At 8:00, here are the latest news: Duan Yongping increased his position in Pop Mart again; Multiple platforms have removed "Quanli Hotel" from their listings; A World Cup final ticket costs $2 million, and FIFA responds.
Today's Hotspot Guide
Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts Responds to the Disappearance of Some Donated Paintings and Calligraphy 30 Years Ago
Zhang Xue Denounces the Store for Labeling Customers as Fussy and Compensates the Car Owner with 10,000 Yuan
Wang Li, General Manager of Moutai Group, Has Returned
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange Plans to Launch Gold Futures in the Next Few Months
Elon Musk: xAI, as an Independent Company, Will Be Dissolved and Merged into SpaceX
Top 3 Big News
"It's been a long time since I felt this excited," Duan Yongping adds to his position in Pop Mart
On May 7th, well - known investor Duan Yongping posted on a social platform, saying that he had converted all of his holdings in China Shenhua into Pop Mart shares. It's worth noting that Duan Yongping had previously expressed his optimism about Pop Mart on multiple occasions and directly stated that "it's been a long time since I felt this excited." This is the first time he has clearly confirmed that he has actually built a position in Pop Mart. Previously, he had laid out his strategy by selling put options. Duan Yongping also said, "I think Wang Ning (the founder of Pop Mart) doesn't care about my investment. Instead, it's because I was once an 'entrepreneur' that I can understand how amazing he is. He's still so young and can work hard for at least another 25 years. The compound interest will be astonishing." Currently, Duan Yongping has also changed his social media profile picture to a photo featuring Pop Mart products. (Yicai Global)
Dalian's "Quanli Hotel" Accused of Riding on the Coattails of Holiday Inn Express, Now Renamed Huayu Hotel
Recently, a netizen accidentally discovered a "Quanli Hotel" on the streets of Dalian. At first, he thought the top stroke of the Chinese character for "season" had been blown off. However, when he checked on a map app, he found that the hotel was indeed named "Quanli Hotel". On May 5th, a reporter called the hotel for an inquiry. The staff member said that the hotel was previously named "Holiday Inn Express", but the cooperation had ended and it was taken off the shelves. Now it is "Quanli Hotel". After this incident was reported by the media, it sparked a heated discussion. Regarding the hotel's name, some netizens believe that removing just one stroke from the Chinese character for "season" after the cooperation ended still seems like an attempt to ride on the popularity of Holiday Inn Express and may mislead ordinary consumers.
On May 7th, the reporter found on platforms such as Ctrip and Meituan that "Quanli Hotel" had been renamed "Huayu Hotel". The pictures of the hotel's exterior on the platforms showed that the previous signboard with "Quanli" had been removed and replaced with "Huayu". The hotel staff told the reporter that the hotel had indeed been renamed "Huayu", and the words "Quanli" on the previous signboard had also been removed. (Jimu News)
FIFA Responds to $2 Million per Ticket for World Cup Final
According to CCTV News, four tickets for the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico) have appeared on FIFA's official ticket resale platform, with each ticket priced at nearly $2.3 million.
On May 5th local time, FIFA President Gianni Infantino responded to the outside world's doubts about the excessively high prices of World Cup tickets. He emphasized that U.S. law allows tickets to be resold at prices thousands of dollars higher than the original price, so FIFA has an obligation to make full use of this regulation.
Infantino said that the sky - high ticket prices reflect the strong demand of fans to watch the games. He explained that even though the final tickets on the resale platform are priced as high as $2 million, it doesn't mean that the tickets are really worth $2 million, nor does it mean that someone will actually buy them at this price. (CCTV News, China Overseas Chinese Network)
Big Companies/Big Events
Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts Responds to the Disappearance of Some Donated Calligraphy and Paintings 30 Years Ago
On May 7th, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts responded again to Mr. Kang's claim that the whereabouts of some calligraphy and paintings donated by his grandfather 30 years ago were unknown. A staff member of the academy said that the school had recently contacted Mr. Kang, the person involved, and part of what he said was untrue. Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts will issue an announcement regarding this matter. The donation certificate provided by Mr. Kang on May 6th shows that in 1996, due to his advanced age and inability to keep the calligraphy and paintings, his grandfather Kang Jianzhang donated them. Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts said it decided to include the donated items in its permanent collection. Mr. Kang said he had contacted the academy to inquire about the whereabouts but got no result. On May 6th, Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts had responded to this matter, saying that it was being dealt with. (The Beijing News)
STAR World to Cease Broadcasting from May 8
On May 6, the official Weibo account of STAR World issued an announcement, officially declaring that due to operational difficulties, the satellite cooperation partner has notified the channel that it will suspend satellite transmission services on May 8. At noon on May 7, the official Weibo account of STAR World posted another message, stating that due to profound changes in the global music TV media market environment and the rapid rise of new media platforms, the operating costs of traditional satellite transmission channels have remained high, and the channel has faced a severe situation of long - term losses.
Although we have tried to improve the operating situation through content adjustment and operational optimization, it is still difficult to reverse the current financial difficulties. The satellite company has notified that it will suspend satellite transmission services on May 8. After careful consideration by our station's management, it is now decided that CHANNEL V will officially stop transmitting signals via satellite from May 8, 2026. From that day on, users of cable TV, IPTV, and direct - broadcast satellite reception across the country will no longer be able to watch CHANNEL V programs via satellite signals. (Caixin)
Li Hanqiong, a 49-year-old "second-generation entrepreneur", will take over and lead Youngor
Recently, while releasing its annual report for 2025, Youngor also issued a series of board resolution announcements. Among them, Li Hanqiong, the current vice chairman and president of the company, was nominated as a candidate for non-independent director of the company's new board of directors. Li Rucheng, the actual controller and chairman of the company, did not appear on the list of candidates for non-independent directors of the new board of directors. In the letter to shareholders in the annual report, Li Rucheng said: "The waves behind drive on those before. In this board reshuffle, a new generation will be responsible for the operation of Youngor." Currently, Li Rucheng, the actual controller of Youngor, serves as the chairman of the company, and Li Hanqiong, Li Rucheng's daughter, serves as the vice chairman and president of the company. (Jiemian News)
Zhang Xue Rebukes Store for Marking Customers as 'Hesitant' and Compensates Car Owner with 10,000 Yuan
On May 5th, Zhang Xue appeared in a live - stream on the official account "Zhang Xue's Motorcycles". A user called in and said that the service attitude of the store staff was poor, and the boss had marked the user as "820 Hesitant". In response, Zhang Xue rebuked the branch store owner, saying, "Are you out of your mind? You're making money from the customers but marking them like this." Zhang Xue announced a 10,000 - yuan fine for the store as compensation to the user. In addition, Zhang Xue specially hired a free legal aid lawyer for the user. If the user needs to sue Zhang Xue's Motorcycles, the lawyer will represent the user for free. (Sina Hot News)
Dark Side of the Moon Applies to Register the "KimiClaw" Trademark
36Kr learned that public information shows that recently, Beijing Dark Side of the Moon Technology Co., Ltd. has applied to register multiple "KimiClaw" trademarks. The international classifications include scientific instruments, website services, communication services, etc. Currently, the status of all trademarks is awaiting substantive examination. Beijing Dark Side of the Moon Technology Co., Ltd. was established in April 2023. The legal representative is Yang Zhilin, and the registered capital is 1 million RMB. Its business scope includes software development, software sales, basic artificial intelligence software development, artificial intelligence application software development, etc. It is jointly held by Yang Zhilin, Zhou Xinyu, Wu Yuxin, etc.
Wang Li, General Manager of Moutai Group, Has Returned
On the evening of May 6th, according to the official WeChat account of Kweichow Moutai, on that day, the first working day after the May Day holiday, Chen Hua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Moutai Group, visited the koji - making and liquor - making workshops to conduct on - the - spot research on the production situation of Moutai liquor and supervise and inspect safety production work. Wang Li, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Moutai Group, participated in the research. This also announced Wang Li's return. Previously, on April 13th, in response to relevant rumors about Wang Li on the Internet, Moutai Group told reporters from 21st Century Business Herald that, according to the work arrangement, Comrade Wang Li went out for two - month study and would return to the company at the beginning of May. It is reported that after returning to her post, Wang Li will have a busy work schedule. She will go to Changsha to participate in the company's public activities this week, and on the 11th of next week, she will participate in the performance briefing of Kweichow Moutai for the year 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 as a director and acting general manager of Kweichow Moutai Co., Ltd. (21st Century Business Herald)
UniTree UniStore Official Shared Application Platform Officially Fully Opened
36Kr learned that UniTree Technology issued a statement on May 7th, saying that the UniTree UniStore official shared application platform is officially fully opened. UniTree Technology said that this is the world's first application store for humanoid robot task actions.
Midea Group: Plans to Issue HK$17.248 Billion Convertible Corporate Bonds into H-Shares
36Kr learned that Midea Group announced that after the closing time on May 6, 2026, the company plans to issue, through its wholly - owned overseas subsidiary, Midea Investment and Development Co., Ltd., zero - coupon secured convertible corporate bonds into the company's H - shares in the overseas market. The bonds include HK$8.624 billion due in 2027 and HK$8.624 billion due in 2033. The company will provide a guarantee for Midea Investment and Development's issuance of the convertible bonds this time.
Deposit rates at rural commercial banks in multiple regions are cut again, while national banks remain unchanged
Recently, rural commercial banks in many regions have intensively lowered their deposit rates. Some banks have also strengthened differential interest rate pricing to improve the refinement of liability cost management. Meanwhile, the deposit rates of national banks, represented by large state - owned banks and joint - stock banks, have remained stable, showing an obvious divergence in the adjustment of deposit rates in the banking industry. Experts said that the difference in the adjustment rhythm of deposit rates between the two types of banks stems from differences in liability structure, interest margin pressure, and adjustment cycles. It is expected that local rural commercial banks will still need to "make up for the reduction" of liability costs. (China Securities Journal)
HKEX Plans to Launch Gold Futures in the Coming Months
It is learned from the industry that HKEX revealed in a recent meeting that it plans to re - launch gold futures trading within the next few months. This is Hong Kong's fourth attempt to launch gold futures trading since 1980. The previous three attempts failed due to low trading volume and a lack of liquidity. The industry believes that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is making efforts in multiple dimensions such as the clearing system, warehouse expansion, and tax - incentive policies, trying to break the deadlock of "repeated launches and suspensions" at one go. By means of physical delivery and the construction of a full - function ecosystem, it aims to seize the "Asian gold pricing power", which is still a blank area. (Yicai Global)
Brazil Announces Visa-Free Entry for Chinese Citizens
The Brazilian government announced on the 7th that starting from May 11, 2026, it will implement a visa-free entry policy for Chinese citizens holding ordinary passports. According to a communiqué issued by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citizens of the People's Republic of China holding ordinary passports can enjoy short-term visa-free entry, with a maximum visa-free stay of 30 days per entry. (Xinhua News Agency)
Apple Pays a High Price for Chips: Production Target of MacBook Neo Raised to 10 Million Units
It is reported that Apple has asked its suppliers to raise the production target of this year's MacBook Neo from 5 to 6 million units to 10 million units, even though the company has to pay a huge premium to TSMC to ensure the supply of the A18 Pro chips. In addition to the cost issue of the A18 Pro chips, Apple also needs to pay a higher price for the currently scarce DRAM chips, further driving up the bill of materials cost of the MacBook Neo. (Sina Finance)
Elon Musk: xAI, as an independent company, will be dissolved and merged into SpaceX
On May 6 local time, Elon Musk announced in a social media post that xAI, as an independent company, will be dissolved. Instead, it will exist as SpaceX AI, an AI product line of SpaceX. (Jiemian News)
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed down collectively, and popular Chinese concept stocks generally fell
36Kr learned that at the close on May 7th, the three major U.S. stock indexes fell collectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.63%, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.38%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.13%. Large technology stocks showed mixed performance. Tesla rose more than 3%, Microsoft and NVIDIA rose more than 1%, Meta rose slightly, Intel fell 3%, Amazon dropped more than 1%, and Apple and Google fell slightly. Popular Chinese concept stocks generally declined. Tencent Music dropped more than 4%, XPeng Group fell more than 2%, JD.com, NetEase, and Bilibili dropped more than 1%, and Alibaba, Pinduoduo, Baidu, and Li Auto fell slightly.
Tesla to Recall Nearly 219,000 Vehicles in the U.S. Market
Recall information released by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on May 6 (local time) shows that Tesla will recall 218,868 vehicles sold in the United States. The reason is that the rear - view camera images of some vehicles are delayed when reversing, which affects the driver's field of vision and may increase the risk of collision. The recall involves some Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles. (Xinhua News Agency)
Bank of America: Large IPOs of SpaceX and Anthropic May Mark the End of the Bull Market
The latest warning from Bank of America states that the planned listing processes of SpaceX and Anthropic this year may cause some funds to withdraw from the U.S. stock market, which has been relying on large technology companies. This may mark the end of the bull market. If both companies go public, SpaceX's valuation may exceed $2 trillion, and Anthropic's valuation may exceed $900 billion, meaning a large number of new stocks will flood the market. In response, Bank of America said that SpaceX and Anthropic may force funds to sell their existing technology stocks. (Cailian Press)
Sony Plans to Spend Nearly $4 Billion to Acquire Music Copyrights of Artists like Bieber and Neil Young
It is reported that Sony Music is finalizing a deal with Blackstone Group to acquire the latter's music catalog, which includes works by Justin Bieber and Neil Young. If the deal is completed, it will become one of the largest copyright acquisition cases in music history. It is known that Sony has entered the exclusive negotiation stage and plans to acquire Recognition Music Group under Blackstone. The company owns or manages the copyrights of more than 45,000 songs. Sony will form a joint venture with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC to complete this acquisition, and the transaction price is expected to be between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. (Jiemian News)
US Prosecutors Charge 30 People in Corporate Merger Insider Trading Case
US federal prosecutors announced on the 6th that they have charged 30 people with suspected involvement in corporate merger insider trading. They used corporate merger information obtained from Wall Street law firms to make tens of millions of dollars in profit. The merger transactions involved in the case announced by the US federal prosecutors include: Cigna's $54 billion acquisition of Express Scripts; Anadarko Petroleum's $55 billion acquisition of Occidental Petroleum; Johnson & Johnson's $30 billion acquisition of Swiss biotech company Actelion; Canada's Tim Hortons' $11 billion acquisition of Burger King; Amazon's failed attempt to acquire a US intelligent robotics company in 2022. (CCTV News)
Indonesia Considers Implementing an "Online Shopping Ban" for People Under 16
Indonesian government officials said on May 6 that they are considering implementing an "online shopping ban" for people under 16 to prevent minors from being scammed on online shopping platforms. Indonesian Communications and Digital Affairs Minister Mahfud MD made this statement in an interview with AFP on the same day. She said that after Indonesia introduced a social media ban for people under 16, it will next extend the ban to shopping websites. "E-commerce platforms will be next because we've found that some children have become victims of fraud when shopping online." However, she did not elaborate on the detailed plan for the "online shopping ban." (Caixin)
Going Public
DeepWay
36Kr learned that on May 7th, documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed that DeepWay Technology Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The joint sponsors are China International Capital Corporation and CMBC International.
The Forefront of AI
Tencent's Hy3 preview sees a 10-fold increase in Token calls two weeks after launch
36Kr learned that on May 7th, Tencent's Hunyuan released the latest data. Since its launch, the Token call volume of Hy3 preview has been continuously increasing. Currently, the total volume has exceeded 10 times that of the previous-generation model Hy2. In particular, the Token call volume in scenarios such as code and agents has increased significantly, and the total growth rate in applications like Tencent's WorkBuddy/Codebuddy and Qclaw has exceeded 16.5 times.
Qianwen Launches AI Voice Input on PC
36Kr learned that on May 7th, Qianwen launched AI voice input capabilities on the PC. Users can directly use it in various desktop applications via shortcut keys. Qianwen's voice input method supports removing filler words, correcting errors, and formatting spoken content. It can provide intelligent responses based on context and accept direct commands for creation, Q&A, translation, etc.
Anthropic Steps Up Efforts in the Consumer Market to Enhance the Appeal of Claude Chatbot to General Users
The artificial intelligence startup Anthropic PBC initially targeted enterprises as the customers for its Claude chatbot. Now, it is seeking to ride on the wave of recent progress in the consumer market to enhance the appeal of the software to general users. Mike Krieger, the co-leader of the company's lab team, said that since the end of last year, Anthropic has required its employees to improve the way the chatbot handles personal inquiries, such as questions about health, travel, and recipes. (Jiemian News)
Financial Reports of Big Companies
McDonald's revenue in the first quarter was $6.517 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%
McDonald's first-quarter earnings report released on May 7 showed that its revenue was $6.517 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%; net profit was $1.983 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6%; and diluted earnings per share were $2.78. (Jiemian News)
ZLF: Achieved Operating Revenue of Approximately 1.273 Billion Yuan in the First Quarter
36Kr learned that ZLF announced in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the Group achieved operating revenue of approximately 1.273 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026. Thanks to factors such as a year-on-year increase of approximately 50% in the gross profit contributed by the online channels of the "ZLF" and "Miao Ji" brands, the profitability indicators in the Group's consolidated financial statements have been further improved. The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company increased by approximately 29% year-on-year during the same period.
BMW's Q1 profit drops 25% to €2.3 billion
The BMW Group released its financial report for the first quarter of 2026. Affected by intensified competition in the Chinese market and tariff pressures, the pre - tax profit for the quarter declined by 25% year - on - year to €2.3 billion, slightly higher than the market expectation of €2.2 billion. The revenue was €31 billion, a year - on - year decrease of 8.1%. The financial report shows that the EBIT margin of BMW's core automotive business decreased from 6.9% in the same period last year to 5.0%, but it is still higher than the analysts' forecast of 4.7%. The group's global deliveries were 565,800 vehicles, a year - on - year decrease of 3.5%. (Sina Finance)
Acer's net profit in the first quarter was NT$702 million
Acer's net profit in the first quarter was NT$702 million, with an estimated NT$1.03 billion. (Caixin Press)
Investment and Financing
Wuwen Xinqiong Secures Over 700 Million Yuan in Additional Financing
36Kr learned that on May 7th, Wuwen Xinqiong announced that it had previously secured over 700 million yuan in additional financing. The co-lead investors are Hangzhou High-Tech Financial Investment Group and Huiyuan Capital. The follow-on investors include Guoxing Capital, Qinhuai Data, GF Qianhe, Lihe Qingtong, CPI Investment, AEF NextGen, Tengrui Capital, Carlet, CSC Capital, and the Will Laboratory for Intelligent Learning. Existing shareholders Legend Capital, Shanghai Guotou Futeng, and Yuanzhi Future have also increased their investments.
Yahua Electronics Strategically Invests in Global Embodied Elderly Care Robot Company "Huaxi Technology"
36Kr learned that "Yahua Electronics", an enterprise in the domestic intelligent medical interaction field, has completed a strategic investment in "Huaxi Technology". After this round of investment, both parties will rely on their respective core advantages in the application pipeline of medical and health care scenarios and the full-stack technology R & D of embodied elderly care robots to build a deep business collaboration system and jointly accelerate the R & D and large-scale application of embodied elderly care robots in all scenarios such as the C - end and B - end.
"EagleView Intelligence" Completes Pre-A Round of Tens of Millions of Yuan in Financing
36Kr learned that recently, "EagleView Intelligence", which focuses on embodied intelligent bionic flapping-wing robots, announced that the company has completed a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of yuan. The investor in this round is Yuanhe Origin. Previously, EagleView Intelligence had completed two consecutive rounds of financing, with a cumulative financing amount of tens of millions of yuan. The funds from this round will be mainly used for core technology R & D, fluid simulation engine iteration, improvement of consumer and industrial product portfolios, and expansion of commercialization.
Cool Products
The NIO ES9 will be officially launched on May 27th
On May 7th, NIO announced that the ES9 will be officially launched and start deliveries on May 27th, and test drives for users will begin on May 11th. (Jiemian News)
Novosense Releases ASIL D Isolated Driver IC
36Kr learned that recently, Novosense released its first isolated gate driver IC NSI6911F that has passed the ASIL D certification. This product can provide a maximum peak driving capability of 19A and achieve a common-mode transient immunity of 150kV/μs. It is suitable for applications on high-voltage platforms of 800V and above. Meanwhile, it integrates more than 30 safety mechanisms to meet the requirements of the ASIL D level for fault diagnosis coverage.
36Kr Big News
The "Key Events in the Business World" short - video column offers a vivid interpretation of significant events in the business world. After a decade - long dream of going public and three failed gambling agreements, did 3.8 billion yuan break the back of the former richest man?
Compiled | Kris