China is set to roll out rules that would put individual investors on the same regulatory footing as companies when it comes to outbound investment, covering everything from purchases of overseas property to acquisitions of foreign companies, reports the South China Morning Post. Chinese legal experts have said the move will close gray areas long used by wealthy individuals to channel assets abroad.

Under the new draft rules, “the main channels for individual portfolio investments remain secure, but gray-market workarounds will face a shrinking space to operate”, said Li Fan, a Hefei-based lawyer and partner at the Lantai Partners law firm.

The revision comes as overseas property purchases, direct investments in overseas businesses and offshore holding platforms have remained popular asset-allocation choices for high-net-worth individuals in China. Over the past year, China has also stepped up its crackdown on illegal cross-border financial activity and tax evasion through the channelling of assets abroad.

China’s state-backed funds are pulling out of Kweichow Moutai, reports the South China Morning Post. The move adds to the woes of the nation’s biggest baijiu liquor maker whose stock has lost more than 40% from its peak five years ago.

Central Huijin Investment, a unit operated by China’s sovereign wealth fund, and China Securities Finance were no longer listed among Kweichow Moutai’s top 10 shareholders at the end of the second quarter, according to the liquor maker’s first-half report. Profits for the distiller fell by 1.95% from a year ago in the period, marking the first decline in interim results since it was listed in Shanghai in 2001.

The unwinding underscores how some of the nation’s most influential investors are turning cautious on Kweichow Moutai and the baijiu industry, once considered favourite bets for traders and emblematic of China’s consumer sector.

Apple supplier Lingyi iTech is looking beyond smartphones, seeking to raise up to HK$8.3 billion ($1.1 billion) in a Hong Kong IPO, reports the South China Morning Post. The move seeks to fund an ambitious expansion into artificial intelligence hardware and humanoid robotics.

The Shenzhen-listed electronic components maker is expected to debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday after offering 811.8 million shares at a maximum price of HK$10.18 each, according to a company filing.

The dual listing marks a strategic push by Lingyi and its founder, Zeng Fangqin, to diversify beyond a maturing smartphone market. The company is positioning itself to benefit from emerging demand for humanoid robots, smart glasses, foldable devices and AI servers.

China AI company DeepSeek is set to raise about RMB 50 billion ($7.4 billion) in ​its first funding round from investors including Tencent and CATL, reports Reuters citing insider sources. 

The fundraising could value the ‌company after the investment at between RMB 350 billion and RMB 400 billion, or between $52 billion and $59 billion, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential.

Founder Liang has committed RMB 20 billion of ‌his own ⁠money in this funding round, the people said. They added that tech conglomerate Tencent is considering RMB 10 billion and battery giant CATL is looking at RMB 5 billion, which would make them the largest external investors. DeepSeek is also in final talks with China’s national artificial intelligence fund, gaming developer NetEase and e-commerce giant JD.com, they said, noting that the planned number of investors was fewer than 10.

China’s bank wealth management products (WMP) have shrunk by RMB 1.38 trillion ($200 billion) in the first quarter, reports Caixin. This comes as banks prioritized deposit growth and market volatility weighed on flows. 

Bank WMP balances fell to RMB 31.91 trillion at the end of March from the end of last year, according to data from China Wealth (Asset) Management Registry and Custody, though still up 9.5% from a year earlier. The firm is a state-owned industry registry.

Despite signs of a rebound in April, asset allocation for WMPs remains a challenge. Falling short-term bond yields and deposit rate cuts have constrained returns, leaving managers with limited higher-yielding assets, industry insiders say.