Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose for a fourth consecutive month to a seven-month high in July, indicating the city’s residential property market may have turned a corner. A widely watched official index of secondary home prices gained 0.42 per cent month on month to 387.9 in July, according to data from the Rating and…
Hong Kong’s largest bank has rolled out a fixed-rate mortgage plan, charging lower interest for home loan borrowers ahead of the first relaxation in monetary policy this year, expected in mid-September. HSBC launched a mortgage plan fixed at 2.73 per cent per annum on Monday for either the first three or five years, according to…
In a commercial rental market beset by high vacancy rates, many Hong Kong landlords feel stuck between a rock and a hard place: giving tenants a break on rent makes it harder to pay mortgages and threatens asset value, but holding the line on rent runs the risk of driving tenants away. In this difficult…
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) stepped into the foreign-exchange market on Friday for the fifth time in two weeks, scooping up the local currency and increasing overnight lending costs to drive away carry traders who have sought to take advantage of the city’s rate gap with the US dollar. The city’s de facto central…
Hong Kong’s approved mortgage loans surged to a one-year high in May as more homebuyers sought to refinance their existing loans amid lower bank rates, according to data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Banks approved HK$26.6 billion (US$3.39 billion) worth of loans in May, a 5.3 per cent rise from a month earlier,…
Hong Kong’s approved mortgage loans surged to a one-year high in May as more homebuyers sought to refinance their existing loans amid lower bank rates, according to data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Banks approved HK$26.6 billion (US$3.39 billion) worth of loans in May, a 5.3 per cent rise from a month earlier,…
The third and final part of the decoupling series looks at how Hong Kong’s financial system is crucial for China to advance the internationalisation of the yuan amid geopolitical tensions and discussions on de-dollarisation. Read part one and part two. Anyone seeking evidence that international businesses are actively looking to diversify from the US dollar…
Thirteen public works projects will be affected by the looming liquidation of one of Hong Kong’s largest construction firms, Paul Y Engineering Group, authorities have revealed, while saying the impact is manageable. The government said on Friday that it was prepared for the failure of the group, which had recently applied to the court to…
A dozen banks have joined six major lenders in Hong Kong to provide financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which account for 98 per cent of the enterprises in the city, to help resolve cash-flow issues. The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) said on Monday that a total of 18 banks on…
Hong Kong’s monetary authority kept its key interest rate unchanged in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve, taking a breather after last year’s three cuts, in the first monetary policy decision of 2025. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) maintained its base rate at 4.75 per cent on Thursday, in line with market expectations. Hours…