☕️ Good morning, friends,

Japan has a new export hit: not a car, not a camera and not sushi, but an artificial monster wolf.

With its red LED eyes and more than 50 different sounds, the robot scares off bears. Even farmers from India are lining up to ask whether the thing also works on elephants.

🤝 P.S. Our partner of the week: Cathy Tax. With her, you won’t have to fear bears or taxes.

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Highlights: Asian markets barely moved into the weekend as investors held back ahead of the key U.S. PCE inflation data and a widely expected Fed rate cut next week. The only real fireworks came from China’s AI chip debutant Moore Threads, which soared 450% in its IPO.

TOP BIT

🆘 How Germany became the weakest major economy in the world

Germany’s industry is under heavy pressure. Two years of recession, no real growth in sight, and a China shock that has turned a former preferred partner into a tough competitor.
Industry associations speak of a free fall. Companies are losing orders, cutting costs, and still not moving forward.

Details

🔧 Industry in decline: The BDI warns that the German economy is in its “deepest crisis since the founding of the Federal Republic”. For 2025 the association expects a 2 percent drop in output, which would be the fourth consecutive year of losses.

🇨🇳 From growth engine to competitor: For years China was a key sales market and manufacturing partner for German firms. Today China builds its own high tech, produces cheaper and faster and is taking market share from German companies both at home and in third countries.

🚙 An auto nation under pressure: Germany’s carmakers are losing speed in EVs and software. Volkswagen is moving an entire EV model to China because production there costs roughly half as much (we reported).

🌍 Geopolitics add fuel to the fire: China maintains close ties with Russia and shows growing confidence in trade disputes. Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul will travel to Beijing next week to stabilise relations and prepare Chancellor Merz’s visit.

Germany’s three weak spots

• Costs and energy: High electricity prices after the gas and nuclear exit, rising social contributions and costly regulation are driving up operating costs. Energy intensive industries see Germany as a high risk location.

• Export dependence: More than 40 percent of GDP depends on exports. China is becoming an equal competitor and the United States is shielding itself behind tariffs. The traditional export model is hitting structural limits.

• Reform backlog and innovation gap: Industry groups complain about bureaucracy, complicated rules and too little momentum in digitalisation and future technologies. In batteries, AI and software, Germany lacks clear priorities and bold investment, while China surges ahead.

📊 All Details & Data: The Daily Economy, SCMP, NPR, TRT World

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CATHY TAX

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She takes care of everything that keeps us awake at midnight: accounting, tax filing, bookkeeping, HR, payroll, visas and the mountain of paperwork that comes with doing business in China.

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NUMBER OF THE DAY

That’s how many people have been attacked in Japan since April this year.

🐻 Bears instead of mountain idyll: Bear attacks in Japan have hit a new all-time high. In the previous record year 2023/24, there were 219 attacks for the entire year. Hotspots: Akita (66 victims), Iwate (37) and Fukushima (24).

⚰️ Record deaths: By November 20, 13 people had already been killed by bear attacks nationwide. November alone saw 33 attacks, including one fatality.

Watch: Japan is getting more creative and increasingly deploying AI and robotics for improved safety and early-warning systems — so hiking trails don’t turn into bear traps.

MARKET BIT

🍜 Hot demand, cold start: Hong Kong’s first noodle IPO falls on day one

🍜 From street stall to stock exchange: Xiao Noodles, a Sichuan–Chongqing noodle chain from Guangzhou, has become the first publicly listed noodle-restaurant stock in Hong Kong. The IPO raised around HKD 617 million (≈ USD 79 million).

🥵 Too spicy to hold: Despite being oversubscribed 426 times and seeing strong demand from institutional investors, the stock fell by more than 28% on its first trading day, as many buyers sold immediately to lock in quick profits.

📈 +176% growth: Revenue nearly tripled in just two years, jumping from ~USD 58 million in 2022 to ~USD 160 million in 2024. H1 2025 delivered another strong performance with +33.8% YoY revenue growth and profits up +132%.

🏪 Aggressive expansion: The noodle network grew from 133 to 465 stores in just three years. Another 115 outlets are currently under construction. The 500th store is set to open in Singapore later this year, marking the start of international expansion.

🤝 Heavyweight anchor investors: Cornerstone investors include Hillhouse (HHLR) and hot-pot giant Haidilao. Even so, the company’s fundamentals were not strong enough to absorb the initial selling pressure.

Background

Xiao Noodles is part of a broader IPO wave in China’s “new consumption” sector. From milk-tea chains and lifestyle retailers to fast-food brands, more and more consumer companies are heading to the stock markets in Hong Kong and the US.

This is a strategic policy shift: domestic consumption is meant to become a new pillar of growth, while traditional industrial and export-driven models are losing momentum. Despite rapid expansion, rising profits, and high-profile anchor investors, long-term oriented buyers lacked conviction at the market debut.

👉🏻 Full Story: Yahoo Finance, Caixin Global, PR Newswire

STARTUP OF THE WEEK

🇯🇵 Inemuri 居眠り

In Japan there is a word for something that quietly happens in offices all over the world:

• Inemuri means “sleeping while present”. It refers to briefly dozing off while sitting, whether in a meeting, on the train or at your desk. The body rests, but officially you are still there.

🥱 For a long time, Inemuri was seen as a sign of dedication because you were “working so hard that you fell asleep sitting up”. Today it is closer to a power nap that helps you get through a long day.

HIGHLIGHTS

🛑 Taiwan bans RedNote: Authorities have imposed a one-year ban on the popular mainland Chinese social media platform. According to reports, the app has been linked to more than 1,700 fraud cases. Investigators complain that the operator refuses to hand over user data, creating what they describe as a “lawless zone.” RedNote has around three million users in Taiwan and has long been suspected of being used for political influence operations.

✈️ Radars on, nerves frayed: Japan has accused Chinese fighter jets of locking fire-control radar onto Japanese reconnaissance aircraft — a move Tokyo has called “dangerous” and “unacceptable.” Beijing denies the accusation, saying instead that Japan interfered with Chinese carrier exercises near Okinawa. The incidents are considered the most serious in years and come amid rising tensions over Taiwan.

🤖 Humans vs. super-AI: During a visit to Seoul, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said artificial intelligence will soon surpass human capabilities. In talks with South Korean President Lee, he urged massive investment in energy, semiconductors, and data centers to prepare for this shift. Seoul now views AI as a form of national critical infrastructure and aims to deepen cooperation with global tech companies.

COUNTRY READS

🇯🇵 A Japanese company is selling new automatic doors that, thanks to smartphone authentication, can even keep curious bears out. More on this.

🇰🇷 South Korea’s LG Uplus reports a data leak caused by a technical error in its AI-powered telephony app. More on this.

🇨🇳 Chinese medical researchers report a breakthrough in an exceptionally efficient stem cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease. More on this.

BITS TO DO

✅ Run in the park with these Chinese jogging shoes.*
✅ Watch Macron’s IG Story from his reception in Beijing.
✅ Read our secret tips for the best cafés in Shanghai on Sunday.
✅ Travel to the penguin parade in Hokkaido.
✅ Get jealous of Costco shoppers in Asia. You will not find anything like it anywhere else in the world.

_{*Yes, it’s an affiliate link. No, you won’t pay more. But it helps support asiabits. Thanks ;)}

FORTUNE COOKIE

🐻 Bearbnb

Whether this video is AI-generated or not, we honestly have no idea.

Either way, it is a beary strong way to end today’s edition.

Wishing you a great start to the week!

MORE ASIABITS

• All the latest AI trends from Asia — every Wednesday, exclusively with us.

• Champagne & Chopsticks — your Sunday guide to Asia’s best insider spots.