. The annual maximum cumulative interest subsidy for personal consumer loans and credit card installment payments that each borrower can receive from a single lending institution will be increased from 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan.

The Ministry of Finance announced that the scope of agencies handling the loan interest subsidy policy for small and micro enterprises and the loan interest subsidy policy for service industry operators will be expanded to 21 national banks and city commercial banks, rural cooperative financial institutions, private banks and foreign banks with a financial regulatory rating of 3A or above.

On August 21, Liao Min, Vice Minister of Finance, introduced that this year, the Ministry of Finance, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, the State Taxation Administration, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, has established a nationally unified negative list management mechanism for local government subsidies. This mechanism clearly defines the specific circumstances of illegal subsidies, resolutely prevents the increase of illegal subsidies, and classifies and standardizes the existing stock of illegal subsidies.