Morning Brief: Gilead's Investigational Drug for Novel Coronavirus to Enter Clinical Trials; Apple Temporarily Closes Stores in Mainland China

Major Events

Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development: In principle, express delivery and food delivery services are not allowed to enter residential areas

To further implement the "Notice on Property Service Enterprises Doing a Good Job inNovel CoronavirusInfected PneumoniaEpidemicNotice on Prevention and Control Measures,” on the evening of February 1, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the “Notice on Further Strengthening Access Management in Residential Communities by Property Service Enterprises During the Prevention and Control Period of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia,” explicitly stating that visitors and new tenants must undergo temperature checks upon entering residential communities in Beijing, and that delivery personnel, including those handling express packages and food deliveries, are generally prohibited from entering residential communities.

NDRC: Strengthen Financing Support for Key Enterprises Responding to the Epidemic

According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) website, the NDRC, in conjunction with relevant departments and financial institutions, has established a coordination mechanism for financial support and assurance. In accordance with the spirit of the Notice on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Epidemic Prevention and Control issued by the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Finance, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the mechanism works in close collaboration with relevant departments and local authorities. It prioritizes financing support for manufacturers of epidemic prevention and control supplies and their upstream key materials and components, implementing a list-based management system. As of January 31, four batches comprising a total of 136 key enterprises requiring funding for epidemic response had been compiled, and the People's Bank of China had promptly arranged for relevant financial institutions to engage with these enterprises.

CBIRC: Institutions Unable to Complete Asset Management Business Rectification by End-2020 Allowed Appropriate Extension of Transition Period

On February 1, Cao Yu, Vice Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), stated in response to reporters’ questions that, in accordance with the requirements of the new asset management regulations, the standardization and rectification of existing asset management businesses should be completed in a steady and orderly manner. For cases where disposal is genuinely difficult to complete by the end of 2020, an appropriate extension of the transition period is permitted. For insurance companies with higher solvency adequacy ratios and better asset-liability matching, they are allowed to appropriately increase their investment proportion in equity-type assets beyond the current 30% upper limit.

Star Company

AppleTemporary Closure of Apple Store Retail Locations in Mainland China

Apple’s China website issued an announcement stating that, in light of recent public health and preventive considerations, Apple Store retail locations will be temporarily closed from now until 24:00 on February 9. Apple had previously announced the temporary closure of three Apple Stores in Qingdao, Nanjing, and Fuzhou, and many other directly operated stores across various provinces and cities have also restricted their operating hours.

Alibaba Launches Free Charity Ride Service for Medical Staff in Wuhan

On February 1, Amap Ride-Hailing, under Alibaba Group, partnered with Wuhan-based mobility provider Fengyun Chuxing to organize a public welfare volunteer fleet and urgently launch the “Medical Staff Dedicated Vehicle” service. Effective immediately, all medical personnel in Wuhan can use Amap Ride-Hailing to request free 24/7 access to the “Medical Staff Dedicated Vehicle” service.

GileadClinical Trials of Investigational New Drug Remdesivir for the Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia to Launch in China

On February 1, it was learned from Gilead Sciences that the clinical trial of its investigational new drug Remdesivir for the treatment of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia will be launched at China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing on February 3.

It is reported that Gilead Sciences will collaborate with Chinese health authorities to conduct a randomized, controlled trial to determine the safety and efficacy of using Remdesivir to treat patients infected with 2019-nCoV. Remdesivir is a nucleotide analog prodrug that inhibits RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). This investigational drug was originally developed for the Ebola virus and has recently been shown to be effective against novel coronavirus pneumonia in a case in the United States.

Xibei, Waipojia and Other Catering Enterprises Call on the Government to Introduce Policies to Alleviate the Impact of the Pandemic

On February 1, the CEOs of four restaurant chains—Xibei, Home Original Chicken, Jiumaojiu, and La Cesar—spoke out through the media, calling for policy measures to alleviate the cash flow shortages faced by companies in the catering industry and other sectors severely impacted by the epidemic.

WeCom Group Live Streaming Upgrade: Instructors broadcast live, and students can participate via WeChat

On the evening of February 1, WeCom released a new version, upgrading six features: group live streaming, data collection forms, online meetings, online consultations, emergency notifications, and a dedicated pandemic zone. Among these, group live streaming, data collection forms, and online meetings were specifically enhanced to address the unique needs of the education sector during the pandemic.

Tencent Launches COVID-19 Symptom Self-Check Tool and Opens It for External Integration

February 1 News: Tencent Launches Another Self-Check Tool for COVID-19 Symptoms. Users experiencing symptoms such as fever and cough can use this tool to self-assess their condition and make arrangements for medical care. According to the introduction, by opening the "Pay" page on WeChat and entering the "Medical Health" service, users can find this "Fever Self-Check" tool. This tool provides risk assessments based on the "Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (Trial Version 4)" jointly issued by the General Office of the National Health Commission and the General Office of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Following the system prompts, users only need to answer corresponding questions, such as whether they have experienced discomforts like fever or cough, or if they have recently visited Wuhan, to receive a risk assessment.

Zhaopin Report: Over 60% of Enterprises to Resume Work After February 2

To assess the impact of the current epidemic on post-holiday work resumption, corporate talent demand, and workforce mobility trends, Zhaopin launched a survey, collecting a total of 13,056 valid responses. In this survey targeting professionals, 41.7% of respondents indicated that their companies planned to resume operations on February 3, while 18.9% reported that their return-to-work date had been extended to February 10, bringing the combined total to 60.6%.

Financing News

Slope Secures $1 Million in Seed Funding to Provide a Cloud-Based Actuarial Modeling SaaS Platform for Insurance Actuaries

Slope recently completed a $1 million seed funding round, with investment from Cofounders Capital. Slope stated that the funds will be used to further enhance the development of its software platform, which was launched early last year. Slope is an insurance SaaS company based in Atlanta, USA, providing actuarial modeling SaaS platforms for insurance companies. This enables actuaries to perform better analyses in less time, thereby optimizing and simplifying operational processes for insurance companies and their actuarial models and strategies.

The Big Boss Said

Pan Gongsheng: Overdue Mortgage and Credit Card Payments Due to the Pandemic Will Not Be Included in Credit Records

Pan Gongsheng, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, stated that financial institutions are required to provide appropriate preferential treatment in their credit policies for individuals hospitalized or quarantined due to novel coronavirus pneumonia infection, those under quarantine and observation as part of epidemic prevention and control measures, personnel participating in epidemic prevention and control work, and those who have temporarily lost their source of income due to the impact of the epidemic. Financial institutions should flexibly adjust repayment arrangements for personal credit facilities such as housing mortgages and credit cards, and reasonably extend repayment deadlines. Overdue payments resulting from difficulties in making repayments during the epidemic period will not be recorded in credit reference systems as defaults.

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