1. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM): In July 2026, Chinese brand passenger vehicles sold 1.754 million units, a 3.2% decrease month-on-month. 2. Ministry of Commerce: The retail penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles r

South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance will set up a Future Response Fund, financed primarily by excess tax receipts from sectors such as semiconductors, to convert windfall revenue into strategic investment aimed at lifting potential growth. Officials have not fixed a size; South Korean media and government estimates put a conservative floor of about W120 trillion (roughly $86bn). The government defines eligible revenue as the portion of domestic tax receipts that exceed a long-term trend estimate (not short-term cyclical gains). Planned inclusions also cover surplus tax, balances of the national surplus fund and its investment returns. Preliminary accounting suggests roughly W98 trillion could come from the gap between the 2027 domestic tax estimate (above W450 trillion) and the long-term trend estimate (about W352 trillion), plus roughly W20 trillion from local education-fund reform, totaling more than W118 trillion. Funds will target youth employment/living support, national growth engines (including frontier AI, physical AI, AIDC, SMR and aerospace), regional development, and education/talent. The fund will be managed by the Ministry of Economy and Finance with five accounts (overall, youth, growth engines, regions, education/talent). Project selection will be overseen by a public–private review committee modeled on lottery-fund governance, and the The fund’s operating plan must be submitted annually to the National Assembly. Analysts note the design appears intended to route semiconductor-driven tax gains into discretionary strategic investment, potentially sidestepping the spending order in the National Finance Act (local education allocations, public-debt repayment). Draft legislation, including the fund and local education-fund reforms, will be publicly notified 24–28 this month, reviewed at a cabinet meeting on the 1st of next month and submitted to the National Assembly on the 3rd alongside the 2027 budget.

UK core retail sales rose 2.3% year-on-year in July, seasonally adjusted, below the expected 3.30% and the previous figure revised from 5.40% to 5%.