8:01 AM | American netizens flock to Xiaohongshu to "pay the cat tax"; The US Securities and Exchange Commission sues Musk; Thailand approves the legalization of gambling to stimulate tourism.

Going Public in Progress

Sanhua Intelligent Controls

36Kr learned that, according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Sanhua Intelligent Controls has submitted an application for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with China International Capital Corporation and Huatai International as the joint sponsors.

AUX Electrical Co., Ltd.

36Kr learned that according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on January 15, AUX Electrical Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with China International Capital Corporation as the sole sponsor.

Fortior Technology

36Kr learned that Fortior Technology announced that the company has submitted an application to The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited for the issuance of H shares and listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 15, 2025, and the application materials for this issuance were published on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's website on the same day.

Top 3 Big News

American netizens flock to Xiaohongshu to "pay cat tax", with over 50,000 discussions

Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will once again discuss the bill to ban TikTok from operating in the United States. Subsequently, a large number of American netizens flocked to Xiaohongshu. When many American netizens post to say hello, they will also show pictures of their own cats, and Chinese netizens also respond by showing pictures of their own cats. This way of greeting is jokingly called "pay cat tax" by netizens. Currently, there are over 3,000 notes on the Xiaohongshu topic "cattax" (cat tax), with over 1.7 million views and over 50,000 discussions. (China News Network) 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Elon Musk for alleged securities fraud when he acquired Twitter for not disclosing his existing shares in a timely manner

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on January 14 local time, accusing the billionaire of alleged securities fraud in 2022 for not timely disclosing his existing equity in Twitter and continuing to purchase stocks at an "artificially depressed price". According to the SEC's allegations, Musk purchased more than 9% of Twitter's common stock in March 2022 but did not timely disclose the relevant information, violating federal securities laws. It was not until 11 days later, on April 4, 2022, that Musk publicly disclosed his beneficial ownership in a report submitted to the SEC. This delay allowed him to continue to purchase Twitter stocks at an artificially depressed price, thereby saving at least $150 million. (Sina Finance) 

Thailand approves the legalization of gambling to stimulate tourism and allows the establishment of casinos to generate tax revenue

On the 13th local time, Thai Prime Minister Pita Limjaroenrat said that the Thai Cabinet has approved the draft "Entertainment Venue Business Law" proposed by the Thai Ministry of Finance. This bill aims to legalize the underground gambling industry in Thailand and allow the establishment of entertainment complexes and casinos to generate tax revenue. Pita Limjaroenrat claimed that neighboring countries including Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar have benefited from large gambling complexes, and the absence of legal casinos means that Thailand has given up this part of the income and cannot exert its tourism potential. 

Pita Limjaroenrat added that Singapore has also implemented a similar project, where casinos account for only 10% of the business, but it has greatly promoted tourism and economic growth. Regarding concerns about the possible increase in illegal or gray industries in Thailand, Pita Limjaroenrat said that if everything is transparent, this bill will be beneficial to the country, and the increased tax revenue will provide the country with additional income. (Observer.com)

Big Companies/Big Events

The National Subsidy Standard is Clear: For mobile phones priced below 6,000 yuan, the subsidy is 15% of the final price.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Commerce and other departments issued two documents to arrange for the implementation of new purchase subsidies for mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches (bracelets), as well as the work of replacing old home appliances with new ones in 2025, clarifying the specific subsidy categories and standards.

Among them, individual consumers who purchase three types of digital products, including mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches (bracelets), with a single sales price not exceeding 6,000 yuan, can enjoy the new purchase subsidy. Each person can be subsidized for one item in each category, and the subsidy ratio for each item is 15% of the final sales price after subtracting all discounts in the production, circulation, and mobile operator links, with a maximum of no more than 500 yuan per item. (Guangming Net)

After the Los Angeles wildfire spread, the rich dispatched private fire brigades

On the 14th local time, Los Angeles County, USA, stated that the wildfire has caused 25 deaths and more than 12,000 buildings have been destroyed. In Palisades, a hard-hit area of the wildfire, local residents said. The reporter found that the sides of the local upscale shops were filled with privately rented water trucks, each carrying about 12 tons of water and on standby; on the other side of the street, there was a large area of burned ruins.

It is reported that after the wildfire spread, the real estate owners of the upscale shops urgently called in private fire brigades from neighboring states. In response, many Los Angeles residents who lost their homes in the fire are angry and helpless. They question: If private fire brigades can stop the wildfire, why can't the city's fire department do it? The fire department responded that 20% of the fire hydrants had no water or too low water pressure when fighting the fire. (CCTV News)

12306 Customer Service Responds Whether the Number of People on the Waiting List Can Increase the Number of Trains: There Are Certain Quantity Limits for Increasing the Number of Trains

The 2025 Railway Spring Festival Transport officially started on the 14th, and train tickets for January 28th (New Year's Eve) were also on sale on the same day. Many netizens said that "as soon as the tickets are on sale, they are on the waiting list", and some train trips show that the "waiting list" has reached the upper limit and cannot be clicked. Some netizens also raised questions about whether the number of trains will be increased if there are too many waiting list tickets for a certain train trip, and whether there is an upper limit for waiting list tickets.

On the 14th, the reporter consulted the official 12306 of China Railway as a consumer. The customer service said that if the "waiting list" option is gray, it means that the number of people on the waiting list for this train may be too large and has reached the full capacity, and no more waiting list orders can be placed. As for the specific number and proportion of waiting list tickets for each train, the background will not show the number and proportion of tickets that can be on the waiting list for each train. "It can only be said that there are indeed certain quantity limits." (China Newsweek)

Xiaohongshu Urgently Recruiting English Content Moderators to Establish Translation Function

Recently, Xiaohongshu announced the urgent recruitment of English content moderators to further expand its content moderation team. This week, Xiaohongshu has welcomed a large number of TikTok users from the United States, and its popularity in the international market continues to rise. However, currently, Xiaohongshu is not equipped with a convenient automatic translation function for posts, making it appear unprepared when dealing with this sudden increase in English user traffic. Nevertheless, according to a report by Reuters citing informed sources, Xiaohongshu is urgently establishing an English-Chinese translation function.

Reuters quoted sources as saying that Xiaohongshu has added 700,000 users in two days. In addition, an application data research company statistics show that the download volume of Xiaohongshu in the United States this week has increased by more than twice year-on-year, and has also increased by nearly twice compared to the previous week. (International Finance News Hub, Phoenix TV)

Posting on Foreign Social Media for Overseas Students: $4.5 per Post. Clients Include Internet Celebrities and Wechat Businesspeople

With a post on social media located at London Bridge in the UK, accompanied by exquisite pictures, Li Lihua, who is living and studying abroad, received a transfer of $13.5 from a domestic client. Yue Xin, an overseas student in New York, has established a group of overseas students from all over the world, and the business of posting on behalf of others is communicated in the group. Among her clients, there are big internet celebrities on social platforms, as well as a Wechat businessperson who pays $765 for a monthly package. "Most clients are between 20 and 30 years old. It costs $4.5 to post a message with a location only." In this regard, a lawyer said that this business contains risks, and in serious cases, it may involve illegal and criminal activities. (Cover News) 

The last oil price adjustment before the Spring Festival, and the travel cost during the Spring Festival will increase

According to the schedule of refined oil price adjustment, at 24:00 on January 16, 2025, the retail price limit of domestic refined oil products will usher in a new round of adjustment time point. This will also be the second price adjustment in 2025 and the last price adjustment before the Spring Festival.

Since the current pricing cycle of domestic refined oil products, affected by the significant increase in international crude oil prices, the reference crude oil change rate has continued to rise within the positive range. The latest data predicted by the institution's tracking of the changes in international crude oil prices shows that the increase in the retail price limit of this round of refined oil products far exceeds the price adjustment red line of 50 yuan/ton. Therefore, the retail price limit of this round of refined oil products may be raised, which means that the retail price limit of refined oil products welcomes a "two consecutive rises". (China Securities Journal)

HONOR Responds to CEO Zhao Ming's Resignation: The News is Untrue

It is reported that on January 15, it was exposed that Zhao Ming, the CEO of HONOR, had resigned. There were also rumors that "Zhao Ming resigned with the entire Magic7 team". In response to the rumors of HONOR CEO Zhao Ming's resignation, HONOR responded that this news is untrue. In addition, some insiders also said that the "rumored resignation of HONOR CEO Zhao Ming" is false. It was found that the current HONOR official website and Zhao Ming's Weibo homepage still show the identity of "CEO of HONOR Terminal Co., Ltd." (IT Home) 

Xiaomi Releases New Phones in South Korea, Says No Plans to Launch Electric Vehicles for Now

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi officially launched its flagship phone products in South Korea on January 15, marking the company's official business launch in the country. Xiaomi held its first press conference in Seoul on the same day, showcasing its two latest smartphones, Xiaomi 14T and Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G. The company plans to successively launch other products such as smartphones, TVs, wearable devices, and robot vacuum cleaners in South Korea before February 2026. Meanwhile, Xiaomi stated that it has no plans to launch electric vehicles in the South Korean market in the near future and will fully enter the Chinese electric vehicle market in the next three years. (Sina Finance) 

BYD's Intelligent Driving May Be Equipped on Mid-to-Low-Priced Models, Leading the Charge for "Intelligent Driving Popularization"

Exclusive to 36Kr, starting from 2025, some BYD models will gradually deliver its self-developed mid-to-high-level intelligent driving solutions, including highway piloting and urban area piloting. A self-developed intelligent driving team of around 1,300 people is rushing for the final delivery. "The most important task for BYD at present is to achieve equality in intelligent driving and realize the implementation of self-developed algorithms," said an informed source.

Yonghui's First "Learning from Pang Donglai" Self-Adjusted Store in Tianjin Opens with Great Success, with a Cumulative Sales of 12.36 Million Yuan in 5 Days

36Kr learned that on January 10, Yonghui Supermarket's first "Learning from Pang Donglai" self-adjusted store in Tianjin - the SM Plaza Store in Tianjin Airport Economic Area - opened. As of January 14, the store's cumulative sales in the five days since its opening reached 12.36 million yuan, setting a new national record for performance in adjusted stores. It is understood that after the adjustment, Yonghui Supermarket deeply studies the business philosophy of Pang Donglai, comprehensively transforming to quality retail in terms of products, services, and the environment. The monthly salary of employees has increased from 4,000 yuan to more than 5,000 yuan. Next, Yonghui Supermarket will actively promote the national adjustment work to help the retail industry transform and upgrade. It is expected that before the Spring Festival, the number of adjusted stores of Yonghui Supermarket nationwide will exceed 40. 

Indonesia Plans to Set Age Limits for Social Media to Protect Children from Potential Hazards in Cyberspace

According to Reuters, Indonesia's Communications Minister, Medya Hafid, said that Indonesia plans to introduce a regulation to set a minimum age limit for social media users, aiming to protect children from potential hazards in cyberspace. Previously, Australia has banned children under the age of 16 from using social media and has fined tech giants that fail to prevent children from accessing their platforms.

Medya Hafid did not disclose the specific minimum age that Indonesia will set. She made the above remarks on the evening of January 13 after discussing the plan with President Prabowo Subianto. In a video uploaded to the President's Office YouTube channel, she said, "We discussed how to protect children in the digital space. The president supports the advancement of this plan and strongly agrees on how to implement such child protection measures in the digital space." (IT Home)

Trump Considers Signing Executive Order to Suspend TikTok Ban After Taking Office

On January 15 local time, US President-elect Trump is considering issuing an executive order after taking office to suspend the implementation of the TikTok sale or ban law for 60 to 90 days. According to two informed sources, Trump may sign an executive order that will lift the ban on the application across the country that the Biden administration imposed on the 19th. (CCTV News) 

Industry Chain Insider: Apple Will Add Heat Dissipation Devices to iPhone 17 Series

It is learned from industry chain insiders that in order to improve the heat dissipation performance of the iPhone, Apple will add heat dissipation devices to the iPhone 17 series. The new models will have products equipped with VC vapor chamber heat dissipation. The heat dissipation performance of Apple iPhones is often complained about by users. Industry chain insiders analyzed that currently, due to the increasing computing power and power consumption of mobile phones, the demand for heat dissipation has increased. Apple will start to add a heat dissipation module to the iPhone and add a single heat dissipation device to improve the heat dissipation function. Another industry chain insider told reporters that the VC vapor chamber is a mature heat dissipation device in the market and has been applied in products of other mobile phone manufacturers. (China Securities Journal) 

BYD Forms Partnership with Grab to Offer Electric Vehicle Rental Benefits for Drivers

On January 15, BYD announced a partnership with Grab, a Southeast Asian mobility company. Grab drivers can use up to 50,000 BYD electric vehicles in Southeast Asia. Grab drivers can rent BYD vehicles at the most competitive prices, and the warranty period for the vehicle batteries will also be extended. Drivers can rent electric vehicles from Grab's fleet partners or obtain financing support through Grab's vehicle ownership program. (Jiemian News) 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) US chip factory may still not have the back-end packaging capability

According to Taiwan Business Times, the 4-nanometer chips produced by Apple at TSMC's factory in Arizona, USA, have entered the final quality verification stage, and Nvidia and AMD are also conducting chip trial production at the factory. Sources reveal that TSMC's US factory has not yet acquired the back-end packaging capability, so the above-mentioned chips still need to be transported back to Taiwan, China for packaging. (Caixin)

Kyoto, Japan Plans to Raise Accommodation Tax to Address "Overtourism"

According to the Nikkei, on January 14, the city of Kyoto, Japan announced that it will increase the maximum amount of the "lodging tax" (currently 200 - 1,000 yen per night) collected from accommodation guests to 10,000 yen (approximately 464 yuan). If this is achieved, in terms of the fixed-rate levy, it will be the highest in Japan. It is expected that the lodging tax revenue in Kyoto will reach approximately 12.6 billion yen, more than twice the current amount. The city intends to use this fund for transportation infrastructure construction and other measures to expand the response to "overtourism". Kyoto will submit an amendment to the ordinance to the city council in February. If the amendment is approved and after going through processes such as approval by the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, it will be implemented from March 1, 2026. (Jiemian News) 

Tesla will suspend some of its new Model Y production lines in China for upgrades

36Kr learned that, it is reported that Tesla will suspend some of its new Model Y production lines in China for upgrades.

Nokia and Samsung Sign Multi-Year Patent License Agreement

Nokia said on January 15 that it has signed a multi-year patent license agreement with Samsung, under which the latter uses Nokia's video technology in televisions. The Finnish company said in a statement that Samsung will pay royalties to Nokia under the agreement. Nokia said the new agreement is independent of the existing 5G patent license agreement between Nokia and Samsung. (Sina Finance)

The Forefront of AI

UBTECH and Foxconn Reach an All-round Long-term Strategic Cooperative Relationship to Promote the Application of Humanoid Robots

36Kr has learned that Foxconn and UBTECH announced that the two sides will establish an all-round long-term strategic cooperative relationship on the application of humanoid robots in the field of intelligent manufacturing to promote the practical application of UBTECH's humanoid robots in Foxconn's intelligent manufacturing scenarios. The two sides will jointly promote and verify the feasibility of the application of humanoid robots in the field of intelligent manufacturing, and jointly create pilot application scenarios; jointly establish a joint research project for the large-scale application of humanoid robots; jointly establish a joint laboratory for humanoid robots focused on the intelligent manufacturing industry; and accelerate the construction of the humanoid robot industry chain and the commercialization. The content of the agreement reveals that Foxconn has chosen UBTECH as its only humanoid robot partner.

iFlytek Will Release an Upgraded Version of the Medical Large Model in the First Half of the Year

36Kr has learned that iFlytek stated that it will officially release an upgraded version of the medical large model based on X1 Spark of iFlytek in the first half of 2025. X1 Spark of iFlytek is the first large model in China based on domestic computing power training with deep thinking and reasoning capabilities. Its model strategy has achieved initial verification results in the medical field, enabling the accuracy rates of specialist-assisted diagnosis and complex medical record connotation quality control to reach 90%.

The Domestic Video Large Model Vidu 2.0 Officially Launched

36Kr has learned that recently, the domestic video large model Vidu 2.0 has been officially released. It is understood that compared with the previous version, the generation speed of Vidu 2.0 has further increased, from 30 seconds to 10 seconds, which is three times faster. Under ideal conditions, it only takes 5 minutes to generate video materials sufficient for a 1-minute duration. According to statistics, since its global launch at the end of July 2024, Vidu has exceeded one million users in just 20 days, and exceeded ten million users in 100 days after its launch.

OpenAI Launches Beta Task Management Tool for ChatGPT

On January 14 local time, OpenAI stated that it is introducing a beta feature called "Tasks" to its artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, similar to the roles of Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa. This feature is available to Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers as of today, and will provide ChatGPT users with schedule management and other functions, including one-time reminders (such as concert ticket sales) or repetitive operations (such as weekly news briefings or daily weather updates). (Jiemian News)

Big Company Financial Reports

Moutai Group: Achieve a revenue of 187.19 billion yuan in 2024, with a year-on-year growth of 13.3%

36Kr learned that the official WeChat account of Guizhou Moutai released the 2024 annual production and operation work report of Moutai Group. The report stated that the group achieved a revenue of 187.19 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 13.3%; the total profit was 120.77 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 10.2%; the tax payment was 81.74 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 15.0%, and the R & D investment increased by 11% year-on-year. 

Goldman Sachs: Net income in the fourth quarter is 13.87 billion US dollars, and the investment banking business revenue is 2.06 billion US dollars

Goldman Sachs released its fourth-quarter financial report. Goldman Sachs' net income in the fourth quarter is 13.87 billion US dollars, and the market expectation is 12.37 billion US dollars; the investment banking business revenue in the fourth quarter is 2.06 billion US dollars, an increase of 24% year-on-year, with an estimated 2 billion US dollars; the revenue of the stock sales and trading business is 3.45 billion US dollars, an increase of 32% year-on-year, with an estimated 3.02 billion US dollars. (Caixin Lianhe) 

Yanjing Beer: It is estimated that the net profit in 2024 will be 1 billion - 1.1 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 55.11% - 70.62%

36Kr learned that Yanjing Beer released the 2024 annual performance forecast. The report shows that it is expected that the net profit in 2024 will be 1 billion - 1.1 billion yuan, an increase of 55.11% - 70.62% compared with the same period of the previous year. The performance growth is mainly due to the steady increase in the company's sales volume, especially the rapid growth of the major product Yanjing U8, and the company has improved operational efficiency by optimizing the production process and strengthening cost control.

LG Display's Operating Loss Significantly Narrowed to 560.6 Billion Won in 2024

LG Display disclosed that its consolidated sales for the full year of 2024 increased by 25% to 26.6153 trillion won; the operating loss was 560.6 billion won, which was about 2 trillion won less than the previous year. It is estimated that LG Display's sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 were 7.8328 trillion won, and the operating profit was 83.1 billion won. This is the first time that LG Display has achieved quarterly profitability since the fourth quarter of 2023. (Jiemian News)

Investment and Financing

"Qingna Technology" Secures Over 100 Million Yuan in Pre-A Round Financing

36Kr has learned that "Qingna Technology" officially announced that it has recently received over 100 million yuan in Pre-A round financing. This round of financing is led by Yunhe Fangyuan, with Kaiyi Capital participating in the investment and serving as one of the main financial advisor institutions for this round of financing. This round of funds will be mainly used to build a 2GWh large cylindrical sodium-ion battery mass production line in Guangde, Anhui, as well as for R & D and operational investment. It is understood that the core team of Qingna Technology entered the sodium battery field in 2019 and successfully developed the industry's first fully automated production line for large cylindrical steel-shell batteries with full pole ears.

"Hangjing Innovation" Completes Hundreds of Millions of Yuan in B++ Round Financing

36Kr learned that according to the official WeChat account of Jinshajiang United Capital, the heavy-duty drone enterprise "Hangjing Innovation" announced that it completed hundreds of millions of yuan in B++ round financing in December 2024. This round of financing is jointly invested by Beijing Commercial Aerospace and Low-altitude Economy Fund, Liangxi Kechuang Industrial Mother Fund (managed by Bohua Capital), Hainan Hecheng Aerospace Industry Fund (Shandong Industrial Investment Capital), Hecheng Xinhang Shandong Low-altitude Fund, and Shoufa Zhanli Fund. Yuanhang Capital, as an original shareholder, continues to make additional investments. After this round of financing, the company will increase its investment to expand the production plant, upgrade production and testing equipment, and upgrade the production line to continuously improve production capacity.

Cool Products

Nintendo's stock price reaches a new high, and the Switch 2 is expected to be released soon

On January 15, Nintendo's stock price climbed to a record high, with an increase of up to 3.2%, reaching the highest level since it was listed in Tokyo in 1983. Previously, analysts at Jefferies said that the company's highly anticipated Switch 2 game console may be released in January or February. Jefferies analysts Atul Goyal and Shunki Nakamura wrote in a report that the Switch 2 may be announced in January or February, and it is expected to revitalize Nintendo's hardware sales. Recent reports suggest that the Switch 2 may be released on January 16, but Nintendo has not commented on this. (Sina Finance) 

JPMorgan Chase May Launch Chase Digital Bank in Germany by the End of This Year at the Earliest

According to the Wall Street Journal on January 14, JPMorgan Chase plans to launch a digital bank under the Chase brand in Germany by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon's plan is to cover major European economies and attract a sufficient number of customers to create a new profit engine. JPMorgan Chase previously launched Chase in the UK in 2021. Insiders said that building a digital bank from scratch takes longer and is more complex than JPMorgan Chase expected. Chase had hoped to go live in Germany in 2022, but the launch date was postponed due to a series of delays. (Jiemian News)

Young People's "Consumption Upgrade" Mini Survey

Have you often heard about the topic of "consumption downgrade"? In 2024, it seems that everyone's wallets are shrinking, resulting in unanimous money-saving behaviors. You might frequently stock up on meal coupons, share rides when going out, compare prices when shopping online, hunt for bargains in live-streaming sessions, and look for cheaper alternatives for cosmetics... You've done quite a few of these small actions, but you'll find that you haven't saved much money, and your savings haven't increased significantly either. This generation of young people who focus on small expenses but not the big picture only realizes at the end of the year that they are actually in a "consumption upgrade".

From your daily life to your hobbies, where have you spent the money you saved? What has triggered your strong desire to purchase? Welcome to participate in the "Consumption Upgrade" mini survey initiated by the Post-Wave Research Institute and share your consumption upgrade experience with us.

Scan the code to participate in the survey

Compiled | Wang Xinyie