An official tendering system designed to curb anti-competitive conduct is powerless to combat engineering firms colluding to manipulate Hong Kong’s lucrative building maintenance market, a public inquiry into the city’s deadliest fire in decades has heard. Testifying on the 21st day of an independent committee’s hearing, three Urban Renewal Authority (URA) officials said on Thursday…
Hong Kong homebuyers snapped up most of the new flats released on Thursday, with developers beginning to ramp up new construction amid sustained housing demand. All 120 units at the One Victoria Cove I in Hung Hom, jointly developed by Henderson Land Development, Hysan Development and Empire Group, were sold by 5.20pm, according to agents….
A former executive director of Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority has been acquitted of misconduct after she was alleged to have coerced insurer Prudential into hiring her daughter-in-law, as the magistrate ruled that her actions did not cause “actual damage” to public trust in the regulator. Magistrate Minnie Wat Lai-man on Thursday found Carol Hui Mei-ying…
The Hong Kong government has planned for legislation allowing terminally ill patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment to start on July 31. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council, authorities said that the Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Ordinance, passed in November 2024, would provide legal status to patients’ advance care planning while offering protection…
Operating costs for Hong Kong’s industrial and commercial sectors have jumped by 50 per cent since the start of the United States-Israel war with Iran, according to an oil industry representative, who has said distributors will pass on subsidies to customers. A taxi union leader on Thursday also called on the government to extend its…
At least two Hong Kong residents have been penalised for vaping in Admiralty as health authorities begin enforcing a new law banning the public use of alternative tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. “We will issue penalty tickets without warning, and step up publicity in high-traffic areas such as business districts,” Head of Tobacco and Alcohol Control…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po blaze holds its 21st day of evidential hearings on Thursday, with three witnesses from the Urban Renewal Authority set to give evidence. The tragedy at…
Tour groups from Hong Kong to mainland China are expected to rise by up to 40 per cent year on year over the Labour Day weekend, with travel agents citing improved safety and hygiene as key factors attracting visitors. The agents also said that slight increases in fuel surcharges for flights to Asian destinations were…
Where exactly does the buck stop? Senior Hong Kong civil servants are asking themselves that question after the unveiling of a new accountability system targeting department heads. They point to the deadly Tai Po fire last year as an example. An independent committee investigating the tragedy heard evidence officials gave contractors at the blaze-hit Wang…
Hong Kong’s monetary authority has held its base interest rate steady, following the lead of the US Federal Reserve, as analysts said the inflationary impact of the US-Israel war with Iran had reduced the chances of a rate cut this year. The city’s base rate would stay at 4 per cent, the Hong Kong Monetary…