55 h. ago Nexperia China tells employees to ignore orders from Dutch head office

Nexperia China, the local unit of the Dutch chipmaker, has told its employees to follow orders from local management and ignore instructions from the Dutch head office, according to a letter issued to employees over the weekend. In open revolt against the headquarters in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Nexperia China said in a Chinese-language statement on its official social media channel on Saturday that it was an “independent” Chinese entity and that Nexperia employees in China “should continue to...

Society

8 d. ago Applications open as 5,000 private Hong Kong clinics face new licensing rules

Thousands of private clinics in Hong Kong can start applying for a new operating licence or a letter of exemption from Monday under a tightened regulatory regime that also targets beauty parlours providing injections to customers. Doctors have generally expressed support for the new rules as a necessary “body check”, but anticipate a complex undertaking with documentation and potential struggles with the online application. Dr Darwin Mak Wai-lai, head of the Department of Health’s Office for...

Politics

8 d. ago Private clinics, beauty parlours start securing licences under new Hong Kong rules

Thousands of private clinics in Hong Kong can start applying for a new operating licence or a letter of exemption from Monday under a tightened regulatory regime that also targets beauty parlours providing injections to customers. Doctors have generally expressed support for the new rules as a necessary “body check”, but anticipate a complex undertaking with documentation and potential struggles with the online application. Dr Darwin Mak Wai-lai, head of the Department of Health’s Office for...

Politics

3 w. ago Household income growth holds key to Chinese consumption hopes: ex

China should make greater efforts to boost household income over the next five years as the world’s second-largest economy looks to consumption to power future growth, a former senior official said. Yang Weimin, a former deputy head of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, made the comments ahead of next month’s fourth plenum of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. Committee members will discuss the country’s next five-year plan, with the economic...

Politics

3 w. ago In Jakarta, marriages involving Indonesians and Singaporeans are now more common

The most common pairing in mixed marriages in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta was between local women and American men, according to data from the civil registry, reflecting growing acceptance among Indonesians to tie the knot with foreigners. From 2020 to August 2025, there were 158 marriages between US citizens and Indonesian women in the city, Witri Yenny, the head of civil registration at the Jakarta Population and Civil Registration Office, said in an Antara news agency report on...

Politics

3 w. ago HSBC asks Hang Seng Bank to clean up bad Hong Kong property debt

HSBC Holdings has taken the unusual step of getting directly involved in pushing its Hong Kong subsidiary, Hang Seng Bank, to offload portfolios of bad real estate debt, underscoring growing concerns over the city’s struggling property sector. About two months ago, the lender directed its London-based global chief corporate credit officer and the head of its special credit unit to ensure Hang Seng started a process of selling portfolios, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked...

Economics