☕️ Good morning, friends,

and happy German Unity Day to all our German readers. 🇩🇪

If there’s ever a Korean version of this holiday, you can be sure we’ll report live from the fall of the wall — handing out bananas on the spot.

When that day comes, we’ll have Pyongyang travel guides written by locals. For now, you get 10% off all China travel guides this week with the code asiabitsfriends.

P.S. Short video tip for your lunch break: This year, North Korea held its very first marathon. Here’s the incredible atmosphere.

MARKETS

Highlights

🚀 KOSPI breaks 3,500 – Asian markets on the rise

In Seoul, the KOSPI climbed above 3,500 points for the first time. Chip stocks led the rally: SK Hynix (+9.9%) and Samsung (+3.5%) surged on news of planned deliveries for OpenAI’s massive Stargate project.

Other Asian markets also advanced, buoyed by Wall Street’s momentum. Investors largely looked past Washington’s budget crisis and continued to bet on Fed rate cuts.

On Friday, Japan’s Purchasing Managers’ Index takes center stage. As a key early indicator for industrial output, it could directly shape market sentiment after recent record highs.

Side Note: Emerging-market equities hit their highest level since 2021, as AI hype around OpenAI puts tech stocks back in the spotlight.

TOP BIT

🔋 Talent war in battery research: top scientist moves to China

China has recruited one of the world’s most renowned battery researchers.

Stefano Passerini, member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, is leaving Europe to head the new International Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage at Nanjing Normal University.

The Details

📚 A heavyweight on the move: Passerini is among the world’s most cited scientists, with more than …