4 h. ago Xpeng and Chinese EV peers aim to win over Hongkongers amid global push

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng aims to start offering Hong Kong consumers smart cars featuring semi-autonomous driving systems next year as it gears up to take on Tesla’s FSD (Full Self-Driving) feature outside mainland China. He Xiaopeng, co-founder and CEO of the Guangzhou-based carmaker, said in Hong Kong on Thursday that testing of its Xpeng Navigation Guided Pilot (X NGP) driver-assistance system in the city would take only two months before sales could begin. However, he added...

Politics

8 h. ago Hong Kong Airlines cuts Japan routes over sluggish tourism and tremor concerns

Hong Kong Airlines is set to cancel flights to Kagoshima and Kumamoto in Japan in July and August, citing sluggish demand for tourism in the country, while flight schedules between the city and Nagoya will also be adjusted. The carrier announced the flight adjustments on Thursday amid growing concerns about a long-feared megaquake predicted to hit Japan. The airline said affected passengers could rebook to other destinations, including other cities in Japan and mainland China, as well as Taipei,...

Society

8 h. ago Hong Kong flights to 2 Japanese cities cut over sluggish tourism and quake fears

Hong Kong Airlines is set to cancel flights to Kagoshima and Kumamoto in Japan in July and August, citing sluggish demand for tourism in the country, while flight schedules between the city and Nagoya will also be adjusted. The carrier announced the flight adjustments on Thursday amid growing concerns about a long-feared megaquake predicted to hit Japan. The airline said affected passengers could rebook for other destinations, including other cities in Japan and mainland China, as well as...

Politics

16 h. ago Mainland China scientists build electronic war game for Taiwan and nearby waters

A PLA mobile electronic warfare platform deployed southeast of Taiwan activates its emitter, shattering the electromagnetic silence with powerful pulses, which are initially blocked by the island’s towering central mountain range. But while the key eastern military bases are unaffected at first, gradually the signals navigate the complex terrain, reflecting like mirrors off slopes and scattering across rough surfaces. Eventually, they cross the peaks to blanket the entire island and its...

Events

31 h. ago Hong Kong environment chief rejects relaxed quarantine rules for imported pets

Hong Kong’s environment chief has ruled out flexible quarantine arrangements, including at home, for imported cats and dogs, but will consider extending hours and increasing the number of checkpoints for pet transport from mainland China. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday that existing quarantine facilities are sufficient for imported pets, adding that the government would not consider altering the quarantine method for now due to...

Politics

37 h. ago Haitian eyes US$1.22 billion Hong Kong IPO, one of the year’s largest

Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food Company, the largest listed condiment producer in mainland China, is seeking to raise up to HK$9.56 billion (US$1.22 billion) in Hong Kong, marking one of the city’s largest initial public offerings (IPOs) this year and giving a boost to its status as a world-leading fundraising hub. The company is offering 263.2 million H shares at a maximum price of HK$36.30 each, with the final offer price to be determined on or before June 17, Haitian said in a statement to...

Economics

53 h. ago National Games ticketing to start in August for Hong Kong, 3 months before event

Tickets for the National Games will be available in Hong Kong from August, three months ahead of the event, to synchronise with sales in Macau and on mainland China, the head of the local coordination office has said. Yeung Tak-keung, head of the National Games Coordination Office, said on Tuesday that the tickets would be sold on a unified platform to ensure easier management. “We are preparing to sell souvenirs from July, and in August, tickets will go on sale in the three places at the same...

Sport

59 h. ago Civilian group hosts Taiwan tabletop simulation of attack from mainland China

A think tank in Taiwan has started a two-day war game with retired US and Japanese generals to simulate the island’s defence in the event of a military attack from the Chinese mainland. The Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation, which organised the tabletop exercise, said the aim was to “identify the defence issues that Taiwan urgently needs to strengthen and provide recommendations for the government”. Described as the first operational-level military simulation by a...

Events

3 d. ago Man arrested after fireworks ignited at Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars

Hong Kong police have arrested a man on suspicion of discharging fireworks at Tsim Sha Tsui’s Avenue of Stars. A video circulating on social media since Sunday shows a man with a braid igniting a firework at the waterfront promenade near K11 Musea. In the clip, the man was heard speaking in Mandarin, repeatedly telling the person filming to stop recording. Officers from the Yau Tsim police district arrested a 21-year-old man from mainland China in Tsim Sha Tsui on Monday afternoon, a force...

Events

3 d. ago Hibor plunge a bigger deal for stock market than Hong Kong’s property sector

Hong Kong needs all the help it can get. Since 2018, the city has suffered one shock after another, preventing a meaningful recovery from taking hold and fuelling concerns about its position as a global financial centre. As an importer of US monetary policy with an economy that is far more synchronised with that of mainland China, Hong Kong has been the biggest casualty of economic and policy divergence between the world’s two largest economies, prompting renewed questions about the suitability...

Economics

4 d. ago Hong Kong minibus operators hail arrival of over 800 drivers from mainland China

Hong Kong has brought in more than 800 minibus drivers from mainland China as part of a temporary solution to the city’s labour shortage, with operators hopeful the scheme will be extended to help plug gaps in the ageing workforce. Minibus companies made the appeal after authorities reiterated that importing labour was only a “short-term” fix and that the workers were not meant to stay in the city in the long run. The government launched the labour import scheme in 2023 for three sectors that...

Transport

5 d. ago Social media giant RedNote opens Hong Kong office, its first outside mainland

Chinese social media giant RedNote has opened an office in Hong Kong, its first outside mainland China, a move the city’s finance chief hopes will provide a boost to local businesses and the platform’s international expansion. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Saturday that he had personally invited the company, also known as Xiaohongshu, to set up a base in the city. “When I visited Shanghai at the end of last year, I made a special visit to Xiaohongshu’s headquarters,” Chan wrote on...

Politics

5 d. ago Hong Kong’s top judge urges new senior counsels to defend rule of law

Hong Kong’s top judge has called for newly minted senior counsels to defend the rule of law when it is under threat and ensure “unimpeded” access to the city’s courts for every individual to safeguard public trust in the legal system. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, who spoke separately at the senior counsel admission ceremony on Saturday, urged the new silks to tackle three challenges facing the profession: the use of artificial intelligence, synergy with mainland China’s legal system...

Events

5 d. ago Hong Kong’s top judge urges new senior counsel to defend rule of law

Hong Kong’s top judge has called for newly minted senior counsel to defend the rule of law when it is under threat and ensure “unimpeded” access to the city’s courts for every individual to safeguard public trust in the legal system. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, who spoke separately at the senior counsel admission ceremony on Saturday, urged the new silks to tackle three challenges facing the profession: the use of artificial intelligence, synergy with mainland China’s legal system...

Events

6 d. ago Chinese chipmaker SMIC offloads stake in Ningbo unit to focus on core operations

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), mainland China’s largest contract chipmaker, has divested its entire stake in an unprofitable chip foundry operation amid a new wave of consolidation in the domestic integrated circuit (IC) industry. Shanghai-based SMIC agreed to sell its 14.83 per cent stake in Ningbo Semiconductor International (NSI) for 57.01 yuan (US$7.94) per share to semiconductor design firm Goke Microelectronics, according to the chipmaker’s filing on Thursday. The...

Politics

6 d. ago After CATL’s spark, China’s EV players bank on Hong Kong IPOs for growth funds

More than a dozen smart mobility companies from mainland China are making a beeline to raise funds in Hong Kong, capitalising on the growing appetite among global investors for the country’s unpolished industrial gems. The prospective initial public offerings (IPOs) from electric vehicle (EV) assemblers like Chery Automobile and Seres Group to autonomous driving technology providers such as Pony.ai are expected to enhance China’s leading automotive technologies on the global stage, bankers and...

Economics

6 d. ago US Senate panel passes Taiwan, mainland China overseas military growth measures

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a slate of China-focused measures on Thursday, including bipartisan bills to counter Beijing’s overseas military expansion and bolster Taiwan’s role in global finance while advancing the nomination of a former ambassador to lead US diplomacy in East Asia. The Counter Act of 2025, co-authored by Senators Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, and Pete Ricketts, Republican of Nebraska, calls on the US government to develop a strategy to respond to the...

Events

6 d. ago Hong Kong’s HKUST handling ‘several’ Harvard transfer applications

A university in Hong Kong that “opened its doors to Harvard students” has made an offer of admission to one and is handling several transfer applications after the Trump administration last month barred the US Ivy League school from enrolling international candidates, many of whom are from mainland China. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) was among the higher education institutions in the city that stepped up efforts to accommodate students affected by the US government’s...

Politics

7 d. ago EU pushes China to address ‘alarming’ rare earth export controls

The EU has urged China to stop restricting the export of rare earth minerals and magnets, with the bloc’s trade chief saying its industries are in an “alarming situation”. The request was made during a meeting between the sides’ top commerce officials in Paris on Tuesday. It comes as sectors across Europe raise the alarm about a shortage of rare earths, which are used to manufacture hi-tech goods ranging from electric cars and smartphones to military tanks and aircraft. “I informed my Chinese...

Events

8 d. ago EU Raises With China the ‘Alarming’ Rare Earth Supply Disruption

EU Raises With China the ‘Alarming’ Rare Earth Supply Disruption  Bloomberg.com

Events