Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.

Coming up on today’s program

More than 200 Chinese A-Share companies announce Q3 cash dividends, boosted by capital market support policy;

China adds two public holidays starting next year.

Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours 

In a significant development for China's stock market, more than 200 A-share companies had announced cash dividend plans for the third quarter as of Monday, as policies to support the healthy development of the capital market take effect.

As of Monday, 219 listed companies had disclosed cash dividend proposals, with a combined total of 31.18 billion yuan earmarked for distribution, data from financial information service provider Wind.

Compared with previous years, this year's increase in both the number and frequency of dividends represents a notable shift within the A-share market. In the third quarter, the number of companies declaring dividends hit a multi-year high.

As of October 31, the number of listed companies announcing cash dividend plans in their third-quarter reports was up 273 percent year-on-year. The total expected dividend amount surged 72 percent, with five companies planning to distribute more than 1 billion yuan, according to the China Association for Public Companies.

In April, China's State Council, the cabinet, released a guideline on strengthening regulation, forestalling risks and promoting the high-quality development of the capital market.

It urged tighter regulation of cash dividend payments by listed firms. Incentives will be increased for companies with strong dividend performances, and various strategies will be employed to boost dividend yields. Efforts will focus on enhancing the stability, sustainability and predictability of dividends, and promoting multiple dividend distributions within a year, according to the guideline.

Listed companies' increased enthusiasm for dividends is primarily driven by the active encouragement of regulators. Companies with higher dividend levels tend to attract more investors, and this market feedback encourages those companies to enhance their dividend payouts, experts noted.

China will add two days to public holidays starting from Jan 1 next year, according to the State Council yesterday. The Spring Festival holiday will extend to four days, now including Chinese New Year's Eve, while the May Day holiday will increase to two days, adding May 2.

The European Union and China will continue their negotiations this week seeking an alternative to the imposition of extra tariffs on electric vehicles, on the heels of the talks earlier this month in Beijing, which yielded some progress, according to the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm. Sources disclosed that both Beijing and Brussels have demonstrated willingness and made efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Greater Bay Area, Greater future

China’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) on Tuesday announced more than 100 aircraft orders at the opening of the biennial Zhuhai International Air Show. The new orders, which include an additional 60 C919s for the HNA Group, push cumulative orders of China’s first domestically developed large commercial jet past 1,200. Meanwhile, COMAC announced the ARJ21, China’s home-grown regional jetliner, had been improved and rebranded as the C909. The manufacturer secured 70 orders for the model from Hainan Airlines and Colorful Guizhou Airlines on the opening day of the airshow. Also, the model of China's first commercial uncrewed spaceplane was displayed by state-controlled aerospace company AVIC which said it was being developed to deliver cargo to China's space station. The military's Z-20 helicopter was also on display.  

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee plans to garner support for the city's accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) during a high-level summit in Peru this week. Lee, who is leaving for Lima to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference (APEC), also said on Tuesday that he is going to meet with other leaders to promote the SAR.

Next on industry and company news

China's express delivery services reached a new milestone on Monday, Nov 11, processing a total of 701 million packages, according to the State Post Bureau of China on Tuesday. This record-breaking figure represents a 9.7 percent year-on-year increase and is 151 percent of the daily average volume.

Chinese video influencer and famous YouTuber Li Ziqi made a comeback yesterday after a three-year hiatus, sharing two videos across multiple social media platforms. Her new video quickly passed 100 million views on Weibo within five hours.

Xiaomi Auto said that the 100,000th SU7 electric vehicle rolled off the production line today, just 230 days after launch. The EV arm of Chinese smartphone giant plans to ramp up production capacity with the goal of delivering 120,000 vehicles by year-end.

Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market

Chinese stocks rebounded on Wednesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite inching up 0.5 percent and the Shenzhen Component up 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.1 percent and the TECH index closed flat.