Taipei Times

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd completed a HK$80 billion share sale in Hong Kong, selling 710 million shares at HK$112.70 each. The offering occurred at a 3.6 percent discount to the prior close of its U.S.-listed shares, after which the stock fell 8.5 percent. The company also announced a multi-year AI investment commitment and the launch of its Wan3.0 video model.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast on August 25, 2026, imposing sanctions on 60 individuals, entities, and vessels while expanding secondary sanctions in technology, shipping, and digital assets sectors. The measures follow six months after initial US and Israeli missile strikes on Iran and notably exclude Chinese financial institutions. Iran pledged to resist the expanded sanctions.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on August 26, 2026, for a six-year T$210 billion special budget to purchase 210,000 military drones, framing the measure as essential self-defense. The opposition-controlled parliament has proposed alternatives including an annual cap of T$40 billion funded through the regular budget with economy ministry oversight, with a vote scheduled for August 27. Sources consist solely of left-center outlets, limiting perspective diversity.

AM Intelligence has placed a binding order for 9,000 NVIDIA Rubin GPUs to be deployed as Vera Rubin NVL72 systems at a 30 MW site in Hyderabad starting in the first quarter of 2027. The company, linked to Greenko Group, targets 1 GW of Compute-as-a-Service capacity across four countries and 5 GW of AI data-center development overall. Sources consist of two left-center outlets with no additional bias perspectives represented.

Iranian and Omani foreign ministers met in Tehran to discuss a phased navigational corridor and joint mine-clearing project for the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran stated the strait would not reopen until the United States ends the war, while Washington imposed new sanctions and threatened economic measures. Traffic through the strait has remained largely paralyzed nearly six months after the US-Israel conflict with Iran began, with US crude oil near $80 per barrel.