Hong Kong shares slip as tech stocks weigh on fears of e-commerce price war | Malay Mail
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 0.5 per cent by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng was down 1 per cent. — Reuters pic
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Thursday, 03 Jul 2025 1:27 PM MYT
SHANGHAI, July 3 — Hong Kong shares fell on Thursday, led by tech stocks, as investors fretted that intensifying competition among e-commerce giants could squeeze profit margins. China stocks edged up.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 0.5 per cent by the lunch break, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng was down 1 per cent.
E-commerce giant Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell nearly 4 per cent after the company announced a 50-billion-yuan (RM29.5 billion) subsidy programme to merchants and customers on Wednesday.
“Alibaba’s plan to offer US$7 billion of subsidies for food delivery and online retail implies competition is heating up again among China e-commerce companies,” said UBS analysts.
Shares of on-demand delivery giant Meituan dropped 2.5 per cent, while JD.com fell 1.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, a prominent Chinese Communist Party publication called for a crackdown on competition that fuels price wars and squeezes profits in various industries, criticising large companies and local governments for unfair practices.
China’s services activity expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in June, as demand weakened and new export orders declined amid a fragile trade truce with the United States, a private sector survey showed on Thursday.
China’s semiconductor shares were little moved after US chip design software developers said they had received notices lifting restrictions on exports to China.
The US cleared the way to resume ethane exports to China on Wednesday, sending letters to producers Enterprise Products Partners and Energy Transfer, rescinding a restrictive licence requirement put in place just weeks ago — a sign that the US-China trade truce was on track.
Healthcare shares led gains onshore, up 1.1 per cent, as Beijing ramped up policy support for the country’s innovative drugs.
Biotech stocks also rose in Hong Kong, with Ascentage up 8.4 per cent. — Reuters
