World News by Wild Rose

Hong Kong’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter of this year, driven by strong exports and tourism, the city’s finance chief has said, while warning of risks including the war in the Middle East and inflation. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also reiterated his confidence that the economy would grow by between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent this year. He was speaking during a Legislative Council debate on the city’s first five-year plan and annual policy address. He noted that...

Amid concerns over rising interest rates and a weak retail property market, a long-time investor has sold a portfolio of prime street shops in Tsim Sha Tsui – held for more than four decades – and locked in a profit of nearly HK$237 million (US$30.2 million) despite accepting a deal more than 40 per cent below his original asking price. The portfolio of retail shops in Cheung Lee Commercial Building and the podium of Wing Lee Building, both on Kimberley Road, changed hands for HK$256.8 million,...

Hong Kong’s inaugural five-year plan highlighted its DNA as an international city while emphasising the market economy, the chief executive has said. Speaking at a National Day reception on Thursday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the city needed a blueprint with strategic vision amid the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape and accelerated growth of AI, as he highlighted three features of the plan that was unveiled last month. “[It] adheres to the ‘one country, two systems’ principle....

Hong Kong’s first five-year plan will give businesses greater certainty to make long-term investment decisions amid a volatile external environment, the city’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the plan’s targets and timelines would allow companies to see the city’s direction over the next five years and better align their plans with the government’s. “The significance of planning lies not only in the document itself, but also in looking at today from the...

Hong 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...

Hong 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...

Zhou Zhike, Assistant President at China State Construction International, discusses expectations for Hong Kong's five-year plan and the outlook for opportunities for his company in the Greater Bay Area. (Source: Bloomberg)

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 supermarkets, including US warehouse retailer Sam’s Club, have dropped the Hong Kong-bound vegetable label under new customs rules. The change has triggered widespread concern among consumers, as the label had long served as a selling point for high quality amid frequent mainland food-safety incidents. The removal stems from new rules by the General Administration of Customs. From September 1, registration will no longer be required for growing farms, and only food-processing...

Hong Kong will continue to serve as a gateway linking belt and road economies with mainland China and global markets, the chief executive has said, underscoring the city’s role in bringing together capital, talent and businesses to advance the national initiative. Speaking at the opening of the annual Belt and Road Summit on Wednesday, John Lee Ka-chiu said more than 60 government and business agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) would be signed during the event, with the total...