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BUSINESSSep 17Hong Kong property market gets reprieve on rates, but position remains precariousHong Kong’s property market dodged an immediate hit from the Federal Reserve’s rate hike on Thursday as major local banks kept their prime rates unchanged, but another increase could puncture the market’s relatively fragile recovery, according to industry insiders. The Fed raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point at its latest meeting on Wednesday in the US, but HSBC and other major Hong Kong banks left their prime rates unchanged. The decision should have no immediate impact on the local...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 17How Hong Kong’s new 5-year plan courts global capital with an eye on market dominanceHong Kong is broadening its equity markets, deepening its offshore yuan business and expanding further into gold trading under its first five-year plan for economic and social development, as the city seeks to defend its standing as Asia’s top financial centre and close the gap with London. Unveiled on Wednesday by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu alongside his 2026 policy address, the blueprint outlines a package of financial plans to “consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 17Hong Kong airport records 10% passenger growth as cargo falls for a second monthHong Kong International Airport (HKIA) recorded a roughly 10 per cent increase in passenger traffic in the first eight months of the year, while cargo volume declined for a second consecutive month in August amid weak exports. The airport said passenger numbers rose 10.1 per cent year on year to 44.3 million between January and August, while flight movements increased 3.5 per cent to 269,900. Passenger traffic in August reached 5.86 million, up 3.5 per cent from a year earlier, while flight...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 17HSBC axes $38,000 school fee perk for new Hong Kong bankersLongstanding subsidy had been used to attract senior staff to Asian financial hubFinancial Times
BUSINESSSep 17Hong Kong to support rocket, satellite IPOs as SpaceX-led sector takes offHong Kong aims to adjust listing rules to grab a share of initial public offerings (IPOs) by mainland China’s space companies as activity in the sector increases in line with Beijing’s priorities and heightened activity in the sector following the blockbuster June listing by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. That could lead to more head-to-head competition between the Hong Kong stock exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is now drawing a majority of such listing applications, including commercial...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 17Hong Kong’s 5-year plan, policy continuity offer investors more stability, experts sayLonger-term vision and policies with continuity mapped out in Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan, along with the latest policy blueprint, offer investment opportunities and more stability for investors, according to experts and commentators. Hong Kong marked a historic milestone on Wednesday when Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unrolled the city’s first five-year development plan with his fifth policy address to align with China’s long-term national strategy. The explicit directions Lee set...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong targets gold trading, FPS-UnionPay link to boost yuan useHong 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 gold trading ecosystem and creating a regional intellectual property trading centre in the city. “We will consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong aims to raise innovation spending to 3% of GDP by about 2030Hong Kong will strive to raise its expenditure on innovation activities to a level equivalent to 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by around 2030, nearly double the current rate, according to the city’s first five-year plan. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled the ambitious goal, together with measures to boost frontier technologies, including aerospace research, on Wednesday. Among the 22 indicators laid out in the plan, the government aims to raise the ratio of total domestic...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong sets 5-year plan to double innovation spending, boost new industriesHong Kong’s leader has unveiled the city’s first five-year blueprint, aligned with China’s national development strategy, setting targets to nearly double innovation spending and raise the share of manufacturing and new industries to 5.5 per cent of the economy. In a historically significant new approach, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu prefaced his annual policy address on Wednesday with a comprehensive set of binding and anticipatory or aspirational longer-term targets for Hong Kong up to the...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Swire Group welcomes Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan, Policy AddressThe Swire Group said it welcomed Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan and measures outlined in the 2026 Policy Addressthestandard_hk · hong kong
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong targets film tourism boom and higher-level tennis tournamentsHong Kong will introduce themed tourism routes showcasing the city’s most recognisable filming locations and explore upgrading Victoria Park’s Centre Court to host higher-level tennis tournaments, as authorities seek to significantly increase the sector’s economic contribution under the city’s first five-year development plan. The 2026-30 blueprint aims to raise the tourism industry’s value added from HK$86.2 billion (US$10.9 billion) in 2024 to HK$126 billion by 2030 – an increase of about 40...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16First building in Hong Kong’s university town project to be ready in monthsThe first building in the 1,000-hectare (2,472-acre) university town project in the Northern Metropolis will be completed by the end of this year, Hong Kong’s leader has said, revealing that the flagship tower is called Loop Academy One. Announcing Hong Kong’s first five-year plan on Wednesday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also revealed the official names of the three Northern Metropolis developments: San Tin University Town, Hung Shui Kiu University Town and Ta Kwu Ling University Town. The...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong to woo finance and tech firms with new tax breaksHong Kong will introduce various tax incentives for new finance and technology industries to attract businesses and reinforce the city’s role as a leading financial hub, the city leader has announced in his policy address. Tax concessions to draw intellectual property (IP) businesses and selected industries to the city were among the new measures Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced on Wednesday, while the halving of the profits tax rate for gold traders would be sped up. To speed up the...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16US crypto bill stumble sparks call for Hong Kong to seize ‘critical strategic window’The US Senate’s rejection of the Clarity Act – a landmark bill meant to regulate cryptocurrency market structure – has opened a window for Hong Kong to accelerate its digital asset ambitions, industry insiders say, even as the sector remains mired in a slump after a brief rally last month. Beijing’s ban on crypto remains in force in mainland China, but Hong Kong has received approval to develop itself as a digital asset hub, with the stalled push in Washington presenting the city with what...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong rated Asia’s top financial hub for 4th straight year: reportHong Kong has retained its status as Asia’s top financial hub for a fourth consecutive edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), even as many of the world’s leading centres saw their scores slip slightly amid rising geopolitical headwinds. The city also ranked third globally in the 40th edition of the twice-yearly report, released on Wednesday amid a remarkably tight race at the top of global finance. Hong Kong scored 756, just one point behind London on 757 and a point ahead of...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 16Hong Kong unveils first five-year plan to cement position as global financial hubHong ⁠Kong leader ​John Lee on Wednesday unveiled the city's first five-year plan to boost its global position as a financial hub. The plan serves as a social and economic roadmap detailing the city-state's strategic priorities, including an aim to expand technology ties with mainland China.France 24 [en]
BUSINESSSep 16Southeast Asian buyers emerge as top non-local investors in Hong Kong commercial propertySoutheast Asian investors have emerged as the largest non-local buyers of Hong Kong commercial property, led by Singapore-based capital, according to Savills. As of Tuesday, local and non-local investors – including those from mainland China – were behind an estimated HK$30.36 billion (US$3.87 billion) in transactions involving commercial property deals above HK$50 million in Hong Kong so far this year, data compiled by the property consultancy showed. Southeast Asian investors contributed...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 15Hong Kong finance chief urges Cathay to keep fares attractive, add routesHong Kong’s finance chief has called on Cathay Pacific Airways to offer attractive fares and expand its route network, as China’s national development plan reinforces the city’s status as a global aviation hub. Speaking at Cathay’s 80th anniversary celebration on Tuesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po described the flag carrier as more than just a transport provider, calling it an ambassador for Hong Kong that reinforced the city’s status as a global aviation hub and “superconnector”. Chan...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 15Mainland Chinese joint venture launches new electric taxi in Hong KongA mainland Chinese joint venture will introduce an electric taxi in Hong Kong next month, but a lawmaker has warned that a lack of quick-charging stations remains the biggest challenge to the government’s target of introducing 3,000 such cabs by next year. SAIC-GM-Wuling, a joint venture between SAIC Motor, General Motors China and Guangxi Automobile Group, on Tuesday unveiled its Darion Taxi, a new six-seater e-taxi to be launched in Hong Kong. DH Legend Motors, the joint venture’s sole Hong...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 15Hong Kong airport builds third runway with strategy to help marine environment thriveWhen Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) set out to build a new runway and associated facilities for the three-runway system operation, engineers had to carefully navigate a challenge hidden beneath the surrounding waters. The project involved 650 hectares (1,606 acres) of reclaimed land adjacent to the existing airport, an area equivalent to about 34 Victoria Parks or 900 standard football pitches. More significantly, some 40 per cent of it sat directly above decades-old mud pits storing...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 15Hong Kong visitor arrivals hit post-pandemic monthly high in AugustHong Kong recorded its highest monthly number of visitors since the Covid-19 pandemic in August, provisional official figures show, with authorities attributing the surge to a series of international conferences and mega-events. The Hong Kong Tourism Board said on Tuesday that the city received 5.46 million visitors across the month, up by 6 per cent from a year earlier and the highest monthly total since the pandemic. Tourist numbers in the first eight months of the year also rose by 11 per...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 15Hong Kong’s employment outlook rebounds sharply to 14% in fourth quarterHong Kong employers’ hiring sentiment rebounded sharply in the fourth quarter, with far fewer companies expecting to cut jobs as confidence improved alongside stronger economic growth, according to a ManpowerGroup survey. The international human resources firm said the city’s seasonally adjusted net employment outlook rose to 14 per cent, up by 23 percentage points from minus 9 per cent in the third quarter of this year. The outlook is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 14Man arrested over alleged HK$2.8 million Hong Kong school admission scamA man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding an education consultant out of nearly HK$3 million (US$382,500) by claiming he could secure dozens of places at a Hong Kong school, the South China Morning Post has learned. A police source said on Monday that the suspect, a 51-year-old Hongkonger who claimed to be a businessman, had signed a contract with a 45-year-old woman working as an education consultant on March 1, 2024, claiming he could provide dozens of places at a “Kiangsu-Chekiang...South China Morning Post
BUSINESSSep 14Hong Kong’s HK$500b silver economy by 2034 offers ‘blue ocean’ prospects: Paul ChanHong Kong’s silver economy is set to become a HK$500 billion (US$63.8 billion) market by 2034, the city’s finance chief has said, urging the elderly care industry to deploy technology and explore cross-border opportunities. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Monday that Hong Kong’s ageing population presented both a challenge and a “promising blue ocean” market opportunity for the city, which could serve as a model for other regions. In a speech at an event to mark the 30th anniversary...South China Morning Post