[ET Net News Agency, 24 January 2025] According to reports, President Trump of the
United States claimed to seek an immediate interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve and
urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to lower oil prices,
which has improved the investment sentiment in the stock market. Following the rise in
European, US, and Japanese stock markets, the Hang Seng Index opened significantly higher
this morning. Later on, the A-shares reversed from a decline to an increase, and the Hang
Seng Index continued to rise steadily, closing at 20,057 at midday, up by 356 points or
1.8%, with a turnover on the main board exceeding HKD 88 billion. The Hang Seng China
Enterprises Index reported 7,301, up 137 points or 1.9%. The Hang Seng Tech Index reported
4,640, up 125 points or 2.8%.

"Ryan Chan: Trump's calls for rate cuts and oil price reduction have limited substantial
impact"

President Trump of the United States claimed to seek an immediate interest rate cut from
the Federal Reserve and urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
to lower oil prices. The market sentiment has improved, and the Hang Seng Index opened 142
points higher today, steadily rising and re-entering the 20,000 mark. Currently, the index
has remained above the 100-day and 50-day moving averages (about 19,700) for five
consecutive trading days. Ryan Chan, an executive director of Eddid Financial, told ET Net
News Agency that from a technical perspective, the 50-day and 100-day moving averages have
established preliminary support. The resistance level above is around 20,400, which was
the high in early December. If this resistance level is broken, the next resistance level
is likely around 21,000, the high in early November. However, with few trading days left
this month, the market lacks sufficient momentum and catalyst to break through the 20,400
mark. Simultaneously, there is also a lack of significant selling pressure.
Regarding President Trump's calls for an immediate interest rate cut from the Federal
Reserve and urging OPEC to lower oil prices, he believes that Trump's actions can be seen
as public pressure tactics but are unlikely to have a substantial impact on interest rates
and oil prices. The current improvement in sentiment is merely a result of market
speculation on such news.

"Weak growth in electric vehicles and mobile devices leads to insufficient lithium demand"

Tianqi Lithium (09696) announced that it expects a loss attributable to shareholders of
the company of RMB 7.1 billion to 8.2 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 December 2024,
compared to a profit of approximately RMB 7.3 billion in the same period last year. The
loss excluding non-recurring items is expected to be RMB 7.1 billion to 8.2 billion,
compared to a profit of around RMB 7.2 billion in the same period last year. The basic
loss per share is estimated to be in the range of RMB 4.33 to 5.00, compared to a profit
per share of around RMB 4.45 in the same period last year.
The group stated that the overall market prices of lithium products showed a significant
downward trend during the reporting period, leading to a substantial decrease in the
company's lithium product selling prices and gross profit compared to the same period last
year. Additionally, due to the mismatch in timing between the pricing mechanism of the
company's controlled subsidiary Talison Lithium for lithium concentrate products and the
pricing mechanism for the company's lithium chemical products, there was a phase of
operational losses. Furthermore, the continuous strengthening of the U.S. dollar since
2024 has increased the amount of exchange losses compared to the year 2023.
Ryan Chan mentioned that the profit warning issued by Tianqi Lithium was within his
expectations. In the past, the strong lithium prices were due to market anticipation of
robust future lithium battery demand, but this anticipation has gradually faded. While the
future demand for lithium batteries still exists, it is not as robust as before. The most
impacted by the decline in lithium prices are upstream companies such as Tianqi Lithium.
He further explained that the decline in lithium prices is primarily influenced by
demand. In terms of mineral products, unless there is a disruption in the supply side
leading to a shortage, it is generally driven by demand. Previously, the growth in lithium
battery demand was driven by electric vehicles, but the electric vehicle market has now
begun to saturate, leading to a slowdown in growth. Apart from electric cars, mobile
devices such as smartphones and tablets have smaller battery capacities, resulting in
lower demand for lithium batteries. Moreover, the growth in mobile devices is also not
optimistic, so currently, the market's demand for lithium batteries has weakened, putting
pressure on lithium prices.
For investors holding shares in the lithium industry, Ryan Chan suggests considering
exiting at an opportune time, as Tianqi Lithium may test the HKD 20 mark downwards.