World News by Wild Rose

Hong Kong’s first leader Tung Chee-hwa, who died last week, has been remembered by former colleagues for his foresight in developing technology and actively engaging with mainland China to boost the city’s economic development during his tenure. Political heavyweights praised the former chief executive for being able to foresee developmental trends before others could, citing Tung’s decisions to establish Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park. “He proposed developing Cyberport...

China’s buoyant stock market lifted brokers’ earnings in the first half, while Hong Kong saw continued growth in retirement assets. Beyond China, a strengthening yen and Washington’s Treasury buy-back programme highlighted shifting dynamics in global currency and bond markets. Here are some of the figures that have drawn the most market attention this week. Chinese brokerage revenue jumps more than 50 per cent Chinese brokerages saw revenue from their core business rise by more than 50 per cent...

Kazakhstan’s businesses should prioritise long-term fundraising ambitions rather than quick wins in the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese markets, the managing director of the Central Asian country’s sovereign wealth fund has said. Saltanat Satzhan, managing director for development and privatisation at sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, said she also aimed to list state-owned rail operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) in Hong Kong by the end of the year. KTZ, wholly owned by the government...

Hong Kong’s home prices will end the year 15 per cent higher than a year earlier, but still 16 per cent below their high-water mark in 2021, according to local property agency Midland Realty. Underpinning the positive forecast, the city’s banks were not likely to follow an increase in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve if one occurred this year, executives from the agency said at a press conference on Thursday. Dave Ma Tai-yeung, CEO of Midland (Residential), said that as the market...

Mainland Chinese have paid tribute to Hong Kong’s first chief executive, the late Tung Chee-hwa, for introducing a solo-travel scheme more than two decades ago that opened the city to millions of travellers and created indelible memories for middle-class families. The Individual Visit Scheme has grown from a handful of cities in Guangdong province in 2003 to its current 59 spanning the country as far west as Urumqi in Xinjiang, contributing to a more than fivefold increase in the number of...

PT Amman Mineral Internasional, one of Indonesia’s biggest copper and gold producers, has picked banks for a listing in Hong Kong that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

A 177% debut surge on Wednesday by Excelland Robotics Wuxi Co. is putting a spotlight on Hong Kong’s rules for allocating shares in initial public offerings after the listing left almost 94% of the shares in institutional hands despite strong demand from retail investors.

Urgent priorities for advancing China’s philanthropy sector include fostering a favourable legal environment and overhauling the nation’s social service industry, according to leading policy experts at a forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Mainland charitable organisations could learn from Hong Kong’s experience to increase their professional expertise, while the Greater Bay Area city cluster plan could be leveraged as a catalyst to boost the sector, they said. The panel discussion – part of the Hong...

Hong Kong’s first university-led wealth management academy was launched on Tuesday, as the city’s rapidly expanding private-wealth industry competes for professionals capable of serving increasingly sophisticated and international clients. The Wealth Management Academy, established by The University of Hong Kong Business School, aims to bring together policymakers, financial institutions and academics to train professionals for the wealth management, asset management and family-office...

Sales of non-exchange-traded investment products in Hong Kong surged to a record HK$9.9 trillion (US$1.3 trillion) in 2025, marking a 63 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the latest joint survey by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). A significant expansion in market participation drove the record-breaking performance. The number of investors completing at least one transaction rose 33 per cent to a record at more than 1.6 million,...

When Cathay Pacific Airways announced direct flights to Almaty starting next January, the significance went beyond adding another destination. The service will be Cathay Pacific’s first to Central Asia and the only non-stop passenger connection between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan. Another announcement pointed to Hong Kong’s growing aviation reach from a different direction. Qatar Airways Cargo relocated its regional office to Hong Kong and agreed with the Airport Authority to increase frequencies...

PT Merdeka Battery Materials is considering a sale of depositary receipts in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, potentially following other Indonesian miners looking to raise capital in the city.

Philanthropic giving in nine Asian jurisdictions is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion over the next decade, while corporate contributions play a larger role in Hong Kong than in many regional peers, according to a new report released at a Jockey Club forum. The Commission on Asian Philanthropy released its interim report on Monday, while the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust revealed in a separate report that it had contributed around 1.8 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in...

Hong Kong’s top financial regulators have urged local banks to make greater use of the city’s growing pool of offshore yuan liquidity, while also flagging the need to prepare for a coming wave of autonomous AI systems used in the financial sector. Speaking at the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) Distinguished Speaker Luncheon, Eddie Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), called on lenders to leverage their international networks to expand the Chinese...

American ice cream chain Dairy Queen will open four Hong Kong outlets in the fourth quarter of this year, as part of an ambitious expansion plan amid the widespread closure of food and retail shops. Dairy Queen, an 85-year-old brand, said on Friday that it would launch its flagship store at the One Causeway Bay shopping centre on Hong Kong Island in November, followed by three other outlets in Kowloon, the New Territories and the outlying islands before the end of the year. “Following Causeway...

Hong Kong film actor and director Louis Koo Tin-lok’s production company has rejected allegations that it owes HK$149 million (US$19 million) in outstanding debts to an offshore firm, saying the claim is incomplete and violates confidentiality principles. In a statement published on social media on Friday, One Cool Film Production said the civil lawsuit lodged by Sino Hero Ventures on Wednesday had concealed crucial details about a HK$70 million loan extended to Koo’s film production business in...

Impersonating customer service staff is the “most rampant tactic” used by phone scammers, Hong Kong police have said, with the number of such frauds rising 45 per cent year on year in the first half of 2026 to 4,830 cases amid an overall decline in deception crimes. Superintendent Kwok Ching-yee of the Commercial Crime Bureau said police received a total of 20,613 deception cases in the first half of this year, representing a slight drop of 0.7 per cent compared with the same period last...

An Asian city will eventually overtake London and New York as the world’s leading financial centre, with Hong Kong well placed to compete for the top spot given its legal predictability and low tax burden, according to the creator of a closely watched ranking of financial hubs. “It’s going to happen because it’s so tight,” said Michael Mainelli, chairman of London-based think tank Z/Yen Group, in an interview with the South China Morning Post on Tuesday, referring to the narrowing gap between...

Hong Kong’s boom in initial public offerings has turned getting shares in the hottest deals into something of an invitation-only affair.

Chinese mainland investors rotated into Hong Kong stocks tied to artificial intelligence and pulled out of companies in traditional industries in August, taking advantage of a market dip to boost bets on the world’s most cutting-edge technology. AI model developer MiniMax Group logged net buying of HK$10.1 billion (US$1.29 billion) last month, the most among the Hong Kong-listed companies available for China’s onshore investors through the Stock Connect programme, according to data compiled by...

Hong Kong will roll out its first cross-industry exhibition for high-end products ranging from haute jewellery to supercars, yachts and private jets in November, as part of efforts to attract big spenders and cement the city as a global conference and event capital. The South China Morning Post learned on Wednesday that the inaugural Festival of Connoisseurs will receive some of the HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) set aside in Hong Kong’s 2026-27 budget to attract large-scale international...

Recently, I joined Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah in Malaysia for the official opening of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Kuala Lumpur. The occasion marked an elevation in Hong Kong’s economic and trade ties with Malaysia and the broader Southeast Asian region. During the visit, Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Office hosted a forum that brought government officials, business leaders and professionals together for substantive discussions – underscoring...

The parent company of Philippine fast-food giant Jollibee plans to spin off and list its international operations in Hong Kong instead of New York in a strong endorsement of the city’s initial public offering (IPO) diversification efforts. Jollibee Foods Corp (JFC) said in January that it intended to list its overseas arm, Jollibee Foods Corporation International (JFCI), in the United States. The company has now selected Hong Kong as its listing destination. “Hong Kong offers the market depth...