Weekend Long Read: Dealing With Dementia

Youth unemployment: Youth unemployment picked up again this month. The surveyed urban youth unemployment rate for February rose 0.8 percentage points from January to 16.9%. The gauge is limited to people aged 16 to 24, excluding students. By comparison, the national surveyed urban unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 5.4% in February. The youth jobless rate fell throughout most of 2024, including four straight months of decline at the end of the year. A spokesperson from the National Bureau of Statistics attributed this year’s rising urban unemployment rate to the Lunar New Year, when workers usually take a long break to return home for the holiday.

Tesla power exports: Tesla has shipped the first batch of Megapack energy storage systems from its newly completed Shanghai factory to Australia, marking the facility’s operational debut since its completion in January. The Shanghai plant, Tesla’s first energy storage factory outside the United States, has an annual capacity of 10,000 Megapacks — equivalent to nearly 40 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of storage. In 2024, Tesla sold 31.4 GWh of storage products, up 115% year-on-year, generating $10.09 billion in revenue.

Drug R&D investment: The British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced a $2.5 billion investment to establish a new global R&D center in Beijing — its second in China and sixth worldwide. This, alongside several biotech partnerships and expansion plans, will raise its Beijing headcount to 1,700. The five-year plan includes collaborations with Chinese biotech firms, as well as a recently disclosed $160 million acquisition of FibroGen’s China business. CEO Pascal Soriot said the investment reflects the company’s confidence in Beijing’s innovation ecosystem and its long-term commitment to China.

Hong Kong IPOs: The city’s securities regulator has capped margin financing for IPO subscriptions at 90% in response to a frenzy of retail investor interest that has resulted in some offerings being oversubscribed by more than 1,000 times. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on Thursday announced a minimum 10% deposit requirement, as some brokerages had been offering clients loans with up to 100 times leverage. The requirement is part of a series of guidelines designed to prevent investors from taking on excessive risks in the IPO market.

Premier talks trade: Premier Li Qiang has encouraged efforts to stabilize foreign trade amid complex global challenges, emphasizing the importance of market diversification, trade channel innovation, and enhanced product competitiveness. He also highlighted the need for stronger government support for private enterprises, a key driver of foreign trade.