BABA to ramp up investment in Taobao Flash Sale; 'Heartfelt Town' Intl server goes live | Daily News Recap

0108 ｜Dolphin Research Focus:

🐬 Macro/Industry

1. The U.S. proposed to consignment-sell approx. 50 mn barrels of Venezuelan crude with proceeds under U.S. control, while pressing Caracas to sever economic ties with China, Russia and others, allowing oil cooperation only with the U.S. China has strongly condemned the move as bullying. Near term, this could heighten energy market volatility. Over time, it may prompt broader pushback against unilateralism.

🐬 Single Names

1.$XD INC(02400.HK)

'Sausage Man Town' (Intl version) went live on Jan 8, launching alongside a global tie-up with the 'My Little Pony' IP. Pre-registrations topped 1 mn, lifting XD Inc.'s share price by over 5% on the day. The company also has new titles such as 'RO2' in the testing pipeline. IP crossovers and overseas rollout are timed for the winter break/Lunar New Year peak season, adding growth drivers to its games biz.

2.$BABA-W(09988.HK)

Alibaba and institutions exchanged views on the latest quarter, with a tone that was not particularly upbeat. Disclosures included Taotian Group's CMR growth slowing to mid-to-low single digits, and key progress at Taobao Flash Sales in the latest quarter, with a primary goal of share gains and a plan to step up investment to secure the No.1 position. Dolphin Research has summarized the key takeaways; see 'Alibaba's Latest Investor Communication'.

3.$JD-SW(09618.HK)

JD announced the 'Chameleon' biz unit, combining core AI products JoyAI App, JoyInside and digital humans to focus on commercialization. A second batch of in-house AI toys for all ages is slated for mid-Jan, and its digital humans have served over 50,000 brands. This signals a shift from R&D to scaled deployment in AI. Leveraging supply chain strength and tech stack, JD has execution advantages in AI toys and digital-human livestreaming.

4.$Chagee(CHA.US)

Market chatter suggests Chagee is assessing a Hong Kong listing, having had initial talks with several banks, potentially raising hundreds of millions of USD as early as 2026. The company later said it has 'no plan for now', indicating the discussions remain uncertain.

🐬 Top Gainers by Sector

A-shares: Tobacco, aerospace & defense, oil & gas refining & marketing.

HK stocks: Computer & electronics retailers, industrial gases, oil & gas storage & transportation.

U.S. stocks: Biotech, seaport operators, marine freight & passenger transport.

🐬 Watchlist for Tomorrow

1. U.S. NY Fed 1Y inflation expectations, seasonally adj. nonfarm payrolls, preliminary 1Y inflation expectations, unemployment rate.

2. China. CPI YoY.

Risk disclosure and statement: 海豚研究免责声明及一般披露