Hong Kong will expand the use of the yuan in areas including gold trading and cross-border payments, as policy blueprints call for the city’s biggest push yet to internationalise the Chinese currency. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Wednesday devoted part of the city’s first five-year plan and his annual policy address to developing a…
A Standard Chartered-led joint venture kicked off institutional use of Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoins on Wednesday, a year after the city put its stablecoin law into effect as part of an effort to become a global hub for digital assets. Retail use of the regulated cryptocurrency was expected “as early as end-2026”, subject to market…
Hong Kong homebuyers showed interest in 130 flats put on sale by developers on Thursday evening, but the pace of buying was more measured after an interest-rate increase later this year became more likely. Agents said 30 of the 75 units put on sale at Phase 4B of La Montagne at the Southside project at…
Fintech company iCapital has more than doubled its office footprint in Hong Kong, leasing a 9,000 sq ft space in One International Finance Centre in the city’s Central business district as it staffs up to capture rising demand for wealth-management services in Asia. The US company, which opened its office in Hong Kong five years…
Hong Kong’s de facto central bank has formed a group of industry experts to help remove legal and regulatory hurdles to tokenized bonds, as authorities seek to move beyond pilot projects and encourage wider adoption from private issuers. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Friday it had established a Tokenised Bond Expert Group…
Hong Kong’s leader begins an official visit to Central Asia on Monday with his largest delegation to date, aiming to explore new markets amid geopolitical uncertainties and help mainland Chinese companies “go global”. Sources said dozens of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were expected to be signed by representatives from various sectors and their counterparts in…
HSBC is targeting an increase in its Hong Kong client base to match the city’s population of 7.5 million, a goal to be driven mainly by international investors, according to its Hong Kong CEO Maggie Ng. Hong Kong has already seen almost 2 million new customers sign up to the HSBC Hong Kong office over…
Hong Kong’s note-issuing banks are replacing burnt cash for Wang Fuk Court residents, following emergency measures introduced by the city’s Monetary Authority and lenders to support those affected by last November’s devastating fire at the Tai Po estate. The extent of the residents’ financial losses came into the spotlight as they returned to the site…
Standard Chartered global CEO Bill Winters on Friday said he was “sorry” for comments describing “lower-value” workers, made while announcing job-cut plans earlier this week. Winters apologised in a LinkedIn post as he tried to cool debate among upset employees after he announced on Tuesday a 15 per cent cut of back-office staff at the…
HSBC, Hong Kong’s largest lender, reported broadly flat first-quarter profit as lower interest rates and provisions linked to the Middle East conflict offset solid growth in its wealth management business. Net profit for the first three months of 2026 rose 0.14 per cent year on year to US$6.94 billion, or 41 US cents per share,…