Aug 6, 2026 · 7 min
Kioxia surges as Asia weighs chips, taxes and AI access
Kioxia Rises, HSBC Drops, MiniMax Gains
The episode connects company-specific moves with policy shifts and market-access changes reshaping Asian equities.
- 1Kioxia gains after announcing a share buyback alongside positive demand expectations.
- 2HSBC shares fall as China expands personal income tax on Hong Kong insurance policies.
- 3MiniMax gains after AI firms enter the Stock Connect links, widening investor access.
Don't miss
MiniMax gains after AI firms are included in the Stock Connect links, highlighting how market access can quickly reshape investor momentum.
The brief
Asia’s market movers reflect several competing forces: Kioxia benefits from a buyback and stronger demand expectations, while memory-chip makers weaken after SanDisk’s earnings.
Anthony Stevens joins Stephen Carroll and Caroline Hepger to examine how China’s expanding personal income tax on Hong Kong insurance policies weighs on financial firms, including HSBC.
The episode turns to AI access: MiniMax gains after AI firms are included in the Stock Connect links, creating a fresh channel for cross-border investment.
The broader roundup also tracks how US tariffs affect polysilicon suppliers, showing how policy decisions outside Asia can still move regional stocks.
Taken together, the moves show Asian equities responding not only to earnings and demand, but also to tax rules and changes in market access.
What was said on this episode
16 statements · 4 positive · 10 negative · 2 neutral
SanDisk and Western Digital results below optimistic forecasts are pressuring regional memory stocks
“they've come in below the most optimistic kind of analyst forecast and that's hitting memory stocks across the region”
Listen at 1:08
Foreign investors have resumed net selling Korean shares
“foreigners have turned net sellers again in Korea”
Listen at 1:27
China is pursuing offshore tax collection more aggressively
“China's casting its offshore tax net a lot more aggressively”
Listen at 1:53
Chinese authorities want to reduce money moving offshore
“the Chinese want to kind of reduce that torrent of money”
Listen at 2:23
AIA and Prudential shares are declining sharply
“The Chinese insurance sellers like AIA and Prudential are down quite sharply”
Listen at 2:30
MiniMax shares have risen 15 percent
“Minimax is up 15%”
Listen at 3:13
Southbound buying is easing pressure on MiniMax after its large post-IPO block
“some of that pressure is being alleviated against some of the southbound buying”
Listen at 3:22
MiniMax's peer JIRPU has risen 3 percent while the market fell about 2 percent
“which is up 3% against a market that's down around 2%”
Listen at 3:30
Most US solar-panel makers still import raw materials from China
“most of the US makers of solar panels still import the raw materials from China”
Listen at 3:55
US solar-panel makers are currently negatively affected by tariffs
“at the moment they're negatively impacted”
Listen at 4:00
US solar-panel stocks fell sharply
“that space fell quite sharply last night”
Listen at 4:02
Asian polysilicon suppliers are down approximately 2 to 3 percent
“most of that space is down around 2 to 3%”
Listen at 4:09
China has faced solar overcapacity for a long time
“China has been struggling with solar overcapacity for a very long time”
Listen at 4:27
China’s solar exports are flooding relatively poor countries
“their exports are flooding relatively poor countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and so on”
Listen at 4:32
Chinese solar exports have helped mute the Iran crisis’s oil impact on poor countries
“that's one of the reasons the oil impact from the Iran crisis has been relatively muted on poor countries”
Listen at 4:37
The US polysilicon policy and solar oversupply dynamic will evolve over coming months
“it's very interesting to see how this dynamic plays out over the next couple of months”
Listen at 4:47
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
Anthony Stevens
SanDisk
Hong Kong
Artificial Intelligence
Stock ConnectListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.