Hong Kong has surpassed Switzerland as the world’s largest offshore wealth centre, holding an estimated $2.95 trillion of international assets, according to private‑sector estimates — a sign of Asia’s growing pull for global capital.
China’s industrial strength showed in recent data and corporate moves. Global electric‑vehicle exports from China jumped about 40% in April, while European car sales rose for a third consecutive month. Industrial profits in China surged 24.7% year‑on‑year in April, and Beijing announced roughly $1.1 billion of investment into Serbia’s domestic automotive and robotics sectors.
Deal activity and capex plans underscored China’s tech push. Memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies aims to raise about $4.3 billion in a Shanghai STAR Market listing, potentially the largest mainland IPO since 2022. ByteDance, owner of TikTok, is reportedly considering as much as $70 billion of capital expenditure this year to accelerate artificial‑intelligence development.
Political frictions with Europe continued to simmer: Germany and Spain pushed back against an EU proposal to ban Huawei equipment, signalling split views within the bloc on industrial policy and security. Separately, Germany struck a deal to buy up to 1 million metric tons a year of LNG from Canada as part of efforts to diversify energy supplies.
Economic strains showed in consumer and growth indicators. French consumer confidence fell to a three‑year low, and Germany’s chancellor’s economic advisers cut their 2026 growth forecast to 0.5% from 0.9%, citing the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict.
Markets were broadly constructive. European equities edged 0.9% higher and moved closer to pre‑war record levels, helped by a pullback in oil. ASML rallied 1.9% after Micron Technology’s surge pushed the US chipmaker above $1 trillion in market value. In Asia, China and Japan corrected between 0.5% and 1%. US futures pointed to modest gains while Brent crude fell about 3% to near $96 a barrel.