Good morning and welcome to FirstFT Asia. In today’s newsletter:

• Tencent tests AI agent for WeChat

• Chinese investors fear missing out on Musk’s SpaceX IPO

• What El Niño’s return means for farming and trade

We begin with Chinese tech giant Tencent, which is moving closer to launching an embedded AI agent for WeChat.

What to know: The company is testing a prototype of the agent, which can help users complete tasks within the ubiquitous app used by China’s 1.4bn people for everything from messaging and social media to ride-hailing and payments. Tencent aims to start the compliance process required before a public launch as soon as this month, according to two people with knowledge of the plan.

After that, Tencent plans to test the agent on a small group of outside users before initiating a phased rollout. A public launch date has not been set because the amount of time required for the compliance process is uncertain.

How it would work: Users will be able to access the chat box for the AI agent by swiping right on the main WeChat screen, according to a person who has seen an early demonstration. They can then enter instructions for the agent to automatically tap into WeChat’s millions of mini-apps — the bedrock of the app’s broad functionality — and complete tasks such as finding a café and ordering a drink based on certain flavour and price requirements.

Why it matters: The successful launch of an AI agent on China’s most-used app could help Tencent leapfrog its domestic rivals, which have built stronger models and already implemented agents across their platforms. Read the full story.

• Microsoft AI releases: The software giant is releasing a series of new AI models in an attempt to catch up with leading AI lab Anthropic.

• Mythos expansion: Anthropic will distribute its AI model to 150 organisations across the world, vastly expanding access to its powerful cyber security software beyond the US and UK.

Here’s what I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Vietnam publishes May inflation figures and Australia reports first-quarter GDP estimate. Services PMIs are due for China, India and Japan.

• South Korea politics: Voters head to the polls for local elections which are seen as a referendum on President Lee Jae Myung’s popularity.

Five more top stories

1. Chinese buyers have been quietly stockpiling tungsten from scrap yards across the US, driving up prices of a crucial defence industry metal amid an escalating global race for critical minerals, US sellers told the FT. The effort has prompted calls to ban sales of a critical national security resource to overseas buyers.

2. India’s largest conglomerates are laying the groundwork for a major push into nuclear energy as the government opens up the industry to the private sector and moves to loosen regulations. Tata Power and the Adani Group are among the companies seeking approval for nuclear power plant construction.

3. Donald Trump has appointed US housing finance director Bill Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence, installing a close ally with no known national security experience. Pulte previously worked at the PulteGroup, the third-largest US housebuilder, which was founded by his grandfather.

4. Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon said he sees “more greed than there is fear” in financial markets as investors shrug off concerns around elevated asset prices, the high cost of oil and rising US inflation to drive stock prices higher. Read more about the bullish view on Wall Street.

5. US activist hedge fund Elliott Management has called for Australia’s largest gold miner to put itself up for sale after building a significant stake in the underperforming company in recent months. The value of Northern Star Resources, which owns the giant Fimiston “super pit” gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, has collapsed this year amid operational issues.

News in-depth

As Beijing authorities crack down on Chinese citizens’ exposure to US equity markets, the country’s investors fear missing out on SpaceX’s blockbuster initial public offering. New measures could rattle hundreds of thousands of mainland investors keen to find ways to make money as the country’s property market has crashed. 

We’re also reading . . . 

• US-China tech war: Don’t mistake Washington and Beijing’s tech truce for peace. A new wave of supply-chain conflict is brewing, writes Chris Miller.

• Ukraine war: It is increasingly clear that Vladimir Putin has put his country on an unsustainable course in Ukraine, writes Gideon Rachman.

• Deutsche Bank’s comeback: After decades of upheaval, the lender that wanted to take on Wall Street has scaled back its ambitions to focus on Europe.

Chart of the day

The World Meteorological Organization has estimated there is an 80 per cent chance of the El Niño weather system occurring in the Pacific Ocean between June and August and an even higher chance of it lasting until November. Kenza Bryan and Steven Bernard explain what this could mean for trade and agriculture at a time when these activities are already under stress because of the Middle East war.

Take a break from the news

Stem cells were first discovered in the 1960s and have become a popular orthopaedic treatment over the past decade. The blank cells — taken from bone marrow or umbilical cord — help to replace or regenerate damaged tissue. Today, though, there’s an increasing interest in the cosmetic potential, a treatment that has colloquially become known as a “facelift without a knife”. 

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Irwin Cruz