Shandong Weiqiao Chuangye Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Weiqiao Group") and Central South University recently signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement and an agreement to jointly establish an aluminum industry innovation center. The signing marks a comprehensive upgrade and in-depth continuation of the partnership built on their 2021 strategic cooperation. According to the agreements, the two sides will focus on the core needs of "green transformation" and "high-quality development" of the aluminum industry chain, deepening cooperation in areas such as joint technology R&D, co-establishing high-end innovation platforms, promoting the application and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, carrying out targeted talent training, and providing technical consulting and strategic support. Together, they will establish the "Weiqiao-Central South Aluminum Industry Innovation Center," committed to building a high-level innovation platform that integrates basic research, proof-of-concept, pilot-scale transformation, and talent attraction and development into a four-in-one model, jointly advancing the aluminum industry toward green, low-carbon, intelligent, and high-end development.

The Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) announced that Shandong Fenghuang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. has officially joined as a production and transformation member. Jointly founded by Weiqiao Entrepreneurship Group and Innovation Group, the company stands out in the industry as the first PV frame enterprise to have integrated the entire upstream and downstream aluminum processing industry chain, with its business fully covering the entire process from bauxite to alumina, aluminum, aluminum billet, and further to extrusion, anodising, and deep processing.

Dear Customers: CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "CITIC Dicastal") will hold an aluminum ingot competitive procurement event in late June 2026. This procurement will be conducted on the Anhuida bidding platform of SMM Trading Center. The relevant matters are hereby announced as follows: I. Event Details • Event Time: late June 2026 (specific time to be notified later) • Event Initiator: CITIC Dicastal Co., Ltd. • Bidding Mechanism: Reverse bidding (initiated by the purchaser, the lowest bid wins) II. Procurement Target Details • Procurement Target: 99.8 aluminum ingot , AL ≥ 99.8%, FE ≤ 0.1, etc. • Brand Scope: brands such as Chalco, Weiqiao, Mengtai, Chuangyuan, Jinlian, Huomei Hongjun, Qingtongxia, Yulin, Baihe, etc. • Total Procurement Volume: 300 mt for the first session • Bid Quantity: 150 mt or 300 mt • Delivery Method: Delivered to the factory (Qinhuangdao, Hebei province) • Pricing Basis: SMM A00 aluminum average price on the bidding day + X (the best price wins) • Bidding Time: 9:30–10:00 on the bidding day • Payment Terms: Payment within 3 days after goods receipt; the seller must issue a VAT invoice in the month of delivery. III. Supplier Qualification Requirements and Instructions (I) Enterprise Qualifications Basic Requirements: Established for no less than 2 years; registered capital not less than RMB 10 million (paid-in); Manufacturers must provide a business license, IATF 16949 quality system standard certification, and a pollutant discharge permit; traders must provide a business license and proof of actual business operations. (II) Enterprise Access Suppliers must complete the following three access procedures simultaneously to obtain bidding eligibility: 1. Platform Certification: Complete registration and qualification certification on the Anhuida trading platform; 2. Supplier Onboarding: Pass the supplier access review on the CITIC Dicastal management platform and complete onboarding; 3. Fund Clearing Signing: Sign the Anhuida platform service agreement and activate the "Clearing Express" fund clearing function. (III) Trading Rules Participating enterprises must accept and comply with the trading center's trading rules for the bidding platform. For details of the trading rules, please refer to . IV. Registration and Inquiries Event Platform: () Contact for Inquiries: Han Ning: 15921865909 Wang Hanbing: 18017326572 We sincerely invite suppliers with the appropriate qualifications to actively participate and jointly build a fair, efficient, and transparent supply chain ecosystem! SMM Trading Center June 15, 2026

China Hongqiao issued an announcement stating that Hongchuang Holdings plans to issue new shares to the existing shareholders of Hongtuo Industrial (including Weiqiao Aluminum & Electricity) to purchase the target shares held by them and related transaction documents. On December 31, 2025, Hongchuang Holdings received the "Approval of the Registration of Shandong Hongchuang Aluminum Holding Co., Ltd.'s Issuance of Shares to Purchase Assets" (CSRC Approval No. [2025] 2970) issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The main content of the approval document is to approve Hongchuang Holdings' registration application for issuing shares to nine counterparties, including Weiqiao Aluminum & Electricity, to purchase related assets. Upon receiving the aforementioned approval, on the same day, 100% of the equity of Hongtuo Industrial was transferred and registered under the name of Hongchuang Holdings, and the transfer of the target assets of this transaction has been completed, making Hongtuo Industrial a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hongchuang Holdings. Hongchuang Holdings will, in accordance with the requirements of the aforementioned approval documents and relevant laws and regulations, and the authorization of the Hongchuang Holdings shareholders' meeting, handle other matters related to this transaction within the prescribed period, including but not limited to the registration and listing procedures related to the newly issued shares of Hongchuang Holdings.

In December 2025, Hongchuang Holdings announced that its major restructuring plan to acquire 100% equity of Hongtuo Industrial for RMB 63.518 billion had been approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on December 31, 2025, and the transfer of the target assets was completed on January 5, 2026. Following this acquisition, Hongtuo Industrial will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hongchuang Holdings and be included in its consolidated financial statements, effectively reducing the proportion of related-party transactions for the listed company. The issue of competition within the same industry will also be resolved. Furthermore, profitability and asset size will be significantly improved. Both parties in this transaction belong to Weiqiao Group. Hongchuang Holdings has an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of cast-rolled steel sheets, 200,000 tons of cold-rolled steel sheets, and 120,000 tons of aluminum foil. Hongtuo Industrial has an annual electrolytic aluminum production capacity of 6.459 million tons and an annual alumina production capacity of 19 million tons, accounting for 14.5% and 18.2% of the national total capacity, respectively. Its main business is the production and sales of electrolytic aluminum, alumina, and deep-processed aluminum products.

On December 17th, the 2025 (22nd) World's 500 Most Valuable Brands ranking, exclusively compiled by the World Brand Lab, was unveiled in New York, USA, with a press conference held in Hong Kong. The Weiqiao brand jumped to 387th place, an improvement of 15 places from last year, demonstrating its continued rise in brand value and global influence. This marks the seventh consecutive year that the Weiqiao brand has been among the world's 500 most valuable brands.

At the 10th International (Sanya) Aluminum Industry Chain Green Development Summit Forum, Weiqiao Entrepreneurship Group unveiled a series of lightweight scientific and technological achievements, including five key new materials and four green, low-carbon alloy materials, along with multiple core process technologies. These innovations are expected to promote broader application of aluminum-based new materials in fields such as new energy vehicles and aerospace, supporting the industry’s green transformation and high-quality development.

According to Mining.com, the Simandou iron ore complex, Africa's largest greenfield mine and infrastructure integration project, has commenced operations. Simandou Mountain hosts the world's largest untapped high-grade iron ore deposit. On Tuesday, the President of Guinea, along with representatives from project partners Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), Baowu, Aluminum Corp of China, and Rio Tinto, attended the commissioning ceremony at the port of Morebaya in the prefecture of Forécariah, marking the official start of the project. Simandou is one of the world's major projects in recent decades. Located in the mountainous region of southern Guinea, it had been stalled for many years. The project is currently delivering a new multipurpose railway spanning over 600 kilometers across Guinea, along with barge and transshipment port facilities. Rio Tinto stated in a press release that once fully operational, this infrastructure will enable Simandou Iron Ore Company (SimFer) and WCS to export iron ore from their respective mines, with a combined annual capacity of up to 120 million mt. The mine, railway, and barge port infrastructure are undergoing testing and commissioning. Both WCS and SimFer have begun transporting iron ore from the mine gates to the port via the Trans-Guinean railway. The project is being developed jointly by the Guinean government, SimFer, and WCS. Once operational, all co-developed infrastructure and rolling stock will be transferred to Compagnie du TransGuinéen (CTG) for operation. SimFer and WCS will each hold a 42.5% stake in CTG, with the remaining 15% held by the Guinean government. Djiba Diakité, Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Republic of Guinea and Chairman of the Simandou 2040 Strategic Committee, stated in his address: "Simandou is not just a mining project; it is a powerful engine for national transformation." "This collective achievement reflects the vision of the Head of State and the entire nation's firm commitment to building a shared prosperous future," Diakité said. "This commissioning ceremony marks a significant milestone in Guinea's development journey and establishes Guinea as a key player in sustainable development and economic autonomy in West Africa." Rio Tinto CEO Simon Trott said: "This outstanding achievement is the result of the hard work of thousands of our colleagues and the mutual support and professional collaboration with our SimFer partners, the Guinean government, and WCS." "Today we are opening an exceptional high-grade iron ore mine that will not only meet customer demand for low-carbon steelmaking but also further strengthen our world-class iron ore assets in the Pilbara and Canada." WCS is a consortium comprising Winning International Group, Weiqiao Aluminum (affiliated with China Weiqiao Group), United Mining Suppliers (collectively holding 51%), and Baowu Group (holding 49%). The SimFer joint venture includes Simfer S.A., which holds Blocks 3 and 4 of the southern Simandou site, with the Guinean government and SimFer Jersey Ltd. holding 15% and 85%, respectively. SimFer Jersey Ltd. is a joint venture between Rio Tinto Group (53%) and Chalco Iron Ore (47%). Chalco Iron Ore is a consortium led by Chalco Group (75%), with other participating companies including China Baowu (20%), China Railway Construction Corporation (2.5%), and China Harbour Engineering Company (2.5%). The project is located in southeastern Guinea and is divided into four blocks. Blocks 1 and 2 are held by WCS, while Rio Tinto and Chalco hold Blocks 3 and 4.

To conduct a thorough analysis and judgment of the operational performance of the non-ferrous metals industry in Q3 and throughout the entire year of 2025, examine the issues and prominent contradictions faced by enterprises in their production and operational activities, and gather relevant policy recommendations, on October 23, a symposium on the operational performance analysis of key enterprises in the non-ferrous metals industry for Q3 was held at the headquarters of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA). The symposium is a regular meeting of some key enterprises in the non-ferrous metals industry organized in accordance with the normalized working mechanism established between the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the CNIA. Chen Xuesen, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Leadership Group and Vice President of the CNIA, attended the symposium and delivered a concluding speech. Relevant leaders from the Operations Monitoring and Coordination Bureau and the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also attended the symposium. Chen Xuesen chaired the symposium. Relevant personnel from China Aluminum Group Co., Ltd., China Minmetals Corporation, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd., China National Gold Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group Co., Ltd., Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings Co., Ltd., China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd., Henan Jinli Gold and Lead Group Co., Ltd., China Molybdenum Co., Ltd., Anhui Truchum Advanced Materials & Technology Co., Ltd., Henan Mingtai Al. Industrial Co., Ltd., Shanghai Futures Exchange, China Nonferrous Metals Fabrication Industry Association, as well as the Recycled Metals Branch, Antimony Industry Branch, Silicon Industry Branch, and Lithium Industry Branch of the CNIA participated in the symposium. Participants, based on the specific circumstances of their respective enterprises or industries, engaged in discussions and delivered speeches focusing on the overall operational trends in Q3 and the latest developments in October. They emphasized the analysis of emerging, tendential, and trending issues currently affecting the stable development of enterprises, as well as prominent problems encountered in production and operations. From the perspective of enterprises, they analyzed the domestic and overseas environments faced by the industry, forecasted industry trends for the entire year and the coming year, and provided suggestions for the industry's "15th Five-Year Plan". In his concluding speech, Chen Xuesen stated that in the face of complex domestic and overseas environments, China's non-ferrous metals industry has overcome difficulties and achieved generally sound performance in the first three quarters, with major economic indicators performing impressively, laying a solid foundation for advancing towards a new stage of high-quality development. He emphasized that industry enterprises should deeply recognize the significance of formulating the "15th Five-Year Plan", earnestly study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, focus on building a modernized non-ferrous metals industrial system, and concentrate on improving resource security and pursuing high-end, intelligent, and green development directions, guiding enterprises and the industry towards higher-quality, more efficient, and more sustainable development on the new journey. He urged them to maintain firm confidence in development, uphold a favorable industry ecosystem, strengthen industry self-discipline, prevent "involutionary" cut-throat competition, and ensure the security of industry and supply chains. Meanwhile, the association will fully leverage its role in serving the government, industry, and enterprises, summarize and organize relevant opinions, and submit them to relevant departments to facilitate the industry's high-quality development. Personnel from relevant departments of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) attended the symposium.

11On October 17, the AICE 2025 SMM (14th) Aluminum Industry Annual Conference, hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd. (SMM), successfully concluded in Zhengzhou, Henan!