Latest news with #XiaoFeng
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong could serve as stablecoin test bed amid China's effort to raise yuan's profile
Hong Kong could serve as a stablecoin test bed to boost the internationalisation of the yuan as Beijing puts more focus on the digital version of its currency, according to the chairman and CEO of HashKey Group. Advertisement 'Due to its 'one country, two systems' characteristics, Hong Kong's stablecoins can serve as a testing ground for the mainland, providing both experience and lessons,' said Xiao Feng, who heads one of the city's licensed cryptocurrency exchange operators, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, People's Bank of China (PBOC) governor Pan Gongsheng spoke about stablecoins – digital tokens pegged to a reference asset like a fiat currency – at the high-profile Lujiazui Forum. Pan said that emerging technologies such as blockchain and distributed ledgers were rapidly driving the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, reshaping traditional payment systems and significantly shortening cross-border payment chains while posing 'significant challenges to financial regulation'. HashKey Group CEO Xiao Feng. Photo: Handout Pan added that innovations like smart contracts and decentralised finance would continue to advance the evolution of cross-border payment systems. Advertisement HashKey's Xiao viewed the speech as a 'positive sign' and that stablecoins could be on Beijing's radar.
CNBC
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
China's EV race to the bottom leaves a few possible winners
China's electric car price war shows little sign of letting up, putting more pressure on companies to survive. Tesla 's China sales fell by 15% in May from a year ago, China Passenger Car Association data showed. BYD , in contrast, reported a 14% year-on-year sales increase as it held onto first place in the market by volume, but even it had to announce sharp discounts as sales growth slowed from April's pace. "We expect additional price competition in the coming weeks as BYD is still lagging behind its sales target," said a team of analyst led by CLSA analyst Xiao Feng in a report Wednesday. While the analysts still have a high conviction, with an outperform rating on BYD's Hong Kong-listed shares, they see Geely as the 'best positioned" for investors as it is striking the optimal balance with its internal business structure and competing on vehicle price. CLSA has a price target of 483 Hong Kong dollars ($61.55) on BYD, and a 23 HKD target on Geely, also listed in Hong Kong. That's upside of nearly 20%, and 28%, respectively, from Friday's close. Geely is a large conglomerate with electric vehicle brands Galaxy, Zeekr and Lynk and Co., which share some of the same tech and manufacturing systems. "Geely's Galaxy NEV brand has successfully targeted BYD's popular models with better specs and lower prices," Macquarie analysts said in a report Thursday, citing a call with an auto dealer who manages dealerships for BYD, Geely and Xpeng in the relatively affluent Suzhou region near Shanghai. "The expert believes Geely's success will continue, as it is still ramping up new models to compete with BYD's entire model line-up," the report said. The Macquarie analysts have a price target of 22 HKD on Geely and rate the stock outperform. But they like U.S.-listed electric car startup Xpeng even more, with a $24 price target. Xpeng is likely to benefit from near-term market share gains given its advanced driver assist system and upcoming car models, the analysts said. The latest delivery data showed Xpeng delivered more than 30,000 cars in May for a seventh straight month, a rare feat among its immediate peers. The company last month also launched a new car under its lower-priced Mona brand. Among publicly listed new energy vehicle companies, a category that includes battery-only and hybrid-powered cars, Leapmotor and Li Auto have proven relatively stable, each with deliveries of more than 40,000 vehicles in May. Both companies have Hong Kong listings, while Li Auto also trades in New York. "Through a continuously expanding product matrix and cost-effective models, Leapmotor has achieved a stable market share in the Chinese mass EV market and has strong growth potential," the CLSA analysts said. They have a price target of 72 HKD, or more than 30% upside from Friday's close. Leapmotor reported a net loss in the first quarter, however, compared with profit in the fourth quarter. But Li Auto maintained profitability in the first quarter, according to results released on May 29. "We still see ample upside as a better-than-feared 1Q should inspire investor conviction about sequential recovery in 2Q," Morgan Stanley analysts said in a May 29 report. They have a price target of $36, for upside of more than 20% from Thursday's close. "The management team has found its pace for a steady and solid comeback, underpinning a more material resurgence of volume/margins into 2H25 amid new model launches," the analysts added. "Li Auto's premium model lineup can steer clear of the fierce pricing competition in the mass market." Li Auto is best known for its SUVs that come with a gas tank for extending the battery's driving range. Prices start around 244,000 yuan ($34,000). Industry giant BYD in contrast now sells some cars at 55,800 yuan, with most models falling in the 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan price range. The company also has a high-end sub-brand called Yangwang, which prices cars at well above 1 million yuan. Analysts that still like the stock see potential in BYD's overseas expansion. The narrative on BYD among European investors "sounds more optimistic," contrary to more cautious sentiment in China following the automaker's recent price promotions, JPMorgan's Nick Lai, head of Asia Pacific auto research said in a report Wednesday. Lai and his team also cited conversations with senior BYD management in London in the last week. "All in all, we retain our long-term positive view on the company and believe the (earnings) contribution from the overseas market and BYD's premium portfolio will increasingly play an important role," the JPMorgan analysts said. "We estimate that BYD's overseas business and premium brands will together contribute over 40% of its vehicle earnings in 2025 (up from 20-25% last year) even though they account for only about 20% of volume." The analysts rate BYD overweight, with a price target of 600 HKD. However, the risk of a flood of cheap cars into markets such as Europe have prompted tariff increases. In China, official commentary is also sounding the alarm about excessive competition. "We believe an end to the current price war will come down to simple economics," the Macquarie analysts said, pointing out that production capacity for both electric and traditional vehicles is more than 50 million units, well above the annual wholesale volume of 25 million to 27 million vehicles. "Thus, the market will likely stabilize either via higher demand or right-sized capacity and consolidation," the analysts said. "We believe this may take at least another three to five years." — CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
How disaster struck for Air Strike, a Chinese movie starring Bruce Willis and Adrien Brody
This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions. Sometimes troubled productions can create powerful cinema. Other times they create disasters like Xiao Feng's 2018 film Air Strike. Rumoured at the time to be the most expensive Chinese film ever made, it was conceived to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in the second world war, and features a prestige international cast, from Chinese favourites Liu Ye and Fan Wei to American stars Bruce Willis, Adrien Brody and Rumer Willis, Bruce's daughter. The fact that Mel Gibson is credited as a consultant suggests he was once in the frame to direct, perhaps alongside cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), who was also mentioned. Play
Zawya
28-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Hong Kong's HashKey, Bosera to offer tokenised money market ETFs in April
Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Group and asset manager Bosera International will launch the world's first tokenised money market exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in April, the companies said in a joint statement on Friday. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has approved two new tokenised share classes - the Bosera HKD Money Market ETF and the Bosera USD Money Market ETF, according to the statement. The products will allow investors allow exposure to high-quality money market instruments via blockchain-based tokens, enhancing asset allocation and risk management capabilities, the firms said. "Under the current market trend of compliance, we expect more traditional financial institutions to actively enter the crypto finance sector through innovative tokenisation products," said Dr. Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group. The ETFs will be issued on HashKey Chain, the company's proprietary blockchain platform. HashKey Exchange, which became Hong Kong's first licensed crypto trading platform to serve retail investors in August 2023, is currently the largest regulated virtual asset trading venue in the territory. The launch aligns with Hong Kong's push to position itself as a center for Web3 - the blockchain-based evolution of the internet - and digital asset innovation through crypto-friendly regulatory measures designed to attract global cryptocurrency businesses. (Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's CPIC Rolls Out $100M Tokenized Fund with HashKey as RWA Trend Expands in Asia
China Pacific Insurance (CPIC) Investment Management, a Hong Kong-based subsidiary of one of China's largest insurance groups, rolled out a tokenized U.S. dollar money market fund as the asset tokenization trend is expanding to Asia. The eStable Money Market Fund (MMF) was launched on the HashKey Chain, a permissioned blockchain for institutional users developed by digital asset group HashKey, and has secured $100 million in subscription on the first day, according to a Monday press release. The product is only accessible for professional and institutional investors and invests in U.S. dollar-denominated short-term fixed income assets and money market instruments. The PAC serves as the tokenization issuance platform for the fund, while Standard Chartered Bank provides registration and fund administration services. Asset managers around the globe are increasingly putting traditional financial instruments such as government bonds, credit, and funds on blockchain rails, a process often referred to as tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). By doing so, they seek to achieve operational and efficiency gains and faster, around-the-clock settlements. U.S.-based issuers like Franklin Templeton and BlackRock have been spearheading the tokenization efforts of U.S. Treasury securities as a blockchain-based facility to manage cash holdings, similar to a money market fund. Last week, Fidelity Investments also filed for regulatory approval to enter the market with a fund built on the Ethereum network. This is a fast-growing market: the total market value of yield-generating some 500% over the past year to almost $4.8 billion, data shows. "The essence of finance is the flow of value across time and space, and blockchain is the new infrastructure for this process," said Dr. Xiao Feng, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group. "Integration with traditional finance is an important direction for future Web3 development and one of the directions with the greatest certainty," CG Zhou, CEO of CPIC Investment Management, said in a statement, adding that the company will seek to tokenize more traditional assets using compliance-driven blockchains. Sign in to access your portfolio
