• South China Morning Post

    Chinese AI firms are splurging on ads, report finds, as chatbot market gets crowded

    Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) companies are racking up huge advertising bills, according to figures from a marketing consultancy, as firms search for any possible edge in a highly competitive market. In the third quarter alone, AI firms - from high-flying start-ups such as Moonshot AI and Zhipu AI to tech giants such as ByteDance and Alibaba Group Holding - have spent more than 500 million yuan (US$70.2 million) to promote chatbots and other AI applications, according to marketing analyti

  • South China Morning Post

    Awaiting US election, Asian officials see little difference in candidates' policies

    As the world awaits the outcome of one of the most unusual presidential elections in US history, many Indo-Pacific countries see relatively little difference whether Vice-President Kamala Harris or former president Donald Trump wins, analysts and former officials said. While there may be notable stylistic disparities between the Republican Trump and Democrat Harris, many US policies toward the region are baked in, they note - making the winner relatively less consequential for their core interes

  • South China Morning Post

    Hong Kong ETF market runs hot amid stock rally, volatility, new products

    Hong Kong's exchange-traded fund (ETF) market is logging a record year thanks to the recent market rally, expanded inclusion in the cross-border Stock Connect programme and a series of new products, including Asia's first pegged to virtual assets. Net fund flows of Hong Kong's exchange-traded product (ETP) market, which includes ETFs and leveraged and inverse products, surged 48 per cent year on year to HK$46.7 billion in the first 10 months, according to HKEX data. That brought the ETP market's