This week, we explore why the Beijing Stock Exchange, now with 100+ IPO listing applicants in 2025, is gaining popularity among small tech firms raising funds. We also review China's Q2 GDP data & their unique approach to reduce youth unemployment, the plight of Nissan and Tesla in Asia, and see if a Fed governor's call for a rate cut holds water.

This episode, we compare the record-high listings at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the muted IPO activity at the London bourse, and offer some explanations for the wide disparity between the two. We also talk about a unique 'banquet ban' in China, the muted market reaction to Trump's latest tariff threats, and the sunshine that awaits investors beyond the summer holiday.

More Asian brands are boldly expanding in the US alongside record debt issuances across emerging markets in the first half of 2025. We think these are clear signs that investors are dumping US assets in search for better margins. In this episode, we also talk about the declining US dollar and the reduction of stock trading taxes in the Philippines.

There's a slowdown of listing activity in Asia Pacific for the first half of 2025 amid heightened market uncertainty, but we believe that IPO-ready companies should proceed with their plans. For this week's podcast episode, we also look at China requiring auto makers to use domestic microchips in their cars by 2027, US Fed chair Jerome Powell turning down prospects of a July rate cut, and the de-escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

The oil price spike over the past week was a knee-jerk reaction of the market to the escalation of attacks between Iran and Israel, but we think that most of it is speculative. We explain why we think the rising tensions will not be inflationary given an oil production surplus. We also talk about the Chinese stock market's lone decline, and adjustments to broaden Malaysia's tax base.

Although US and China has finally agreed to scale down the tariff war, China-focused investors are setting their eyes on domestic concerns over global trade shifts. We also talk about China's sovereign fund interfering in the stock market, a proposal to revoke duty-free shopping for foreign tourists in Japan, and US asset manager Blackstone's plan to invest $500 billion in Europe.

The OECD has pointed to increasing nervousness towards US assets as it cut global growth forecasts thanks to the tariff war. This matches our tempered house view towards US investments, which we think are less attractive now. We also talk about the US dollar's depreciation, China's possible intervention in a BYD-waged price war in the EV space, and Indonesia's cash stimulus program.

The European Central Bank painted a grim picture as it warned that credit spreads are out of sync with market risks, but we disagree. We explain more in this episode where we also look at a mega-meeting of central bankers in Tokyo, a plan of ASEAN member-states to negotiate tariffs with the US as a bloc, and China's plan to trim fees charged by e-commerce giants on platform sellers.

The US losing its top-grade credit rating did not come as a surprise, but concerns are mounting as Trump's tax reform bill will pad the already mounting federal debt. In this episode, we also talk about Japan's economy, which is hit hard by tariffs despite not being Trump's main target. Meanwhile, a widely popular plush toy brand from Beijing has proven to be tariff-resilient globally.

US and China delivered a pleasant surprise by agreeing to sharp tariff reductions. We explain why Chinese stocks didn't rally as much as US indices in this episode. We also tackle disappointing pronouncements from new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the deepening India-Pakistan conflict. Meanwhile, we evaluate the strong investor appetite towards a Chinese EV battery maker's public listing in Hong Kong.