Here's what happened in China markets yesterday (8/9):
1. China’s July inflation figures came out today and they showed an economy on the brink of deflation (i.e. prices falling year-on-year).
The official consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.3% in July for the first decline since 2021. Weaker domestic demand, slow hiring, and lack of direct stimulus have contributed to the negative CPI print. However, that was still better than the 0.5% drop some were expecting. Producer price index (PPI) also went into reverse, falling by 4.4% albeit slower than the 5.4% decline in June. That’s the 10th consecutive month of PPI contraction, indicating the very weak state of manufacturers dealing with a global economic slowdown and lingering trade war with the US. But on the bright side, core consumer inflation, which removes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.8% in July. Important to note that China recently allowed raising of natural gas prices by utilities, which will figure into higher CPI reading in the coming months.
2. One of Apple’s key component suppliers, Sunny Optical, announced that July handset lens shipments grew 7.3% year-on-year to 95.7 million units. $SUNNY OPTICAL(02382.HK$ $Apple(AAPL.US$
The figure was also 5.1% higher versus the previous month. This bodes well for Apple, which has been under pressure following the fiscal 3Q results showing revenue decline due to weak core markets except for China. The increase in lens shipments is also likely due to the orders being placed in the run up to the holiday season as restocking is taking place across the industry following inventory drawdowns during the past two quarters.
3. Mainland Chinese smartphone and consumer device giant Xiaomi is expected to launch its MIX Fold 3 flagship smartphone model on Monday. $XIAOMI-W(01810.HK$
The new phone will showcase what the company calls a breakthrough pivot innovation that aims to give Samsung’s foldable smartphones a run for their money. This launch will coincide with an annual speech to be given by Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun and expected to be themed “growth”, indicating he will lay down the direction of the company for growth in the coming years as it ventures in other businesses including electric vehicles. Beijing has also included consumption of electronic devices, particularly those dealing in 5G/6G, as a priority area for stimulus in its drive to fire up the economy. Xiaomi should get a lot of coverage in the coming days and weeks.
4. Li Auto is back in the news again in a what appears to be a PR campaign to increase awareness of corporate developments. $LI AUTO-W(02015.HK$ $Li Auto(LI.US$
Its Chairman, Li Xiang, announced that the company plans to launch 4 new models next year, including three BEV (fully electric) models. He mentioned that the 3Q guidance for deliveries of 100k to 103k units is the most Li Auto can churn out given the current production capacity. But a capacity upgrade in 4Q23 could see the company’s monthly output surpass 40k units. Mr. Li is taking aim at European luxury automakers BMW $BAYER MOTOREN WERK(BMWYY.US$ , Mercedes-Benz $MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG(DDAIF.US$ and Audi with the launch of its RMB 500,000 ($70,000) MEGA all-electric model by the end of this year.
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