For one of the biggest disconnects between financial markets and economies in Asia, look no further than Hong Kong. The dramatic revival of the city’s stock market this year has catapulted it to the top of the global rankings for initial public offerings (IPOs). Mainland Chinese companies are lining up in droves to list in…
Central bank independence may sound like an academic subject. But for Hong Kong, thanks to the US dollar peg, the effect of the US Federal Reserve’s independence can be very real, especially if it is being eroded. Where the US dollar lands, there goes the Hong Kong dollar. Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Fed chairman…
As next-generation tanks and fighter jets roll past the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, many in China will be swept up in a sense of national pride. The Chinese leadership has set a target for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to emulate…
Futu Holdings is expanding its footprint in Hong Kong with the opening of its first flagship store and inaugural Institutional and Private Wealth Services centre in Causeway Bay, underscoring the online brokerage’s ambition to capture the city’s growing base of high-net-worth clients. The new centre, occupying two floors with a combined area of more than…
Hong Kong’s lived-in home prices rose for a fourth consecutive month to a seven-month high in July, indicating the city’s residential property market may have turned a corner. A widely watched official index of secondary home prices gained 0.42 per cent month on month to 387.9 in July, according to data from the Rating and…
You’re trying to watch KPop Demon Hunters on Netflix for the 10th time and relax before bed. Then you get the push notification: “Trump says he’s firing a Fed governor.” This is tough news to process so late in the evening. You want to finish the movie, but now you’re worried about your money. Is…
Hong Kong’s largest bank has rolled out a fixed-rate mortgage plan, charging lower interest for home loan borrowers ahead of the first relaxation in monetary policy this year, expected in mid-September. HSBC launched a mortgage plan fixed at 2.73 per cent per annum on Monday for either the first three or five years, according to…
A “low-rate honeymoon” for Hong Kong borrowers has come to an end with an increase in the interest rate banks use to set loan prices, a mixed blessing that drives away carry traders but threatens a property market recovery and discourages corporate borrowing, according to analysts. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened 12 times in…
A “low-rate honeymoon” for Hong Kong borrowers has come to an end with an increase in the interest rate banks use to set loan prices, a mixed blessing that drives away carry traders but threatens a property market recovery and discourages corporate borrowing, according to analysts. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority intervened 12 times in…
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) set new records for second-quarter and first-half earnings amid a boom in initial public offerings (IPOs) and sizzling stock market turnover, according to a stock exchange filing on Wednesday. Second-quarter net profit for the operator of Asia’s third-largest stock market rose 41 per cent to HK$4.44 billion (US$569 million),…