Spot USD/CNY gained 44 bps to close at 6.7572 today (15th). As of 4:48 pm, USD/CNY in the night session added 49 bps. USD/CNH lifted 11 bps to 6.7590, 18 bps below USD/CNY.
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The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) announced that provisional visitor arrivals for May reached approximately 4.46 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 9%. Cumulatively, Hong Kong received about 23 million visitors from January to May 2026, a 14% increase from the same period last year. Among these, arrivals from the Chinese Mainland accounted for 17.67 million, while non-Chinese Mainland visitors totaled 5.32 million, representing year-on-year increases of 16% and 7% respectively.

Long-haul markets continued to grow, with visitor arrivals in May rising by 22% year-on-year; cumulative long-haul visitor arrivals for the first five months of this year also increased by 20% year-on-year. Visitor arrivals from short-haul markets experienced fluctuations in May, primarily due to the situation in the Middle East, rising oil prices and a reduction in flight capacity.
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China’s internet sector has underperformed since the beginning of the year, in wake of several investor concerns, including rising AI-related spending and earnings risks from disruption wrought by AI agents; ongoing regulatory scrutiny, coupled with geopolitical uncertainties, particularly more companies being added to the US list of Chinese military companies; and weak consumer sentiment, HSBC Global Investment Research said in a report.

While some factors may continue to exert pressure in the near term, opportunities remain in stocks with immediate catalysts. In addition, large-cap Chinese internet stocks are trading at a 47% PE discount relative to their US peers, while Chinese AI-related stocks are at a 40% PE discount.

The broker believed recent concerns over a potential token price war in MaaS (Model-as-a-Service) may be overdone. The MaaS business is now significantly undervalued in BABA-W (09988.HK)’s share price. Based on an ARR of USD1.5 billion in June and 21x P/ARR, the potential value could reach USD13 per share.

Stocks | Investment Ratings | TPs

TENCENT (00700.HK) | Buy | HKD720
KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) | Buy | HKD65
MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) | Buy | HKD104
NetEase, Inc. (NTES.US) | Buy | USD162
JD.com, Inc. (JD.US) | Buy | USD37
Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA.US) | Buy | USD180
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ByteDance plans to negotiate with ILUVATAR COREX (09903.HK) to purchase at least 50,000 Iluvatar CoreX artificial intelligence chips, and has listed ILUVATAR COREX as its third-largest Chinese AI chip supplier, foreign media reported, citing sources.

However, other sources indicated that ByteDance is also considering adopting Kunlunxin chips from BIDU-SW (09888.HK).

ILUVATAR COREX closed at HKD547.5 at midday, up 3.69%, with turnover of 1.9298 million shares, involving HKD1.09 billion.
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Over the weekend, South Korea's Vice Finance Minister Moon Jisung said that he met with US officials in Washington to discuss foreign exchange market trends, emphasizing that the recent depreciation of the Korean won has been excessive relative to economic fundamentals.

He stressed that South Korea and the US agreed to jointly address the weakness of the won.

Following the latest US announcement of a peace deal with Iran, market sentiment improved. This morning (15th), the Korean won once climbed nearly 1%, rebounding to a two-week high, before paring gains to trade up 0.4% at KRW1,511 per USD1.
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The US and Iran reached a peace agreement and will sign documents on Friday (19th), when the Strait of Hormuz will also reopen.

However, industry participants remain cautious about the reopening of the strait and are waiting for further details to assess the feasibility of safe passage, Bloomberg, citing shipowners and traders, reported.

There is reportedly almost no activity in the strait, with only one LNG tanker heading toward Hormuz.

Data from Kpler showed that nearly 600 vessels are still stranded in the Persian Gulf, ready to depart at any time, while hundreds of empty ships are waiting on the opposite side.

Fully loaded vessels are likely to prepare to leave first, while empty ships already in the gulf may begin loading cargo in the coming days, report told.

At present, more than 300 empty vessels are waiting in the Gulf of Oman, and once the waterway resumes operations, many ships may pass through Hormuz into the Persian Gulf.
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SpaceX (SPCX.US) priced its initial public offering (IPO) at USD135 per share, which Morningstar equity analyst Nicolas Owens, considered clearly overvalued given the wide range of uncertainties surrounding its future financial performance. SpaceX completed the merger with Elon Musk's AI lab xAI earlier this year.

Owens noted that the development of its AI business presents numerous possibilities, while its Economic Moat remains unclear and could pose a significant threat of value destruction to the company. He estimated the fair value at USD63 per share.

However, he pointed out that SpaceX has a relatively small initial free float, and nearly all major global investment banks participated in the IPO. Coupled with strong market demand for AI infrastructure and the company’s expected inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 Index just 15 trading days after listing, he expected SpaceX’s share price to maintain strong performance in the short term and potentially ascend more.
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Singapore, which is wrestling with Hong Kong to become a regional gold trading hub, plans to launch a gold clearing system this year, with multiple banks including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank participating.

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Gan Kim Yong stated that Singapore Exchange will establish an over-the-counter (OTC) clearing mechanism by the end of this year, with interbank transactions expected to gradually increase starting next year.

DBS Group, OCBC Bank, United Overseas Bank, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Singapore Exchange at a meeting today (15th) to become clearing members.

Gan said Singapore will be able to position itself as a trusted hub within the global gold ecosystem, linking regional demand with global liquidity and supporting market activity during Asian trading hours.
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Taobao Instant Commerce announced that the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department and the Chengdu police have taken action in accordance with the law to combat online rumors, investigating and penalizing individuals responsible for fabricating and spreading defamatory information, effectively safeguarding a clean cyberspace.

The company stated that for some time a certain company had hired organizations including Chengdu Xiaoben Culture to fabricate false information and carry out organized, systematic and comprehensive smear campaigns and rumor attacks against enterprises such as Taobao Instant Commerce and JD Food Delivery. Such practices distort the true nature of market competition and have crossed legal red lines. The company believes that the law will impose appropriate sanctions.

The company emphasized that smear campaigns and rumors harm not only a single company, but also the health of the business ecosystem and the courage for industry innovation. Ultimately, what is undermined is the foundation of trust and the rule of law upon which society depends.
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China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) announced on Monday (15th) that the central parity of USD/ RMB added 21 bps from the previous day to 6.8088, hitting a new high since 10 February 2023.
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Ant Group is testing a comprehensive revamp of Alipay, which will introduce an AI agent interface to step up competition with WeChat, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported.

Ant Group will reportedly roll out a new feature allowing users to input text or voice commands to enable the Alipay AI assistant to book rides, order coffee or arrange food delivery.

With user authorization, the assistant will also be able to execute wealth management tasks such as purchasing mutual funds.

The new version of Alipay, which is still undergoing internal testing, has not yet had a final launch timetable, sources divulged.
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Michigan Consumer Sentiment Prel for Jun in United States is 48.9, higher than the previous value of 44.8. The forecast was 46.~



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Inflation Rate YoY for May in Brazil is 4.72%, higher than the previous value of 4.39%. The forecast was 4.66%.~



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Inflation Rate YoY for May in India is 3.93%, higher than the previous value of 3.48%. The forecast was 4%.~



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