Page 5 - Hong Kong

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

The Troublemaker: A tale of courage, capitalism, and contradictions

Mark L Clifford writes in The Troublemaker, a brisk account of Lai's life and work, the gravity of his predicament began to set in, and Lai sent a laconic WhatsApp message to his associates

China to restrict visas to US officials for threatening Hong Kong curbs

The curbs were in retaliation for Washington's previous vow to restrict the visas of unnamed Hong Kong officials for carrying out a national security crackdown that silenced dissent

China, Hong Kong stocks surge at open on Beijing's stimulus promise

Authorities will also step up "unconventional" counter-cyclical adjustments, focusing on expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption

Hong Kong's IVF rules send people into black market for eggs, embryos

At a time Hong Kong is trying to reverse one of world's lowest birth rates, residents seeking to have a baby outside of traditional means are running into strict rules on fertility treatments

Ex-Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai starts testimony in nat'l security trial

Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai testified he met with then-Vice President Mike Pence and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Hong Kong's anti-government protests in 2019 but told the court at his landmark national security trial on Wednesday that he did not ask the US officials to take action. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper, was arrested in 2020 in the crackdown that followed the protests. He is accused of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. He testified about his meetings with US officials and gave details about his alleged overseas political connections with people in the US, Britain and Taiwan, including ex-Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong's last British governor, Chris Patten. But the media tycoon who also describes himself as a businessman and social activist said he never tried to ...

Foreign govts criticise sentencing of 45 democracy activists in Hong Kong

Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to jail for up to 10 years on Tuesday, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups. The democracy advocates were among 47 people charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates. In the city's biggest national security case to date, they were accused of agreeing to veto government-proposed budgets indiscriminately after potentially securing a legislative majority to force a dissolution of the legislature and then the ouster of the city's leader. The case involved pro-democracy figures across the spectrum. Thirty-one of them pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion. Fourteen others were convicted following a long trial. Two were acquitted. Australia Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her government was gravely concerned by the sentences for Australian citizen Gordon Ng and the .

Hong Kong to sentence 45 democracy activists in biggest security law case

The sentencing of former youth activist Joshua Wong, 28, and legal scholar Benny Tai, 60, will start at 10 a.m. today, nearly four years after they were arrested

Hong Kong bars services like WhatsApp, Google Drive from govt computers

The Hong Kong government is barring most civil servants from using popular apps like WhatsApp, WeChat and Google Drive on their work computers due to potential security risks. The latest IT security guidelines from the Digitial Policy Office have many civil servants complaining about added inconvenience. Government workers will still be allowed to use the services from personal devices at work, and can get exceptions to the ban with approval from a manager. Information technology experts said companies have adopted similar policies due to increasing risks of data leaks and cybersecurity challenges. Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said on a radio program Tuesday that the ban is needed as hacking is becoming a more serious problem. He said the governments of the United States and China have also adopted stringent measures for their internal computer systems. A civil servant surnamed Lee, who requested anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to .