

Horizon Robotics raised US$450 million via zero coupon convertible bonds due 2027, netting about US$445.5 million to strengthen its capital base as the autonomous driving chipmaker expands partnerships. The bonds carry an initial conversion price of HK$5.55 per Class B share, the company said in a filing. Full conversion would give bondholders about 4.18% of the enlarged share capital, creating moderate dilution for existing investors. Horizon applied to list the bonds on the Vienna Stock Exchange's Vienna MTF and secured approval for the corresponding conversion shares in Hong Kong. After deducting underwriting commissions and other estimated expenses, net proceeds totaled about US$446 million. Citi initiated a 30-day positive catalyst watch on Horizon following the deal, citing deepened cooperation with Volkswagen Group. The bank rates the stock a Buy with a HK$8.70 price target, implying about 57% upside from the last close. Shares of Horizon rose 5% on Wednesday to HK$5.25, giving the company a market capitalization of about HK$67.8 billion. The stock has averaged daily turnover of about 217 million shares. The US$445.5 million in net proceeds strengthens Horizon's balance sheet as it scales production of its Journey series automotive AI chips for the Chinese electric vehicle market. The company, founded by Dr. Kai Yu and listed in Hong Kong under a weighted voting rights structure, competes with Nvidia Corp. and Mobileye Global Inc. in the autonomous driving chip segment. Horizon's governance structure includes a mix of executive, non-executive, and independent non-executive directors, balancing founder influence with board oversight. The debt financing gives Horizon additional runway to invest in research and development without immediate equity dilution beyond the 4.18% conversion overhang. Investors will watch for further partnership announcements with global automakers as Horizon expands beyond its domestic customer base, with the Volkswagen collaboration serving as a potential template for additional European OEM deals. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

The Kospi fell as much as 12.1% to an intraday low of 5,260 on Wednesday, triggering a circuit breaker for the second straight session after chip-stock contagion spread from China-linked catalysts. "The circular financing between Nvidia, OpenAI and Oracle means the same dollar gets counted as revenue three times — this is not demand, it's an accounting trick," said Nigel Green, chief executive officer at deVere Group. Samsung Electronics dropped as much as 9.5%, while SK Hynix fell 11% before the Korea Exchange halted trading for 20 minutes. The Kospi later pared losses to 5,568.19, down 7.6%, as institutional investors net purchased 2.66 trillion won ($2.25 billion). The Kosdaq index traded at 655.53, down 7.1%, after falling more than 10% intraday. The back-to-back circuit breakers — the first time South Korea has triggered consecutive trading halts — signal extreme systemic stress in Asia's fourth-largest equity market. Bitcoin's rise above $64,000, up 1% on the day, offers the first test of whether crypto can serve as a haven during an equity rout centered on the world's most concentrated chip supply chain. The selloff traces to two China-specific catalysts. Changxin Memory Technologies, the Hefei-based DRAM maker known as CXMT, closed its Shanghai STAR Market debut Monday up 466%, valuing it near 3.3 trillion yuan — surpassing Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as the most valuable mainland-listed company. Separately, reports emerged that a Chinese state-backed firm has begun producing immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machines, the bottleneck tool Western export controls were designed to withhold. The Kospi's 10.8% plunge on Tuesday — its worst single-day drop since the 2008 financial crisis — had already erased months of gains. The same semiconductor names had rebounded from an earlier selloff driven by memory valuation fears before this week's collapse. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost about 4% on Tuesday, with Tokyo Electron shedding 11% and memory maker Kioxia falling more than 18%. **Bitcoin Decouples as Winklevoss Calls Rotation** Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss declared the AI trade over Tuesday, urging investors to rotate into Bitcoin and Zcash. His Zcash position is not new — in April he argued that investors bullish on AI and quantum computing should also be bullish on the privacy coin, which remains up roughly 1,033% over the past year. Bitcoin's resilience above $64,000 during the Kospi's collapse marks a potential decoupling from equities. Until now, the question of whether crypto could serve as a portfolio hedge during a semiconductor-led crash remained theoretical. Wednesday's session provides the first real-world data point. The divergence cuts both ways. UBS told clients the AI trade is maturing rather than breaking, arguing that cheaper models redistribute compute demand instead of destroying it. Peter Schiff, by contrast, treats the drawdown as confirmation of a peak, pointing to SpaceX shares now roughly 48% below their $225.64 peak. **What Happens Next** The Kospi's ability to hold above 5,500 will depend on whether institutional buying can absorb continued foreign and retail selling. Foreign investors sold a net 1.76 trillion won on Tuesday alone. The next catalyst is Friday's U.S. personal consumption expenditures data, which will set expectations for the Federal Reserve's September meeting. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

**Moscow will prolong its diesel export ban through mid-August, deepening a global supply crunch that has already pushed diesel prices to multi-year highs and forced buyers from Brazil to Italy to scramble for alternative cargoes.** Russia is extending its diesel export ban by one month through mid-August, two sources familiar with the discussions said, as Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries continue to disrupt domestic fuel supply and keep global markets on edge. "The restrictions will remain until the domestic market stabilizes, but could be lifted sooner if the situation improves," one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. Diesel and gasoil loadings from Russian ports averaged 234,000 barrels per day from July 1 to 10, according to Kpler, down from 400,000 bpd in June and a fraction of the 817,000 bpd average for all of 2025. The ban, initially imposed July 8 through July 31, was part of a broader package that also extended gasoline export restrictions through year-end, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed last week. The extended ban tightens an already strained global diesel market, forcing regular Russian buyers such as Brazil and Turkey to compete with European nations for alternative supplies from the U.S. and Middle East. Italy last week slashed diesel duties by €0.17 per liter through Aug. 6, spending €125 million to contain protests over surging fuel costs. The supply disruption has rippled through financial markets. Hedge funds boosted net long positions in ICE gasoil futures and options to 84,540 lots last week, the highest on record, according to exchange data. ICE Brent crude traded near $87 a barrel Tuesday, with traders pricing in sustained tightness in middle-distillate markets. Open interest in ICE Brent has fallen 11% year over year, amplifying price swings as lower liquidity magnifies the impact of each new supply headline. Russia, typically the world's second-largest diesel exporter after the U.S., has seen its export capacity crippled by repeated Ukrainian drone attacks on refinery infrastructure. The attacks have left some southern regions short of fuel and forced Moscow to prioritize domestic supply over export revenue. The last time Russia imposed a comparable export ban was in September 2023, when a similar combination of refinery outages and domestic price spikes led to a temporary restriction that lasted two weeks before being partially lifted. That earlier episode removed roughly 300,000 bpd of diesel from global markets for about 10 days before the government carved out exceptions for pipeline exports and existing contracts. The broader OPEC+ group is expected to halt its gradual output increases after September and keep production steady through the remainder of 2026, buying time for negotiations over increasingly contentious national production quotas for 2027, according to delegates familiar with the matter. That decision, combined with Russia's extended product export restrictions, points to a prolonged period of tight supply for both crude and refined products. The seven-member group's production strategy will be a key focus at its next ministerial meeting, scheduled for October. For consuming nations, the stakes are high. Diesel is the backbone of global freight, agriculture, and industrial activity, and sustained price increases risk feeding into broader inflationary pressures. The International Energy Agency has warned that the loss of Russian diesel exports — which averaged about 1 million bpd before the war in Ukraine — represents one of the most significant structural supply shocks to the global refining system in decades. European diesel imports from sources outside Russia have already risen sharply, with the region turning to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners and Middle Eastern producers to fill the gap. The Russian energy ministry declined to comment ahead of a formal government decision on the ban extension. Novak said last week that the diesel export ban would be lifted "as the market recovers," suggesting the government is monitoring domestic fuel prices and retail availability closely before committing to a timeline. *This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.*