5 h. ago Hong Kong stocks waver as investors await details on policy support from Beijing

Hong Kong stocks fluctuated between gains and losses on Thursday as investors awaited signals on additional policy support from Beijing after China’s deflation deepened and the end of the 90-day tariff ceasefire with the US gets closer. The Hang Seng Index fell less than 0.1 per cent to 23,887 as of 10.05am local time, while the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 0.4 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 per cent. Sunny Optical...

Economics

67 h. ago Hong Kong lawmakers call for facial recognition system at upgraded land crossing

Hong Kong legislators have called for facial recognition technology to be adopted at the upgraded Huanggang land crossing while giving an initial green light to a HK$1.75 billion government proposal to site border clearance facilities in the complex. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s security panel on Monday, some lawmakers also expressed concern that the expanded Huanggang checkpoint, which was designed to handle 200,000 passengers and 15,000 vehicles every day between Hong Kong and...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong needs to better understand and balance ‘one country, two systems’

Jiang Enzhu, the first head of the central government’s liaison office in post-handover Hong Kong, famously likened understanding the city to reading a challenging book – one that demands serious attention and effort. At the time, his words served as a cautionary note to mainland officials. Now, Hong Kong having marked the 28th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, Jiang’s analogy remains apt, though with a significant caveat. The city may still be a book that is difficult to...

Politics

6 d. ago Hong Kong plans to update prison rules to better guard national security

Hong Kong’s security and prison agencies plan to update the current prison rules to tighten visiting criteria for specific lawyers, doctors and chaplains to ensure they safeguard national security, prevent crime and maintain order and discipline of those behind bars. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council on Thursday, the Security Bureau and the Correctional Services Department laid out five “key purposes” that would form the grounds for prison staff to impose additional restrictions,...

Events

6 d. ago Hong Kong water taxis, harbour cruise firm cash in on aircraft carrier’s visit

Some water transport operators are cashing in on the high-profile visit of the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong and its strike fleet to Hong Kong by ferrying visitors for a better look, although marine police have stopped their vessels from getting close. Hong Kong Water Taxi, owned by the Oriental Pearl Cruise Company, organised special sightseeing tours for visitors to get a closer look on Thursday afternoon, and demand was so strong that it was adding more trips on Friday. Another firm,...

Economics

9 d. ago Why India’s real estate surge doesn’t make it a substitute for China

Divergences and idiosyncrasies are an important part of Asia’s real estate landscape. Whether it is the stark contrast between Seoul’s remarkably resilient office market and its ailing counterpart in Hong Kong or the big difference between Japan’s mature and institutionalised rental housing market and its nascent peers elsewhere in the region, Asia’s property sector is far from homogeneous. Yet among the leading economies in the region, the performance gap between China and India is far and away...

Politics

9 d. ago Don’t overhype the diverging fortunes of Chinese and Indian real estate

Divergences and idiosyncrasies are an important part of Asia’s real estate landscape. Whether it is the stark contrast between Seoul’s remarkably resilient office market and its ailing counterpart in Hong Kong or the big difference between Japan’s mature and institutionalised rental housing market and its nascent peers elsewhere in the region, Asia’s property sector is far from homogeneous. Yet among the leading economies in the region, the performance gap between China and India is far and away...

Politics

1 week ago Angel Chong’s Miss Hong Kong bid ‘angered’ Beijing’s liaison office: sources

Officials from Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong were “angered” by a young district councillor’s brief attempt to compete in a beauty pageant and cautioned her political party over it, according to sources who viewed her move as falling short of the expected conduct of a public officeholder. The Post also learned that the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and the government chose to downplay the saga while resisting any investigation into whether Angel...

Politics

1 week ago DAB unlikely to review Angel Chong’s Miss Hong Kong bid to avoid escalation: sources

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and the city’s government chose to downplay a young district councillor’s brief attempt to compete in a beauty pageant while resisting any investigation into whether Angel Chong Nga-ting’s actions constituted misconduct so as to avoid “renewing the public’s attention” on the incident, the Post has learned. Beijing also cautioned her political party over it, according to sources who viewed Chong’s move as falling short of...

Politics

1 week ago Why a Hong Kong district councillor can’t have it all as beauty queen hopeful

Taking part in beauty competitions while serving as a public representative is politically and practically infeasible, a commentator and former contestants have said after the city’s youngest district councillor dropped out of this year’s Miss Hong Kong Pageant. Veteran political commentator Sonny Lo Shiu-hing said that he believed Sai Kung district councillor Angel Chong Nga-ting, 24, had faced pressure from her party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, to...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong Observatory may cancel No 1 typhoon signal between 2pm and 5pm

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Hong Kong’s forecaster is considering cancelling the No 1 typhoon signal between 2pm and 5pm on Thursday as severe weather threats gradually decrease in the city, but says squally showers are still expected throughout the day. The Hong Kong Observatory said that squally showers related to a...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong Observatory to cancel No 1 typhoon signal at 2.20pm

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. Hong Kong’s forecaster will cancel the No 1 typhoon warning signal at 2.20pm on Thursday as severe weather threats gradually decrease in the city, but says squally showers are still expected throughout the day. The Hong Kong Observatory said that squally showers related to a tropical...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong Observatory cancels T1 warning at 2.20pm, but expects squally showers

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory cancelled its No 1 typhoon warning signal at 2.20pm on Thursday as the threat of severe weather in the city gradually decreased, but said squally showers were still expected throughout the day. The forecaster said that a tropical depression near Leizhou Peninsula...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong Observatory issues amber rainstorm warning on Thursday afternoon

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rainstorm warning on Thursday afternoon, two hours after cancelling a No 1 typhoon signal. The forecaster sent out the warning at 5.05pm, soon after it said that heavy showers and thunderstorms were expected to affect the city shortly. After cancelling...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong Observatory cancels amber rainstorm warning in effect for 2 hours

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. New users who download our updated app get a seven-day free trial. The Hong Kong Observatory cancelled the amber rainstorm warning on Thursday afternoon, two hours after it was issued. The forecaster lifted the warning at 7.05pm. Heavy showers and thunderstorms had earlier hit the city. Earlier in the afternoon, the Observatory cancelled the No 1 typhoon...

Events

2 w. ago Angel Chong may have to end controversial bid to join Miss Hong Kong Pageant

The youngest district councillor in Hong Kong may pull out of the Miss Hong Kong Pageant after her attempt to enter the competition drew criticism for compromising her duty to residents, with the leader of her political party telling the Post she would be reaching a “thorough decision” soon. Gary Chan Hak-kan, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), said on Wednesday that the party had called on Sai Kung district councillor Angel Chong Nga-ting,...

Politics

2 w. ago Qatar Airways cancels flight from Hong Kong to Doha for second day in row

Qatar Airways has cancelled early morning flights from Hong Kong to Doha for two days in a row, with more than 100 passengers affected, amid the conflict between Iran and Israel. Flight 815, scheduled to depart from Hong Kong for Doha at 1.25am on Tuesday, was cancelled first after Qatar temporarily closed its airspace in anticipation of retaliatory attacks by Iran on a US airbase near the capital. The carrier later cancelled flight 815 on Wednesday, also scheduled to leave at 1.25am. Tuesday’s...

Politics

2 w. ago Hotel investors pick up Hong Kong bargains on distress, tourism rebound

Hong Kong is becoming a magnet for hotel investments after some investors snapped up assets on the cheap this year, banking on a recovery in tourism and shrinking room supply to brighten the industry outlook, according to property consultants. Investments in the sector could reach about HK$5 billion (US$637 million), an almost 50 per cent increase from 2024 after solid activity in the first quarter, according to Colliers. JLL forecasts hotel transactions to hit US$800 million. “There is...

Economics

2 w. ago Demise of Hong Kong dollar peg? Still the bet you shouldn’t take

In financial markets, the Hong Kong dollar is known as a “widow-maker”, a ruinous trade that inflicts painful losses on successive generations of investors. While betting against Japanese government bonds has been the most notorious widow-maker trade, challenges to Hong Kong’s currency peg to the US dollar date back to the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and continue to attract speculators even though the trade has yet to pay off. As recently as May 5, the Hong Kong dollar – which has been pegged...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Betrayal’: why Hong Kong students remain cautious as US resumes visa processing

The United States has resumed processing student visas after a month-long halt, with applicants now required to make their social media profiles public for review, a move that has left many Hong Kong hopefuls feeling uncertain and betrayed. The country’s State Department said on Wednesday (US time) that it was once again processing visas for academic, vocational and exchange students. Appointment slots at the US consulate in Hong Kong for such visas quickly became available following the...

Politics