China's State Council employment and labor protection task force has unveiled a large-scale vocational skills enhancement initiative, targeting over 30 million subsidized training sessions from 2025 to 2027. This program aims to address skill shortages in manufacturing and services, with a focus on high-tech industries and key employment groups, potentially benefiting Hong Kong-listed vocational education and recruitment firms.

In overnight U.S. markets, the Dow Jones fell 0.98%, the Nasdaq edged up 0.18%, and the S&P 500 dipped 0.40%. Nvidia surged 4%, while AMD jumped 6.4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index climbed 2.7%, driven by an 8.1% gain in Alibaba. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ADRs slipped 0.08%. To defend the currency peg, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened by purchasing HKD 14.829 billion and selling U.S. dollars.

Chinese authorities convened a meeting on July 15 to stabilize potash fertilizer supply, citing abnormal price surges that deviate from fundamentals; they pledged to boost market availability and reduce costs. Concurrently, the national drug procurement office initiated the 11th centralized procurement round, targeting 55 drug varieties. Companies must submit information by July 31 to qualify for hospital demand selections, with the filing window opening on July 16.

Standard Chartered Bank became the first globally systemically important bank to offer spot cryptocurrency trading, enabling Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions for institutional clients through its UK subsidiary, with plans for non-deliverable forwards. In corporate actions, China Life Insurance intends to divest its entire 0.70% stake in Bank of Hangzhou, totaling 50.7894 million shares, over the next three months. Geely Automobile moved to privatize Zeekr for CNY 17.1 billion, leading to its delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

On the earnings front, CMS Pharmaceutical completed a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange. CNGR Advanced Material expects interim net profit to soar 104.4% to 155.5%, reaching CNY 1.2 billion to CNY 1.5 billion. ANTA Sports reported mid-single-digit retail sales growth for its main brand in the first half. Guoquan forecast a 111% to 146% jump in net profit. JL Mag Rare-Earth projected a 151% to 180% rise in attributable net profit. Asia Cement swung to a profit of CNY 114.4 million from a loss. Pop Mart anticipates revenue growth exceeding 200% and profit growth surpassing 350%. Smoore International warned of a 21% to 35% profit decline. Q Technology Group agreed to sell a 51% stake in its Indian subsidiary for INR 5.53 billion.

Sino Biopharmaceutical's subsidiary plans to acquire up to 95.09% of Li Xin Pharmaceutical for a maximum of USD 951 million, with a net payment of approximately USD 501 million after adjusting for cash holdings.