☕️ Good morning friends,

Today is one of those days when we're glad that our mode of transportation #1 is the bicycle and we're not dependent on any raw materials to get from A to B…

In today's issue:

• Strait of Hormuz: Iran blocks strait, 80% less ship traffic, oil at $80

• MiniMax: $79 million revenue, 236 million users - China's fastest AI IPO delivers first numbers

• BYD exports: For the first time, more cars sold abroad than in the domestic market

Enjoy reading! 📰

P.S. Our new podcast episode is online!
"Why Every Robotics Founder Ends Up in Shenzhen"

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KOSPI crashes 7%, circuit breaker triggered: Coordinated US-Israeli air strikes on Iran sent South Korea's benchmark index tumbling 452 points to 5,792 on Tuesday, with Samsung down -9.9% and SK hynix -11.5%. Foreign investors dumped a net 5.1 trillion won in shares, while defense stocks like Hanwha Systems and LIG Nex1 hit their daily upper limits.

TOP BIT

Strait of Hormuz: Asia loses lifeline

The escalation in the Middle East is reaching the vital artery of the world economy: Iran has officially declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.

Every ship passing through the strait is declared a target. Since over 30% of global seaborne crude oil trade and 20% of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) flow through this bottleneck, Asia in particular faces an unprecedented supply and price shock.

The shock in numbers

• Traffic: 80% decline, ~150 ships stranded

• Oil price: From $73 to ~$80/barrel (+10%)

• Casualties: 5 tankers damaged, 2 dead

• Normal state: 13 million barrels/day

Methanol shock: China's factories under pressure

Besides oil and gas, an often underestimated raw material is hitting Chinese industry: methanol.

• Industrial base: Methanol is the basic material for paints, plastics, and textiles. Since Iran is the world's second-largest producer, China's manufacturing sector faces a massive raw material shortage.

• Price jump: Spot prices in China have already risen by over 7%. Initial chemical plants are throttling production as inventories in ports shrink rapidly.

Trump's response

The US government has announced it will militarily escort civilian tankers and offer state insurance for ships in the Gulf.

• While US consumers suffer from gasoline prices, US oil producers could financially profit from global scarcity.

📊 All details & data: Al Jazeera, CNBC, SCMP

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MARKET BIT

MiniMax Triples Revenue: First Numbers From China's Fastest AI IPO

$79 million in revenue, 236 million users, but $1.87 billion in losses on the books

MiniMax, one of China's six "AI Tigers" and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since January, has released its first annual results.

• Revenue: +159% to $79 million.

• The stock has quintupled since its IPO price of HK$165 and most recently closed up more than 9%.

The details

The startup, founded in 2022 and backed by Alibaba, miHoYo and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, was the fastest AI company globally to go public.

Extremely fast execution: Three new model generations (M2 to M2.5) in 108 days. The next one (M3) is expected in the first half of 2026.

MiniMax operates on two tracks:

• B2C revenue from AI apps Hailuo AI and Talkie: $53.1 million (+143%).

• B2B revenue from enterprise clients and developers: $26 million (+198%).

Over 73% of revenue comes from international markets.

• Gross margin: +13 percentage points to 25.4%. Marketing costs -40%, R&D +34% to $250 million.

• ARR: Exceeded $150 million in February. 236 million users across 200+ countries, 214,000 enterprise clients.

The net loss of $1.87 billion sounds dramatic, but $1.6 billion of that is purely mark-to-market adjustments on financial instruments, not actual cash out the door. The operating loss came in at $251 million, roughly flat year-over-year.

Context

OpenAI reported an ARR of $20 billion in 2025. MiniMax sits at $150 million. But while US competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic rely on ever-larger funding rounds, MiniMax has already tapped the capital markets.

The question now is whether the Hong Kong listing provides enough runway to keep up in the global model race, or whether the coffers run dry at $250 million in annual cash burn faster than the valuation can rise.

👉 Sources: KrASIA, Yicai Global, DealStreet Asia

CHART OF THE WEEK

China imports almost as much crude oil through the strait as India, South Korea, Japan, and the rest of Asia combined. Europe and the US are barely affected.

Feel free to share the graphic with your network and cite Asiabits as the source. Thanks!

HIGHLIGHTS 

🇨🇳 BYD exports surpass domestic sales for the first time: BYD sold around 190,000 vehicles in February, down 40% year-on-year due to the extended Lunar New Year holiday. For the first time, exports exceeded domestic sales at over 100,000 units (+41%). Chery (+42% exports) and Zeekr (+70%) also bucked the weak overall market. China's automakers are increasingly shifting their focus abroad.

🇭🇰 China's AI IPO boom flying blind: Nearly 80% of the 27 AI companies that listed in Hong Kong over the past year are covered by fewer than three bank analysts. Chipmaker Moore Threads: up over 400% since its December IPO, yet not a single bank has published a price target. For US IPOs of similar size, ten analysts typically start publishing research within 25 days. That makes the first earnings season a shot in the dark.

🇰🇷 Samsung targets autonomous AI factories by 2030: Samsung Electronics plans to convert all production facilities worldwide to AI-driven autonomous manufacturing by 2030. Digital twins will simulate the entire process from warehousing to shipping, while AI agents handle quality control and logistics. Humanoid robots will also be phased into production lines. Samsung will present details at MWC 2026 in Barcelona.

🇻🇳 TikTok Shop eats into Shopee's lead: In Vietnam, TikTok Shop has grown its market share to over 41%, while Shopee dropped from 61% (2023) to 56%. Together, both platforms control 97% of Vietnam's online retail, with Lazada and Tiki splitting the remaining 3%. Shopee is fighting back with loyalty programs and faster logistics. Sea's stock still trades at roughly half its 52-week high.

MORE ASIABITS

• Free guide: AI Automation for Beginners

• Humanoid Robotics Report: The $6 Billion Bet

• Interactive tool: China Dependency Index™

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