Hi everyone. I’m Stephanie LI.
大家好，我是主持人李莹亮。
Coming up on today’s program.
重点提要
-Mainland China reports its first Omicron infections in Tianjin and Guangzhou;
-Weibo’s shares cascaded after being fined by top internet regulator again.
Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours
中国经济要闻
There seems to be no stopping for the much-feared Omicron variant anywhere in the world.
Tianjin in north China, close to capital Beijing, detected the new and potentially more transmissible strain in an overseas returnee, local health authorities revealed on Monday, the first known Omicron infection found in the Chinese mainland. Today, Guangzhou also reported the identification of the country’s second imported Omicron case.
Chinese officials previously admitted that there was a high chance of the new variant being introduced to the country, but were sure that China's stringent testing regime would succeed in detecting any cases and its zero-tolerance strategy would effectively halt community transmission.
Speaking at the Greater Bay Science Forum in Guangzhou on Saturday, top respirologist Zhong Nanshan called on all countries to be open-minded about working together and explore how to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines for greater effectiveness.
George Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the forum that "our vaccines still work against Omicron although their efficacy is greatly compromised.”
China's first home-grown anti-COVID-19 drug using "antibody cocktail therapy”, developed by Brii Biosciences, has been approved last Wednesday for marketing, after being found to be effective in reducing the risk of hospitalization or death among high-risk COVID-19 patients by 80 percent. It also retains its neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant.
The country is still playing defence with flare-ups in northern borders, and most recently in eastern Zhenjiang province. Among the 51 new locally transmitted cases reported in the country yesterday, 44 were from Zhejiang. The major Chinese manufacturing hub is fighting its first COVID-19 cluster this year, with 213 reported local cases as of yesterday, half of which come from Shaoxing city.
Virus-hit areas in Zhejiang have suspended business operations, cut flights and cancelled events. At least 13 A-share listed Zhejiang-based companies have issued statements saying that production and operation has been suspended, but they said it will have a limited impact on their yearly performance.
More than 45,000 people in Zhejiang have been put in quarantine and nearly half a million people have their health condition closely monitored. Local authorities also extended cross-provincial travel restrictions for some of the virus hot spots until mid-March.
奥密克戎终究还是来了。
天津昨天通报从一例境外输入新冠病毒无症状感染者中，检出了奥密克戎变异株，是中国内地首例。今天下午，广州市疫情防控新闻发布会上通报，广州发现广东省首例境外输入奥密克戎阳性病例。
“‘奥密克戎’出现，大家最关注的问题是免疫源目标出现大量突变，许多抗体不管用，预计疫苗大打折扣。”在12月11日至13日举行的2021年大湾区科学论坛上，中国科学院院士、中国疾控中心主任高福在会议上表示，疫苗仍能提供最基本的基础免疫，尽管可能打折扣，但能防死亡、防重症，减少病人疾病负担。
中国工程院院士、著名呼吸病学专家钟南山指出，近期出现的奥密克戎带来不少新问题，很多国家已开始意识到，中国动态清零的做法是正确的，为更快地控制疫情，需要通过疫苗接种实现群体免疫，通过接种加强针来提高抗体水平，并且继续加大药物研究，全球合作用科技战胜疫情。
12月9日，中国首个新冠肺炎特效药获批上市，标志着我国拥有首个自主研发并经严格随机、双盲、安慰剂对照研究证明有效的抗特效药。钟南山主持开展了此次药物在中国的Ⅱ期临床研究，并牵头论证和推动了药物在我国的紧急救治工作，进一步验证了药物在中国患者中的安全性和有效性。
全国昨日新增本土病例51例，其中浙江占了44例。作为本轮疫情“震中”的浙江，自12月5日至12月13日已累计报告确诊病例213例，其中绍兴最为严重。截至12日21时，绍兴市本轮疫情累计报告本土确诊病例107例，无症状感染者1例。而浙江中高风险地区的出行要求也被延续至明年3月15日。
13日早间，“绍兴发布”微信号发布疫情防控追责问责“十条”规定，全区企业除防疫需要、民生保障外，其他企业一律停工。截至12日晚间，共计13家A股公司受波及，公告临时停产。有企业预判本次停产是防疫工作的短期措施，不会对公司的长期发展带来不利影响。
Next on industry and company news
产经消息及公司新闻
Weibo’s stock suffered a 9.6 percent blow today as the Chinese social media platform being slapped with a 3 million yuan fine by China's internet regulator for repeatedly publishing illegal information. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said Weibo had violated a cybersecurity law on the protection of minors and ordered it to "immediately rectify.” Weibo said in a statement it "sincerely accepts criticism" and has established a workgroup in response.
微博又被罚：12月14日，“网信中国”消息称，近日国家互联网信息办公室负责人约谈新浪微博主要负责人、总编辑，针对近期新浪微博及其账号屡次出现法律、法规禁止发布或者传输的信息，情节严重，依法责令其立即整改，严肃处理相关责任人，予以共计300万元罚款的行政处罚。随后，新浪微博回应称，微博站方诚恳接受主管部门批评，认真落实整改要求。受此影响，新浪微博股价跳水，截止收盘，微博报收219.8港元，跌9.6%。
Tsinghua Unigroup released a notice Monday stating that it had signed a corporate restructuring agreement with its strategic investor, a consortium led by two state-backed semiconductor venture-capital firms, to inject 60 billion yuan into the indebted chip conglomerate. The deal is the latest step in Unigroup’s efforts to restructure its assets after a creditor sought its bankruptcy in July.
紫光破产重组方案确定：12月13日，紫光集团管理人在上交所发布公告称，已与战略投资者签署了《重整投资协议》，制定了重整计划草案，并交给了北京一中院。据报道，智路建广联合体作为本次重整的战略投资者，将出资600亿元且全部用于向债权人清偿。
US coffee chain giant Starbucks has closed two stores in the Chinese city of Wuxi and launched an investigation after media reported food safety issues. The two outlets in question used expired foodstuffs after tearing off their expiration labels with the approval of the stores’ managers.
“浓眉大眼”的星巴克也沦陷：12月13日，江苏无锡两家星巴克门店被曝使用过期食材、员工篡改保质期，引发热议。当晚，星巴克中国发文，承认无锡两涉事门店“确实存在营运操作上的违规行为”。两家涉事门店已闭店进行调查与整改，内地所有门店立即启动全面自查。人民网快评表示，没想到“浓眉大眼”的星巴克也沦陷了。这些劣迹，每一个都触碰法律红线，都挑战公众的忍耐度，让人忍无可忍。
The two influential Chinese livestreamers “Xueli Cherie” and “Lin Shanshan Sunny,” who were fined 93.2 million yuan for tax evasion last month, had their online Taobao stores frozen right ahead of the “Double 12” shopping festival.
偷逃税网红彻底凉凉：今年“双十二”前夕，雪梨、林珊珊拥有千万粉丝的淘宝店铺被曝出遭平台封禁，二人上月刚因偷逃税款合计被罚超过9300万。
Switching gears to the financial sector
金融市场要闻
Loans for China's individual home purchases have sustained sound growth momentum, with a faster increase in November compared with that in October, according to data from the People's Bank of China on Monday. By the end of November, China's outstanding personal housing loans totaled 38.1 trillion yuan, up 400 billion yuan from the end of October.
个人房贷投放进一步回温：12月13日，央行官方公众号披露的11月个人住房贷款统计数据显示，11月末，个人住房贷款余额38.1万亿元，当月增加4013亿元，较10月多增532亿元。
Media reports that the China’s Ministry of Finance has issued the quota of advanced batch special purpose bonds to provincial governments. Earlier, the National People’s Congress has authorised a 2.19 trillion maximum quota for the advanced batch.
明年提前批专项债额度已下达：媒体报道称，日前财政部已向省级财政部门下达了2022年提前批专项债额度。按照此前全国人大常委会的授权，2022年可提前下达的专项债最高额度为2.19万亿。
Wrapping up with a quick look at the stock market
最后来看股市收盘情况
Chinese stocks closed lower on Tuesday despite media, MetaVerse and digital currency stocks surged. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.53 percent, and the Shenzhen Component closed 0.5 percent lower. The Hang Seng Index shed 1.33 percent with mainland real estate and tech sector tumbled.
周二A股股市集体回调。沪指跌0.53%，深成指跌0.5%。传媒、元宇宙股再度大涨，数字货币概念股大幅走强。港股恒生指数收跌1.33%，内房股、科技板块大跌。
Biz Word of the Day
财经词汇划重点
Cocktail therapy refers to a mixture of drugs used to treat a particular condition. Antibody cocktail therapy for COVID-19 is the combination of two antibodies.
“鸡尾酒疗法”原指联合使用3种或3种以上抗病毒药物来治疗艾滋病。近年来，有人将其他疾病类似的联合用药疗法也称为“鸡尾酒疗法”。针对新冠病毒的双抗体“鸡尾酒疗法”，则是将两个单克隆抗体混合在一起使用。