38 h. ago Hong Kong’s financial recovery shows the power of synergy with Beijing

After several years of challenges, the Hong Kong economy is showing surprising strength. This has largely come about due to a rebound in financial services, with sectors in Hong Kong not involved in finance still stuck in a slump. However, a bit of recovery is better than none at all, especially since 2025 had been expected to be tough for Hong Kong, which is caught up in the geopolitical tensions between China and the United States. Ironically, it’s those precise anxieties that have brought...

Politics

38 h. ago Opinion | Hong Kong’s financial recovery shows the power of synergy with Beijing

Opinion | Hong Kong’s financial recovery shows the power of synergy with Beijing  South China Morning Post

Politics

38 h. ago How Hong Kong can capitalise on its window of opportunity this year

After several years of challenges, the Hong Kong economy is showing surprising strength. This has largely come about due to a rebound in financial services, with sectors in Hong Kong not involved in finance still stuck in a slump. However, a bit of recovery is better than none at all, especially since 2025 had been expected to be tough for Hong Kong, which is caught up in the geopolitical tensions between China and the United States. Ironically, it’s those precise anxieties that have brought...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong’s focus on South Korean trade collaboration spurred by geopolitics

Hong Kong’s finance chief has launched a strategic offensive to forge closer business ties with South Korea, with investors showing interest in the city’s latest cryptocurrency policy and its role as a “superconnector” to international markets amid geopolitical tensions. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who concluded a three-day visit to Seoul on Thursday, proposed a direct cross-listing of exchange-traded funds and highlighted Hong Kong’s use of an exclusive derivative financial product as...

Politics

3 d. ago Hong Kong’s focus on South Korean business collaboration spurred by geopolitics

Hong Kong’s finance chief has launched a strategic offensive to forge closer business ties with South Korea, with investors showing interest in the city’s latest cryptocurrency policy and its role as a “superconnector” to international markets amid geopolitical tensions. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who concluded a three-day visit to Seoul on Thursday, proposed a direct cross-listing of exchange-traded funds and highlighted Hong Kong’s use of an exclusive derivative financial product as...

Politics

8 d. ago Hong Kong’s financial centre status gives it an edge in AI market, experts say

Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre gives it an edge in artificial intelligence (AI) development in spite of rising geopolitical tensions, according to experts, as the city boosts computing power resources to support companies involved in the vital technology. “For AI companies, having easy access to capital is extremely important,” SenseTime chief financial officer Wang Zheng said in a panel discussion at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference 2025 on Tuesday. “Hong...

Economics

1 week 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

1 week ago Emperor’s financial struggle mirrors current state of Hong Kong real estate

Hong Kong developer Emperor International Holdings’ struggles reflect the highs and lows the city’s property sector has endured over the past few years. Just over five years ago, residential and commercial real estate prices and rents were hitting record highs. Developers reported robust earnings and had access to cheap financing, boosting their confidence – and that of investors – to spend more on new projects or acquire existing income-generating properties. But this golden era ended abruptly....

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong steps into currency market to defend local dollar’s peg

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has stepped into the financial market for the first time since 2023 to support the weak local dollar, in an effort to thwart currency arbitrageurs who engage in so-called carry trades. The city’s de facto central bank sold US$1.2 billion worth of US dollars to buy Hong Kong currency at HK$7.85 per US dollar, according to a statement on Thursday. The action came after the local currency hit the weak end of its trading band at HK$7.85. The Hong Kong...

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong steps into the currency market to defend local dollar’s peg

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has stepped into the financial markets for the first time since 2023 to support the weak local dollar, in an effort to thwart currency arbitrageurs who engage in so-called carry trades. The city’s de facto central bank sold US$1.2 billion worth of US dollars to buy Hong Kong currency at HK$7.85 per US dollar, according to a statement on Thursday. The action came after the local currency hit the weak end of its trading band at HK$7.85. The Hong Kong...

Politics

3 w. ago Hong Kong’s strengths in bridging East and West amid trade war: finance chief

Hong Kong’s finance minister has dismissed concerns that foreigners are avoiding the city because of its strong connections to the mainland Chinese market amid the trade war, saying that investors are showing their confidence with their capital. At the “Summer Davos” forum on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Hong Kong’s strengths lay in giving investors priority access to the mainland market while helping businesses across the border to go global and diversify their supply...

Events

3 w. ago Hong Kong’s strengths lie in bridging East, West amid trade war: finance chief

Hong Kong’s finance minister has dismissed concerns that foreigners are avoiding the city because of its strong connections to the mainland Chinese market amid the trade war, saying that investors are showing their confidence with their capital. At the “Summer Davos” forum on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Hong Kong’s strengths lay in giving investors priority access to the mainland market while helping businesses across the border to go global and diversify their supply...

Events

3 w. ago As Hong Kong’s financial sector soars, what about food and retail?

Hong Kong is at risk of splitting up into two economies. On one end, Hong Kong’s financial, professional and business services are being revived on the back of China’s resurgent, tech-driven economy and the shifting balance of power between Washington and Beijing. US President Donald Trump’s global tariff war, announced on April 2, was supposed to kneecap the world. But the shock and awe unleashed have rapidly dissipated due to rising misgivings about the looming fiscal crisis, compounded by the...

Politics

3 w. ago China gives Hong Kong new yuan transfer cap as payment link starts

China’s financial authorities have granted Hong Kong residents a new daily remittance quota for the renminbi, as a cross-border electronic transactions service prepares to kick off, linking 315 million users between the city and the mainland. Starting from noon on Sunday, the 17 million registered users of Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) will be able to remit up to HK$10,000 (US$1,282) per day for each bank account to 298 million users on the mainland’s Internet Banking Payment System...

Politics

3 w. ago Why critics of the Hong Kong dollar peg are getting it wrong

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

3 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

4 w. ago Hong Kong, Shanghai to tighten financial ties at Lujiazui Forum

Hong Kong and Shanghai will sign a deal to increase collaboration in the financial sphere at the Lujiazui Forum on Wednesday, as the cities strengthen links to better withstand the implications of geopolitical tensions. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will be present for the signing of an action plan for collaborative development between the two cities on the opening day of the two-day forum in Shanghai, according to a statement from the Hong Kong government, which did not provide more...

Politics