Aramco said it signed a shareholders' agreement with a Saudi mining company to form a joint venture to develop mineral exploration and hard‑rock mining in Saudi Arabia.

China's National Financial Regulatory Administration data show commercial banks' net interest margin rose to 1.41% in Q2, up 0.01 percentage point QoQ — the first quarterly increase since 2022. Margin moves were mixed by bank type: state-owned big banks, city commercial banks, rural commercial banks and private banks reported QoQ increases; joint-stock banks were flat; foreign banks fell. Regulators and market participants attribute the stabilization to the liability side — maturing high-yield deposits repriced lower and banks actively optimized funding mixes to reduce interest cost — while regulatory guidance and an interest-rate self-discipline mechanism helped curb irrational loan-rate cuts and supported asset-side pricing, propping up NIMs.

MOFCOM and eight other ministries issued guidance to boost county-level consumption, directing firms to expand supply of higher-quality/higher-priced goods into county markets and, where conditions permit, launch new products in counties simultaneously to promote urban-rural parity of models and quality. The guidance urges development of products tailored to county consumption and supports trade/distribution firms building flexible supply chains via own-brand and demand-driven production. It also calls for strong support for new-energy vehicles, green smart products and green building materials going to rural areas and for expansion of rural charging infrastructure coverage.