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.

Quinn last year defeated Ping An’s long campaign to get HSBC to spin off its Asia business.

The city’s three ETFs that invest directly into bitcoin saw US$5.5 million change hands on Friday, down from US$8.6 million in their Tuesday debut.

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.

Less than 30 per cent of Hong Kong businesses plan to use senior job titles to attract or retain talent, though the practice is more common in certain sectors, and could be at odds with younger workers’ expectations.

Readers discuss the government’s efforts to attract family offices, and a new service for passengers transferring between commercial flights and private jets.

Mainland China investors will gain access to Hong Kong’s Reits via an expanded mutual market access scheme in a move which will deepen the market, enhance its liquidity and attract international issuers, analysts say.

In an official communique, China’s Politburo said ‘patient capital’ is expected to pitch in as the country moves towards a tech-driven growth model, showing a much-needed focus on the long term, analysts say.

Analysts say China’s central bank, with an eye on the yuan’s stability, could let it weaken gradually, but such a move ‘could backfire to some degree’.

Mayer Brown’s Hong Kong partners plan to reestablish their firm as Johnson Stokes & Master, which was the name of the Hong Kong-based entity that merged with Mayer Brown in 2008.

The outages came two days after Singapore’s financial regulator announced an end to the six-month ban on non-essential activities it had imposed on the country’s biggest bank.

Hong Kong will implement sound cybersecurity measures reinforced by strong backup systems to ensure a smooth launch of the MPF electronic platform next month, according to the MPFA’s Ayesha Lau.

‘Business performance was strong and broad-based across our segments, products and markets,’ CEO Bill Winters said.

Hong Kong’s biggest lenders including HSBC, Standard Chartered and BOCHK will keep their key lending and deposit rates unchanged, meaning local businesses and mortgage borrowers will have a longer wait for the cost of borrowing to decline.

Banking and insurance stocks boosted the Hang Seng Index close to bull market territory with the overall sentiment remaining upbeat following Beijing’s recent efforts to prop up stocks.

HKMA reiterated its warning for Hong Kong’s borrowers to “carefully assess” their financial power in considering buying property or taking on mortgages, as high interest rates “may last some time.”

Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank is preparing to introduce virtual asset trading services for retail investors, CEO Ronald Iu says. Plans are afoot as a new regulatory regime is rolled out in June.

Hong Kong kept its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth consecutive time in lockstep with the Federal Reserve’s overnight decision, with sticky US inflation forcing investors to delay rate cut bets.

Scammers have published a fictitious article with the appearance of a South China Morning Post story and a reporter’s byline to promote two online financial trading apps.

Mainland China visitors to Hong Kong during the golden week holiday period will be offered a host of freebies by banks vying for their business amid growing interest in the city’s cash-for-residency scheme.

Swiss bank UBS Group will host an investment conference in Hong Kong at the end of May, continuing a 27-year tradition begun by Credit Suisse Group, which it acquired last year.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange allowed numerous trades that violated US sanctions, including ones involving Hamas, al-Qaeda and Iran.

The number of Hongkongers with negative-equity loans stood at 32,073 in the first quarter of the year, tripling from the previous quarter and the most since some 40,000 cases were recorded in the first quarter of 2004.