HSBC, Hong Kong’s largest bank with a 6.2 million-strong customer base, suffered a widespread system breakdown on Friday afternoon. According to some customers, the bank’s mobile app and online services were inactive as early as 1pm, with login attempts diverted to a screen stating the system was under maintenance and would be accessible at a…
Hong Kong banks may not cut their prime rates this year, but local interbank rates will still follow US rates lower, benefiting a majority of borrowers, according to a senior executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Analysts widely expect the US Federal Reserve to cut its key rate by three-quarters of a point…
Major financial institutions, including Citi and Bank of America, are increasingly optimistic about Hong Kong’s residential property market this year, as lower mortgage rates and strong leasing demand change buying behaviour. Citi raised its home price forecast to 8 per cent this year, up from 3 per cent in October, citing a faster-than-expected rebound last…
Major financial institutions, including Citi and Bank of America, are increasingly optimistic about Hong Kong’s residential property market this year, as lower mortgage rates and strong leasing demand change buying behaviour. Citi raised its home price forecast to 8 per cent this year, up from 3 per cent in October, citing a faster-than-expected rebound last…
The electronic platform of the Mandatory Provident Fund (eMPF) is expected to reach its fee cut target five years ahead of schedule and could save the scheme’s 4.75 million members HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion) in less than 10 years, according to the chairwoman of the pension regulator. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) revised…
The 4.75 million members of Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) could save up to HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion) in fees over a 10-year period after its electronic platform’s full implementation next year, according to the city’s retirement schemes regulator. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) revised its original estimate made a few years…
A “low-rate honeymoon” for Hong Kong borrowers has come to an end with an increase in the interest rate banks use to set loan prices, a mixed blessing that drives away carry traders but threatens a property market recovery and discourages corporate borrowing, according to analysts. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened 12 times in…
A “low-rate honeymoon” for Hong Kong borrowers has come to an end with an increase in the interest rate banks use to set loan prices, a mixed blessing that drives away carry traders but threatens a property market recovery and discourages corporate borrowing, according to analysts. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened 12 times in…
Bank of East Asia (BEA), Hong Kong’s largest family-owned lender, beat expectations with 14 per cent growth in its first-half net profit, as a robust wealth-management business offset an increase in bad debt from commercial real estate. The bank recorded HK$2.41 billion (US$309 million) in net profit for the six months to June, or 86…
Hong Kong’s commercial market declines have left some of the city’s once-prosperous veteran investors struggling financially, with experts expecting distressed sales to continue amid plunging property valuations. In April, receivers took over the luxury detached mansion in Pok Fu Lam where “Cassette King” David Chan Ping-chi and his family had lived since the 1980s, marketing…