8 o'clock, 1 Krypton News | Fat Donglai requires cleaners to be under 25 years old and have a bachelor's degree; The total market value of A-shares has exceeded the 100 trillion yuan mark; Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, invited truck drivers to dinner.
Today's Hot News Guide
- Xinba Announces Retirement from the Live - streaming Industry, Having Announced to Quit the Internet Four Times Before
- NIO Executive Says They Won't Reveal the Number of Firm Orders: It's Meaningless Except for Being a Stunt
- Configurations of iPhone 17e Exposed: It May Get the Dynamic Island
- National Australia Bank Miscalculated Employee Salaries and Will Bear a Cost of $85 Million
- Mark Gurman: A Group of Apple Executives Are Queuing Up to Retire
Top 3 Big News
Fat Donglai Requires Cleaners to Have a Bachelor's Degree and Be Under 25 Years Old, Staff Says Monthly Salary Is Nearly 9,000 Yuan
On August 18th, the official account of Fat Donglai Business Group released the "Recruitment Announcement for Xinxiang Fat Donglai". The announcement shows that Fat Donglai's new store is recruiting 900 people this time, and the recruitment is only open to people in Henan Province. Among them, the job requirements for security guards and cleaners state that the recruits need to have a bachelor's degree or above and be under 25 years old (including 25 years old), which has sparked heated discussions among netizens.
A staff member from the Fat Donglai Dapang Store said, "If only the basic salary is counted, after social insurance is paid, the monthly salary for cleaners and security guards is more than 7,000 yuan. But with all the various subsidies provided by the company, the monthly salary for cleaners and security guards is also almost close to 9,000 yuan." (Blue Whale News)
The market capitalization of A-shares has exceeded the 10 trillion yuan mark
On August 18th, A-shares continued to soar, and the Shanghai Composite Index hit a new high for the current stage. According to real-time data statistics by reporters, as of 10:34, the total market capitalization of A-share companies in the A-share market exceeded 10 trillion yuan (calculated by multiplying the latest A-share price by the total number of A-share shares), hitting a record high. This is also the first time in the history of A-shares to break through the 10 trillion yuan mark. Specifically, as of the time of publication, Agricultural Bank of China ranked first on the A-share market capitalization list with 2.19 trillion yuan, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China ranked second with an A-share market capitalization of 2.02 trillion yuan. In addition, the A-share market capitalizations of four stocks, namely Kweichow Moutai, PetroChina, Bank of China, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, all exceeded one trillion yuan. (People's Financial News)
Li Xiang, CEO of Li Auto, Invites Truck Drivers to Dinner, Says Crash Test Was Rash but Without Intent to Offend
On August 18th, Li Xiang, the CEO of Li Auto, released a video stating that the Li i8 will start national deliveries on August 20th. Before the vehicles were shipped, he invited the truck drivers to a meal. During the banquet, Li Xiang specifically clinked glasses with the drivers of LiuGong trucks and said that (the crash test) had made many LiuGong users a bit unhappy. "It was rash but without intent to offend." When clinking glasses with the truck drivers, Li Xiang also joked that they wouldn't "collide" in real life. (Jiemian News)
Big Companies/Big Events
Tesla Offers About a 40% Discount on Car Rentals to UK Car Rental Companies
Due to the decline in Tesla's car sales in the UK, the US-based Tesla company has recently been offering about a 40% discount on car rentals to UK car rental companies to cope with the rapid shrinkage of its market share. Data shows that in July, Tesla's car sales in the UK dropped to 987 units, a year-on-year decrease of about 60%, while the total new car sales in the UK in July only decreased by about 5% year-on-year. Amid the pressure on its automotive business, there have been reports recently that Tesla has submitted an application for an electricity supply license to the UK energy regulator, planning to provide electricity services to UK households. (CCTV Finance)
Xinba Announces His Withdrawal from the Livestreaming Industry
On the evening of August 18th, livestreamer Xinba stated during a livestream, "I'm here to bid farewell to everyone. Starting from today, Xinba no longer has the ability to carry out the work of livestreaming. I officially announce my withdrawal from the livestreaming industry." After that, his wife, Chu Ruixue, will take over the management of Xinxuan Group.
Public information shows that Xinba has made remarks related to "leaving the internet" four times before: In April 2020, after a conflict with livestreamer Sandage, they both posted messages about "leaving the internet indefinitely"; In April 2021, during a livestream, he said, "I've been defeated by capital and traffic" and "I'm retreating"; Around November 2023, he said he "planned to gradually step back from the spotlight"; In April 2024, due to being banned multiple times, he announced externally that he "would retire." (Jiemian News, China Business News)
Google Agrees to Pay A$36 Million to Settle Antitrust Charges
Early Monday morning in the Eastern United States, Google's Class A shares were basically flat. The company agreed to pay a fine of A$36 million (approximately US$23.4 million) to settle antitrust charges in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's investigation found that Google squeezed out competing search engines by paying major telecommunications carriers to pre - install its search app on Android phones. (Sina Finance)
NIO executive says process - related data such as large deposits will not be disclosed: It's almost meaningless except for being sensational
On August 18th, Shen Fei, the president of NIO LeDao, posted that he would not easily disclose non - final result data such as various booking deposits and large deposits. People should not believe third - party data like "allegedly" or "rumored on the Internet".
He later added, "Releasing process data externally is almost meaningless except for being sensational. It might even deceive oneself. It's okay to look at it internally for improving operational management. Just like in exams, what can be indicated by publishing the scores of each course every time? Even the college entrance examination scores or getting admitted to top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University don't mean much. Entrepreneurship and life are both marathons. We should focus on the final result. During the process, we should keep comparing with ourselves and make progress day by day." (Caixin.com)
Trump and Zelensky Meet at the White House
On the afternoon of August 18 local time, early morning of August 19 Beijing time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House again after a "quarrel at the White House" half a year ago and held a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Shortly before, Trump posted on his social platform "Truth Social", saying, "If Zelensky wants, he can end the war with Russia almost immediately, or choose to continue fighting - don't think about taking back Crimea lost during the Obama era, and Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. Some things will never change!"
Zelensky's last visit to the White House was on February 28 local time this year. At that time, Trump and Vance had an argument with him, and the two sides parted on bad terms. (CCTV International News, People's Daily)
National Australia Bank Apologizes for Incorrect Employee Payroll and Will Bear $85 Million in Expenses
The National Australia Bank said that payroll errors would cost it an additional A$130 million ($85 million). This is the latest stain on the Australian major bank, which has been criticized for years over underpaying its employees. "Paying our employees correctly is an absolute priority for us," Sarah White, the bank's executive of the People and Culture Group, said in a statement on Monday. "We deeply regret this and have initiated compensation measures for the affected employees." (Sina Finance)
Air Canada flight attendants' strike ruled "illegal," union retorts "it's not over"
Air Canada said on August 18 local time that the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) has ruled the strike by the company's flight attendants "illegal." However, the union said in response that "the strike is not over." Air Canada issued a statement on its website on the morning of the 18th, saying that the industrial relations board has ordered the union leadership to inform its members to stop the strike and resume work. After the statement was released, the union said in response that "it's not over yet." The union announced to the outside world the previous day that it has filed a lawsuit with the Federal Court over the federal government's enforcement of arbitration. (CCTV News)
Elon Musk's Starlink Experiences Internet Outage
On August 18th, Starlink, the satellite internet service owned and operated by SpaceX under Elon Musk, suffered a brief internet outage. The Downdetector website, which records technical issues, received thousands of reports of service outages. This is the second malfunction of Starlink within two weeks. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Sina Finance)
The interface shows insufficient computing power. Kimi is looking for the cause of the bug.
On August 18th, Kimi on the Dark Side of the Moon repeatedly reminded users that "During peak hours, Kimi has insufficient computing power. You can try opening a new session or come back later to ask me." The official Kimi service status dashboard shows that "The failure rate of Kimi fs (File System) requests is too high." A high failure rate of fs requests generally means that the server frequently reports errors when reading and writing a large number of files, and it is necessary to immediately check the disk, network, permissions, and system resources. At the same time, the page shows that the official is investigating the relevant cause. As of press time, the Kimi official has not responded yet. (Yicai Global)
Quantitative investment tool Tushare experiences a dispute and goes offline; it will migrate its data services entirely
On August 18th, Tushare, a well - known figure in the financial data field and a popular tool for quantitative investment, suddenly went offline. Reporters learned that due to a business dispute between the agent of Tushare's core data hosting computer room and the operator, the service was interrupted and could not be restored in the short term. After the incident, Tushare stated that it immediately organized a technical and operation and maintenance team to communicate and coordinate with relevant parties around the clock. However, since the problem involves multiple parties and the situation is quite complex, an effective solution has not been reached despite the efforts of multiple parties. To ensure the long - term stability and sustainable development of the service, Tushare has to make the decision to migrate its data services entirely. Given the large scale of the system and the huge amount of data, the migration work is expected to take a certain period. In the next week, the Tushare Pro service may be temporarily unavailable. (Securities Times China)
5.27 million equity interests of LeTV Pictures are frozen
Data shows that recently, a new piece of equity freezing information has been added for LeTV Pictures (Beijing) Co., Ltd. The person subject to execution is Beijing Xingyun Qingke Investment Center (Limited Partnership). The amount of frozen equity is approximately 5.27 million RMB, and the freezing period is 3 years. The enforcing court is the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing. (Jiemian News)
Gurman: A group of Apple executives are queuing up to retire, and at least one executive will leave the company by next year at the latest
Technology journalist Mark Gurman said that a group of executives at Apple are waiting to retire because the company wants to arrange their departures in batches. Last summer, Apple announced that Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri would leave the company. This summer, Apple announced that its long - time Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams would leave. There are more senior executives at Apple who will leave. It is expected that at least one more executive will leave next year, and it could even be earlier. (Cailian Press)
Former Waymo CEO Mocks Tesla's Robotaxi Autopilot, Musk Responds
Former Waymo CEO John Krafcik commented on Tesla's Robotaxi: "Let me know when Tesla launches its self-driving taxis - I'm still waiting. If there's an employee in the car, it's obviously not a self-driving taxi." A blogger posted and republished the relevant report. Another car blogger reposted the post and said, "Okay, we'll let you know. Let me know when I can buy a Waymo. I'm curious which of these two things will happen first." Tesla CEO Elon Musk replied, "They'll go from claiming that Tesla's autopilot is fake to saying it's not good." (Sina Finance)
After PayPay Filed for US IPO, SoftBank Corp.'s Stock Price Hits Record High
SoftBank Corp.'s stock price rose about 3%, hitting a record intraday high after its subsidiary PayPay filed draft registration documents for a listing on the US stock market. "There is a view that SoftBank Corp.'s market value will be boosted by PayPay's IPO, which has driven the purchase of its shares," said Tomoaki Kawasaki, an analyst at Iwaicosmo Securities. The stock price of SoftBank Group, the parent company of SoftBank Corp., also rose about 2.7% on Monday. The stock price of another subsidiary, LY Corp., also rose about 1.4%. A statement issued by SoftBank Group on August 15 said that the payment app PayPay will remain a subsidiary after its listing in the United States. (Sina Finance)
Announcement of the Testing Results for the Third Batch of Five Safety Requirements for Automobile Data Processing
Since April 2025, organizations such as the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers have conducted tests on the data security compliance of automobile products of automobile manufacturers. Among them, 49 models from 13 enterprises, including FAW Toyota, FAW Group, Volkswagen, Geely Automobile, Li Auto, Changan Automobile, Xiaomi Auto, Seres, XPeng, Chery Automobile, SAIC Group, Great Wall Motors, and FAW Bestune, meet the five compliance requirements for automobile data security (some models are not subject to the anonymization requirements for external facial information, etc.).
During the testing process, data security issues were also found in some other models, mainly manifested as follows: the anonymization detection rate of facial targets in the video images processed anonymously at the vehicle end is lower than 90%; the consent period for processing sensitive personal information is set to always allow or permanently; when continuously collecting sensitive personal information, the collection status is not prompted by means of the flashing or constant lighting of icons on the in - vehicle display panel or indicator lights of signal devices. (Jiemian News)
12 ETFs Have Split Shares Since the Beginning of This Year. Beware of the "Numerical Illusion" of Low Prices
Recently, many fund companies have issued announcements regarding the share split of ETFs. It seems that the "splitting" boom that occurred when the market was strong in the past is repeating itself. Data shows that 12 ETFs have announced share splits since the beginning of this year. However, in essence, the split creates an illusion that the fund has become "cheaper." Its core purpose is to lower the psychological threshold for investors and enhance the market appeal of ETFs. Industry insiders said that the fund split is the result of the joint drive of market sentiment and institutional interests. Investors should not be deceived by the "low - price" appearance. Instead, they should focus on the real investment value of the fund and use it as the core basis for decision - making. (Shanghai Securities News)
Insta360, with Two Consecutive Daily Limit Ups: The Panoramic Drone Product Has Not Generated Any Actual Revenue So Far
36Kr learned that Insta360 announced that after self - inspection, the company launched the public beta of its panoramic drone product on the evening of August 14, 2025. As of now, the panoramic drone product is still in the public beta phase. The mass - production issues are still being resolved, and it has not been officially launched. It has not generated any actual revenue so far and is not expected to have a significant impact on the company's operating performance in 2025.
Going Public in Progress
Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
36Kr learned that according to documents from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Luxshare Precision Industry Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. CITIC Securities, Goldman Sachs, and China International Capital Corporation are the joint sponsors.
The Cutting - Edge of AI
Texas Attorney General Accuses Meta and Character.AI of Misleading Children with Mental Health Promotions
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a press release on Monday, announcing an investigation into Meta AI Studio and Character.AI on the grounds that the two companies "may have engaged in deceptive trade practices and misleadingly promoted themselves as mental health tools." (Sina Finance)
IDC Report: Alibaba Cloud Remains No. 1 in China's AI Public Cloud Service Market
36Kr learned that international research firm IDC released the "China AI Public Cloud Service Market Share, 2024" report. In it, Alibaba Cloud, with a market share of 24.6%, has remained the top player in the country for two consecutive years. It has also topped the list for many years in two key sub - markets that measure AI cognitive capabilities: conversational AI and intelligent voice. The IDC report shows that in 2024, China's AI public cloud service market achieved rapid growth of 55.3%, reaching a scale of 19.59 billion yuan.
ChatGPT Mobile Apps Have Generated $2 Billion in Revenue
Recently, the latest analysis from app intelligence provider Appfigures shows that since its launch in May 2023, the global revenue of ChatGPT's iOS and Android apps has reached $2 billion. The analysis reveals that this figure is approximately 30 times the total mobile - end revenue of ChatGPT's competitors (including Claude, Copilot, and Grok). Data indicates that so far this year, ChatGPT's mobile apps have achieved revenue of $1.35 billion, a year - on - year increase of 673% compared to $174 million in the same period (January to July) in 2024. The app's average monthly revenue is nearly $193 million, higher than the $25 million last year. (Cailian Press)
Financial Reports of Large Companies
Douyu: Total Revenue Reached 1.054 Billion Yuan in Q2, with a Single - Quarter Profit of 37.83 Million Yuan
36Kr learned that Douyu released its unaudited financial report for the second quarter of 2025. The financial report shows that in the second quarter, Douyu's total revenue reached 1.054 billion yuan, a steady increase compared with the same period last year; the gross profit was 142 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 68.5%; the gross profit margin rose to 13.5%. The company achieved a net profit of 37.83 million yuan this quarter, and the adjusted net profit was 25.28 million yuan.
Meitu's H1 2025 Financial Report: Total Revenue Reaches 1.8 Billion Yuan, Net Profit Soars 71.3% Year-on-Year to 467 Million Yuan
36Kr learned that Meitu, Inc. released its financial report for the first half of 2025. The report shows that the company achieved a total revenue of 1.8 billion yuan during the reporting period, a year-on-year increase of 12.3%. Among them, the revenue from Meitu's imaging and design products reached 1.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 45.2%, accounting for 74.2% of the total revenue and serving as Meitu's largest source of income. The adjusted net profit was 467 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 71.3%.
Tongcheng Travel: Achieved Revenue of 9.05 Billion Yuan in the First Half of the Year, with a Cumulative Annual Service Volume of 1.99 Billion Person - times
36Kr learned that Tongcheng Travel released its performance report for the second quarter and the first half of 2025. The financial report shows that in the first half of the year, Tongcheng Travel achieved a revenue of 9.05 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 11.5%; the adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was 2.34 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 35.2%; the adjusted net profit was 1.56 billion yuan. As of the end of the second quarter of 2025, the cumulative annual service volume of Tongcheng Travel had reached 1.99 billion person - times, a year - on - year increase of 7.2%; the number of annual paying users reached a new high of 252 million.
Financial Street: Net profit attributable to the parent company recorded a loss of 1.008 billion yuan in the first half of the year, with the loss narrowing year-on-year
36Kr learned that Financial Street released its semi - annual report. The report shows that the company achieved an operating income of 4.655 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year - on - year decrease of 51.79%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies recorded a loss of 1.008 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 1.984 billion yuan in the same period of the previous year; the basic earnings per share was -0.34 yuan.
Whirlpool: Net profit in the first half of the year increased by 593.65% year-on-year
36Kr learned that Whirlpool released its semi-annual report. The financial report shows that the operating income in the first half of the year was 2.191 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.10%; the net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 216 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 593.65%. The increase in net profit is mainly due to the increase in export sales revenue and a significant reduction in expenses.
SoYoung: Achieved a total revenue of 379 million yuan in the second quarter, with the revenue from the chain business reaching 144 million yuan
36Kr learned that SoYoung released its financial report for the second quarter of 2025. The financial report shows that in the second quarter, the company achieved a total revenue of 379 million yuan, among which the revenue from the chain business reached 144 million yuan. Currently, the number of medical aesthetic stores of the non-invasive medical aesthetic chain brand "SoYoung Youth Clinic" has increased to 33. Affected by the rapid expansion and continuous investment in the chain business, in the second quarter, SoYoung incurred a net loss of 36.039 million yuan attributable to the company, and a net loss of 30.544 million yuan attributable to the company under the Non-GAAP standard. Jin Xing, the chairman and CEO of SoYoung, said that the company will increase the density of SoYoung Youth Clinics in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and other places in the future, and it is expected that the number of stores will reach 50 this year.
Investment and Financing
"Huimei Technology" Completes Nearly 200 Million Yuan in New Financing
36Kr learned that Huimei Technology, a medical AI solutions company, announced the completion of a new round of financing of nearly 200 million yuan. This round of financing was jointly led by Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund and Zhongding Capital. Qiming Venture Partners continued to increase its investment, and Changning Capital followed the investment through the Hongqiao Ruizhi investment platform. As of now, Huimei Technology's AI product matrix has cumulatively covered more than 1,200 graded hospitals, of which more than 70% are tertiary hospitals.
Cool Products
iPhone 17e Configuration Revealed: May Feature the Dynamic Island
On August 18th, the blogger Digital Chat Station posted: "I've got a bit of supply - chain information about the iPhone 17e. It will have a 6.1 - inch OLED screen. Most likely, it will be the same 60Hz low - power - consumption screen as the iPhone 16, with the same Dynamic Island design. It will be based on the A19 platform, with a 12 - megapixel front - facing camera and 3D face recognition, and a 48 - megapixel rear - facing camera. The industrial design has also changed significantly. Perhaps its biggest selling point will still be 'the cheapest iPhone'."
According to the leak, the iPhone 17e is expected to feature the "Dynamic Island", so there will be a major change in its front - facing design. (IT Home)
Meta's AI glasses with a display will be released next month, and the starting price may drop to about $800
Technology journalist Mark Gurman said that Meta is preparing its first smart glasses with a display. This AI glasses, codenamed Hypernova. The device will be officially released next month. During the product development process, Meta had planned to price Hypernova at least $1000. The latest news is that Meta has lowered the starting price to about $800. (Cailian Press)
Compiled | Qiuxia