How Xiao Yaqing’s Comment Affected Electric Vehicle Stocks 

On Monday, shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed, with stocks on Hong Kong leading losses. Shares of Alibaba listed in Hong Kong declined 4.23% following a Financial Times report, that China wants to break up Ant Group’s Alipay and force the creation of a separate loans app. 

Other Chinese tech stocks also suffered losses on Monday, with Tencent declining 2.45% while Meituan fell 4.47%. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.27% to 6,595.03. Hong Kong’s broader Hang Seng index declined 1.5% to end its trading day at 25,813.81.

Chinese electric vehicle stocks declined after Xiao Yaqing’s comment. BYD fell 2.14% while Xpeng declined 2.35%.

The country’s Industry and Information Technology Minister stated that China has too many electric vehicle makers. According to Xiao Yaqing, the government will encourage consolidation. He also mentioned that China would improve its charging network and develop electric vehicle sales in rural markets. 

Xiao Yaqing also mentioned that the ministry was speeding up alternative solutions to deal with the auto chip shortage. Last week, the country’s market regulator fined three auto chip sales companies for driving up prices. 

The government’s promotion of eco-friendly vehicles to reduce pollution prompted carmakers to expand manufacturing in China. 

Meanwhile, Soho China dropped 34.57% after a takeover deal by Blackstone Group fell through. Chinese property developer, Soho China said in a filing on Friday that Blackstone Group decided not to go through with its $3 billion bid to buy the developer. 

Mainland Chinese stocks on Monday 

Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on Monday. The Shanghai composite gained 0.33% to 3,715.37 and the Shenzhen component fell 0.447% to close at 14,705.83. 

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 added 0.22% to finish its trading day at 30,447.37. The Topix index gained 0.29% to 2,097.71. 

Shares of automakers Toyota and Honda dropped 1.65% and 1.28% respectively. Both of them criticized a U.S. House electric vehicle tax plan, that would benefit Ford Motor Company and other automakers from Detroit. 

On Monday, South Korea’s Kospi closed slightly higher at 3,127.86. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.25% to close at 7,425.20. 

This week will be full of interesting events. For example, the U.S. consumer price index for August is set to be out on Tuesday. We should not forget about retail sales figures as well. Moreover, China will release information about retail sales as well as industrial production for August.