Meetings between Beijing’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs and two major British companies reflect the nation’s commitment to reinforcing the city’s status as an international finance centre and also serve as a warning to the US, business and political experts have said. They voiced their opinion on the significance of the meetings…
China’s quantitative hedge funds risk ending years of outperforming the market, after a surge in local stocks spurred by the government’s economic stimulus package last month beat their models and squeezed short positions. Quants’ long-only strategies trailed mainland Chinese stocks’ 22% jump by 2 percentage points in September, turning their year-to-date so-called excess return into…
China’s smartphone market is on track to record its first annual sales growth in five years, according to Counterpoint Research, which placed Apple out of the top-five domestic rankings in the third quarter. Sales in the world’s largest smartphone market rose 2.3 per cent year on year in the September quarter, marking four consecutive quarters…
Vendors that will set up shop at Hong Kong’s largest Lunar New Year fair have expressed concerns over profit amid lacklustre consumer spending as 12 stalls failed to earn bids at auction and one insider estimated prices had fallen to their lowest level in 17 years. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department held the three-day…
A video showcasing an innovative coffee delivery experienced by a tourist couple in Shenzhen, China, has gone viral, and they spoke to Newsweek about their experience. Meanwhile, social media users aren’t sure how to feel. The video shared by Dylan and Adriana on their TikTok account @2passports1dream—which has garnered 2.1 million views since it was…
Another double blow has struck Hong Kong’s retail sector and consumer confidence with the closure of a health products chain and gourmet popcorn business. The latest setback must motivate authorities to do more to address the city’s economic woes, but it should also highlight the challenges posed by shifting consumer habits. One of the latest…
China is set to allow foreign companies to independently run data centres and offer various telecommunications services in the country, with US electric car maker Tesla and British bank HSBC among the first set of applicants. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) initiated a pilot programme in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen on…
The chief executive’s policy address gave us long-awaited good news that multiple-entry visas for Shenzhen residents might be resumed soon. Currently, Hongkongers can visit the mainland freely while our compatriots in Shenzhen have to apply for permission to come to Hong Kong, with the number of visits capped at once a week. Understandably, the limit…
Hong Kong businesses should reflect on whether they have come up with innovative plans to encourage tourists to splash out, rather than merely lamenting the decline in visitor spending, a senior official has said. Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Sunday tourists were still keen to spend, but they had high…
The Hong Kong outpost of a South Korean immersive multimedia art space will close after a two-year run and relocate to mainland China’s Shenzhen, joining a wave of business closures amid tough economic conditions. Arte M Hong Kong, which is part of Arte Museum, announced it would shut on December 31 and visitors could enjoy…