Daily Buzz: 28 October 2026

Israeli Election Produces No Clear Winner, Voters Rebuke Netanyahu

Exit polls in the Israeli general election show no clear winner, with a majority of voters casting ballots against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc. Israel's Channel 12 News projects that Netanyahu's ruling coalition will lose 18 seats in the 120-member parliament, ending up with 50 seats. The new centrist opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is expected to win 52-53 seats, and Arab parties are seen winning a record 18 seats. Eisenkot leads a newly formed bloc of parties with different ideologies beyond a common goal of ousting Netanyahu. Turnout was about 78 percent, the highest in 25 years. A clearer picture is expected as counting progresses. No party in Israeli has ever won an outright majority, necessitating weeks or even months of political jockeying to form a coalition government. The election has been called pivotal. It's the first since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel Israel 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza, and the first since Israel embarked on wars against Iran and Lebanon this year.

Bolsonaro, After Election Defeat, Flees to US

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday's presidential election, refused to comply with a court order to surrender his passport and flew to the US, CNN reported, citing two sources. Bolsonaro, who is currently under investigation for alleged acts of corruption and money laundering, feared arrest, one source said. Another said US President Trump, an ally of the Bolsnaro family, who called the election "rigged," has granted him political asylum. Bolsonaro lost the election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro's father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula.

Top Business

SK Hynix Delivers Record Quarterly Operating Profit

South Korea's SK Hynix, the world's second-largest memory chip maker, reported third-quarter net income jumped 216 percent from a year earlier to 39.8 trillion won (US$30 billion). Operating profit rose 7.3-fold from a year earlier to a record 83.3 trillion won, with an operating margin of 80 percent. Revenue increased 328 percent to 104.6 trillion won. Compared with the previous quarter, revenue climbed 32 percent and operating profit jumped 38 percent. The company, a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia, has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the global AI infrastructure buildout, as technology companies ramp up spending on data centers and advanced processors. Last week, SK Hynix announced it was halting an IPO in the US, citing market volatility and share price trends.

HSBC Posts 38 Percent Rise in Q3 Profit, Announces Share Buyback

UK-based HSBC, Hong Kong's biggest bank, reported third-quarter after-tax profit rose 38 percent from a year earlier to US$7.6 billion, with revenue rising 4.5 percent to US$18.6 billion on high net interest income and strong wealth management services. The profit figure was in line with expectations, but revenue missed forecasts. Net interest income rose 6 percent, and the net interest margin fell 0.05 percentage point to l.57. Customer accounts grew by US$9.1 billion, and operating expenses fell 12 percent. Expected credit losses for the period fell 17 percent. The bank, Europe's largest, announced a US$1 billion share buyback program to repurchase about 48.7 million shares across the UK and Hong Kong. HSBC is reportedly considering major job cuts in Britain as part of a broader push to adopt artificial intelligence. For the first nine months of the year, the lender said revenue rose 9 percent to US$56.4 billion and profit was up 18 percent to US$22.9 billion. Net interest margin rose 0.03 point to 1.60. HSBC had assets of US$3.4 trillion as of September 30.

Hengrui's Quarterly Profit Surges on Licensing Income

Chinese drugmaker Hengrui Pharma reported an 89 percent jump in third-quarter net profit, helped by higher income from overseas licensing deals. Net profit attributable to shareholders reached 2.5 billion yuan (US$366 million), while revenue rose 21 percent from a year earlier to 8.95 billion yuan. For the first nine months, Hengrui said it earned 2.8 billion yuan in revenue from the overseas licensing of innovative medicines, up 31 percent from a year earlier. The income mainly came from obligations the company has fulfilled under its agreements with GSK and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as milestone payments for licensed products.

Sales of Hengrui's innovative medicines rose 17 percent to 13.9 billion yuan in the first nine months of the year, accounting for nearly two-thirds of drug sales. Generic drug sales fell 16 percent to 7.6 billion yuan.

Despite an improvement in the third quarter, Hengrui said it expects full-year growth in innovative drug sales to fall short of its initial target, citing changes in market conditions, slower-than-expected access to hospitals and increased competition for some older products.

Pop Mart Signals Big Drop in Third-Quarter Revenue

Pop Mart, the Chinese toymaker famous for the Labubu monster doll series, said third-quarter revenue is expected to fall up to 50 percent from a year earlier as the craze for its collectible toys wanes in major markets overseas. Revenue in China is expected to drop up to 30 per cent, with sales from Asia-Pacific markets outside the Chinese mainland projected to slump up to 70 per cent, according to a business update filed to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Revenue in the Americas is estimated to decline up to 75 per cent. Investors have been repricing the company's growth outlook as it scrambles to produce new novelties following last year's global frenzy over its flagship Labubu line. The company is expected to report full financial results in early December. Pop Mart shares have fallen more than 60 per cent from their August 2025 peak.

Economy & Markets

China Industrial Profits Increase Amid Sector Divergence

China's industrial profits in September grew 14.4 percent from a year earlier, led by AI-related companies.

For the first nine months of the year, profits climbed 15.5 percent. Industrial profit data cover companies with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan (US$3 million) from main operations. Industrial earnings swung to double-digit growth earlier this year, as the government curbed rampant price wars in autos, fast-food delivery and other sectors, but there is a pronounced divergence between technology-related companies – including AI and robotics – and those tied to the consumer market, like autos and home appliances. In the January-September period, profits in the computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing doubled, while furniture making halved.

China Pursues AI, but Not the Technology You Think

Before there were chatbots or data centers, AI was an acronym commonly referring to artificial insemination – the process by which cattle breeders produce superior stock by impregnating females with semen collected from top bulls. At an Angus farm in the Australian state of Victoria, sperm cells are frozen in liquid nitrogen and packed in plastic "straws" for shipment to China, which accepts semen from only the top 10 bulls, Reuters reported. China is back in the market after a near halt in cattle genetics trade, with Australia and Canada ramping up supplies. The first resumed Australian shipments began last April. "Historically, Chinese cattle were bred for ploughing fields," Hao Hongman, a manager at bull genetics firm Beijing World Wide Sires, told Reuters. "Now Chinese producers want the best imported semen for their cattle to grow faster, eat less and produce more meat and dairy." By 2024 Chinese consumers ate almost twice as much beef and 30 percent more dairy than a decade earlier.

South Korea's Economy Grows Faster Than Forecast

South Korea's economy grew a faster-than-expected 1 percent in the third quarter as the global AI chip boom boosted exports and investments, advance central bank estimates showed on Tuesday. The rate accelerated from growth of 0.6 percent in the prior three months. Economic growth for 2026 is now predicted at 3.7 percent if the third-quarter rate prevails in the current quarter. That would be higher than the Bank of Korea's August forecast of 3.3 percent growth.

ByteDance Founder Tops List of China's Wealthiest

ByteDance founder Zhang Yimin topped the 2026 Hurun China Rich List released this month, with wealth rising to 670 billion yuan (US$100.5 billion) by 200 billion yuan. Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan ranked second, with his wealth shrinking 120 billion yuan to 410 billion yuan, and Contemporary Ampere Technology's Robin Zeng ranked third with 385 billion yuan. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng debuted in seventh place with wealth of 280 billion yuan. A record 1,529 entrepreneurs made the list, up 95 from a year earlier, with combined wealth of 32 trillion yuan. Tycoons in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and robotics posted standout gains, and Shenzhen ranked top among cities in China with 177 listees.

China Wind, Solar Power Equal Half of Global Total

China's cumulative installed wind and solar power capacity reached 2 billion kilowatts at the end of September, roughly half of the global total for new energy, with wind and solar combined accounting for 48.7 percent of China's total installed capacity. Data from China's National Energy Administration shows wind and solar installations added about 170 million kilowatts of capacity and generated 1.9 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first nine months of the year.

Shanghai Targets Expansion in Energy Equipment Industry

Shanghai aims to expand its energy-equipment industry to 400 billion yuan (US$60 billion) by 2029, under a three-year plan issued by four municipal departments. It targets creation of industrial clusters in Minhang and Songjiang districts, and in the Lingang special development zone. The plan identifies six emerging sectors, including nuclear energy, hydrogen-based energy and offshore wind power.

Corporate

Huaneng Profit Dives on High Costs, Lower Power Generation

Huaneng Power International, a Chinese power producer, reported a 78 percent drop in third-quarter net profit to 1.2 billion yuan (US$184 million) as margins came under pressure from elevated coal costs and lower electricity generation. Revenue declined 3.3 percent from a year earlier to 59 billion yuan. Its operating plants in China supplied 113.32 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity to the grid, a 9.9 percent decline. For the first nine months, revenue fell 4.1 percent to 166 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to shareholders dropped 47 percent to 7.8 billion yuan. Electricity tariffs dropped 2.3 percent to 467 yuan per megawatt-hour.

Fosun Pharma's Quarterly Profit Rises, Adjusted Earnings Drop

Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma reported a 15 percent rise in third-quarter net profit, though earnings excluding one-time items declined 8.3 percent. Profit attributable to shareholders reached 946 million yuan (US$141 million), and revenue rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier to 10 billion yuan. Excluding one-time items, profit fell 562 million yuan. Fosun attributed the decline partly to a higher licensing income a year earlier, lower contributions from associate companies and increased foreign-exchange losses on the stronger yuan. For the first nine months, revenue rose 3.6 percent to 30.5 billion yuan, while net profit increased 5.7 percent to 2.67 billion yuan. Revenue from what Fosun classifies as innovative drugs increased 15.5 percent, accounting for 35 percent of its pharmaceutical revenue.

SAIC Reports Rising Car Sales

Shanghai-based SAIC Motor reported sales of over 3 million vehicles in the first nine months of this year, up from 2.7 million in the January-August period. The carmaker's overseas sales rose 52 percent to nearly 1.2 million units from a year ago, already exceeding last year's total. The company has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen.

DeepSeek Models Top OpenRouter's Call-Volume Ranking

Models from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek topped the ranking by tokens processed on data platform OpenRouter for the third week in a row, while Chinese AI models led US rivals for the 26th consecutive week. DeepSeek's recently released V4.1-Flash-1017 ranked first, with call volume at 33.6 trillion tokens in the week ended October 25, followed by its V4.1-Flash. The MiniMax M3.1-Flash, Z.ai's GLM-5.3-Flash and Tencent's Hunyuan's Hy4 rounded out the top five.

Audi China Splits Branding Strategies for Joint Ventures

Audi China is splitting its branding strategy between its two partners FAW Group and SAIC Motor. Under newly signed agreements, FAW Audi will focus on luxury combustion-engine cars and new energy vehicles under the four-ring Audi brand, while SAIC Audi will specialize in new energy vehicles under the new AUDI brand.

Doubao Begins Quick Service for Paying Utility Bills

ByteDance's Doubao has rolled out a new service that allows users in Shanghai to pay water and gas bills through its platform with a single spoken sentence. In Beijing, the service covers only water payments. As of June, Doubao had 382 million monthly active users. The service highlights growing competition to move large language models into daily life scenarios, including travel bookings.

Ronbay to Ramp Up Output of Cathode Battery Materials

Ronbay New Energy Technology, the leading supplier of sodium-ion battery cathode materials for Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), said it will invest 3.6 billion yuan (US$536.3 million) to ramp up production. The Ningbo-based company said it plans to build a sodium-ion battery cathode material plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons in Hubei Province. About half of the investment will come from bank loans.

IDG Leads Bidding for ASMPT Unit

IDG Capital has emerged as the leading bidder for the electronics assembly equipment business of Singapore-based ASMPT in a deal that could value the unit at more than US$1 billion, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The unit's key markets include AI servers, optical transceivers and electric vehicles. A deal could be reached in the coming weeks, although terms are yet to be finalized. Private equity firms FountainVest Partners and Triton Partners have also expressed interest. ASMPT is seeking a valuation of US$1.5 billion for the unit, two sources said. ASMPT is listed in Hong Kong.

Proya Cosmetics Expanding into US

Proya Cosmetics, China's largest beauty brand by revenue, will begin selling its Advanced Firming and Original Repair skincare lines in 400 Ulta Beauty stores across the US and on the retailer's website in November. The company also opened a research and development center in Paris this month. Proya said it aims to become one of the world's top 10 beauty brands and is exploring acquisitions of smaller foreign companies. Chinese beauty brands are stepping up global expansion with retail partnerships, new stores and research facilities as they seek growth beyond a sluggish domestic consumer market. Florasis, a cosmetics brand inspired by traditional Chinese aesthetics, opened a flagship store in Tokyo last year, and Joy Groups has opened shops in Singapore, selling Joocyee and Judydoll brands through British-Asian beauty retailer Skin Cupid.