41 h. ago Hong Kong’s finance chief warns of market volatility, pledges support for families

Hong Kong’s capital market is likely to experience significant fluctuations this year owing to intensifying geopolitical risks, the city’s finance chief has warned, stressing the need for caution in financial management. Six weeks before the government unveils its annual budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po pledged to consider whether there is scope to adjust child allowance to encourage more births, after a Post report revealed that Hong Kong’s registered births hit a record low last...

Events

50 h. ago Banks and brokerages’ growing demand for space buoys Hong Kong’s retail property sector

Hong Kong’s banking and finance sector is tipped to lead retail property leasing activity, with massive uptake by firms like Forthright Securities, Futu Holdings and HSBC providing support to landlords struggling through a multi-year real estate slump. Forthright Securities leased three storeys totalling 14,000 sq ft at Golden Centre in Sheung Wan for its first flagship branch in the city, according to CBRE, which facilitated the transaction. “This transaction not only demonstrates Forthright...

Politics

63 h. ago Hong Kong, Shenzhen push secure data corridor to unlock AI and fintech opportunities

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are establishing a white list for data transfers as part of an overarching effort to forge closer cross-border ties, which policymakers and business leaders see as essential to unlocking opportunities in artificial intelligence and fintech in the region. “If you have a white list to facilitate the movement of sensitive data, biological data and samples between Hong Kong and [mainland] China, it would ensure trust between [parties sending and receiving information] because...

Politics

2 d. ago Hong Kong, Shenzhen ‘to deepen’ ties in finance and AI to build world

Hong Kong and Shenzhen can work closely to empower finance with artificial intelligence, delegates said on Thursday at the China Conference: Greater Bay Area, an event hosted by the South China Morning Post. Joseph Chan Ho-lim, undersecretary for Financial Services and the Treasury in the Hong Kong government, said Hong Kong and Shenzhen were seeking deeper cooperation between finance and technology. Chan said at the event in Qianhai, a bonded zone in Shenzhen, that Hong Kong, as a...

Politics

4 d. ago Chip designer GigaDevice surges 45% in Hong Kong debut amid China’s self

Mainland chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor jumped more than 45 per cent on its first trading day in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as the Beijing-based firm’s debut catered to investor appetite for tech companies amid China’s push for self-reliance. The firm’s shares started trading at HK$235, versus the offer price of HK$162. Its shares closed between HK$224.20 and HK$226.80 on the grey market on Monday evening, helping some investors cash in gains of about 40 per cent before the official debut,...

Politics

4 d. ago Chip designer GigaDevice jumps 37% in Hong Kong debut amid China’s self

Mainland chip designer GigaDevice Semiconductor jumped more than 37 per cent on its first trading day in Hong Kong on Tuesday, as the Beijing-based firm’s debut catered to investor appetite for tech companies amid China’s push for self-reliance. The firm’s shares surged 45 per cent to HK$235 at the start of trading, versus the offer price of HK$162, before ending the day up 37.5 per cent at HK$222.80. The close valued the company at around HK$155.2 billion (US$19.9 billion). Its Shanghai-listed...

Politics

5 d. ago Hong Kong official softens stance on rebuilding homes at Tai Po fire site

Hong Kong’s deputy finance chief has softened his stance on resettlement options for people displaced by the deadly Tai Po fire, pledging to take residents’ wishes into account days after calling on-site redevelopment “not practical”. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun said on Monday that rehousing the residents of the blaze-hit Wang Fuk Court estate would be handled “with compassion, reason and in accordance with the law”. Wong, who chairs a government task force on emergency...

Politics

5 d. ago Financial firm Ares doubles Hong Kong office footprint as real estate outlook improves

Ares Management, one of Asia’s largest alternative investment managers, is doubling its real estate footprint in Hong Kong, a move that aligns with a broader expansion by financial firms and demand for office space in the core Central business district. The Los Angeles-based asset manager would add about 12,500 sq ft of space in Gloucester Tower, where it has been a tenant since 2017, according to a statement from the landlord Hongkong Land on Monday. The new lease will be effective in...

Economics

6 d. ago Why Hong Kong must resist pressure to loosen budget discipline

When he sits down later this month to finalise the budget for the coming financial year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will have some positive news in his pocket to balance against the many calls for additional spending. As some of those new demands are likely to be expensive and compelling, he will need all the help he can get. First, the good news. Hong Kong is heading for a surplus in public finances. In his 2025 budget, Chan forecast a deficit on the consolidated operating account of...

Events

7 d. ago Hong Kong’s finance chief confirms early surplus, vows more elderly support

Hong Kong’s finance chief has confirmed an early operating account surplus driven by strong financial market performance and stock trading stamp duty revenue, as he addressed calls for more elderly welfare measures at the first public forum for the coming budget. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po vowed on Saturday to make “utmost” efforts to address elderly residents’ concerns over high living costs, while highlighting that authorities had not reduced public spending on the social welfare...

Economics

9 d. ago Mainland Chinese medicine firms tap Hong Kong capital to fuel global expansion

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manufacturers are gearing up to go public in Hong Kong, aiming to tap the market for international expansion. TCM firms have joined the queue for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the city to test foreign investors’ appetite for their shares. The latest to join the queue are Sichuan Neautus Traditional Chinese Medicine and Hong Kong-based Herb Standard. “Hong Kong will serve as our hub for capital, research and development, as well as international...

Politics

1 week ago 3 Chinese tech stocks gain in Hong Kong debuts as investors jump on AI, robotics

Chinese start-up Zhipu AI headlined a trio of technology new listings in Hong Kong on Thursday, in a key test of investor confidence in China’s AI industry as it goes head to head with US giants. Shares of the Beijing-based company rose 3.3 per cent to HK$120 at the open from the initial public offering (IPO) price of HK$116.20, valuing the company at HK$52.83 billion (US$6.76 billion). Zhipu raised HK$4.35 billion as it became the first pure-play Chinese developer of AI large language models to...

Economics

1 week ago Tight race for Hong Kong’s Legco presidency as parties allow free vote

Two candidates vying to become the next president of Hong Kong’s legislature are locked in a tight race as major political parties have given their members a free vote. The newly sworn-in members of the Legislative Council (Legco) will on Thursday elect either Starry Lee Wai-king of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) or finance sector representative Ronick Chan Chun-ying through a secret ballot. Before voting begins, both candidates will present their...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong developers rush new flats as sentiment lifts, pressuring fragile recovery

Hong Kong’s leading property developers are accelerating new residential launches, with two major firms unveiling plans to roll out more than 4,300 flats this year as sentiment shows signs of improvement, but analysts caution that a surge in supply may add fresh pressure to a market that has only begun to stabilise. Developers, including Wheelock Properties and Kerry Properties, are pressing ahead with large-scale launches, adding new supply on top of still-elevated inventory from previous...

Events

1 week ago HKMA in talks with SFC, Insurance Authority to promote fintech over next 5 years

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) expects to work with other financial regulators to promote artificial intelligence adoption in various sectors over the next five years and further advance fintech development, according to the head of the city’s de facto central bank. Under the five-year plan called Fintech 2030 that starts this year, the HKMA would expand the scope of the city’s generative AI sandbox to include more industries as a step towards enhancing risk management, fraud detection...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong to boost tech and financial services integration amid AI boom: Paul Chan

Hong Kong’s finance chief has pledged to further integrate financial services with technology innovation to foster a thriving ecosystem, following a surge in investor interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks during the first trading day of the year. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also emphasised Hong Kong’s role as an international capital market in fuelling the growth of frontier mainland Chinese tech firms with the city’s funding and liquidity. “We welcome these...

Politics

1 week ago Hong Kong to boost tech, financial services integration during AI boom: Paul Chan

Hong Kong’s finance chief has pledged to further integrate financial services with technology innovation to foster a thriving ecosystem, following a surge in investor interest in artificial intelligence-related stocks during the first trading day of the year. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also stressed on Sunday the importance of Hong Kong’s role as an international capital market in fuelling the growth of mainland China’s frontier tech firms using the city’s funding and liquidity. “We...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong interbank rates forecast to drop on expected US monetary easing in 2026

The US Federal Reserve under a new chairman in 2026 is expected to press ahead with interest rate cuts of up to 75 basis points, a move that would lower Hong Kong’s interbank-linked loan costs but leave prime lending rates stuck at their historical low, according to analysts. The Fed and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) both reduced their key policy rates by a total of 75 basis points in 2025, following a full percentage-point rate cut in 2024. Hong Kong’s base rate now stands at 4 per...

Politics

2 w. ago Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes and China row

Japan’s economy is likely to fall behind India’s in 2026 to fifth place in the world, according to an International Monetary Fund’s estimate, potentially diminishing the East Asian nation’s presence on the global stage. The subdued economic outlook makes Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s planned growth strategy, due out in the summer, all the more important to combat the burden from the country’s shrinking population, economists say. They call for productivity improvements and further efforts to...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong to raise traffic fines for 19 offences on January 1; illegal parking up 25%

Hong Kong motorists will face higher financial penalties starting on January 1, when new traffic fines for 19 types of offences take effect. The targeted offences under the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance include illegal parking, for which the fine is set to rise by 25 per cent from HK$320 to HK$400 (US$41 to US$51). This marks the first adjustment to those penalty levels in more than three decades. “The fixed penalties for illegal parking and many other traffic contraventions...

Events