[Morning Briefing] New rules for major asset restructuring of publicly listed firms take effect; CATL's H shares expected to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange next Tuesday

Macro News

1. On May 16, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian hosted a regular press conference. It was reported that the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a notice, regarding the use of Huawei's Ascend chips as a violation of US export controls. Lin Jian pointed out that the US has generalized the concept of national security, abused export controls and "long-arm jurisdiction," and unjustifiably imposed malicious blockades and suppressions on China's chip products and AI industry. This seriously violates market rules, severely disrupts the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and significantly harms the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. China firmly opposes this and will never accept it.

2. The National Conference on Optimizing Tax Refund Policies for Departing Travelers and Expanding Inbound Consumption was held in Beijing on May 15. The conference emphasized that local commerce authorities should actively collaborate with relevant departments to accelerate the expansion of stores, increase the variety of goods, and improve services. Efforts should focus on increasing the coverage of tax refund stores, enhancing the attractiveness of tax refund goods, and strengthening the sense of gain for overseas travelers, thereby expanding inbound consumption and making significant contributions to vigorously boosting consumption and promoting sustained economic rebound.

3. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in 2024, the average annual salary of employees in urban non-private units nationwide was 124,110 yuan, an increase of 3,412 yuan from the previous year, representing a nominal growth of 2.8% and a comparable growth of 2.6%. In the same year, the average annual salary of employees in urban private units nationwide was 69,476 yuan, an increase of 1,136 yuan from the previous year, representing a nominal growth of 1.7% and a comparable growth of 4.0%.

Industry News

1. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued the Decision on Amending the Measures for the Administration of Major Asset Restructuring of Publicly Listed Firms. It mentions encouraging private equity funds to participate in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and restructuring of publicly listed firms. A "reverse linkage" mechanism will be implemented between the investment period of private equity funds and the lock-up period for shares acquired through restructuring. Specifically, if the investment period of a private equity fund reaches 48 months, the lock-up period for shares in third-party transactions will be shortened from 12 months to 6 months, and for shareholders other than the controlling shareholder, actual controller, and their affiliated persons in restructuring listings, the lock-up period will be shortened from 24 months to 12 months.

2. The National Financial Regulatory Administration recently approved China Life Asset Management Co., Ltd. to participate in the third batch of pilot reforms for long-term investment of insurance funds. China Life Asset has collaborated with relevant institutions to successively launch three phases of the Honghu Fund. As of early March 2025, the first phase of the Honghu Fund has successfully invested 50 billion yuan. On March 5, 2025, the National Financial Regulatory Administration officially approved the second phase of the Honghu Fund, which plans to invest in the market in the near future, primarily focusing on high-quality publicly listed firms with large market capitalization, good liquidity, and significant market influence.

3. Several industry insiders from the public fund sector have stated that recent analyses suggesting that the public fund assessment benchmark has led to market portfolio adjustments are inaccurate, unprofessional, and lack basic common sense and evidence. There has been no large-scale position adjustment in public funds recently.

4. With the conclusion of the new Sino-US tariff agreement, transportation demand has increased, and liner companies have gladly announced freight rate hikes. The freight rate index for the US East Coast route stood at 1,455.0 points, marking a 21.5% increase WoW. The freight rate index for the US West Coast route reached 1,813.1 points, showing a 23.2% increase WoW.

5. Last night, E Fund Management announced that renowned fund manager Zhang Kun would no longer serve as Deputy General Manager due to work adjustments and would focus on investment management in the future. An insider from E Fund Management confirmed to reporters that after stepping down, he would continue to hold the position of fund manager and devote himself entirely to investment management.

6. The National Copyright Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Cyberspace Administration of China jointly launched the "Sword Net 2025" special campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy. The campaign, which will run from May to November, will focus on copyright rectification in audiovisual works, animation and gaming, computer software, online storage and transmission, online sales, and streaming smart terminals.

7. The General Office of the National Data Administration issued the "2025 Action Plan for Building a Digital China". It proposes to deeply explore AI application scenarios and actively promote the construction of high-quality AI datasets. Efforts will be made to develop new-generation smart terminals and intelligent manufacturing equipment, such as intelligent connected NEVs, AI-powered smartphones and computers, and intelligent robots.

8. The Ministry of Finance and the National Financial Regulatory Administration issued a notice to accelerate the digital development of bank confirmation letters. Focusing on accelerating the digital development of bank confirmation letters, the notice aims to establish a secure, convenient, efficient, and cost-effective bank confirmation letter system. Adhering to the principles of safety first and efficiency priority, it seeks to increase the number of entities accessing the bank confirmation letter platform, raise the proportion of digital bank confirmation letters, and promote the implementation of large-scale application scenarios by consolidating the development foundation, enhancing work efficiency, and innovating methods and means.

Corporate News

1. Kweichow Moutai announced that as of now, it has repurchased a cumulative total of 2.6421 million shares, with a total payment amount of 4.05 billion yuan.

2. CATL announced the offering price of its H shares, set at HK$263.00 per H share. It is expected that the H shares will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on May 20. The company announced that its subsidiary intends to participate in an industrial investment fund with an investment of no more than $225 million.

3. BYD will be included in the Hang Seng Tech Index.

4. Telink Semiconductor announced that the shareholding ratio of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund has decreased to 6.95%.

5. Shanghai Tunnel Engineering announced that its controlling shareholder intends to increase its shareholding in the company by 250 million to 500 million yuan.

6. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport announced its plan to jointly establish a duty-free company with China Duty Free Group and others with an investment of 4.5 million yuan to operate businesses related to duty-free shops in Guangzhou city.

7. Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. (AMEC) released an announcement on the record of investor relations activities, stating that Unitree is a terminal customer of the company.

8. ST Mumiao Pharmaceutical announced the removal of other risk warnings and the change of its name to Tianmu Pharmaceutical starting from the opening of the market on May 20.

9. ST Zhongtai Chemical announced the removal of other risk warnings and the change of its stock abbreviation to "Zhongtai Chemical" starting from the opening of the market on May 20.

10. *ST Aonong announced the removal of delisting risk warnings and other risk warnings, and the change of its stock abbreviation to "Aonong Biotech".

11. Binhai Energy announced its plan to acquire 100% equity of Cangzhou Xuyang Chemical Co., Ltd., and its stock resumed trading.

12. AVIC High Technology announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary plans to invest 918 million yuan to enhance its capabilities in civil aviation composite material components.

13. Kinlita announced that the board of directors did not agree to the shareholder's proposal to convene an extraordinary general meeting.

14. *ST Kexin announced the removal of delisting risk warnings and the change of its stock abbreviation to Kexin Development.

15. Tuoxin Pharmaceutical announced that Ivosidenib had cumulatively reduced its shareholding by 1.3128 million shares from March 14 to May 15, 2025.

Global Markets

1. The three major U.S. stock indices closed higher collectively, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.78% and accumulating a 3.41% gain for the week; the S&P 500 index rising 0.7% and accumulating a 5.27% gain for the week; and the Nasdaq index rising 0.52% and accumulating a 7.15% gain for the week. Most popular Chinese ADRs rose, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closing up 0.52% and accumulating a 4.56% gain for the week. The three major European stock indices all closed higher, with the German DAX index rising 0.3%.

2. The settlement prices of international crude oil futures rose by more than 1%, accumulating a gain of more than 2% for the week. WTI crude oil futures for June rose 1.41%, accumulating a 2.41% gain for the week; Brent crude oil futures for July rose 1.36%, accumulating a 2.35% gain for the week.