In recent years, warnings about Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing population have become increasingly urgent. Long hospital waits, chronic shortages in long-term care and a shrinking working-age population have led many policymakers and researchers to portray ageing as an approaching demographic crisis that a small, densely populated city might be unable to absorb. In some quarters,…
Confidence among Hong Kong’s exporters fell at its steepest rate in two years amid global trade turbulence even as demand was expected to remain stable over the long term. The Trade Development Council (TDC) on Tuesday said its Exporters Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2026 showed that traders remained “cautious”, though trade diversification…
Across Asia’s densest cities, the milestones of adulthood are quietly shifting. Couples share kitchens with parents. Some wait years on public housing lists. Others secure a flat before thinking about a ring. In some cases, keys come before vows. Increasingly, love moves in step with property. Square footage, mortgage approvals and ballot results shape decisions…
Hong Kong has been urged to extend its stock trading hours to maintain its status as an international financial hub, as competitors move towards near 24-hour operations to capture global liquidity. Speaking at the “Redefining Hong Kong 2026 Budget Edition” forum organised by the South China Morning Post on Monday, Kenny Shui Chi-wai, vice-president of…
Singapore is the most expensive city in the Asia-Pacific region to outfit an office, driven by increased labour costs, a shortage of contractors and strict building standards, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. The city had the highest average fit-out cost at US$2,029 per square metre – ahead of Tokyo (US$1,994) and Taipei (US$1,593)…
Hong Kong sees itself as a modern, well-governed, global city that moves with the times. On finance, education, legal services and logistics, that self-image holds. But when considering the green transition, particularly transport electrification, the gap between rhetoric and reality is increasingly hard to ignore. Nowhere is this more evident than in electrifying the taxi…
After consecutive operating deficits, the operating account has returned to profit. Simultaneously, the consolidated account records a HK$2.9 billion (US$370.6 million) surplus for 2025/26, signalling stability. This turnaround is driven largely by a buoyant stock market and a stabilising property sector, reviving stamp duty revenues and investment income. This provides fiscal space for the government…
An attack on a Hong Kong man in the Japanese city of Sapporo that triggered travel warnings from Chinese authorities was reportedly caused by a dispute over “dining etiquette”. According to Japanese media this week, a 50-year-old company executive was arrested by local police officers on suspicion of striking the tourist with a bottle on…
Authorities in Hong Kong have expressed concern to the local Japanese consulate after a resident was struck on the head with a beer bottle in Sapporo, and have called on Tokyo to better protect visitors from the city. Thursday’s statement followed a warning issued a day earlier by the Chinese consulate in Sapporo advising nationals…
Hong Kong’s hotels and tourist-area restaurants reported robust business during the Lunar New Year holiday, even as a surge in outbound travel by residents underscored the city’s increasingly visitor-driven festival economy. An industry leader said the city had also seen more mainland tourists partly because of ongoing diplomatic tensions between China and Japan. Hongkongers were…