After nearly two months of continuous declines, TOPCon cell prices have recently seen a strong rebound. Prices of various sizes have risen sharply within just one week, drawing significant attention from companies across the PV industry chain. According to SMM data, as of August 12, the actual transaction prices of monocrystalline TOPCon cells in 183mm, 210R and 210mm sizes were RMB 0.29/W, RMB 0.285/W and RMB 0.29/W, respectively, up about 15% from the beginning of August.

Chinese Taiwan's Customs Administration under the Ministry of Finance has formally launched an anti-dumping investigation into certain cold-rolled flat-rolled stainless steel products imported from Vietnam, following a petition filed by Yusco and Tang Eng Iron Works. The investigative period covers July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will assess potential industrial damage within 40 days of receiving the notification, while the Ministry of Finance reviews dumping margins. Products under investigation are cold-rolled stainless steel flat products in coils or sheets with thickness of 0.05–6.10mm, nickel content of 5–20%, chromium content of 15–25%, manganese content up to 3%, and aluminum content up to 0.5%, excluding coated or plated products. Officials noted that surging import volumes priced below domestic production costs have caused severe market share losses and financial strain for local producers.

[SMM Tin Morning Update: Mild PPI Lowered the Probability of a September Rate Hike to 32%; 430,000 Round Number Closed, Breaking Through for the First Time This Week]

July Price Review ： Domestic grain-oriented silicon steel prices rose first and then retreated in July. Supported by rigid demand from downstream transformer manufacturers as well as orders in the new energy and UHV sectors from early to mid-July, mainstream grades including B23R085 climbed to cyclical highs. Nevertheless, persistently high prices suppressed downstream purchasing willingness, market trading turned sluggish, and spot prices came under pressure and fell at month-end, ending the upward rally. In view of forward expectations, the market generally holds the view that this round of price surge has come to an end. Fundamental Analysis Domestic steel mills plan to maintain roughly the same output of grain-oriented silicon steel in August as in July, sustaining high production levels with no obvious tightening in supply delivery pace. In terms of product mix, production is still overwhelmingly dominated by high magnetic induction (HIB) grain-oriented silicon steel, while the output proportion of conventional CGO grain-oriented silicon steel remains low. Output of both varieties changes little compared with July. Steel mills have no intention of carrying out concentrated voluntary production cuts. The continuously ample supply keeps weighing on the spot market and creates obvious resistance to further price hikes. Newly added installed capacity of various power sources showed divergent performance in June, forming structural support for grain-oriented silicon steel demand. Newly installed thermal power capacity maintained relatively strong year-on-year growth. Thermal power supporting step-up transformers and auxiliary transformers for power plants continued to generate rigid demand for grain-oriented silicon steel. Newly installed hydropower capacity increased substantially, driving demand for main and auxiliary transformers of hydropower stations. Newly installed wind and solar power capacity was weaker than the same period of previous years, leading to limited incremental demand for box transformers and main transformers supporting new energy. Newly installed nuclear power capacity declined, resulting in periodic weakening of demand for special grain-oriented silicon steel for nuclear power applications. Overall, construction of traditional power sources gained momentum in June. Thermal and hydropower installed capacity contributed major incremental demand, supporting orders for large power transformers and further boosting demand for high-grade grain-oriented silicon steel. Insufficient incremental wind and solar power installations offset part of the demand growth. Therefore, demand presented a structural pattern: strong demand from traditional power sources and weak demand from the new energy sector. August Price Outlook Looking ahead to August 2026: On the supply side, domestic supply of grain-oriented silicon steel will edge down slightly. Major state-owned steel mills will basically continue high-load production, while some private enterprises will conduct minor maintenance, leaving overall supply broadly stable. Despite the price correction of grain-oriented silicon steel in July, most steel mills still enjoy decent profits. In addition, leading steel mills including Baowu lifted the August base price of grain-oriented silicon steel by RMB 50 per tonne, demonstrating obvious price-support sentiment and sound overall production enthusiasm. Deliveries of high-grade products remain steady; however, sufficient supply of conventional grades has brought inventory pressure to the market. On the demand side, China’s 15th Five-Year Plan UHV projects keep being launched. Transformer enterprises prioritize fulfilling supporting orders for UHV construction, and demand for high-grade grain-oriented silicon steel used in transformers for new energy grid interconnection stays resilient. Nevertheless, the impact of the high-temperature off-season will surface in August. Most downstream enterprises will only conduct inventory replenishment for rigid demand. The conversion of tender orders issued by State Grid and China Southern Power Grid is subject to time lags, and enterprises lack motivation for proactive stockpiling. Furthermore, India’s ongoing anti-dumping investigation against Chinese grain-oriented silicon steel has disrupted exports. Cargo diverted from overseas markets flows back and continuously hits the domestic market, putting prices under pressure. On the cost side, hot rolled coil prices are expected to fluctuate weakly in August with limited upward momentum, and the monthly average price will continue to decline month-on-month. In summary, SMM forecasts that grain-oriented silicon steel prices will fluctuate on a weak trend in August 2026. High-grade grades will be relatively resilient against price falls, while conventional grades will face more prominent downward pressure. Data source statement: (Data in this report other than public information are all sourced from public information (including but not limited to industry news, seminars, exhibitions, corporate financial reports, broker reports, National Bureau of Statistics data, customs import and export data, and various data published by major associations and institutions), market communication, and SMM's internal database models, and are produced by the research team through comprehensive analysis and reasonable inference; they are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making advice.) SMM reserves the final right of interpretation of the terms of this statement and the right to adjust and amend the content of the statement according to actual circumstances.

Yusco renewed an anti-dumping investigation petition in early July targeting Vietnamese 304 cold-rolled stainless steel, driven by surging import volumes. Customs data showed imports reaching approximately 6,200 tonnes in June and 6,000 tonnes in July, a 168% YoY surge, with cumulative imports for the first seven months of the year hitting 23,200 tonnes. Although formal case registration remains pending, Chinese Taiwan's Customs Administration has scheduled a preliminary hearing for September 14 due to heavy administrative workloads. Importers have expressed concern over potential retroactive AD duties affecting existing unfulfilled contracts. Yusco and Tang Eng previously filed a similar petition in October 2025 before temporarily withdrawing it; renewed import pressure and sluggish local demand have prompted the latest regulatory action to safeguard fair competition.

On August 14, Xingye Silver&Tin's share price fell. As of 10:24 on August 14, Xingye Silver&Tin was down 1.58% at RMB37.28/share. In response to the question "What is the construction progress of Atlantic Tin?", Xingye Silver&Tin said on the interactive platform on August 13 when answering an investor's question, the Atlantic Tin project is currently advancing preliminary work such as construction of the explosives magazine, engineering surveys and preparations for equipment transportation. Construction teams have entered the site for preliminary preparations, and the project is expected to officially start construction in Q4. When asked "I have repeatedly suggested that the company's underground mining use tunnel boring machines to transform them into mineral excavation equipment. Does the company have any ideas or plans in this regard? Why has it not logged in on the interactive platform? Thank you!", Xingye Silver&Tin said on the interactive platform on August 13 that the company had carried out early-stage evaluation and feasibility studies on the application of tunnel boring machines and currently has no relevant implementation plan. On August 6, Xingye Silver&Tin said on the interactive platform in response to investor questions that the company takes deeply cultivating its main business and steady operations to consolidate intrinsic value as the foundation of its market value management, continues to optimize internal control and standardize information disclosure, carries out regular public opinion monitoring and responses to market concerns, promptly clarifies false rumors, keeps online and offline investor communication channels open, objectively conveys the company's long-term development value, and protects the right to information and legitimate rights and interests of minority shareholders in all respects. On August 6, Xingye Silver&Tin said on the interactive platform in response to investor questions that the company always adheres to a prudent cash dividend policy, continues to reward all shareholders with stable cash returns, and effectively safeguards the long-term interests of minority shareholders. On August 6, Xingye Silver&Tin said on the interactive platform in response to investor questions that the company will strictly implement its primary responsibility for production safety, strengthen the defense line for safe development, improve its inherent safety level, and address shortcomings in safety management. A progress announcement issued by Xingye Silver&Tin on July 31 regarding a safety incident at its subsidiary showed that on July 30, 2026, Yinman Mining received the On-site Handling Measures Decision ((Xi) Emergency On-site Decision (2026) No. 260) issued by the West Ujimqin Banner Emergency Management Bureau, requiring the simultaneous suspension of Yinman Mining's mineral processing and tailings systems. As of the disclosure of this announcement, both Yinman Mining's mining system and its mineral processing and tailings systems had been suspended. The specific circumstances of the incident disclosed by Xingye Silver&Tin showed that at about 15:30 on July 26, 2026, an accident occurred during underground production and construction at the mine of the company's wholly owned subsidiary, West Ujimqin Banner Yinman Mining Co., Ltd., causing one death and no injuries. After the accident, Yinman Mining suspended production in the underground mining area in accordance with the On-site Handling Measures Decision ((Xi) Emergency On-site Decision (2026) No. 257) issued by the West Ujimqin Banner Emergency Management Bureau. Regarding the impact on the company's production, operations and results: Yinman Mining is mainly engaged in the mining, processing and sale of nonferrous metals including silver, tin, copper, lead and zinc, with a production scale of 1.65 million mt/year. In 2025, Yinman Mining recorded operating revenue of RMB3,062.0434 million, accounting for 55.12% of the company's consolidated operating revenue, and net profit of RMB1,346.2785 million. In Q1 2026, Yinman Mining recorded operating revenue of RMB961.5985 million, accounting for 45.15% of the company's consolidated operating revenue, and net profit of RMB474.7488 million. The cause of the accident and the cause of the death are still under investigation, and Yinman Mining will fully cooperate with the accident investigation and subsequent work. Since the duration of Yinman Mining's production suspension cannot be determined at present, the impact of the suspension on the company's current-period and full-year results cannot be accurately estimated for the time being. The company will perform its information disclosure obligations in a timely manner according to the progress of the accident investigation and relevant regulations, and investors are reminded to pay attention to investment risks. In terms of results, Xingye Silver&Tin earlier disclosed its semi-annual results forecast in the evening, showing that it expects net profit attributable to the parent company of RMB2.14 billion to RMB2.37 billion in H1 2026, up 168.95%-197.86% YoY. Regarding the reasons for the change in results, Xingye Silver&Tin said: 1. Yubang Mining's capacity was gradually released, and ore-derived silver production and sales increased significantly YoY. 2. During the reporting period, affected by factors such as the macroeconomic environment and changes in market demand for products, the selling prices of the company's main mineral products such as silver and tin rose from the year-earlier period. 3. During the reporting period, the company transferred a 60% equity interest in Shuangyuan Nonferrous Metals; the equity transfer resulted in non-recurring gains of RMB454 million. The company realized investment income of RMB321 million. Since Shuangyuan Nonferrous Metals was originally a loss-making enterprise with excessive losses, the equity transfer increased the parent company's deductible losses, which in turn reduced income tax expense by RMB133 million. Xingye Silver&Tin's 2025 annual report showed that in 2025, the company recorded operating revenue of RMB5,555.2536 million, up 30.09% YoY; total profit of RMB2,096.2370 million, up 18.75% YoY; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of RMB1,704.2393 million, up 11.40% YoY. An announcement by Xingye Silver&Tin showed that in 2025, the proportions of the company's main mineral product revenue in total operating revenue were as follows: ore-derived silver RMB2,175.7825 million, accounting for 39.17%; ore-derived tin RMB1,649.6398 million, accounting for 29.70%; ore-derived zinc RMB975.8673 million, accounting for 17.57%; ore-derived lead RMB220.9450 million, accounting for 3.98%; ore-derived iron RMB180.3799 million, accounting for 3.25%; ore-derived copper RMB133.0043 million, accounting for 2.39%; ore-derived antimony RMB100.3568 million, accounting for 1.81%; ore-derived gold RMB82.3402 million, accounting for 1.48%; ore-derived bismuth RMB16.6744 million, accounting for 0.30%. Of these, combined revenue from ore-derived tin and ore-derived silver accounted for 68.86%. Regarding the company's main business and key performance drivers, Xingye Silver&Tin stated in its 2025 annual report that the company is a large mining group mainly engaged in the exploration, mining and mineral processing of nonferrous and precious metals. As of the disclosure date of this report, the company has more than 20 subsidiaries, including eight operating mining companies: Yinman Mining, Qianjinda Mining, Yubang Mining, Rongguan Mining, Xilin Mining, Rongbang Mining, Ruineng Mining and Bosheng Mining. The Achmmach tin mine of AtlasTinSAS under Atlantic Tin is in the construction phase; Tanghe Shidai Mining is in a construction suspension phase; and Yitong Mining and Yunnan Xigui are in the exploration phase. Hainan Fund is mainly engaged in equity investment management. Xingye Gold (Hong Kong) is mainly engaged in metals and mining trade and corporate acquisitions, and is responsible for expanding overseas markets and acquiring high-quality overseas mineral resources. Hainan International Trade and Tianjin International Trade are mainly engaged in the sale of nonferrous metal ore products and the procurement of some raw materials. Xingye Ruijin mainly carries out process research, technology development and upgrading for exploration, mining and mineral processing, and comprehensive recovery and utilization of tailings. Tibet Shannan Antimony-Gold, Tibet Xinda Mining and Xing'an League Fuxingtun Mining serve as the company's regional resource integration platforms. During the reporting period, the company successfully acquired an 85% equity interest in Yubang Mining. According to data from the Silver Institute as of the end of 2023, Yubang Mining's single silver mine ranked first in Asia and fifth globally. The acquisition further strengthened the company's resource advantages and laid a solid resource foundation for its sustainable development. Meanwhile, the company, through its subsidiary Xingye Gold (Hong Kong) as the investment vehicle, increased investment in overseas mineral resources and successfully acquired a 100% equity interest in Atlantic Tin. The acquisition was an important step in implementing the company's "going global" strategy. According to the large tin mine classification criteria in the Standards for Classification of Mineral Resource Reserves (DZ/T0400-2022), the Achmmach tin mine held by Atlantic Tin is currently equivalent to five large deposits. Through the integration of overseas tin resources, the company further improved its international tin layout and reserved important strategic resources for its long-term development. The company's main results come from its nonferrous metal mining and processing business. During the reporting period, revenue from the nonferrous metal mining and processing business accounted for 99.64% of total operating revenue in 2025. The main factors affecting the operating results of the mining and processing segment include production and sales volumes of major products, market prices, and costs of the nonferrous and precious metal mining and processing business. Regarding its operating plan, Xingye Silver&Tin stated in its 2025 annual report that 2026 is the closing year of the company's "Second Three-Year" plan. The board will focus closely on high-quality development, fully implement the established objectives, continue to deepen the philosophy of trust and collaboration, and make every effort to achieve the final goals of the "Second Three-Year" plan, with the following priorities: 1. Hold the bottom line for safety and environmental protection. With 2026 as the "Year of Implementing Safety Management," comprehensively strengthen safety responsibilities, consolidate the achievements of the "Year of Collective Calm in Safety," enhance risk anticipation and process control, and resolutely prevent all kinds of safety and environmental accidents to achieve safe, stable, green and low-carbon development. 2. Make every effort to advance key project construction; strengthen full-process management of project budgets, schedules and quality; coordinate the implementation of projects such as the 2.97 million mt expansion at Yinman Mining, the 8.25 million mt expansion at Yubang Mining, the Morocco project, and the Budun Yin'gen Mining (trusteeship) project; and ensure they are completed and reach full production on schedule to release capacity benefits. 3. Continue to strengthen exploration and reserve expansion; properly balance production and geological exploration; steadily advance exploration at existing mines and surrounding areas; accelerate the conversion and upgrading of resources into reserves; and steadily strengthen the resource base. 4. Deepen industrial synergy and resource integration; leverage the advantages of the core region of Inner Mongolia; steadily expand the overseas resource layout; maintain silver and tin as the main business direction and enrich and optimize resource types. Solidly advance the follow-up acquisition and integration of Weiling Co., and actively track high-quality mineral project opportunities at home and abroad to enhance overall competitiveness through synergistic industrial M&A. 5. Further strengthen institutional enforcement and internal control management; ensure all systems, processes and control requirements are effectively implemented; improve the company's refined management; strengthen enforcement capacity; ensure production plans, comprehensive budgets and all work arrangements are fully implemented; and promote deep integration of corporate culture and business management. 6. Make every effort to advance preparations for the Hong Kong listing; accelerate the establishment of dual capital market platforms at home and abroad; enhance cross-border capital operation capabilities; provide stronger funding support for the company's resource integration and strategy implementation; and push the company's high-quality sustainable development to a new level. A research report from Huaxin Securities on August 7 showed that key performance drivers included the official start of Yinman Phase II and steady progress in capacity expansion, and a dual-track layout of domestic acquisitions and overseas expansion with the resource map steadily expanding. Silver and tin prices remain high, and the company's long-term capacity growth is expected, so the rating is maintained at "Buy." Risk warnings: 1) downstream demand falls short of expectations; 2) metal price downside risk; 3) the company's expanded capacity is released less than expected; 4) the company's acquisition progress falls short of expectations. A research report from Huaxi Securities on July 25 said that the macro logic for silver is similar to that for gold, while silver has stronger industrial attributes, and its price is driven by the resonance of fundamentals, policy and trading. From the perspective of core support, silver has been included in the US "critical minerals" list, which has triggered sustained attention from funds and a stockpiling effect, serving as an important policy catalyst for price increases. Although short-term demand has pulled back somewhat, the supply-side gap remains prominent, providing the core fundamental support for silver prices. The supply-demand gap for silver is expected to continue widening in the coming years. Coupled with demand improvement from the industrial recovery during the easing cycle, silver's price elasticity is significantly higher than gold's, and silver is expected to rise under the resonance of a loose environment and industrial demand, with a favorable long-term silver price trend. The silver sector is currently in a stage of consolidation at lows after a pullback. Although it is pressured in the short term by a stronger US dollar and delayed interest rate cut expectations, it still has medium and long-term allocation value. Beneficiaries of silver include: [Shengda Resources] and [Xingye Silver&Tin].