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- 🛑 BYD Halts Mexico Plant Over Trump
🛑 BYD Halts Mexico Plant Over Trump
Reading time: 4 min 36 sec
☕️ Good morning, friends,
we’re kicking off the weekend with a cup of China’s latest coffee creation: garlic latte.
Documentary recommendation for your days off: What really happened to Flight MH370? Super gripping!
🚀 Benchmarks
Index | Current | 24 h | YTD | 52W High |
---|---|---|---|---|
🇩🇪 DAX | 23,934.13 | +0.61 % | +19.52 % | 24,479.42 |
🇺🇸 NASDAQ | 20,601.10 | +1.02 % | +6.85 % | 20,624.51 |
🇰🇷 KOSPI | 3,116.27 | +1.34 % | +29.90 % | 3,129.09 |
🇯🇵 Nikkei | 39,785.90 | +0.06 % | +1.22 % | 42,426.77 |
🇭🇰 Hang Seng | 24,069.94 | –0.63 % | +22.66 % | 24,874.39 |
🇨🇳 Shanghai | 3,461.15 | +0.10 % | +6.09 % | 3,674.41 |
🔢 Facts & Figures
8%
That’s how much Apple’s iPhone sales in China grew in Q2 – marking the first increase in two years.
79%
That’s how much revenues from K-pop concerts surged between October 2024 and March 2025. Labels are shifting toward live shows as album sales no longer generate sufficient returns.
37 billion USD
Despite these pledged investments, Samsung is delaying completion of its new chip plant in Texas, citing a lack of buyers for the semiconductors planned for production there.
Top Bit: 🚥 Trump’s Tariffs Scare Off China’s EV Giants

China’s EV giant BYD is putting its nearly finalized factory investment in Mexico on hold. The reason: Washington’s new 100% import tariffs on Chinese EVs and the risk that US tariffs could also hit vehicles assembled in Mexican plants.
Details
🇲🇽 Site Frozen: Three preferred regions near the US border were on the final shortlist, but the selection team has now been pulled back.
🛑 Geopolitics Slow It Down: Beijing has so far withheld official approval for BYD’s overseas investment over concerns about technology leaks to the US.
🏭 Brazil as Plan B: Instead, BYD will launch its first passenger car plant outside Asia in July in Camaçari (Bahia), with an initial annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles, expandable to 300,000.
💸 Losing a Major Market? BYD sold 40,000 vehicles in Mexico in 2024 and aimed to create 10,000 jobs there.
⏳ Waiting for Clarity: “Everyone is rethinking their country strategies,” says BYD Vice President Stella Li, noting that new investment decisions are unlikely before the US election.
Why it matters
Tariffs Disrupt Supply Chains: US punitive tariffs are severing North America’s integrated auto supply chain and making EVs more expensive globally.
Shifting Investment Flows: BYD’s pullback shows how trade conflicts are redirecting billion-dollar investments to “friendlier” markets like Brazil.
Lost Opportunity for Mexico: Mexico loses a prestige project that would have delivered 150,000 EVs per year and valuable technology transfer.
Background
Since May, Washington has imposed 100% import tariffs on Chinese EVs, while former President Trump has announced an additional blanket 10% tariff on all US imports.
Beijing is proceeding cautiously: every overseas plant by a Chinese automaker requires approval from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). BYD’s Mexico application has been frozen since March due to Beijing’s concerns that its battery technology could end up in US hands via cross-border supply chains.
📊 All Details & Data: Business Times, Nikkei, Mexico Daily, Bloomberg
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Head Of The Day

🇨🇳 Stella Li
🔋 Statistics Graduate Becomes EV Pioneer: She brought BYD to L.A., opened California’s first electric bus and battery plants, is now driving the rollout in Europe—and in 2025, she became the first woman to win World Car Person of the Year.
👉 Lesson learned: When high-tech and climate benefits become tangible, industrial policy transforms into genuine excitement—for customers, cities, and award juries alike.
Market Bit:📱 Honor Magic V5 Foldable Challenges Samsung

Details
📏 Ultra-slim: Just 8.8 mm thick when folded, weighing 217 g – nearly standard smartphone dimensions.
🔋 Long-life battery: Silicon-carbon cell with around 6,000 mAh, providing up to 1.5 days of usage according to Honor.
🎥 Pro camera system: 64 MP periscope zoom plus 50 MP main sensor in a record-thin housing.
🌍 Global rollout: Launching first in China, with Europe, MEA, and parts of Asia slated for autumn; Honor aims to get ahead of Samsung’s Fold 7 launch on July 9.
Why it matters
Innovation pressure: Honor’s record-thin design pushes Samsung and competitors to further slim down their foldables.
Segment boost: A strong sales debut could make the still-niche foldable market mainstream.
Tech independence: Honor integrates in-house hardware and software, aligning with China’s strategy to reduce reliance on US technology.
Top Reads
🛒 Beijing reins in online giants: Starting October 15, a new antitrust law will ban platforms like Taobao, JD, and others from forcing vendors into ruinous discounting. The government aims to curb price wars and deflationary pressure, warning that continued use of aggressive discount tactics will result in heavy penalties. Full story.
📈 Hong Kong IPO boom: IPO volume surged from $1.8 billion to $14 billion in H1 as Beijing pushes offshore listings, A-shares weaken, and fears of US delistings grow. Chinese companies like CATL are leveraging secondary listings to raise dollar capital for global expansion, with mainland investors driving prices higher through Southbound flows. Full story.
🇹🇭 Bangkok changes leader again: Following Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s suspension over the leaked Hun Sen call, Interior Minister Phumtham has stepped in as the second interim prime minister within 48 hours. The Constitutional Court is reviewing an ethics violation while the embattled government struggles with economic challenges and dwindling support. Full story.
Optional Reads
EU: According to insiders, Wang Yi stated that China cannot afford a Russian defeat as it fears facing undivided US pressure on Beijing in that case. More on this.
Indonesia: Four people drowned in a ferry accident off the coast of Bali. Thirty-one were rescued, and around thirty others are still missing. More on this.
South Korea: Military detains a North Korean who crossed the border; investigations are ongoing. More on this.
🌇 Behind the Bits
Michael in one of Shanghai’s 8,000 cafés
Welcome to Shanghai, Michael!
Michael’s one-way ticket to Shanghai marks the start of a new chapter for asiabits. It also means the end of his time at DealCircle – the leading platform for investors in the German-speaking M&A market. There, he helped build the AI-powered matching tool and enabled the marketing of over 1,500 deals per year.
Going forward, asiabits (and all of you) will benefit from his expertise. If you’re interested in M&A and deals, drop him a message.
💪🏻 This is just the beginning. Stay tuned!
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Thomas, Michael & the Team of asiabits.
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Editors: Michael Broza, Thomas Derksen, Raymond Kwok, Eva Trotno, Cindy Zhang
Content responsibility: Thomas Derksen
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