7 h. ago Hong Kong stocks fall on worries about China’s deflationary pressure

Hong Kong stocks fell by the most in nearly three weeks as China’s deflationary trend became more entrenched, deepening concerns about the nation’s growth prospects. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.8 per cent to 23,943.42 at 10.13am local time on Wednesday and the Hang Seng Tech Index retreated 1.3 per cent. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index climbed 0.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 per cent. Henderson Land Development slumped 8.3 per cent to HK$26 after raising HK$8 billion...

Events

8 h. ago 5 stocks gain in Hong Kong trading debut as bull market rages on

Hong Kong’s stock exchange had its busiest day of the year for new listings on Wednesday as five mainland Chinese companies made their debuts, cementing the city’s position atop the global ranking for initial public offerings (IPO). Wuhan Dazhong Dental Medical (2651) was the biggest winner of the day when its shares jumped 20 per cent at the open to HK$24, from its IPO price of HK$20. The shares of Apple supplier Lens Technology (6613) began trading at HK$18.88, a premium of 3.8 per cent from...

Economics

23 h. ago Hong Kong’s insurance market may balloon 55% as Greater Bay Area ages

Hong Kong’s insurance business may expand by a compounded 55 per cent over the next eight years, driven by the so-called silver economy serving senior citizens and growth in the Greater Bay Area, industry experts said on Tuesday. Gross insurance premium in the city may jump to US$127 billion by 2032 from last year’s US$82 billion, said Steve Finch, Manulife Financial’s Asia president, citing industry forecasts. That growth is enabled by the “depth and sophistication of Hong Kong’s insurance...

Politics

25 h. ago Business leaders call for efforts to combat ‘Hong Kong equals China’ perception

Hong Kong must work harder to be as international as possible under the “one country, two systems” framework to combat a growing perception in Western capitals that it is no different from any other mainland Chinese city, business leaders have urged. The city also maintains a significant lead over regional rival Singapore in key financial metrics, panellists at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference said on Tuesday. “The problem is that many of them feel that Hong Kong equals China,”...

Politics

25 h. ago Efforts needed to combat view ‘Hong Kong equals mainland China’: business leaders

Hong Kong must work harder to be as international as possible under the “one country, two systems” framework to combat a growing perception in Western capitals that it is no different from mainland Chinese cities, business leaders have urged. The city also maintains a significant lead over regional rival Singapore in key financial metrics, panellists at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference 2025 said on Tuesday. “The problem is that many of them feel that Hong Kong equals China,” said...

Politics

26 h. ago Hong Kong developer Grand Ming’s crisis deepens with US$611 million loan default

Hong Kong developer Grand Ming Group warned investors that it has yet to repay a HK$4.8 billion (US$611.4 million) loan, with its gearing ratio surging past 200 per cent – another sign of the growing debt crisis among the city’s small and medium developers. In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, the company said that it had breached financial covenants under its loan facilities, according to its audited annual results for the year ended March 31. “The group has obtained...

Economics

27 h. ago Hong Kong leaders say city is good place for investors to seek stability

Hong Kong is an ideal place for investors to seek stability and move resources away from riskier parts of the world, according to Alpha Lau Hai-suen, the director general of InvestHK. Speaking at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference on Tuesday, Lau said that since the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s investment flows have not returned to previous levels due to global trade and tariff challenges. InvestHK is a government agency tasked with promoting the city overseas. “Despite all that,...

Politics

35 h. ago Hong Kong economy’s ‘mixed signals’ portend retail ‘turbulence’, analysts say

Hong Kong’s retail industry will experience mixed fortunes in coming months, as rising unemployment threatens to dent consumer spending even as the economy and household incomes improve and tourist numbers surge, according to CBRE. “Right now, there is positive news and negative news in the market,” said Lawrence Wan, senior director and head of advisory and transaction services for retail at property consultancy CBRE Hong Kong. “Shops keep on closing down, but at the same time we see there is a...

Politics

57 h. ago Smaller fall in Hong Kong office rents unlikely to benefit distressed landlords

The decline in Hong Kong’s office rents slowed in the second quarter amid rising leasing demand from finance and law firms, but analysts cautioned this trend was unlikely to substantially benefit landlords as prices are yet to recover. Overall grade A office rents fell 1 per cent quarter on quarter compared with steeper declines in earlier quarters, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield. Prime Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon West recorded a milder decline in rents than districts like...

Society

58 h. ago FWD Group shares start trading unchanged in Hong Kong market

FWD Group made a flat trading debut in the Hong Kong stock market, as the insurer’s four-year listing journey from New York back to its hometown failed to resonate with investors, even as it built an Asia-wide group across 10 markets. Trading under the stock code 1828, FWD’s shares began trading at HK$38.00, unchanged from its offered price during its initial public offering (IPO), which raised HK$3.47 billion (US$442 million) last week. The IPO of the insurer founded by Hong Kong billionaire...

Politics

58 h. ago FWD rises as it ends listing quest with a win in its hometown market

FWD Group wrapped up its first trading day in Hong Kong with a modest gain, as the insurer’s four-year journey to list on a stock market brought it from New York back to its hometown. Trading under the stock code 1828, FWD’s shares ended Monday at HK$38.40 in a declining market, a 1-per cent premium to its initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$38, after swinging between a loss of 2.5 per cent and an intraday gain of 2.1 per cent. The IPO, which raised HK$3.47 billion (US$442 million) last...

Politics

4 d. ago Hong Kong’s redomiciliation push lures global firms from tax havens

Christopher Hui Ching-yu has recently been on a world tour, conducting roadshows in Canada, the UK and Norway, in an effort to urge global businesses to redomicile in Hong Kong. The main talking point for Hui, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, has been a new law, enacted in May, that sought to make it easier for overseas companies to reincorporate in the city. Just a few days after the law came into force, Hui flew to Canada to meet senior executives from insurers Manulife...

Economics

4 d. ago HSBC offers Hong Kong SMEs a helping hand amid tariff turmoil

HSBC is launching a new education series to equip Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with knowledge to help them maintain smooth business operations amid the threat of disruption from US tariffs. The city’s largest lender said the Account Fitness initiative would help SMEs effectively manage and maintain healthy accounts. “Many entrepreneurs of SMEs do not yet know how to take good care of the assets in their bank accounts,” said Frank Fang, general manager and head of...

Politics

4 d. ago HSBC offers Hong Kong SMEs a helping hand with account fitness initiative

HSBC is launching a new education series to equip Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with knowledge to help them maintain smooth business operations. The city’s largest lender said the account fitness initiative would help SMEs effectively manage and maintain healthy accounts. “Many entrepreneurs of SMEs do not yet know how to take good care of their bank accounts,” said Frank Fang, head of commercial banking for HSBC Hong Kong and Macau, on Friday. “Therefore, it is necessary...

Politics

6 d. ago Mainland digital yuan partner signs deal to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

A Beijing-based fintech services provider, which has provided billing systems for China’s digital yuan, has signed a strategic partnership with a Hong Kong firm to tap stablecoin and virtual asset business opportunities, in the latest sign of mainland interest in the city’s recent moves to license cryptocurrency issuers. Shenzhen-listed North King Information Technology said on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Hong Kong-listed GoFintech Quantum Innovation to develop infrastructure to...

Politics

6 d. ago Mainland Chinese digital yuan partner to develop stablecoin tech in Hong Kong

A Beijing-based fintech services provider, which has provided billing systems for China’s digital yuan, has signed a strategic partnership with a Hong Kong firm to tap stablecoin and virtual asset business opportunities, in the latest sign of mainland interest in the city’s recent moves to license cryptocurrency issuers. Shenzhen-listed North King Information Technology said on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with Hong Kong-listed GoFintech Quantum Innovation to develop infrastructure to...

Politics

7 d. ago Chinese firms eye Hong Kong listings after mainland investors’ buying spree

A slew of mainland-listed Chinese technology companies are speeding up fundraising plans in Hong Kong to capitalise on the upbeat market sentiment. Hong Kong’s equity market has been buoyed by mainland investors’ record buying of HK$731.2 billion (US$93.1 billion) of stocks in the first half of the year, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) data and Bloomberg on Monday. The buying spree, driven by attractive valuations and a re-rating of China’s technology sector, has led to a...

Economics

8 d. ago Hong Kong needs more cybersecurity professionals as threats increase: report

Hong Kong needs more professionals focused on cybersecurity due to persistent threats and a limited talent pool, according to a recent report from the Hong Kong China Network Security Association. The group said demand for cybersecurity professionals in Hong Kong was expected to grow steadily over the next three to five years, with a particular focus on skills related to cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) security. The report said attackers, armed with AI, drove the number of security...

Events

8 d. ago Smaller Hong Kong developers face defaults amid mounting debts: analysts

Hong Kong developer Emperor International Holdings’ inability to repay HK$16.6 billion (US$2.1 billion) in loans highlights a growing debt crisis among small and medium-sized developers in the city, prompting analysts to warn of more defaults. “High debt ratios have become a mainstream condition among Hong Kong developers, particularly mid-sized developers” amid dropping valuations, low demand, high vacancy rates, falling rental income and high interest rates, said Glen Ho, national turnaround...

Politics

8 d. ago Emperor’s US$2 billion debt woes reflect Hong Kong’s property market risks

Hong Kong developer Emperor International Holdings’ inability to repay HK$16.6 billion (US$2.1 billion) in loans highlights a growing debt crisis among small and medium-sized developers in the city, prompting analysts to warn of more defaults. “High debt ratios have become a mainstream condition among Hong Kong developers, particularly mid-sized developers” amid dropping valuations, low demand, high vacancy rates, falling rental income and high interest rates, said Glen Ho, national turnaround...

Economics