Registrations of local and non-local companies in Hong Kong reached all-time highs in 2024, according to authorities. While the Companies Registry said on Friday that it had made the process easier, a lawmaker attributed the increase to the government’s recent aggressive efforts in attracting overseas companies. Last year, 145,053 local businesses were established, bringing the…
Newly appointed transport minister Mable Chan has said she will prioritise residents’ travel needs in designing a regulatory framework for Hong Kong’s growing ride-hailing industry, earning praise from a lawmaker for having the “right attitude” in her approach. Chan also acknowledged on Saturday that ride-hailing services were popular with residents, whereas the city’s taxi licensing…
Hong Kong’s public secondary schools can breathe a sigh of relief for survival with a net increase of 10 Form One classes recorded this academic year, thanks to a baby boom in the Year of the Dragon in 2012 and an influx of children whose parents arrived from mainland China under talent schemes. But the…
Hong Kong recorded 169 cases of in-flight thefts involving HK$4.32 million (US$555,050) worth of valuables in the first 10 months of 2024, exceeding the annual number of reports in each of the tourism boom years of 2018 and 2019. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said on Wednesday the city only logged 103 cases in…
Hong Kong authorities will consider reducing the amount of compensated sick leave or hospital days that traffic accident victims can claim from a government fund, as part of a review to clamp down on welfare abuse, a minister has said. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han said on Wednesday that authorities aimed to…
The tolls for private cars using Hong Kong’s Tai Lam Tunnel may be lowered by up to 70 per cent when the government reclaims control of it in May next year, with drivers set to pay HK$45 (US$6) during peak hours. Unveiling a plan to implement time-varying fees, transport authorities said on Wednesday that motorists…
The chairman of Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has said its Water World facility lost about HK$200 million (US$25.7 million) in the last financial year, as he was grilled in the legislature over the state of his organisation’s finances despite a five-year high in attendance numbers. The tourism minister on Tuesday rejected calls for authorities to…
Hong Kong authorities pledged to seriously follow up on complaints of forced removal of tenants from subdivided flats, as a two-month consultation on a regulatory regime to wipe out poor quality housing started on Monday. The government earlier proposed drafting new laws that would only allow registered subdivided flats – known as “basic housing units”…
Hong Kong’s deficit will more than double to HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) in the 2024-25 financial year from the HK$48 billion forecast the previous year, the finance chief has said, with the city feeling the pinch from a property slump and weakened corporate performance. At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s financial affairs panel on…
Hong Kong’s main opposition party has re-elected chairman Lo Kin-hei, who has said it is undecided on whether to run in next year’s Legislative Council election. The Democratic Party’s Lo said on Sunday some members faced ongoing harassment from unknown people, while he voiced worries over the party’s dwindling funds. But he pledged that the…