South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics forecast on Thursday a more than 780 percent jump in third-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, buoyed by rising memory chip prices amid a global supply shortage.

China's railways saw the peak of the holiday return rush on Wednesday, with 24.15 million passenger trips expected on the final day of the National Day holiday, amid strong travel demand and vibrant tourism activity across the country.

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at 3.4003 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of September 2026, down 38.1 billion dollars, or 1.11 percent, from the end of August, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed Wednesday.

Tokyo stocks ended lower on Wednesday as investors locked in gains following a recent rapid rally. The benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended down 648.27 points, or 0.92 percent, from Tuesday at 70,035.71.

* Yunnan sits on the northern fringe of the global coffee-growing "bean belt," the equatorial zone between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. For centuries, its rolling highlands were known as China's tea heartland.

Hong Kong has once again been ranked as the world's freest economy, according to the Economic Freedom of the World 2026 Annual Report released on Tuesday by the Fraser Institute.