☕️ Good morning, friends,

we’re part of a $42 billion industry!

That’s how much thirsty Chinese are now spending on coffee—a figure that would’ve been unthinkable just ten years ago.

Which industry might hit similar heights here by 2035?
Our top three guesses: pickled cucumbers, PBJ sandwiches or Dr Pepper. Might be worth adding to your portfolio!

🚀 Benchmarks

🔢 Facts & Figures

1.2 billion USD

That’s how much China’s largest gold producer is paying to acquire a Kazakh gold mine as it aims to increase its annual gold production to over 100 tons by 2028.

12 million t

That’s the volume of soybeans Brazil exported to China in May, a 37% increase year-on-year.

-30%

The amount Honda’s production capacity has dropped. The Japanese automaker is delaying the production start of its new fuel cells, foregoing potential government subsidies of up to ¥14.7 billion.

Top Bit: 🇨🇳🇺🇸 Who’s Winning the AI Talent War?

Meta and Nvidia have poached six top researchers of Chinese origin from OpenAI and U.S. universities within days, offering multi-million payouts to accelerate the next generation of “superintelligence” AI. It marks a new peak in the global race for rare AI excellence.

Details

🧠 Meta quartet: Zhao Shengjia, Ren Hongyu, Yu Jiahui, and Bi Shuchao are moving from OpenAI to Meta’s AI lab, working directly under AI chief Alexandr Wang.

💰 Record bonuses: According to Sam Altman, Meta is offering signing bonuses of up to €93 million to attract top researchers.

🔧 Nvidia duo: Zhu Banghua will lead the “Nemotron” agents, while Jiao Jiantao joins the AGI team. Both previously founded the open-source startup NexusFlow.

🚀 The goal: Both U.S. giants are openly preparing for AI systems that surpass human intelligence (“superintelligence/ASI”).

🌏 Talent pipeline: About 26% of top AI researchers in the U.S. now come from China, with Tsinghua University as a key supplier of elite talent.

Why it matters

• Critical Mass: Developing superintelligence requires teams of only a few hundred world-class researchers—each move shifts the balance of power.
  

• Capital Signal: Eight-figure signing bonuses show how aggressively Big Tech is betting on future AI returns.
  

• Geo Tension: This brain drain sharpens the U.S.–China tech rivalry and fuels political calls for talent controls.

Background

Since U.S. sanctions have blocked exports of high-end chips to China, the battleground has shifted to human capital. Silicon Valley giants are luring Chinese researchers with top salaries, while Beijing is expanding repatriation programs and developing its own foundation models.

Experts warn that superintelligence will be nearly impossible to achieve without Chinese talent in mathematics and algorithm design.

📊 All Details & Data: SCMP, Korea Post

Become Our Partner

Swap bot clicks and influencer blah-blah for genuine relevance.
asiabits reaches a growing daily community of young, international professionals who need to know Asia—before everyone else catches up.

Our native placements give you:

• High-quality attention in the right context

• 100 % format-audience fit

• Full brand safety—no BS, no distractions

Position your brand in the most relevant Asia newsletter in German-speaking markets.
👉 [email protected]

Head Of The Day

Pan Zizheng

🤖 From NVIDIA Intern to DeepSeek Architect: He, too, is part of the global battle for top talent. Pan turned down a U.S. job offer and joined DeepSeek, the company that dethroned ChatGPT from the App Store and rattled both Silicon Valley and the markets.

Lesson learned: Top talent will choose purpose and impact over prestige – if you want to keep them, you need to offer more than a visa and stock options (and fruit baskets).

Market Bit: 📈 Mainland Capital Fuels Hong Kong Stock Market Rally

Details

💰 Record Inflows: Mainland investors bought over HK$731 billion (≈ US$93 billion) in H1 2025, nearly matching the 2024 full-year record.

🔎 Bargain Hunting: H-shares are trading at just 11x earnings on average, around 30% cheaper than shares in Shanghai or Shenzhen.

🖥️ Tech Repricing: The AI boom and “national champion” narratives are drawing funds into Hong Kong’s tech-heavy indices (Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi).

🔄 Market DNA Shifts: Mainland investors now account for ~50% of daily trading volume, while correlation with the S&P 500 has dropped to a ten-year low.

Why it matters

• Shifting Capital Flows: Hong Kong’s market is increasingly driven by domestic Chinese capital, decoupling from US market rhythms.
  

• Pressure on A-Share Valuations: Narrowing AH premiums are putting pressure on onshore multiples.
  

• Signal for Global Investors: Continued mainland buying suggests further upside and rising liquidity in Hong Kong.

👉🏻 Full Story: SCMP, Yahoo Finance

Top Reads

🤖 OpenAI warns of China’s AI offensive: According to the ChatGPT developer, China’s startup Zhipu AI is aggressively expanding into emerging markets—from Southeast Asia and the Middle East to Africa—providing AI infrastructure to governments and state-owned enterprises. The move is seen as China’s attempt to expand its technological leadership globally, posing a direct challenge to US firms. Full story.

🇯🇵 NATO shelves Tokyo office: The alliance has put plans for a liaison office in Japan’s capital on hold—a setback for Tokyo’s goal of strengthening its security role in the Indo-Pacific. Full story.

🎮 Nintendo & Sony lift the Nikkei: Japan’s benchmark index climbed to 40,487 points on Monday, just 4% below its all-time high. Entertainment stocks like Nintendo, Sony, and Sanrio are seen as doubly attractive: their IP revenue streams shield them from US tariff risks while they benefit from strong consumer demand for games, films, and merchandise. The sector’s market cap has already risen 28% in 2025. Full story.

Optional Reads

Canada: Forces Chinese camera giant Hikvision to exit the Canadian market over security concerns. More on this.

Indonesia: Longi is building its first solar module factory (1.6 GW) near Jakarta, shifting part of its production from Malaysia and Vietnam. More on this.

China: Largely lifts its ban on Japanese seafood imports but continues to require radiation certificates. More on this.

🥠 Fortune Cookie

🚌 Water From the Exhaust: In Zhangjiagang, a reporter takes a sip directly from the exhaust pipe of a hydrogen bus—and gets pure water instead of fumes. One in ten buses there now runs on hydrogen, inhaling only H₂ and exhaling nothing but clean droplets.

Cheers to that! Maybe this will be the next billion-dollar industry after coffee…

See you tomorrow,

Thomas, Michael & the Team of asiabits.

^{_{Imprint
Editors: Michael Broza, Thomas Derksen, Raymond Kwok, Eva Trotno, Cindy Zhang
Content responsibility: Thomas Derksen
Asiabits Co. Ltd., Room 413, 4/F, Lucky Centre, 165-171 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai, Hongkong
Partner offer. asiabits assumes no liability for partner deals.
Update email preferences or unsubscribe here.
© 2025 Asiabits Co. Ltd}}