8:01 AM | A 1 million yuan mortgage loan over 30 years will be reduced by 51,000 yuan; South Korea's Samsung Electronics has lost over 460 billion yuan in market value; The first Yonghui store in Beijing that underwent adjustments and renovations has opened, with its first-day sales increasing sixfold.

TOP3 Big News

The 5-year or more LPR drops by 25 basis points, and a 1 million yuan mortgage over 30 years is reduced by 51,000 yuan.

The latest Loan Prime Rate (LPR) was released on the 21st. The 5-year LPR was lowered to 3.6%, previously it was 3.85%. Calculated based on a commercial loan amount of 1 million yuan, a loan term of 30 years, and an equal principal and interest repayment method, this 25 basis point drop in LPR will reduce the monthly payment by 141.5 yuan, and the cumulative monthly payment over 30 years will be reduced by 51,000 yuan. (Caixin News Agency)

Samsung Electronics of South Korea decides to exit the LED business, with a market value evaporation of over 460 billion yuan in the near future

Due to the group's overall performance not meeting expectations, Samsung Electronics of South Korea has recently started to adjust its business structure. Among them, the semiconductor department decides to exit the LED business. At the same time, Samsung Electronics is facing increasing challenges in its advantageous business segments such as semiconductors, and its stock price has dropped by more than 23% since the beginning of this year. Data shows that foreign investors have net sold Samsung Electronics stocks for 28 consecutive trading days, setting a new record for the longest net selling period in history. During this period, Samsung Electronics' market value has evaporated by approximately 90 trillion won (approximately 467.1 billion yuan in RMB). (CCTV Finance)

The First Yonghui Store in Beijing After Adjustment Opens, with First-Day Sales Six Times Higher

36Kr learned that on October 19, the first store of Beijing Yonghui Supermarket that independently adjusted and reformed by "Learning from Pang Donglai" - Shijingshan Xilongduo Store resumed business. During the adjustment process, the store removed 11,430 items, with a removal ratio of 79%, and re-planned 12,765 items, with the proportion of new items accounting for 76.2%. After sorting, the commodity structure reached more than 90% of the commodity structure of Pang Donglai. It is understood that on the day of resuming business, the store welcomed 14,000 payment customer flows, with more than 50,000 people entering the supermarket, and the total sales reached 1.7 million yuan, which is more than six times the daily average before the adjustment.

Big Companies/Big Events

The passenger throughput of Daxing Airport exceeds 40 million for the first time

As of October 20, this year, Daxing Airport has guaranteed a total of 262,100 inbound and outbound flights; the passenger throughput of inbound and outbound passengers is 40,013,100 person-times, an increase of 28.10% compared with the same period in 2023. This is the first time since its operation that the passenger throughput has exceeded 40 million, setting a new record for annual passenger flow. (CCTV News)

"Black Myth: Wukong" Wins Thailand's Game of the Year

On October 21, it is reported that at the 2024 Thailand Game Show held in Thailand from October 10 to 20, "Black Myth: Wukong" won several heavyweight awards of the Thailand Game Awards 2024 (TGA 2024), including honors such as "Best Game Direction", "Best Action Game", and "Best PC/Console Game", becoming the biggest winner. The Xbox version of "Black Myth: Wukong" has successfully passed the classification review of the Xbox Series S|X platform, and the physical version for PS5 is also ready. Up to now, the sales of this game on the Steam platform alone have exceeded 21 million sets. (ITHome)

"Listening to the Spring and Appreciating Treasures" Responds to Live Stream Connectivity Controversy

On the evening of October 20, the blogger with tens of millions of fans, "Listening to the Spring and Appraising Treasures," who changed his name to "Listening to the Spring and Appreciating Treasures" after the resumption of the live stream, got into another controversy. After being criticized for "forgetting the original intention" when connecting with a cosplay female anchor, he ended the live stream quickly. Fans believed that his attitude was problematic. After the live stream ended, Listening to the Spring responded on his personal account. He expressed the hope that everyone could calm down and think carefully about what happened during this period. Listening to the Spring said that he would seriously listen to the opinions of fans and make some adjustments to the content and format of the live stream in the future, striving to bring more valuable and positive content to everyone. (Jimu News)

The case of a man throwing objects from a height resulting in death has been approved for the death penalty to be carried out immediately.

In June 2023, a 28-year-old woman was buying barbecue at a snack street in Changchun, Jilin Province. She was hit on the forehead by a brick thrown from the 32nd floor by Zhou, and unfortunately passed away. The reporter learned from the court that the Supreme People's Court has made a ruling in accordance with the law on the case of the defendant Zhou's endangering public safety by dangerous means and has approved the death penalty for Zhou to be carried out immediately. In accordance with the death penalty review ruling issued by the Supreme People's Court, Zhou was executed today.

According to the prosecution's accusation, the defendant Zhou (born in 2000), due to being unable to support himself, developed a world-weary and society-hating emotion. He then premeditated to harm the lives of unspecified persons on the ground by repeatedly throwing objects such as bricks from high-rise buildings. Within six days, Zhou threw two 5-liter buckets of water, three unopened cans of cola, and eight bricks to the ground in succession, hitting three diners and a stall owner at the snack street downstairs, resulting in one death and one injury. (China Newsweek, China Media Group)

Low-quality small solar heater manufacturers spend several hundred yuan to forge quality inspection reports and cut corners to save 1 yuan.

CiXi, Zhejiang is recognized as a production base for small solar heater products in the industry, with dozens of large and small manufacturers. At Jiyang Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. on Taoyuan East Road, Guanhaiwei Town, Cixi, Manager Li told reporters that they can produce so-called "non-standard" small solar heaters according to customer requirements. For such products that do not meet national standards, the test report can be made for several hundred yuan. Manager Zhu, the person in charge of Xuefeng Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., also told reporters that they can complete all kinds of procedures for their "non-standard" products. With low prices and a quality inspection report that can pass through somehow, these several enterprises in Cixi have sold "non-standard" small solar heaters to markets in many places.

From raw materials to safety protection devices, the only purpose of enterprises in manufacturing low-quality "non-standard" products is to pursue high profits for the enterprise. The "fall switch" of the small solar heater, which can immediately cut off the power supply once the heater topples over, can play a role in safety and fire protection. Here, if they don't install it, they can save 1 yuan in cost. (CCTV Finance)

The price of gold jewelry keeps rising significantly, but the performances of many gold enterprises are declining.

On October 20, it is reported that in the past year, the international gold price has been continuously increasing. Recently, the unit price per gram of many domestic brands' pure gold products has exceeded 800 yuan. However, according to the latest financial report data of Luk Fook Holdings (00590.HK), the overall retail value of the group from July 1 to September 30 has declined, and the number of stores has also decreased by 76. Coincidentally, many enterprises mainly engaged in gold jewelry, such as Chow Sang Sang (00116.HK) and Chow Tai Fook (01929.HK), have also encountered the same problem. (Red Star Capital Bureau)

A 20% Salary Increase Still Fails to Attract New Energy Vehicle Maintenance Workers, Revealing the Predicament in New Energy Vehicle Maintenance

Currently, "It's easy to buy a car but difficult to get it repaired" has become a topic of concern in the new energy vehicle industry. Industry insiders say that the salary of new energy vehicle maintenance technicians is basically 15% to 20% higher than that of fuel vehicle maintenance technicians. However, even so, it is still very difficult to find the third type of new energy vehicle maintenance technicians. The most intuitive problem brought about by the different maintenance principles of new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles is that most of the maintenance technicians for fuel vehicles are mechanical repair technicians, and many of them do not understand the principles of electrification, making it difficult to repair new energy vehicles. "One is the vehicle maintenance worker certificate, and the other is the electrician certificate. These are the job qualifications required in most places," said a staff member of an auto repair shop. (Daily Economic News)

Tencent Vice President Zeng Yu Submits Retirement Application

On October 21, it was reported that Tencent Vice President Zeng Yu, considering spending more time with his family and recuperating his health, has submitted a retirement application. Tencent has confirmed the authenticity of this news. Tencent expresses its gratitude to Zeng Yu for his dedication and contribution to the technological development over the years. At present, the handover of relevant work has been properly arranged, and the subsequent business of the relevant technical lines will proceed normally without being affected by this change. Zeng Yu is one of the early founders of Tencent Interactive Entertainment's technical system. According to public information, Zeng Yu joined Tencent in 2002 and was responsible for related technical research and development and management work. As an architect, he initially designed the distributed service architecture of the QQGame game platform. In 2012, Zeng Yu was promoted to the company's vice president. In 2023, Tencent internally issued a personnel appointment, with Tencent Vice President Zeng Yu concurrently serving as the technical head of IEG (Interactive Entertainment Group) and continuing to be responsible for the technical line of PCG (Content and Platform Group). (Yicai Global)

Shenzhen Residential Decoration Subsidy Upgrade

36Kr learned that according to the news released by Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Housing and Construction Bureau has specially formulated the "Implementation Guidelines for the Shenzhen Residential Decoration and Renovation Goods and Materials Purchase Subsidy Activity". In addition to the whole-house decoration subsidy and the residential partial decoration and renovation subsidy, this subsidy adds a new sporadic decoration and renovation subsidy to further expand the scope of subsidies. For property owners who carry out sporadic decoration and renovation of a micro-transformation and micro-upgrading nature for residential buildings, a one-time subsidy of 20% of the total purchase price of home decoration items and materials will be given, and the cumulative subsidy for a single property owner shall not exceed 10,000 yuan at most.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs: The average price of pork in national agricultural product wholesale markets decreased by 1.0% compared with last Friday.

According to the monitoring of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, on October 21, the "Agricultural Product Wholesale Price Index 200" was 128.22, which decreased by 1.33 points compared with last Friday. The "Vegetable Basket" Product Wholesale Price Index was 130.55, which decreased by 1.52 points compared with last Friday. As of 14:00 on October 21, the average price of pork in national agricultural product wholesale markets was 24.83 yuan per kilogram, which decreased by 1.0% compared with last Friday. The average price of 28 kinds of vegetables under key monitoring was 5.62 yuan per kilogram, which decreased by 2.9% compared with last Friday; the average price of 6 kinds of fruits under key monitoring was 7.28 yuan per kilogram, which decreased by 2.4% compared with last Friday. (Securities Times)

ByteDance's Advertising Engine Slows Down

It is understood that in the first three quarters, the year-on-year growth rate of ByteDance's single-quarter advertising in the Chinese region dropped from about 40% to less than 17%, and the set goals have not been achieved in the past two quarters. Starting from 2024, improving price competitiveness has become the top task of Douyin E-commerce. The e-commerce team knows that adjusting the recommendation logic will affect the algorithm efficiency in a short period of time, but the management insists on implementing it. Although the Douyin E-commerce team is mentally prepared that pursuing low prices will lead to a slowdown in sales growth, the rate of sales growth has fallen faster than the company expected since the second quarter. (LatePost)

Bank of America Raises Nvidia's Target Stock Price: Can Rise Another 38%

In a newly released report, Bank of America analysts raised Nvidia's target stock price from $165 to $190. This means the stock can still rise by 38% compared to the $138 price at the close of last Friday. Bank of America analysts pointed out that the artificial intelligence market will grow exponentially in the coming years. They said that as the chip giant continues to consolidate its leading position in the market, this will bring a "generational opportunity" to Nvidia. Analysts believe that by 2027, the artificial intelligence accelerator market will grow to $280 billion. And over time, it will further increase to more than $400 billion, a significant increase from $45 billion in 2023. (Sina Technology)

German Chancellor Scholz reiterates opposition to the EU imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

On October 21 local time, German Chancellor Scholz said at the launch ceremony of a power battery recycling factory that China has performed well in the field of electric vehicles and reiterated Germany's opposition to imposing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. He emphasized that such a trade protectionist approach would only harm Germany itself. Scholz also promised that electrification is the future development trend of the automotive industry, and currently, the whole world is developing electric vehicle technology. The German government will continue to build electric vehicle charging piles, ensure a stable energy supply, and push the EU to accelerate the construction of electric vehicle infrastructure. (CCTV News)

The Middle East funds are coming. The first Hong Kong stock ETF listed in Saudi Arabia will be listed on October 30.

The first Hong Kong stock ETF listed in Saudi Arabia will be listed and traded on the Saudi Stock Exchange at Beijing time on October 30. This fund is an ETF that invests in Hong Kong stocks in China established and issued by AlBilad Investment Company, a subsidiary of Bank Albilad in Saudi Arabia. It mainly invests in CSOP MSCI Hong Kong Connect Select ETF to track the performance of related indexes. Industry insiders analyzed that the listing and development of Hong Kong stock ETFs in the Middle East will increase the opportunity for Middle East funds to flow into Hong Kong stocks. (China Securities Journal)

Mercedes-Benz Leasing Company Completes Leadership Change and Business Registration Alteration

36Kr has learned that the Aiqicha App shows that recently, Mercedes-Benz Leasing Co., Ltd. has undergone business registration changes. Li Binning (BENJAMIN MITCHELL WILLIAM LEE) stepped down as the legal representative and chairman, and was succeeded by General Manager Zhang Xinyang. At the same time, some key personnel have also changed. Mercedes-Benz Leasing Co., Ltd. was established in January 2012 with a registered capital of approximately 5.098 billion yuan. Its business scope includes small and mini passenger vehicle leasing operation services, battery leasing, mechanical equipment leasing, charging control equipment leasing, information consultation services, etc. It is jointly held by Mercedes-Benz (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Beijing Automotive, with a 65% and 35% stake respectively.

It is reported that Starboard Value has taken a stake in consumer goods company Kenvue

Insiders revealed that the hedge fund Starboard Value has taken a stake in the consumer goods company Kenvue, which went public last year. Formerly the consumer health business of Johnson & Johnson, the company's brands include Neutrogena, Band-Aid, Tylenol, etc. Representatives of Kenvue have not commented on this. (Jiemian News)

European investment giant JAB spends 2.16 billion euros to acquire the shares of JDE held by Mondelez International

European investment giant JAB said on Monday that it agreed to acquire Mondelez International's stake in coffee retailer JDE Peet's NV for 2.16 billion euros (approximately 2.3 billion US dollars). JAB is an investment company owned by the German secretive Reimann family. The company said it will acquire 86 million shares of JDE Peet's at a price of 25.10 euros per share. In addition, JDE Peet's also announced on Monday the appointment of Rafael Oliveira as the chief executive officer. (Sina Finance)

Tech journalist Gurman: Apple insiders believe its AI lags behind industry giants by more than two years

It is reported that renowned tech journalist Mark Gurman's latest article claims that some Apple employees believe the company is approximately two years behind in the development of artificial intelligence. Gurman states that Apple's internal research indicates that ChatGPT is approximately 25% more accurate than Apple's voice assistant Siri and can answer more questions. He also says: "Some Apple employees believe that, so far, the company's generative artificial intelligence technology lags behind industry leaders by at least more than two years." (Zhitong Finance)

Boeing CEO Plans to Shrink Business to Prevent Company's Difficulties from Worsening

Boeing is exploring the sale of assets, which can not only divest non-core or underperforming departments but also obtain urgently needed cash. The company's CEO, Oterberg, said in a memo to employees earlier this month, "The company needs to focus resources on areas that are crucial to its positioning in order to improve performance and innovation." It is reported that in the face of continuous strikes and a cash flow shortage, Boeing announced on October 11 local time that it plans to lay off about 10% of its employees, involving approximately 17,000 people. At the same time, it was announced that the delivery of the new Boeing 777X aircraft will be further delayed until 2026, and Boeing will also stop producing the 767 freighter, which is mainly used for transporting goods, by 2027. (Jiemian News)

The Forefront of AI

Google Restructures AI Division, Gemini Team Merged into DeepMind

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced on October 17 that the team responsible for the company's Gemini AI assistant application will be transferred to its DeepMind research laboratory to continue integrating the various teams working in the field of artificial intelligence within the company. For a long time, Google has dominated the global search engine market, but in the past two years, its performance in launching generative AI tools and services is considered to be behind startups such as Microsoft and OpenAI. (IT Home)

Microsoft will launch a new autonomous artificial intelligence agent next month

At the "AI Tour" event held in London on Monday, Microsoft disclosed a plan that allows enterprises to create their own autonomous agents in the Copilot Studio platform, where the company customizes and builds the so-called "copilot" assistants. After Microsoft announced the initial version of these agent programs in May, these agent programs have been available in the private preview version. Starting from next month, they will enter the public preview, which means that more organizations can start building their own artificial intelligence agents. (Sina Finance)

The new pure electric vehicle jointly developed by Sony and Honda will be equipped with AI intelligent driving function and will be launched in 2026

According to a report by Nikkei on October 21, Sony Group and Honda will introduce AI autonomous driving assistance functions in the pure electric vehicles jointly developed by the two parties. This is the first time that a Japanese automaker has publicly disclosed a plan to introduce this function. The joint venture "Sony Honda Mobility" of the two parties will launch the high-end pure electric sedan Afeela in the United States and Japan in 2026, realizing the application of AI intelligent driving. The performance of autonomous driving will continue to improve with the learning of AI. The AI control function will be introduced in stages and the function will be upgraded at a frequency of once or twice a year. It is expected that it will initially be equipped with the L3 level that does not require driving operations under specific conditions such as highways. (IT Home)

Big Company Financial Reports

Ping An of China: The net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company in the first three quarters increased by 36.1% year-on-year

36Kr learned that Ping An of China announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that in the first three quarters of 2024, the group achieved an operating profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 113.818 billion yuan, an increase of 5.5% year-on-year; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 119.182 billion yuan, an increase of 36.1% year-on-year; the operating income was 861.817 billion yuan, an increase of 8.7% year-on-year.

Lihua Co., Ltd.: Net profit in the third quarter is 586 million yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 91.02%

36Kr learned that Lihua Co., Ltd. disclosed the third-quarter report. The company achieved an operating income of 12.684 billion yuan in the first three quarters, with a year-on-year increase of 13.65%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 1.161 billion yuan, turning losses into profits year-on-year; the basic earnings per share was 1.4 yuan. Among them, the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company in the third quarter was 586 million yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 91.02%.

Degotec: Net profit in the first three quarters is 98,172,300 yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 160.15%

36Kr learned that Degotec disclosed the third-quarter report. The company achieved operating income of 421 million yuan in the first three quarters, with a year-on-year increase of 84.01%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company is 98,172,300 yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 160.15%; the basic earnings per share is 0.65 yuan.

Salia's Profit Hits Record High, with Net Profit Attributable to Parent Company Increasing by 58.1% Year-on-Year

36Kr learned that according to the 2024 fiscal year annual report (as of August 2024) released by Salia, the company's operating income increased by 23% year-on-year to 224.5 billion yen; operating profit increased by 105.8% year-on-year to 14.8 billion yen; net profit attributable to the parent company increased by 58.1% year-on-year to approximately 8.1 billion yen, reaching a record high.

Investment and Financing

"Sipeng Technology" Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Pre-A Round Financing

36Kr learned that according to Xi Qiao Capital, recently, "Sipeng Technology" announced the completion of nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A round financing. This round of investment is led by SDIC Chuanghe and followed by Rugao Kechuangtou. Xi Qiao Capital serves as the exclusive financial advisor. The funds raised will be used to further strengthen the mass production and commercial promotion of biomanufacturing products. Sipeng Technology was founded in 2022 and is a biomanufacturing enterprise focused on material synthetic biology.

"Taijing Technology" Secures Tens of Millions of Yuan in Series A Financing

36Kr has learned that "Taijing Technology" recently received tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing. The lead investor is GL Ventures, with Shenzhen Zhongxiaodan Venture Capital and Shenzhen Huihong Investment following the investment. The old shareholder Panlin Capital continues to support, and Linglu Capital serves as the exclusive financial advisor for this round. The raised funds will be mainly used for the mass production and promotion of self-developed terahertz sensors, modules, and instruments.

"QLZCI" Successfully Secures Hundred Million Yuan in Series D+ Financing

36Kr has learned that recently, "QLZCI" has obtained hundred million yuan in Series D+ financing. This round of financing is led by Beijing Medical and Health Industry Investment Fund, with Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Industrial Upgrade Equity Investment Fund as a co-investor.

Sinopec Capital Completes Pre-A Round Investment in Zhongke Shenlan Huize New Energy

36Kr learned that according to Sinopec Capital, recently, Sinopec Capital has completed the Pre-A round investment in Zhongke Shenlan Huize New Energy (Changzhou) Co., Ltd. Zhongke Shenlan Huize New Energy is a high-tech enterprise dedicated to the research and development and commercialization of all-solid-state battery technology. The company has successfully developed the fourth-generation solid-state lithium battery that takes into account high energy density and high safety. It has been verified for long-term reliability in deep sea, deep space, large-scale energy storage, new energy vehicles and other aspects, and its product performance leads the industry.

"Yunyao Aerospace" Completes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in Series B Financing

36Kr has learned that "Yunyao Aerospace" has recently completed hundreds of millions of yuan in Series B financing, which is also the company's fifth round of financing. It is led by Huishan Kechuang and followed by Taicang Ganghongrun Capital. The funds raised in this round will be used for the R & D of new payloads and meteorological satellite technologies of Yunyao Aerospace, the upgrade of production capacity, and the company's daily operations.

Cool Products

The Latest Technology of Japanese Enterprises Enables Plants to Make Sounds

On October 21, it is reported that Japan Display Inc. (JDI) showcased its latest ZINNSIA technology at the recently held CEATEC 2024 exhibition. This technology can convert a variety of materials into capacitive touch surfaces. At the exhibition, visitors can experience touch surfaces of different materials including wood, stone, gypsum board, fabric, and even fur. (IT House)

Organized by｜Yang Xinyan