Bloomberg filepix for illustration purpose only - A + A HONG KONG (June 30): In 1996, the year before Hong Kong’s historic return to Chinese rule, two property tycoons from the British colony — Lee Shau Kee and Li Ka-shing — broke into the list of the world’s top 10 richest people for the first time. A quarter century later, that exclusive club no longer features anyone from the city, showing how the territory has failed to keep up with creating wealth. Despite being touted as one of the world’s freest markets, Hong Kong has barely seen any new homegrown billionaires reach the world’s top 500 in the past 25 years, barring a handful, including a son of Li’s and some mainland entrepreneurs with local citizenship running businesses outside Hong Kong. The reason, in part, is due to the special role real estate has continued to play in Hong Kong’s US$368 billion economy. Under a colonial-era policy, the government for decades has relied heavily on land auctions to … [Read more...] about Hong Kong’s broken billionaire factory shows city losing step
Wheres hong kong on the world map
Hong Kong has ‘risen from the ashes’, China’s Xi says on rare visit
China's President Xi Jinping speaks upon his arrival via high-speed rail, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022. - A + A HONG KONG (June 30): Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and "risen from the ashes", China's President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as he arrived in the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule. Xi is to swear in the global financial hub's new leader, John Lee, on Friday during his first visit to the city since 2017, which is also his first known trip outside the mainland in more than two years, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Wearing masks, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, stepped off a high-speed train to be greeted by children waving flowers and Chinese and Hong Kong flags who chanted, "Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome" in Mandarin. "Hong Kong has withstood severe tests again and again, overcoming challenges one by one," Xi … [Read more...] about Hong Kong has ‘risen from the ashes’, China’s Xi says on rare visit
Chinese President Xi arrives in Hong Kong for handover anniversary
A woman takes pictures of Chinese and Hong Kong flags decorating a street, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022. - A + A HONG KONG (June 30): Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday for events to celebrate 25 years since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule and the inauguration of the city's new leader John Lee. Xi's visit, via high-speed rail, is his first to the city since 2017 and the first known trip outside mainland China in over two years amid the Covid-19 epidemic. Xi, wearing a mask, stepped out of the train to be greeted by children and other people waving flowers and Chinese and Hong Kong flags, while chanting "Welcome, welcome, warmly welcome" in Mandarin. Outgoing leader Carrie Lam and her husband were among those who welcomed Xi at the train station. The city's streets had been festooned with red China flags and posters … [Read more...] about Chinese President Xi arrives in Hong Kong for handover anniversary
World’s largest travel retailer CTG Duty Free said to revive US$3 bil Hong Kong listing
Bloomberg filepix for illustration purpose only - A + A HONG KONG (June 30): China Tourism Group Duty Free Corp, the world’s largest travel retailer, is set to relaunch a planned Hong Kong listing that could raise around US$2 billion to US$3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The offering by the state-owned operator of duty-free businesses across China, Hong Kong, Macau and some Southeast Asian cities could launch as early as August or September, said the people, asking not to be identified as the information is private. IFR first reported the details of the plan. A representative for CTG Duty Free didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Shanghai-traded company decided to suspend a listing last December, joining a slew of others amid a choppy market. It was aiming to raise about US$5 billion, Bloomberg News has reported. The company refiled its application on Wednesday. At US$2 billion, the share sale could be the … [Read more...] about World’s largest travel retailer CTG Duty Free said to revive US$3 bil Hong Kong listing
China’s world-beating stock rally is forecast to strengthen more
- A + A BEIJING (June 30): It’s official: Chinese equities are once again in vogue, after months of regulatory crackdowns, deleveraging and stringent virus curbs wiped trillions of dollars off benchmark gauges. A Bloomberg survey of 19 fund managers and analysts predicts that benchmark stock indexes in China and Hong Kong will post gains of at least 4% by year-end to outperform their global peers. About 70% of those polled plan to maintain or boost holdings of shares in the mainland and the financial hub in the next three months. The optimism marks a stunning reversal from March when investors raced to trim exposure to Chinese assets on fears that the nation’s Covid lockdowns and the war in Ukraine would damp economic growth. A recent easing of virus restrictions has propelled the CSI 300 Index to the brink of a bull market, and a loose policy stance has helped local equities defy the recent selloff in global stocks. “Covid restrictions will gradually ease and … [Read more...] about China’s world-beating stock rally is forecast to strengthen more
University options with four world-leading schools in Malaysia
WITH the University of Reading, an internationally-recognised UK education is now more accessible, affordable and flexible than ever. The state-of-the-art branch campus in Malaysia is located at EduCity, Iskandar Johor. In Malaysia, its international branch campus offers the same high-quality UK education and degree as in the UK, but at around 40% of the overall estimated costs taking into account programme fees and living expenses. Furthermore, students with excellent academic results may qualify for a High Achiever’s Scholarship worth up to RM33,840. Aside from being ranked in the Top 100 in the world for International Outlook by the Times Higher Education (2022), the university offers students access to programmes at four of the its world-leading schools. Top 10 UK business school The state-of-the-art Financial Dealing Room at Henley Business School. Established in 1945, the Henley Business School is ranked in the Top 10 of UK Business Schools, according to … [Read more...] about University options with four world-leading schools in Malaysia
Macau struggles to contain outbreak
HONG KONG: Authorities in the world’s biggest gambling hub Macau are scrambling to contain the city’s biggest coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, requiring all residents test daily and stay home as much as possible. Health, police and fire services staff are among the 533 infected cases, the government said on Wednesday night as it urged residents to test daily for the virus using rapid antigen kits. The special administrative region carried out three city-wide mass coronavirus tests for its more than 600,000 residents in the space of a week. More than 7,000 people are in mandatory quarantine. Sands China’s Sheraton hotel, located on Macau’s Las Vegas-style Cotai strip, has allocated 2,000 rooms to asymptomatic patients. More than 20 zones across the city are locked down as authorities try to cut the chains of transmission for the rapidly spreading BA.5.1 Omicron variant. Authorities have asked people to remain at home as much as possible with most of the city … [Read more...] about Macau struggles to contain outbreak
Inside Didi’s US$60b crash that changed China tech forever
- A + A (June 30): It was an unusually frigid December weekend when Cheng Wei summoned his inner circle to his Beijing office. The founder of Didi Global Inc, dressed entirely in black, told his lieutenants to slash spending by a fifth in 2022 and begin layoffs after staff return from Lunar New Year vacations. He delivered his bombshell flanked by a giant Powerpoint slide that read: “Don’t live with illusions. Face reality.” “We had a tough year,” said the reserved billionaire known as Will, who that day seemed even gloomier than normal, according to people briefed on the gathering. “But next year will be even tougher.” That sombre gathering encapsulated what many in the room already suspected — the ride-hailing champion once feted for running Uber Technologies Inc out of China was no more. In its place was a defeated shell worth a fifth of its value at the peak, bleeding users, blocked from raising funds for cherished projects — and whose executives were constantly … [Read more...] about Inside Didi’s US$60b crash that changed China tech forever
Big Banks Rushing for Piece of $43 Trillion China Market Amid Trade War
Amid the bitter US.-China trade war, a largely unnoticed development is the attempt by big U.S banks to compete in China's rapidly-growing financial sector. China recently announced specific dates when it will begin allowing full foreign ownership of mainland-based financial services companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission said foreign ownership controls on futures firms, fund management firms and securities firms will be scrapped next year on January 1, April 1 and December 1, respectively. “China is very determined to reform its financial markets and knows that without the major American players, it is very hard to talk about having a truly internationalized market,” observes Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, per a detailed report in Bloomberg . “It also makes sense for China to accommodate a very important source of lobbying support, especially as there’s so little in the U.S. right now," he added. … [Read more...] about Big Banks Rushing for Piece of $43 Trillion China Market Amid Trade War
SenseTime co-founder loses almost half his fortune after the AI giant’s stock slumps
- A + A (July 1): A co-founder of SenseTime Group Inc. lost almost half of his fortune after shares of the artificial intelligence giant plummeted 47% on Thursday. Tang Xiao’ou, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate and information engineering professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has a 21% stake in the company. His net worth plunged by about US$2.4 billion to US$2.8 billion, based on the closing share price, dropping him off a list of the world’s 500 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The fall of SenseTime occurred after the lock-up period on a portion of shares held by cornerstone investors and stakeholders expired a day earlier. Some executives, including Chief Executive Officer Xu Li, pledged to extend the lock-up of their shares until Dec. 29. The tech company completed a Hong Kong listing in December despite US sanctions, and surged as much as 23% on debut. Thursday’s slump dragged the stock below the initial … [Read more...] about SenseTime co-founder loses almost half his fortune after the AI giant’s stock slumps