2 d. ago Hong Kong developers urged to link up with mainland firms on border project

Hong Kong’s development minister has suggested that local developers join hands with their mainland Chinese counterparts to take part in the Northern Metropolis border town megaproject using a new approach. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Saturday that the government was studying proposals submitted by various developers and aimed to put one or two large land parcels in the Northern Metropolis project up for tender in the second half of the year. Linn stressed that the...

Politics

3 d. ago Cloudy with a chance of bankruptcy: US tariffs hurt China’s solar firms

The rain and gloomy skies during the SNEC PV Conference – the biggest in China’s solar-panel manufacturing industry – summed up the mood in the market, whose major players congregated in Shanghai earlier this month for the four-day annual event. The scale was noticeably smaller this year. Several leading companies opted out for a variety of reasons, including tight budgets. More tellingly, CEOs from major producers Longi Green Technology and Tongwei – keynote speakers last year – gave it a...

Economics

4 d. ago China has begun issuing rare earth export licences to European firms: EU sources

China has started issuing export licences for rare earth elements and magnets to European companies, EU sources confirmed, although the bloc continues to push for a structural solution to a situation that has jumped to the top of the bilateral agenda. European governments and companies have for weeks been lobbying Chinese authorities to ease export restrictions, which were introduced in response to US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” in April. Earlier on Thursday, China’s commerce...

Politics

4 d. ago Exclusive | China has begun issuing rare earth export licenses to European firms: EU sources

Exclusive | China has begun issuing rare earth export licenses to European firms: EU sources  South China Morning Post

Politics

4 d. ago Exclusive | China has begun issuing rare earth export licences to European firms: EU sources

Exclusive | China has begun issuing rare earth export licences to European firms: EU sources  South China Morning Post

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong exports up 15.5% in May as firms race to beat China

Hong Kong’s exports surged 15.5 per cent in May from a year ago, with economists attributing the increase to the front-loading of shipments by businesses racing to beat the July deadline of a tariff truce between China and the United States. The value of total exports reached HK$434.1 billion (US$55.3 billion) in May, the Census and Statistics Department said on Thursday. The strong performance, which followed a 14.7 per cent increase in April, comes during a 90-day grace period on tariffs...

Politics

5 d. ago China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO, say sources

China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO, say sources  Reuters

Economics

5 d. ago China’s firms must integrate to succeed abroad, executives say at ‘Summer Davos’

Chinese companies should relocate their entire manufacturing ecosystems – rather than just completing the assembly of goods in another country – to solidify their overseas expansions, industry insiders said during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin. With uncertainty over global trade on the rise in the second term of US President Donald Trump, Chinese companies will look to strengthen the resilience of their supply chain by building factories in new markets, either for export or...

Politics

5 d. ago ‘Summer Davos’ calls for China’s firms to move manufacturing abroad for success

Chinese companies should relocate their entire manufacturing ecosystems – rather than just completing the assembly of goods in another country – to solidify their overseas expansions, industry insiders said during the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin. With uncertainty over global trade on the rise in the second term of US President Donald Trump, Chinese companies will look to strengthen the resilience of their supply chain by building factories in new markets, either for export or...

Economics

6 d. ago EU Wants China to Resolve Rare Earth Issue Before Summit in July

EU Wants China to Resolve Rare Earth Issue Before Summit in July  Bloomberg

Politics

6 d. ago Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, loses feet

A man in Taiwan shocked the internet after attempting to defraud five insurance companies by immersing his feet in a bucket of dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in the amputation of both feet. The man, surnamed Zhang, was an undergraduate student in Taipei at the time. Between 2005 and January 2023, he purchased multiple insurance policies from five different companies, covering eight types of insurance, including health, life, accident, long-term care, and travel insurance. In 2023, in an attempt...

Politics

6 d. ago Hong Kong security firm’s coming closure ‘not a warning sign for industry’

The impending closure of one of Hong Kong’s leading security firms does not sound the alarm about a wave of industry shutdowns, trade representatives have said, while staff shortages remain a challenge for businesses. Johnny Ho Kai-man, chairman of the Chamber of Security Industry, told the Post that the closure of CNT Security Company could be described as a “glorious winding up”. Ho said the company was respected in the industry and that it did its due diligence by laying out a road map for...

Events

7 d. ago 2,000 jobs at risk as leading Hong Kong security firm confirms impending closure

A leading security firm in Hong Kong chaired by a retired senior police officer will cease operations before next April, with more than 2,000 employees expected to be laid off. CNT Security Company attributed the decision to a recent board resolution. The news emerged after the company informed the landlords of Allway Gardens, a residential estate in Tsuen Wan, that their request to extend its contract until December this year could not be fulfilled. The letter, dated June 20, was signed by the...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong housing authorities cancel contracts with firm linked to 5 site deaths

Hong Kong housing authorities have terminated three public estate contracts with a construction company linked to five workplace deaths in three accidents, despite the court suspending a ban on its operating licence. The move means all six projects managed by Aggressive Construction Company have been taken over despite the suspension order. The Housing Authority said on Monday that the contractor’s performance on three public housing estates was “far below” contract requirements. A spokesman...

Events

7 d. ago ByteDance founder plays critical role in firm’s AI push despite low profile

Zhang Yiming, the billionaire founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, has become more involved in the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, according to local media reports and sources familiar with the situation. While Zhang has stayed out of the public limelight since handing over the chairman and CEO roles to co-founder and former college dorm roommate Liang Rubo in 2021, the 42-year-old Chinese entrepreneur still plays a critical role behind the scenes of ByteDance’s AI research,...

Culture

8 d. ago Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis can benefit from EU firms’ expertise: John Lee

Hong Kong’s leader has called for more cooperation with European businesses on the Northern Metropolis, a key initiative aimed at driving future growth and sustainability for the city, a day after a top Beijing official urged expediting the megaproject. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said during his opening remarks at the sustainability event Greenway 2025 on Monday that Hong Kong and the EU could work together to find new solutions to climate change. “I look forward to the expertise and...

Politics

9 d. ago How Hong Kong firms are weeding out ‘perfect’ job candidates in age of AI

The popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has created so many “perfect” job applicants that companies in Hong Kong are choosing more in-person interviews and stepping up scrutiny of potential hires, a leading recruitment consultancy has said. Faye Walshe, global director of innovation and AI at Robert Walters, said its clients were shifting to physical face-to-face interviews to screen candidates, given the rise of AI tools that jobseekers could use. Citing her interactions with the...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong wedding firm boss arrested as closure leaves couples in lurch

Customs officers have arrested the owner of a Hong Kong wedding decoration company that closed suddenly, leaving more than 100 engaged couples in dismay, with the firm revealed to have racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts. Acting assistant superintendent Ho Wai-sum of customs’ unfair trade practice investigation division said officers arrested the 40-year-old male owner of a wedding decoration company based in San Po Kong on Friday after receiving 166 complaints about the firm...

Economics

1 week ago Who created AI app MediSafe? Hong Kong student and US software firm stake claims

Two Hong Kong government departments have launched an investigation into an award-winning medication prescription app invented by a student that had already been in use by a clinic three years earlier, the Post has learned. The Digital Policy Office and Education Bureau said they were studying the mobile app that a student surnamed Poon, from St Paul’s Co-educational College in Mid-Levels, submitted in competitions as her invention. Poon declined to respond to online accusations calling her “a...

Events

1 week ago Malaysia ‘stands firm’ on US chip curbs after alleged breach by Chinese company

Trade authorities in Malaysia have launched an investigation into claims that Chinese engineers bypassed US chip curbs by renting data centres packed with high-end Nvidia chips to train their artificial intelligence (AI) model in the country. The allegation, made in a report by The Wall Street Journal last Thursday, poses a potential stumbling block to Malaysia’s tariff negotiations with the US, which has curbed China’s access to high-end chips, including through third nations. Malaysia’s trade...

Politics