Hong Kong stocks fell sharply on Friday, as technology giants came under heavy pressure amid a global tech sell-off, according to a market analyst.
Timothy Pope, an analyst for the China Global Television Network (CGTN), recapped the day's market trading in Hong Kong.
He noted it has been a tumultuous week amid continued concerns over the future direction of AI and other major developments which have drawn a reaction from investors.
"The Hang Seng was down 1.6 percent, leaving it around 3.5 percent lower for the week. It's been a rough one in Hong Kong, particularly for the tech giants. Alibaba was one of the biggest casualties. You might expect a bit of a lift after the Double 11 shopping festival, I mean it's still ongoing, but its cloud computing business is, I guess, under a cloud at the moment," said Pope as he referred to the major Chinese e-commerce event which lands on Nov. 11 and is widely known as the 'Double 11'.
"Reports out of Washington say that the U.S. Commerce Department is preparing restrictions on Chinese companies accessing Nvidia chips remotely through overseas data centers. Now that's a concern for Alibaba because reports indicate that it rents computing power from overseas providers for AI development. And if those restrictions do go ahead, that computing power could become much harder, or at least a lot more expensive, for the company to access. And it could also complicate international expansion plans as well," Pope said.
Alibaba had already flagged the risk in a filing earlier this year, saying that restrictions could disrupt its access to critical technology and increase costs, Pope noted. The company's shares plunged almost 7 percent on Thursday, and another 3.5 percent on Friday, said the analyst.
Hong Kong stocks slide as tech sector takes hit: analyst
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to foster new engines for economic growth, and continuously expand common interests.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when holding talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ROK Cho Hyun in Beijing.
Noting that China always attaches importance to China-ROK relations, Wang said China stands ready to further enhance mutual trust with the ROK side to expand cooperation in emerging fields including artificial intelligence, biomedicine, green and low-carbon development and the silver economy on the basis of traditional cooperation.
Wang said next year will mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries, adding that both sides should take this opportunity to jointly advance the China-ROK strategic cooperative partnership in the right direction.
Noting that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled to be held in Shenzhen, and leaders of various economies including the ROK president have confirmed their attendance, Wang said China is ready to work with the ROK to advance the building of an Asia-Pacific community and promote common development and prosperity in the region.
Cho Hyun said that since the two heads of state exchanged visits, bilateral relations have recovered and grown. The substantial increase in trade volume and people-to-people exchanges fully demonstrates that the important consensus reached by the two leaders has been delivered, he added.
Cho Hyun said the ROK government's position of respecting the one-China policy will remain unchanged.
The ROK wishes the APEC "China Year" every success, he said, adding that the two heads of state will meet again in Shenzhen next week, which will push bilateral relations to new heights.
Chinese FM calls on China, ROK to expand common interests
