Page 4 - Hong Kong

Covid-19 cases spike in Hong Kong, S'pore as new wave spreads across Asia

Covid's comeback just as much of the northern hemisphere enters into summer shows the virus can still sicken a large swath of the population even when the weather is hot

Hong Kong's 1967 lesson: Move fast to win Asia's rich in dollar turmoil

Hong Kong must expand yuan-denominated options to attract asset inflows, leveraging its liquidity edge over Singapore in the race for wealthy investors

China to sanction US officials, NGO heads in response to Hong Kong actions

China will sanction United States officials, lawmakers and leaders of non-governmental organisations who it says have "performed poorly on Hong Kong issues, the foreign ministry announced. The US in March sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in transnational repression and acts threatening to further erode the city's autonomy. The officials included Justice Secretary Paul Lam, security office director Dong Jingwei and former police commissioner Raymond Siu. In a retaliatory move against Washington, DC, on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun in Beijing said China strongly condemned the acts, calling them despicable". The US has seriously interfered in the affairs of Hong Kong and violated international law principles, he said China has decided to impose sanctions on US congressmen, officials, and NGO leaders who have performed poorly on Hong Kong-related issues, Guo said, adding the response was made according to the ...

Hong Kong suspends US parcel shipments amid Trump's tariff hike plans

Chinese city's says it will suspend all goods mail services to the US in response to Trump's 'unreasonable and bullying action' of imposing 120% tariff on small-value parcels

Hong Kong defends immigration procedures after British MP denied entry

Hong Kong's government on Monday defended its immigration procedures after a British member of parliament was denied entry to the Chinese city last week, an incident that has prompted concerns among UK officials. Wera Hobhouse, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party representing Bath, on Sunday wrote on the social media platform Bluesky that authorities gave her no explanation for what she described as a cruel and upsetting blow. She noted that she was the first British MP to face such a situation upon arrival in the former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Hobhouse had told British media that she flew to Hong Kong to visit her newborn grandchild. She is also a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China that has scrutinised Beijing's human rights record. The Hong Kong government, in a statement released late Monday, maintained that its immigration officers are duty-bound to question individuals to ascertain the purpose of any visit. The person ..

Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy party moves to disband as freedoms shrink

When Yeung Sum co-founded the city's largest pro-democracy party more than 30 years ago, he knew building a democratic Hong Kong would be a difficult dream." Still, it was not impossible. Today, his Democratic Party is moving toward dissolution, a symbolic marker of the diminishing Western-style civil liberties and high degree of autonomy that the ruling Communist Party in Beijing promised to keep intact in the former British colony for at least 50 years when it returned to China in 1997. Pro-democracy protests that paralysed Hong Kong in 2019 led to a crackdown that has all but silenced dissent through restricted elections, media censorship and a China-imposed national security law that saw some of Yeung's party members jailed. Dozens of civil society groups closed down. Former chairperson Yeung said in an interview with The Associated Press that Chinese officials told him the party needed to disband. He urged his members to support the motion to give the leadership mandate to hand

Hong Kong Weekender: Neha Dhupia And Angad Bedi's Ultimate Family-friendly Itinerary

Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi are serving some serious travel inspo from their recent Hong Kong journey.

US sanctions six Chinese and Hong Kong officials for rights abuses

Western countries have criticized Beijing for imposing the national security law on Hong Kong and using it to jail pro-democracy activists

China tells state firms to halt deals with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing

CK Hutchison, the telecoms-to-retail conglomerate owned by Li, has been caught in China's crosshairs in the highly politicised deal with the US firm

Harry Singh Banga's Caravel Group sets sail on a zero-carbon mission

Banga acknowledges that companies have no choice but to adapt, despite energy transition ships running on dual fuels costing up to 20 per cent more than conventional vessels

Hong Kong fast-tracks foreign talent, adds 9 professions; Indians eligible

Effective March 1, the list now includes 60 professions

Hong Kong court reverses convictions of 3 ex-organisers of Tiananmen vigils

Three former organisers of Hong Kong's annual vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown won their bid at the top court on Thursday to overturn their conviction over their refusal to provide information to police, marking a rare victory for the city's pro-democracy activists. Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong core members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were convicted in 2023 during Beijing's crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement. They received a sentence of 4 1/2 months and have already served their terms. The alliance was long known for organising candlelight vigils in the city on the anniversary of the Chinese military's crushing of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing. But it voted to disband in 2021 under the shadow of a sweeping national security law imposed by China. Critics said the shutdown and the case showed that the city's Western-style civil liberties were shrinking despit

Battle for scraps of China's collapsed developer Evergrande intensifies

Oaktree Capital Management LP, run by billionaire Howard Marks, is maneuvering for advantage by seeking claim to Evergrande assets outside the Hong Kong liquidation process

Hong Kong to cut 10k civil service jobs, invest in AI to tackle deficit

Hong Kong will cut thousands of civil service jobs and boost spending in artificial intelligence as it seeks to tackle an increasing deficit, authorities said Wednesday. Finance Secretary Paul Chan said during a budget speech that there would be a cumulative reduction of government recurrent expenditure by 7 per cent from now until 2027-2028. Hong Kong's deficit had reached 87.2 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 11.2 billion) for the financial year of 2024-2025, making it the third straight year of losses. It gives us a clear pathway towards the goal of restoring fiscal balance, Chan said. He said 10,000 civil servant posts would be cut by April 2027, representing a reduction of about 2 per cent of the civil service in each of the next two years. Salaries will also be frozen in the civil service this year. Chan also said that up to 195 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD 25 billion) worth of bonds will also be issued in the next five years to ensure progress of important infrastructure ..

Here's why banks in Hong Kong are taking the fight to crypto bros

Developments in Hong Kong, which has finalised a regulatory regime for stablecoins, will be watched keenly in the US where such rules are still being debated, albeit in a newly favourable climate

HSBC lays off 40 dealmakers in Hong Kong as part of revamp to cut costs

The job cuts in HSBC's regional hub Hong Kong started on Monday, where at least four managing directors were let go, with three of them based in Hong Kong and one in Singapore

US postal service suspends incoming packages from China, Hong Kong

The Trump administration imposed an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods that came into effect on Tuesday

Crew abandon Hong Kong-flagged container ship in Red Sea as fire engulfs

An explosion struck a Hong Kong-flagged container ship on Tuesday travelling north through the Red Sea, sparking a major fire that forced its crew to abandon the vessel, shipping industry officials said. The ship was drifting and ablaze some 225 kilometers (140 miles) off the coast of Hodeida, a port city in Yemen held by the country's Houthi rebels, said the Diaplous Group, a maritime firm. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire in the Red Sea, which has been repeatedly targeted by attacks from the Houthis. The rebels said last week they were was limiting their assaults following a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the fire incident. The vessel was abandoned and the crew later rescued unharmed, another maritime industry official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as authorization hadn't been given to speak publicly about the incident. The official described the cargo aboar

Not a happy year: How Hong Kong's rich and famous lost billions in 2024

Hong Kong's elite suffer massive property losses in 2024 as high-interest rates and a weak economy force fire-sale deals, with discounts up to 70 per cent on luxury assets

Singapore pulls ahead of Hong Kong in race to become digital-assets hub

Singapore doled out 13 crypto licenses in 2024 to a range of crypto operators including top exchanges OKX and Upbit, as well as global heavyweights Anchorage, BitGo and GSR