Finance Morning: Musk Calls Shanghai Gigafactory a 'Gem'; Chinese Property Stocks Rally

📊 Today's Asian Markets

Musk: Shanghai Gigafactory Is Tesla's 'Gem'

Source: Sina Finance

On September 23, Tesla CEO Elon Musk gave an exclusive interview to CCTV Finance, sharing his latest views on the Chinese market, artificial intelligence and humanoid robots. He spoke highly of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory, saying China has a very strong manufacturing foundation and that the plant's success is owed to its Chinese team — "talented, diligent and reliable, with first-class product quality and extremely high production efficiency" — calling the gigafactory a gem.

According to the interview, the Shanghai Gigafactory is a key global manufacturing base for Tesla. In the first half of 2026, it delivered nearly 468,000 vehicles, up 28.4% year on year and a new high for the period in three years. Since deliveries began in late 2019, the plant has produced more than 4.5 million vehicles, supplying China, Asia-Pacific and European markets.

On humanoid robots, Musk predicted: "Within 10 years, or even less, there will be at least 1 billion humanoid robots; in 15 years perhaps 10 billion; in 20 years possibly 100 billion." He also strongly recommended China to global travelers, recalling his high-speed rail trip from Beijing to Xi'an as "fantastic," and urged passengers to look out the window. On education in the AI era, he advised broad learning across humanities, science and engineering.

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CITIC Securities to Get New Chairman

Source: Sina Finance

CITIC Securities is set for a leadership change. According to Cailian Press, former general manager Zou Yingguang has recently been appointed the company's Party secretary and will subsequently take over as chairman; a new general manager has not yet been named. The change comes in the 11th year of Zhang Youjun's leadership and is described as a normal retirement arrangement.

Zhang took over as chairman on January 19, 2016, guiding the leading brokerage through one of the most volatile stretches of the industry cycle. Over nearly 11 years, the company's net profit nearly tripled and its total assets grew 2.5 times. In 2025, CITIC Securities' net profit attributable to shareholders exceeded 30 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 30.076 billion yuan, while total assets rose above the 2 trillion yuan mark to 2.081903 trillion yuan — both record highs, up 190.03% and 248.47% respectively from 2016.

In the first half of 2026, the company posted operating revenue of 49.692 billion yuan and net profit of 23.343 billion yuan, with revenue up 50% and net profit up 69.6% year on year, and half-year ROE rising to 7.81%. Internationalization was the signature strategy of Zhang's tenure: overseas operating revenue reached 15.519 billion yuan in 2025, exceeding 20% of total revenue and making CITIC the first leading Chinese brokerage to cross that threshold. Incoming chairman Zou Yingguang is a manager grown within the CITIC system; he earned a bachelor's degree in medicine from Capital Medical University in 1994, once worked as a surgeon and later moved into finance, obtaining a master's in economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics in 2000.

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Chinese Property Stocks Surge

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

By the midday close on September 23, the A-share real estate sector led gains. 5i5j and Huayuan Holdings notched three consecutive limit-ups, while Vanke A, World Union, China Enterprise and Deluxe Family also hit limit-up at points during the session.

Behind the market excitement, aside from the sector's generally low valuations, talk of a nationwide interest-subsidy policy has been a key driver. Market chatter suggested a nationwide subsidy would arrive, with the Ministry of Finance subsidizing 20-50 basis points and local governments another 20-50 basis points — up to 100 bps in total — pushing first-home mortgage rates down to 2%. Another rumor said mortgage subsidies would land soon, totaling 100 billion yuan at 20 bps, targeting first homes.

Analysts at several brokerages, however, consider a nationwide subsidy unlikely. One analyst said that "at the national level, extending the loan term is roughly equivalent to the interest saved by subsidies or rate cuts." Similar rumors circulated in July and August. According to China Index Academy, more than 20 localities have rolled out or optimized housing-loan subsidy policies since the start of 2026. Shanghai's "820 New Deal" offers a subsidy of 1% of the loan amount, capped at 50,000 yuan per home, while Chengdu offers a one-year, 20% interest subsidy on provident-fund loans, capped at 25,000 yuan.

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Hong Kong's 'First Investment-Education Stock' Sees Profit Plunge

Source: news.ifeng.com

Jiufang Zhitou, known as Hong Kong's "first investment-education stock," is facing the dual test of traffic and compliance. As the only Hong Kong-listed entity among more than 70 licensed securities advisors on the Chinese mainland, it operated about 1,180 MCN accounts on social platforms as of end-June 2026, with over 73 million followers and 462,000 cumulative paying customers.

But the traffic dividend is fading. In the first half of 2026, Jiufang Zhitou's total revenue was about 1.29 billion yuan, down 38.6% year on year, while profit was only about 31.9 million yuan, plunging 96.3%; its profit margin shrank from about 40% a year earlier to under 3%. The company uses "0.1 yuan" low-price short-video packages to funnel users into private channels before pitching high-priced products — for example, "Gudao Zhihang," originally 32,800 yuan per half year and now 29,800 yuan. From 2023 to 2025, its revenue grew from 1.965 billion yuan to 3.43 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to shareholders soared from 191 million yuan to 922 million yuan.

Rapid expansion has brought controversy. Public complaints against Jiufang Zhitou mainly involve false or misleading advertising, services falling short of promises, inducement to buy additional advisory services, and refund disputes after poor stock picks. One consumer reported paying more than 125,000 yuan in membership fees cumulatively by March 2026 and demanded a full refund, saying the actual service fell short of the marketing. The friction between traffic-driven tactics and the professionalism that financial advisory requires is becoming an industry-wide issue.

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Japan's Manufacturing Hub Faces Labor Shortage

Source: China Financial Information Network

According to a Xinhua Finance report on September 23, Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture — a key Japanese manufacturing base — is home to well-known firms such as Suzuki and Yamaha as well as many small and medium-sized manufacturers. With labor shortages intensifying, the city faces a practical question: how to sustain the manufacturing edge built over generations when workers are scarce.

A reporter's visit found local companies and the government responding on two fronts: expanding overseas recruitment and adopting artificial intelligence and overseas technology to offset the labor shortfall through higher productivity. Mayor Yusuke Nakano noted that Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawai and Hamamatsu Photonics all have deep ties to the city. Its industry dates back to the Edo period, beginning with textiles and wood processing before extending into machinery, musical instruments and automobiles.

Cross-industry technology transfer is a hallmark. Yamaha has partnered with several automakers in recent years, applying its sound technology to in-car audio design, with Chinese automakers such as GAC and Geely also involved. Horikazu Hori, vice chairman of the city's Next-Generation Automotive Center, said "the auto industry is changing greatly; we cannot just look at what we were good at, but must consider what the future needs." The center displays components from automakers worldwide, including Chinese firms BYD and Great Wall, helping local SMEs understand new technologies such as batteries and electric drive systems.

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Korea's KOSPI Opens Higher on Chip Strength

Source: chnfund.com

On September 23, South Korea's KOSPI opened up 1.94%, last at 7,129.51, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each rising nearly 3%. Overnight gains across U.S. semiconductor and memory stocks lifted sentiment toward Asia-Pacific tech shares.

Overnight on Wall Street, memory chip stocks were strong: SanDisk rose more than 6%, Micron 5% and SK Hynix more than 3%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained over 2% to a closing high since mid-July. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the AI spending boom shows no sign of slowing, and investment across the hyperscale data-center ecosystem could reach $1 trillion next year.

Meanwhile, Japanese markets were closed for holidays. Local arrangements kept Japan's market shut for three consecutive days — Respect for the Aged Day on September 21, a national holiday on September 22, and the Autumnal Equinox on September 23.

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Asian Stocks Mixed, Taiwan Leads

Source: tmgm.com

Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday. As oil transport in the Middle East improved, falling oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields further lifted risk appetite. A senior Iranian official said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eased military pressure and lifted its blockade of Iranian ports.

Driven by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite setting consecutive closing records, South Korean and Taiwanese shares extended gains on strength in tech heavyweights, with Taiwan's Taiex leading. Japanese markets were closed for holidays, with normal trading resuming on Thursday, September 24. Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone, said he expects Japanese markets to reopen strongly tomorrow, oil to fall further, rates and the U.S. Treasury market to be stable, and Nasdaq spot and futures to refresh record highs.

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Yuan Mid-Price Weakened by 9 Pips

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

On September 23, the People's Bank of China authorized the China Foreign Exchange Trade System to set the day's central parity for the yuan at 6.7468 per U.S. dollar, 9 pips weaker than the previous trading day's 6.7459.

Wind data showed the onshore yuan opened at 6.7008 per dollar against a previous close of 6.6995, strengthening to 6.6989 at the intraday high and weakening to 6.7084 at the low; the offshore yuan opened at 6.6990, slightly below the prior close of 6.6984, reaching a high of 6.6954 and a low of 6.7090.

As of 16:30 that day, the onshore yuan stood at 6.7053 per dollar, down 0.09% intraday, while the offshore yuan stood at 6.7064, down 0.12%.

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Nasdaq Hits New High; Oil Falls; U.S.-Iran Talks

Source: East Money

On September 22 local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed. The Nasdaq was strong, hitting a new intraday record and closing up 0.45% at 27,244.28; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36% to 51,863.69; and the S&P 500 was roughly flat at 7,764.64.

Big tech was mixed: Tesla rose 0.96%, Nvidia 0.66% and Apple 0.23%, while Meta fell 0.63%, Microsoft 0.72%, Google 1.07% and Amazon 1.34%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained more than 2% to a closing high since mid-July, with memory names broadly higher — SanDisk up over 6%, Micron 5% and Seagate over 4%. E-commerce platform Shopify rose 7.12% after announcing a partnership with Meta to integrate the Muse agent.

International oil prices fell on the 22nd. NYMEX October light crude dropped $1.19 to $94.59 a barrel, down 1.24%, while Brent crude fell $1.09 to $99.25 a barrel, down 1.09%. In news, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi and U.S. special envoy Witkoff met in New York during the 81st UN General Assembly. Trump called the talks "very good," lasting three hours and "very constructive," and the two sides arranged to meet again soon.

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Eurozone Consumer Confidence Falls Again

Source: eeo.com.cn

According to a Xinhua Finance report on September 23, data released by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs on the 22nd showed the eurozone consumer confidence index came in at -16.5 in September 2026, down 1.0 point from the previous month — its first decline after four consecutive months of improvement. The European Commission said the index again deviated from its long-term average.

Analysts believe rising energy prices and rebounding inflation expectations may weigh on consumer confidence. Eurostat data showed the eurozone's final inflation rate for August was 3.2%, with energy prices up 14.3% year on year, while a European Central Bank survey showed consumers' inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3.0%.

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