Krypton Evening News | China's first 100-billion-yuan gold ETF is born; UK's communications regulator says it will continue to investigate the fake image incident on X platform; State Grid Corporation is expected to invest 4 trillion yuan in fixed assets during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Large Companies:
The UK communications regulator said it welcomes the recent policy adjustments of xAI, an AI company owned by Elon Musk. However, it will still continue a formal investigation into the incident of the company and its AI chatbot "Grok" forging pornographic images.
Ericsson Plans to Cut Nearly 1,600 Jobs in Sweden to Improve Cost Situation
On January 15, Ericsson announced its plan to cut jobs in Sweden to improve its cost situation while maintaining investments crucial for its technological leadership and strategic implementation. Ericsson has submitted a lay - off notice to the Swedish Public Employment Service, and this round of lay - offs may affect approximately 1,600 positions. The company has started negotiations with relevant Swedish trade unions.
Chinese - funded Securities Firms Start to Recruit Investment Banking Staff and Raise Salaries
According to people familiar with the matter, in recent months, the investment banking departments of several large securities firms such as CITIC Securities, Huatai Securities, and CSC Financial have recruited dozens of junior and middle - level bankers. The newly recruited employees are mainly in executive positions rather than senior investment bankers, indicating that these companies need to quickly rebuild their business capabilities while controlling costs. In addition, the people familiar with the matter said that the basic salaries of junior bankers at some large securities firms have been adjusted back to the level before the rectification campaign, but the bonus pool is still closely related to the completion of transactions and the attitude of regulatory authorities towards the industry.
Jia Guolong Confirms: Xiabei Will Close 102 Stores
Recently, it was rumored that Xiabei said in a meeting that it would close 102 stores across the country at once, accounting for 30% of the total number of stores. A reporter verified this with Jia Guolong, the founder of Xiabei Catering, and he said the news was true.
KKR Reaches Strategic Cooperation with RWE to Jointly Develop Offshore Wind Projects in the UK
On January 14, KKR, a US private equity giant, and RWE, a German energy company, announced a strategic cooperation to jointly develop RWE's offshore wind projects in Norfolk Vanguard East and Norfolk Vanguard West in the UK. The total installed capacity of these two new wind farms is expected to reach about 3 gigawatts. KKR and RWE will establish a joint venture to be responsible for the construction and operation of these two wind farms. The total investment, development, and capital expenditure of the project will exceed $15 billion to ensure that the wind farms are put into operation in 2029 and 2030 respectively.
New Products:
XSKY Holds Product Strategy Conference for AIMesh
36Kr learned that XSKY held a product strategy conference for AIMesh with the theme of "Ever - Green Data, Boundless AI Computing", announcing that the company's strategic focus has fully shifted from "Information Technology (IT)" to "Data Intelligence". At the conference, a full - stack AI data solution called AIMesh was launched, which consists of three core products: MeshFS, MeshSpace, and MeshFusion.
Investment and Financing:
Xieying Technology Completes Series B Financing
36Kr learned that Xieying Technology recently completed nearly 100 million yuan in Series B financing, jointly invested by Chengdu Hi - tech Venture Capital Co., Ltd. and Huai'an Shengshi State - owned Investment Fund. This round of financing will be mainly used to deepen the iterative upgrade of the E - Spectra intelligent reconfigurable operating system, accelerate the R & D and mass production of "Communication + AI" integrated products, expand large - scale implementation in national strategic emerging markets such as rail transit and low - altitude economy, and further strengthen the national production capacity and ecological cooperation system construction.
Lemon Tea Brand LINLEE Secures Tens of Millions in Financing
36Kr learned that the lemon tea brand LINLEE completed tens of millions in Series A financing, with Qianhai Ark Fund as the sole investor. The valuation is nearly 1 billion yuan. The funds from this round will be mainly used for brand building, supply chain upgrade, and organizational upgrade.
China's First Gold ETF with a Scale of 100 Billion Yuan is Born
Data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange shows that as of January 14, the circulation scale of Hua'an Gold ETF reached 100.762 billion yuan, breaking through the 100 - billion - yuan mark and becoming China's first gold ETF to exceed 100 billion yuan.
Today's Views:
According to a statement from the South Korean Ministry of Industry, the country's Industry Minister, Kim Jeong - kwan (transliteration), said on Thursday that the government will continuously monitor the dynamics of the US imposing tariffs on some AI semiconductor chips to minimize the impact on the domestic industry. A second statement issued by the ministry said that the ministry has held a meeting with representatives of South Korean semiconductor companies to discuss countermeasures. One day earlier (Wednesday), the US White House announced a 25% tariff on some advanced chips.
Other Noteworthy News:
The criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has prompted PIMCO, a US asset management giant, to sell US dollar assets in order to diversify risks. Dan Ivascyn, PIMCO's chief investment officer, said that the company is "diversifying" its investment portfolio to cope with the rapidly changing policies of US President Donald Trump. These policies have led to increased market volatility.
36Kr learned that the "2025 Research Report on Urban NOA Automotive Assisted Driving" released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to November 2025, the cumulative sales of passenger cars with urban NOA function in China reached 3.129 million units, with a penetration rate of 15.1% of the insured passenger cars, an increase of 5.6 percentage points compared with the whole - year proportion in 2024. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to November 2025, the installation volume of Momenta's urban NOA was 414,400 units, accounting for about 61.06% of third - party suppliers. Eight out of the world's top 10 automakers have cooperated with Momenta.
On January 15, it was learned from the State Grid Corporation that during the 15th Five - Year Plan period, the company's fixed - asset investment is expected to reach 4 trillion yuan, a 40% increase compared with the investment during the 14th Five - Year Plan, to drive the high - quality development of the new power system industry chain and supply chain through expanding effective investment.