South Korea’s pension funds, including the National Pension Service (NPS), turned net buyers on the KOSPI in July for the first time this year, purchasing a net 684 billion won ($46.8 million) through July 24. This ends a six-month net selling streak and signals renewed institutional confidence in Korean equities. SK Hynix was the top pick, attracting 425.8 billion won in net purchases, highlighting pension funds’ bet on the memory chip rebound.

KB Financial Group will establish a 150 billion won ($102 million) unicorn scale-up fund to invest in AI, semiconductors, and robotics companies. The fund will be fully financed by KB’s subsidiaries and managed by KB Securities’ PE growth investment division. KB also plans to increase financial support for physical AI, AI data centers, power infrastructure, and semiconductor firms, reinforcing Korea’s push into advanced tech sectors.

Six leading Silicon Valley venture capital firms—Sequoia Capital, a16z, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and NEA—have signed a strategic investment MOU with Korea’s National Pension Service. The partnership aims to co-develop investment opportunities and strengthen global venture capital networks. Combined with Korea’s 200 trillion won national growth fund, this is expected to channel policy, private, and overseas capital into AI and semiconductor sectors.

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) listed on the STAR Market and closed at 49 yuan, surging 465.82% from its issue price. The stock set multiple records: first A-share to exceed 3 trillion yuan in market cap at opening, first to break 100 billion yuan in single-day turnover (reaching 141.19 billion yuan), and the highest turnover rate for a debutant. CXMT ended the day as the most valuable A-share stock, overtaking Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

A 26-year-old trader at Hong Kong’s Cheeroll Management Services allegedly misappropriated HK$50 million to place a leveraged long bet on the CSOP 2x Leveraged SK Hynix ETF. Using margin financing on top of the 2x leveraged ETF, the position suffered an estimated HK$150 million ($19.2 million) paper loss as the ETF plunged over 72% from its June peak. The trader was arrested on suspicion of theft, with the final loss still fluctuating as the position remains open.

Zhiyuan Innovation, the world’s largest general AI robot company by 2025 shipment volume and Q1 2026 revenue, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO. The company shipped over 5,000 general humanoid robots in 2025, capturing about 39% of the global market. Its cumulative robot output surpassed 15,000 units by June 2026. The listing underscores China’s ambitions in AI-driven robotics and offers global investors exposure to a sector leader.

Alibaba’s 1688 platform is developing an AI agent product called “Xiangzao” that allows consumers to design custom products, preview them, get quotes, and place orders—all via AI. The system automates the entire process from design to production, routing orders directly to factories without manual handling. A standalone app is planned to follow, signaling a push into consumer-to-manufacturer (C2M) AI commerce.

Chen Zhi, founder of Cambodia’s Prince Group and alleged mastermind of a global telecom fraud network, has been formally arrested on charges including copyright infringement and intentional injury. His operation, centered on the Jinbei compound, generated billions of dollars, with $15 billion in Bitcoin seized by U.S. authorities. Chen was extradited to China from Cambodia in January 2026. The case highlights China’s crackdown on crypto-linked transnational crime in Southeast Asia.

South Korea’s customs agency reported 7.2 trillion won ($49.2 billion) in illegal foreign exchange transactions in the first half, with 792 cases detected. Some cases involved exporters receiving payments in crypto instead of fiat to avoid repatriating export earnings. The crackdown intensifies as Korea views currency stability as a key economic risk, and authorities pledge closer cooperation between customs and the finance ministry.

South Korean trading giant POSCO International and LG CNS are tokenizing real commercial invoices on the Injective blockchain to speed up cross-border payments. The project uses actual trade data from POSCO’s global subsidiaries to create a shared, immutable record with embedded compliance rules. This reduces reconciliation time among buyers, sellers, and banks, improving working capital efficiency in international trade.