Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

• China’s gaming regulator approves 105 new games;
• Joint-stock banks follow suit on a new round of deposit rate cuts.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) on Monday announced the approval of 105 domestically produced online games in December, covering a large number of game makers. 

The announcement, following the approval on Friday of a batch of overseas-made games for import, is a clear indication that the regulator is actively supporting the development of the country's games industry, said an article authored by the Game Publishing Committee of Chinese Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association.

To date in 2023, the NPPA has approved 977 domestically made games, more than doubling last year’s figure at 468, public data showed.

The NPPA on Saturday said in a statement that a set of new draft regulation released on Friday to guide online gaming sector aims to promote the industry's healthy development, after the draft rules caused heated discussion in the country. 

The NPPA has heard the "concerns and opinions raised by all parties" and the administration "will study them carefully and further revise and improve" the draft rules, the statement read.

According to the draft rules, online games will not be allowed to offer incentives and rewards for daily logins, or first and consecutive in-game purchases. Game publishers will be prohibited from promoting or allowing high-priced transactions of virtual gaming items through speculation and auction, it said.

Other stipulations include limiting the recharge amount of users, and issuing pop-ups that warn them of irrational consumption behavior.

The draft regulation sent gaming shares tumbling on Friday, and a couple of Chinese online gaming companies including Tencent Holdings, 37 Interactive Entertainment and Giant Interactive Group have announced plans to buyback their own stocks after Friday’s selloff.

Tencent Games said the draft rules will not change the reasonable business models and operations of gaming companies, adding that the regulations offer more clarity about the country's supportive attitude toward the industry and has provided guidance in encouraging high-quality original games.

NetEase Games said on Saturday that the draft targets management shortfalls and will not have an intrinsic impact on its business.

In recent years, China's gaming industry has been robust and attained considerable achievements. The actual sales revenue of the country's game sector this year is expected to reach 300 billion yuan milestone for the first time, and the number of users would hit a new high of 668 million, according to a recently released industry report. 

Moving on to regional highlights

• China's first domestically-built large cruise ship, the "Adora Magic City," departed from a port in Shanghai on Sunday, starting its trial operation. Carrying invited guests and nearly 1,300 crew members from around the world, the ship set off after noontime Sunday from the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal and is expected to return to the terminal on Monday. Another trial operation is scheduled afterward to prepare for the commercial maiden voyage to Northeast Asia on Jan 1.

Greater Bay Area, Greater Future

• A housing project in Shenzhen where apartments were priced at up to 28.4 million yuan was sold out on its first day on the market, mainly thanks to eased real estate policies and relatively cheaper pricing. All the 270 apartments of a property project in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district were sold on Saturday, the first day of sales, according to Shenzhen Metro Group, the developer of the project. Some 553 potential buyers had paid a 2 million yuan deposit each as a pledge intention, with less than half of them finally got their wishes. The apartments had floor areas of between 189 and 249 square meters and an average price of 99,000 yuan per sqm.
• Official figures from Hong Kong’s Immigration Department showed that about 1.05 million people crossed into and out of Hong Kong on Christmas Eve with the number of departures outnumbered arrivals by more than 200,000, as more and more Hongkongers are opting for mainland cities as they take Christmas breaks. More than 1.06 million people crossed the border on Saturday – the first day of the four-day Christmas holiday break, which was the busiest day of border transits since the pandemic. Around 37 percent of the travelers were arriving in the SAR, the department said.

Next on industry and company news

• Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio unveiled its new smart executive flagship sedan, making it the second-most expensive China-made new energy vehicle. The luxury ET9 is available for pre-order at 800,000 yuan, with deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2025, Nio announced at the Nio Day 2023. Only NEV and battery maker BYD's Yangwang U8, priced at 1.1 million yuan, costs more.
• Shares of Cubic Sensor and Instruments rose after the Chinese sensor provider said it plans to invest up to 100 million yuan to build a new production base in Hungary to achieve localized production for its European clients. Cubic Sensor’s Hong Kong-based unit will set up a project firm in Budapest that will be responsible for the investment, construction, and operation of the new plant, which will mainly produce gas sensors, the parent company announced late yesterday, without revealing any further details.
• US carmaker Tesla on Friday officially launched its new mega factory project that is capable of producing 10,000 Megapacks a year in Shanghai. Megapack is a powerful battery that provides energy storage and support, information on Tesla's website shows. The new project, located in the Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, is scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2024 and start production in the fourth quarter.
• Boeing has handed over its first plane to a Chinese airline since November 2019, giving a boost to the US aircraft maker. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, ordered by privately owned Juneyao Airlines, took off from Seattle Paine Field International Airport on Friday, Boeing said.  

Switching gears to financial news

• China has allocated the second batch of funds raised by the issuance of an additional 1-trillion-yuan of government bonds for flood control and other projects. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Saturday that the second batch of funds involves over 560 billion yuan for 9,600 projects, including backbone flood-control projects mainly in the Haihe River, Songhua River basins and other regions in northern China, irrigation facilities, soil-erosion management projects, upgrading of urban rainwater drainage systems, among others.
• Ten joint-stock banks in China on Monday announced to cut deposit rates after all six state-owned banks did last Friday for the third time this year. The new batch of lenders to adjust rates include China Citic Bank, Everbright Bank, Bohai Bank, Zheshang Bank, Ping An Bank, China Guangfa Bank, and Minsheng Bank. China’s big six have each lowered their rates on Friday by as much as 30 bps. 
• The scale of China's government procurement registered a decline to about 3.5 trillion yuan in 2022, down 3.9 percent year on year, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. The figure accounted for 9.4 percent of the national fiscal expenditure and 2.9 percent of GDP.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

• Chinese stocks rose on Monday as the benchmark Shanghai Composite gained 0.1 percent and the Shenzhen Component added 0.4 percent. Hong Kong stock market is closed for Christmas Day.

Biz Word of the Day

• A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments, and to repay the face value on the maturity date.

Executive Editor: Sonia YU

Editor: LI Yanxia

Host: Stephanie LI

Writer: Stephanie LI 

Sound Editor: Stephanie LI

Graphic Designer: ZHENG Wenjing, LIAO Yuanni

Produced by 21st Century Business Herald Dept. of Overseas News.

Presented by SFC

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策划、编辑：李艳霞 

播音：李莹亮

撰稿：李莹亮

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