At 8 a.m., here are the latest news: Huazhu Club responds to the discovery of a bloodstained HIV test kit in the toiletries bag; Ferrari dealers require customers to help sell cars before refunding money; A huge explosion occurred during the pre - test of Elon Musk's Starship before its test flight.

Going public in progress

Yuxin Technology

36Kr learned that Yuxin Technology announced that the company submitted an application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on June 18 for the issuance of overseas - listed shares (H - shares) and listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. On the same day, it also published the application materials for this issuance and listing on the website of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Shanjin International

36Kr learned that Shanjin International issued an announcement stating that the company intends to issue shares (H shares) overseas and list on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. To advance the work of this H-share issuance and listing, the company's board of directors has authorized the management to initiate the preliminary preparatory work for this H-share issuance and listing. The company is discussing the specific implementation work of this H-share issuance and listing with relevant intermediary institutions, and the specific details of this H-share issuance and listing have not been determined.

Top 3 Big News

Huazhu Club Responds to the Appearance of a Blood-Stained HIV Test Kit in the Toiletry Bag: The Involved Employees Have Been Seriously Disciplined

On June 17th, when a customer checked into the Orange Crystal Hotel in Chongwenmen, Dongcheng District, Beijing, a suspected HIV-positive test kit was found in the toiletry bag, which attracted public attention. It is reported that the Orange Crystal Hotel in Chongwenmen, Beijing, belongs to a brand under the Huazhu Hotel Group and is a high-end hotel of the group.

On the 19th, the official customer service of Huazhu Club, to which the hotel belongs, responded to a reporter from Jimu News. They have extended sincere apologies to Mr. Xu and his girlfriend. The hotel provided unsealed toiletry bags to guests, which seriously violated the hotel's safety management regulations for guest supplies. They have seriously disciplined the involved employees. Currently, the police and relevant departments are investigating the source of the HIV test kit. The customer service also said that after the incident, the hotel accompanied Mr. Xu and his girlfriend to the hospital for testing immediately, and the results showed that both were negative. The hotel will take full responsibility for Mr. Xu and his girlfriend's reexamination and the possible risk of infection in the future. (Jimu News)

Ferrari Dealers Require Customers to Help Sell Cars to Get Refunds

It is reported that Mr. Zhao paid a deposit of 450,000 yuan to purchase a Ferrari sports car at Wuhan Jundong 4S store three years ago. Later, due to the inability to deliver the vehicle, the store signed a refund agreement with him. Three years have passed, and Mr. Zhao still hasn't received his refund. When interviewed, the store manager said that the parent company, Yuntian Investment Company, had financial problems, and all the funds in the store's account had been taken away by Yuntian. "There isn't a single cent in our account. If you help us sell a car and the funds are recovered, we'll refund you with the proceeds from the car sale immediately."

Yuntian (China) has opened dozens of "Jun" - series 4S stores in multiple cities across the country. In the past two years, car owners in many cities have encountered problems such as being unable to pick up their cars or get refunds. Public information shows that Yuntian (China) Investment Co., Ltd. became one of the first authorized dealer groups for Ferrari and Maserati in China in 2005. (Cover News)

Massive explosion occurred during pre - test flight test of Musk's Starship

It is reported that on June 18th in Texas, USA, the S36 spacecraft of Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX exploded violently during a test. Just as the engines were ignited, the spacecraft suddenly exploded and disintegrated, and a huge fireball soared into the sky. SpaceX is investigating the cause of the explosion. This was a static fire test before the Starship's test flight. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to conduct its tenth test flight on June 30th. (Beijing News)

Big Companies/Big Events

RNG, its boss Yao Jincheng, etc. have been subject to an enforcement of 160 million yuan by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court

On June 18th, Shanghai Jingxin Chengfeng Media Co., Ltd. (the parent company of RNG), Yao Jincheng, etc. had new information as persons subject to enforcement, with an enforcement amount of more than 160 million yuan (162,118,224 yuan). The enforcement court is the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. Yao Jincheng, the actual controller of RNG, has been listed as a person subject to enforcement by the court multiple times since 2023 for failing to fulfill repayment obligations. In November 2023, Yao Jincheng was listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement (a "deadbeat") for "having the ability to perform but refusing to do so" and was restricted from high - end consumption.

The RNG e - sports club (abbreviated as RNG), formerly known as the Royal Club e - sports club, was established in May 2012. It now has multiple game divisions, including the League of Legends division and the Honor of Kings division. Its League of Legends division has won the LPL league championship 5 times, the MSI Mid - Season Invitational championship once, and the runner - up of the League of Legends World Championship 2 times. (Xiaoxiang Morning News)

Only survivor of Indian airline crash attends younger brother's funeral: Regrets not letting brother take his seat

On June 18, a video of the only survivor of the Indian airline crash making a public appearance was exposed. The survivor said that if he had changed seats, his younger brother would not have died. The survivor said that on the day of the incident, he and his younger brother planned to sit together in the seats near the emergency exit in row 11 of the passenger plane. However, since the seats were occupied, he and his younger brother had to sit separately, and he decided to sit in seat 11A. The survivor said that this decision made him very painful, and he regretted not letting his younger brother take his seat. On the 17th, the survivor attended his younger brother's funeral, limping while carrying his brother's coffin. Reports said that after the air crash, the survivor tried to return to the fire scene to save his brother. (Beijing News)

New Zealand Simplifies Transit Process for Holders of Chinese Passports

The New Zealand government website recently announced that starting from November 2025, holders of Chinese passports will no longer need to apply for a transit visa when transiting through New Zealand airports. They only need to apply for a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA). New Zealand's Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said on the 19th, "Now travelers only need to spend NZ$17 (approximately US$1 equals NZ$1.67) and can complete the application within 24 hours, instead of paying NZ$235 and waiting for four days as before." The NZeTA is valid for up to two years, and multiple - transit travelers do not need to re - apply. She said that with the upcoming opening of new routes from China to South America via Auckland, the number of travelers choosing to transit through New Zealand is expected to increase significantly. (Xinhua News Agency)

Trump: Powell Should Cut Interest Rates by 250 Basis Points

Trump posted on Truth Social, reiterating that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell should cut interest rates by 250 basis points. He said that Powell is indeed one of the stupidest and most destructive people in the government, and the Federal Reserve Board is "to blame", causing the United States to "lose hundreds of billions of dollars." Trump said, "Europe has cut rates 10 times, while we haven't cut them once." (Sina Finance)

Deloitte: In the first half of 2025, both the number of A-share IPOs and the amount of funds raised increased by 14% year-on-year

On June 19th, the latest report released by Deloitte China's Capital Market Services Department showed that in the first half of 2025 (with data estimated up to June 30, 2025), 50 new stocks will be listed on the A-share market, raising a total of 37.1 billion yuan. Compared with the 44 new stocks in the first half of last year, which raised a total of 32.5 billion yuan, both the number of A-share IPOs and the amount of funds raised in the first half of this year increased by 14% year-on-year. Specifically, Deloitte's data showed that in the first half of this year, the Shanghai Stock Exchange led in terms of the amount of funds raised through IPOs, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange ranked first in the number of new stocks. Among them, there were a total of 19 IPOs on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising a total of 20.2 billion yuan; there were a total of 26 IPOs on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, raising a total of 15 billion yuan; and there were a total of 5 IPOs on the Beijing Stock Exchange, raising a total of 1.9 billion yuan. (The Paper)

After a large - scale restock of Labubu, the second - hand price has been halved. A person with insider knowledge responds to the restocking rhythm and production capacity situation

On June 18th, the blind boxes of the THE MONSTERS High - Energy Ahead Series - Vinyl and Plush Keychains (LABUBU 3.0 Series) of Pop Mart were restocked on channels such as the official mall mini - program of Pop Mart. Many consumers said on social platforms that they had managed to grab some. A person with insider knowledge related to Pop Mart said that the restocking of Pop Mart's related products would not follow a regular pattern, which was also a way to avoid the influence of scalpers to a certain extent.

Pop Mart's factories are mainly located in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. The sharply increasing demand has put pressure on Pop Mart. Since the Spring Festival, it has been urgently looking for workers to resume work and expand production capacity. However, it seems that the market demand far exceeds the response speed of the supply chain. After the restock, the price of Labubu 3.0 in the second - hand market has also dropped accordingly. Before June 18th, in the second - hand trading groups of Pop Mart, the price of one set (a whole box containing 6 blind boxes) of Labubu 3.0 was mostly between 1,100 and 1,500 yuan. After this restock, many sellers offered prices between 600 and 900 yuan. (Yicai Global)

Multiple Universities Announce No Enrollment of Repeat Students in 2025

The 2025 national college entrance examination has ended. Grading work is being carried out across the country, and the exam results will be released around late June. Subsequently, the enrollment and admission work will commence. According to the undergraduate enrollment brochures of some universities in 2025, universities such as Beijing Electronic Science and Technology Institute and the National University of Defense Technology will not enroll repeat students in 2025. (China Blue News)

$100 million worth of cryptocurrencies stolen in Iran

It is reported that on June 19th, a hacker group named Gonjeshke Darande, which is related to Israel, claimed responsibility for the attack on Iran's Nobitex cryptocurrency exchange yesterday. The group also announced on the social media platform X that it had exposed the core source code information of the platform. The group wrote, "The assets remaining on Nobitex are now completely exposed."

The group's social media post included screenshots of the platform's key codes used for exchange deployment, privacy protection, user interface, etc. This information may pose a further security threat to the exchange. The stolen funds can still be publicly tracked on the blockchain network, and the total value of the stolen assets is currently estimated to be about $100 million. In addition, due to network restrictions and difficulties in accessing external servers, the platform's recovery may take longer than usual. However, Nobitex is making every effort to speed up the repair process. (Sina Finance)

2026 QS World University Rankings Released: Nearly Half of Mainland Chinese Universities See Ranking Improvements

The global higher education analysis institution QS Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has released the 2026 QS World University Rankings. Peking University maintains the same position as in the 2025 QS World University Rankings, ranking 14th globally. Tsinghua University has climbed from 20th to 17th globally. Fudan University has advanced 9 places compared to the 2025 QS World University Rankings, rising to 30th globally.

This year's rankings include more than 1,500 universities from 106 countries and regions. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has topped the list for the 14th consecutive year, indicating increasingly fierce competition among global universities. Approximately 45% of universities in mainland China have improved their rankings compared to last year, continuing the overall upward trend of Chinese universities in international rankings in recent years. (Sina Finance)

Audi Withdraws Plan to Stop Developing Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles

During an interview on June 18, Gernot Döllner, the global CEO of Audi, confirmed that the plan formulated by the previous management has been overturned. Audi has withdrawn its original plan to stop developing and selling internal combustion engine vehicles by 2033, and currently no clear termination schedule is set. (Sina Finance)

Intel Says New Executives from Tech Giants like Apple and Google Are to Strengthen Customer Relationships

It is reported that as part of the business revitalization plan led by CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel has recently appointed a group of new engineering executives. These new executives come from tech giants such as Cadence, Apple, and Google. Intel said that these appointments are aimed at strengthening customer relationships and becoming a more engineering - focused company. (Cailian Press)

The Advocate General of the EU Court recommends dismissing Google's appeal and upholding the over €4.1 billion antitrust fine against the latter

On June 19 local time, Juliane Kokott, the Advocate General of the "Court of Justice of the European Union", the highest court in Europe, issued an opinion on Google's antitrust case, recommending that the court dismiss Google's appeal, thus upholding the judgment of the General Court of the European Union. The case dates back to 2018 when the European Commission announced a fine of €4.34 billion against Google for illegally restricting Android device manufacturers and mobile operators by leveraging its dominant position in the internet search market.

Google subsequently appealed the ruling. In 2022, the General Court of the European Union ruled that Google had abused its dominant market position in the mobile search market but reduced the fine to €4.125 billion. After that, Google appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union. (Jiemian News)

Russian Media: Putin Reveals His Granddaughter Can Speak Fluent Chinese

It is reported that on June 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russians' interest in the Chinese language is growing. He also revealed that his own granddaughter can speak fluent Chinese under the guidance of a teacher from Beijing.

In addition, Putin also said that currently, more than 50,000 Chinese students are studying in Russia, and more than 21,000 Russian students are studying in China. He added that universities in the two countries maintain direct contact, which further strengthens bilateral relations and "connections in various fields." (Sina News)

Online Offline: Controlling shareholder plans change of company's control rights, stock trading suspended

36Kr learned that Online Offline issued an announcement stating that Wang Kun and Men Qingjuan, the company's controlling shareholder and actual controller, are planning matters related to the change of the company's control rights. This matter may lead to changes in the company's controlling shareholder and actual controller. Upon the company's application to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, trading of the company's stock has been suspended since the opening of the market on June 20th, and the suspension is expected to last no more than two trading days.

Swiss National Bank Cuts Interest Rates to Zero, Economists Expect Return to Negative Interest Rate Era This Year

The Swiss National Bank further cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 0% on Thursday, raising concerns about the possible return of negative interest rates. This decision came after the market had widely anticipated the rate cut. Previously, traders estimated an approximately 81% chance of a 25 - basis - point cut and about a 19% chance of a 50 - basis - point cut. Adrian Prettejohn, a European economist at Capital Economics, said before Thursday's interest - rate decision that he expected the interest rate to fall to - 0.25% this year, but he noted that the Swiss National Bank might cut it even further. (Sina Finance)

Ministry of Commerce: Will continuously expedite the review of rare - earth related export license applications in accordance with laws and regulations

On June 19th, at a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Commerce, spokesperson He Yadong, when talking about rare - earth related export issues, stated that the review of rare - earth related export license applications will be continuously expedited in accordance with laws and regulations. He Yadong, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, said that China has always attached great importance to maintaining the stability and security of the global production and supply chain. It continuously expedites the review of rare - earth related export license applications in accordance with laws and regulations, has approved a certain number of compliant applications in accordance with the law, and will continue to strengthen the approval work for compliant applications. China is willing to further strengthen export control communication and dialogue with relevant countries on this issue and actively promote convenient and compliant trade. (CCTV News)

The forefront of AI

Elon Musk Responds to Allegations of xAI Losing $1 Billion per Month

According to reports, xAI, an artificial intelligence startup founded by Elon Musk, is losing up to $1 billion per month (equivalent to approximately 71.9 billion yuan at the current exchange rate). However, Musk firmly denied this claim on the social platform X, saying that Bloomberg's report was "nonsense."

Bloomberg's report painted a grim picture of xAI's financial situation. The media cited the so - called "people familiar with the matter" and claimed that xAI's costs in building advanced artificial intelligence models far exceeded the company's limited revenue, resulting in a monthly loss of $1 billion. (IT Home)

Hehe Information Releases the Industry's First AI Agent Cross - platform Cloud Resource Intelligent Management Terminal

36Kr learned that "Hehe Information" recently released the industry's first AI Agent cross - platform cloud resource intelligent management terminal, Chaterm, at the 2025 Amazon Web Services China Summit. By creating a "conversational terminal management tool", it helps cloud computing professionals achieve intelligent and large - scale management of cloud resources. Staff only need to use natural language to have a dialogue or input instructions on the operation interface to automate development, operation and maintenance, and other tasks. Currently, the core code of this product has been fully open - sourced. 

Yiren Zhike: A Comprehensive AI Product System Has Been Established

36Kr learned that recently, Yiren Zhike announced that it has established a comprehensive AI product system covering Diting Intelligent Decision-making, Bluebird Intelligent Customer Service, Hive Intelligent Voice, Lingshu Intelligent Marketing, Model Factory, and Baize Data Platform. Among them, Diting Intelligent is an enterprise-level risk control platform. Currently, the cumulative decision-making data of this platform has exceeded 1.3 billion.

Baidu E-commerce's Luo Yonghao Digital Human Triggers a Wave of Cooperation, with Daily Consultations Quadrupling

36Kr learned that on June 19th, according to Baidu E-commerce, after the first live - stream of the digital human of top - tier anchor Luo Yonghao ended, the daily consultation and cooperation volume for Huibo Star digital humans soared fourfold. More than 10 celebrities and influencers have initiated cooperation to customize exclusive digital avatars. In addition, several leading live - streaming e - commerce agency institutions have also actively sought cooperation and plan to incorporate Baidu E - commerce's digital human solutions into their core services to seize the new track of AI live - streaming.

Investment and Financing

Unitree Completes Series C Financing Delivery

On June 19th, it was confirmed through multiple reliable sources that Unitree Technology has completed the delivery of its Series C financing that started at the end of last year. The financing was jointly led by a fund under China Mobile, Tencent, Jinqiu, Alibaba, Ant Group, and Geely Capital, and the vast majority of existing shareholders participated in follow - on investments. (Yicai Global)

"UniUni" Completes Over $70 Million Series D1 Financing

36Kr learned that according to the news from BlueRun Ventures, North American last-mile logistics service provider "UniUni" recently announced the completion of a Series D1 financing round, with the total amount of this round exceeding $70 million. The Series D1 round was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and Sinovation Ventures, and participated in by new and old shareholders such as MindWorks Capital, Redpoint Ventures, DCM Ventures, Joy Capital, Celtic House, LFX Ventures, Vision Plus Capital, and Brightway Future Capital. The funds from this financing will be used to accelerate digital construction, promote the integration of AI and logistics, upgrade automated sorting equipment, comprehensively improve pick-up, transfer, and delivery capabilities, and continuously strengthen the distribution network in the United States and Canada.

Nuclear energy company TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, completes $650 million in financing, with NVIDIA's venture capital unit joining the fray

On June 18 local time, nuclear energy company TerraPower announced the completion of $650 million in financing. Existing investors such as TerraPower founder Bill Gates and Hyundai Heavy Industries participated in the investment, while NVentures, the venture capital unit under NVIDIA, joined as a new investor. (Jiemian News)

Cool Products

iPhone 18 Pro Series Screen Details Revealed: Single-Hole Screen Design

According to the blogger Digital Chat Station, the iPhone 18 Pro series has two new screens in development. One is a 6.27-inch 1.5K LTPO screen, and the other is a 6.86-inch 1.5K LTPO screen. Both screens feature a single-hole design and are equipped with under-screen Face ID technology. This will be Apple's first smartphone with a single-hole screen design.

Previously exposed patents show that Apple has removed some sub-pixels from the screen to allow infrared light to pass through the cover, achieving the goal of under-screen facial recognition. If this solution is successfully commercialized, the iPhone 18 Pro series will be the most revolutionary smartphone in Apple's history, marking the end of the pill-shaped notch design. (Kuaikeji)

 

A Mini Survey on "Summer Skin Whitening"

In this era where appearance matters, "fair skin" has become the focus of everyone's pursuit of beauty. To achieve fairer skin, some people exfoliate their faces three or four times a week, resulting in thinner and more sensitive skin. Others blindly follow the trend of internet-famous "quick whitening" products without considering whether they are suitable for their skin types. Some even believe in folk remedies like applying lemon slices to the face, spreading pearl powder externally, or washing the face with saline solution, and have even tried some "skin-damaging" whitening remedies...

Have you also fallen into these "quick whitening" traps? When purchasing skin whitening products, do you only focus on strong efficacy and ignore other important factors, such as whether the ingredients are gentle? Have you ever felt confused and anxious when faced with a wide range of whitening products? Welcome to participate in the "Summer Skin Whitening Confusing Behaviors" survey jointly launched by Houlang Research Institute and Simpcare. Share your "skin whitening battle stories" with us and unlock the "skin whitening code" for young people together!

Scan the QR code to participate in the survey

Compiled by | DAI Minghui