Local governments in China are exploring the use of data as an asset to help balance their chequebooks – an idea which could reduce their heavy debt burdens but has also prompted concerns over efficacy and legality.
Hong Kong-based financial service platform Gome Finance Technology marks diversification by acquiring Chinese game developer and publisher CashBox Group Technology which will help treble its revenues.
With China’s ties to Russia under stronger scrutiny from the West, banks are keeping a closer eye on transactions with links to Moscow – and China’s exporters are concerned their bottom line will suffer.
The investments, which will yield 3,200 jobs, come amid government efforts to enhance Hong Kong’s position as an innovation hub in the field.
Chinese regulators are scrutinising old business deals and bank accounts of senior executives as they ramp up inspections of stock-listing hopefuls. No companies have lodged IPO plans in Shanghai and Shenzhen this year.
Global EV sales are expected to accelerate from next year onwards and grow at a compound annual rate of 23 per cent up to the end of the decade, according to estimates by the French bank.
The number of private debt funds in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 22 per cent to 94 at the end of 2023 compared with a year before as financial institutions bet on the flourishing market.
Hong Kong is expanding its market outreach in the Middle East by linking up with investment authority in oil-rich Qatar, paving the way for future cooperation and alliances.
Hong Kong looks to help economies mitigate risks from natural disasters and has partnered with the World Bank in further developing the market for insurance-linked securities.
More than half of middle-income households in Hong Kong believe house prices are poised to rally now that all of the restrictions in the market have been scrapped, according to a survey by Citibank.
Hong Kong will roll out the red carpet to hundreds of top global bankers and finance executives in November for a high-level financial conference to be hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
China International Capital Corp is planning to demote some of its senior bankers and cut their pay, people with knowledge of the matter said, an unusual move that could lead to voluntary departures.
Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, the war chest used to defend the local currency, continued its comeback in the first quarter, posting a return of HK$54.3 billion (US$7 billion) as rising overseas stock markets offset losses in domestic equities.
The HKMA plans to replace the term ‘virtual bank’ with ‘licensed digital bank’ in reference to the city’s eight branchless lenders to remove negative connotations associated with the term in Chinese.
Investment banks including Goldman Sachs, UBS and BNP have become more positive on Chinese stocks, with foreign selling having subsided. But the property crisis, deflationary risks and tepid consumer demand mean global investors are yet to go all ‘all in’.
Hong Kong’s IPO market is healing and investors are returning, drawn by a generation of innovative, little-known companies that will also provide a rich vein of investment banking business for years to come, says Citigroup’s Asian head of investment banking.
The Brazilian financial technology company is banking on demand for payment digitisation in the business-to-business space in China and increased adoption of digital payments in India.
Fintech company Stacs and ESG consulting firm Downundered are among those offering tools for SMEs to measure emissions.
Quinn last year defeated Ping An’s long campaign to get HSBC to spin off its Asia business.
Mainland China-based chains including Lam Heung Ling, Jo’s Cha, Linlee, The One Lemon Tea and LMM have set up shops in Hong Kong recently. Analysts assess their chances.
The HKMA has issued a ‘green taxonomy’ framework to help banks and investors determine the sustainability of economic activities, the latest effort to boost the city’s standing as a green finance centre.