6 d. ago Markets can see who’s calling shots on US rates, and it’s not the Fed

Central bankers are sometimes known as the high priests of finance. That is because they control high-powered money, commonly known as the monetary base, or the sum of currency in circulation plus commercial bank deposits with them. By buying government bonds from banks or the market, which expands central bank balance sheets, the commercial banks’ reserves rise, improving market liquidity and therefore reducing short-term interest rates. In effect, central banks affect market sentiment by...

Politics

2 w. ago Alibaba, Ant combine forces to take on Meituan in instant commerce market

Alibaba Group Holding and its fintech affiliate Ant Group, both co-founded by Jack Ma, have joined forces to create an army of delivery service workers to defeat Meituan in the instant commerce market. A total of 22 businesses operated by Alibaba and Ant, including domestic online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, Ant’s Alipay payment service and Alibaba Cloud, have pledged to improve the conditions of millions of delivery riders. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Alibaba’s move to pool...

Politics

2 w. ago How closer mainland integration is lifting Hong Kong’s residential market

One of the big themes in Asia’s real estate industry this year is divergence. The average price of second-hand homes in Japan in the first quarter of 2025 rose at an annualised pace of 9.5 per cent, while in mainland China it contracted 7.5 per cent, according to Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index. In the commercial property market, investment activity in Australia was up 15 per cent in the first half of this year, while in Hong Kong it fell 59 per cent, according to MSCI data. In fact, one...

Politics

2 w. ago China’s early South American soybean buys squeeze US out of peak export window

China has moved early to lock in soybean supplies from Brazil for September and October, sidelining US exporters from what is traditionally their most lucrative selling period. The shift underscores Beijing’s growing trade reliance on South America and comes amid renewed political and commercial tensions with Washington. According to market analysis from Brazil’s Safras & Mercado, traders reported Chinese purchases of roughly 8 million tonnes of soybeans for September and 4 million tonnes for...

Politics

3 w. ago HKMA, HSBC allay fears about Hong Kong’s loan risks amid property glut

Hong Kong’s de facto central bank and the city’s largest lender have issued separate statements to assuage concerns about a glut in the commercial property market, saying that the local banking system remained robust and well-capitalised. Risks associated with commercial real estate (CRE) loans were “manageable”, as the classified loan ratio – a measure of borrowings deemed substandard, doubtful, or at loss – shrank slightly to 1.97 per cent in the second quarter, from 1.98 per cent at the end...

Events

3 w. ago China urged to curb excessive cash burn, not competition, to fight ‘neijuan’

With e-commerce platforms locked in fierce competition for China’s instant retail market, a prominent Chinese economist has called for government guidance that balances regulatory oversight with innovation and a push for new growth drivers. Wang Yiming, a central bank adviser, said “quick commerce” – involving the rapid delivery of food and essential goods, often within 30 minutes – creates new opportunities for consumption, which could be vital for long-term growth. He urged officials to guide...

Sport

3 w. ago The View | China’s commercial property market has its own version of a ‘national team’

The View | China’s commercial property market has its own version of a ‘national team’  South China Morning Post

Politics

3 w. ago Frigid forecast grips Hong Kong’s commercial property market

In the second instalment of our two-part series on Hong Kong’s beleaguered property market, analysts explore why this slump is different from past downturns. The first instalment discussed how the resurgence of the city’s stock market as a venue for initial public offerings could boost office uptake and ease developers’ pain. Swiss bank UBS got a steal in 2003 when it leased 146,000 sq ft across six floors in Two International Finance Centre – then the tallest building in Hong Kong – for less...

Politics

last month Alibaba unites online shopping, travel booking under new loyalty scheme

Alibaba Group Holding is set to launch a new membership programme spanning a range of services from an online marketplace to food delivery and travel booking, according to Chinese media reports and a person with knowledge of the matter, as the tech giant strives to recapture its leading position in China’s competitive e-commerce market. Alibaba’s e-commerce group, led by Jiang Fan, will provide members of Taobao – China’s largest online marketplace – with subsidised access to various other...

Economics