Hong Kong

Hong Kong sharpens fine art edge over Singapore

24 Mar 2023

After a record $1.7 bln of turnover in 2021, ructions in China cooled the city’s auction houses last year. But Art Basel is crowded with Chinese collectors this week. As Hong Kong competes with its southern rival to serve the wealthy, its art market is a potent advantage.

Richard Li’s insurer offers geopolitical cover

22 Mar 2023

The tycoon is trying a fourth time to list his $9 bln upstart. Delays were helpful: the business is hitting its stride, and a Southeast Asia focus is a draw against Hong Kong-listed peers, including China-focused AIA and Prudential. Disadvantages are becoming selling points.

Cathay’s people problem is Hong Kong’s too

10 Mar 2023

The carrier may struggle to hire fast enough to ramp up capacity. Higher salaries would be an obvious fix to lure back crew scarred by endless quarantine. In the meantime, Cathay will remain a globe-trotting reminder of the reopened city’s isolation for longer than anyone wants.

Hong Kong’s office landlords face a tough rebound

1 Mar 2023

Global firms like Invesco are signing long leases but vacancy rates are at 12%, more than double Tokyo and Singapore. The Asian hub’s delayed reopening coincides with fresh supply hitting the market too. Hong Kong needs corporate tenants from mainland China to return fast.

Hong Kong spreads its wings, and its bets

23 Feb 2023

Expats are sizing up their future in the Asian financial centre, but with reservations. No wonder then that the city’s leader John Lee is pitching for more business from mainland China and from places beyond the West. It would put a new spin on Hong Kong’s global aspirations.

HSBC turnaround party has muted morning after

21 Feb 2023

The $150 bln bank has hit the targets boss Noel Quinn set three years ago, and is enjoying a valuation close to pre-pandemic levels. But Quinn’s current ambitions seem modest compared with recent performance. His conservatism may mean the bank’s rate-rise jackpot has peaked.

Missing China bank boss is the wrong big deal

17 Feb 2023

Bao Fan's disappearance wiped 30% off China Renaissance’s stock. But his boutique investment bank had already shrunk as work from clients like Didi vanished. The broader blow is to financiers waiting for new business to offset Beijing’s common-prosperity and anti-corruption push.

Singapore looks boxed in with Li Ka-shing

9 Jan 2023

Co-investing with Hong Kong’s top tycoon once seemed like a no-brainer but sovereign fund Temasek may sell its 20% of CK Hutchison’s ports business. It owns a hefty slug of the company’s retail unit too. Geopolitics complicate any exit from these bold private investments.

China property gets $650 mln vote of no confidence

13 Dec 2022

Controlling shareholder Yang Huiyan is shedding 7% of Country Garden's services arm, a first. She doesn’t seem to need the money given state support for the developer, and it’s an odd time to sell. It suggests deep scepticism about Beijing’s real estate rescue package.

Hong Kong IPOs go back to a less luminous future

12 Dec 2022

Bankers and officials see the end of China’s Covid-19 restrictions as crucial to reviving the hub’s once-booming IPO market. That understates the city’s challenges. After vying for the hottest listings, the way investors and companies traverse the gateway to China is changing.

Sinopharm’s second Chinese herb shot is potent

8 Dec 2022

The pharma giant may revive a $4 bln buyout of its Hong Kong-listed traditional medicine arm. Valuations for rivals on the mainland have risen in the two years since the last try. A growing disconnect between the markets allows for a bigger premium and a lucrative relisting.

Chinese insurer bets on IPO clouds parting

7 Dec 2022

Sunshine has raised $863 mln in its Hong Kong debut despite volatile markets, low interest rates and Covid disruptions to its business. The group may have navigated all three relatively well, but a valuation premium suggests investors expect brighter days ahead.

Ackman’s Hong Kong short is logical, not likely

24 Nov 2022

The hedge fund boss is wagering the local currency’s dollar peg will snap. The economic case is stronger than during his last try in 2011: the peg is forcing rate hikes even as the highly-leveraged city’s economy contracts. But the risks of alternatives might stay Beijing’s hand.

Hong Kong’s crypto push sets up race to bottom

22 Nov 2022

The Asian city reiterated its plan to allow retail access to regulated virtual assets, despite FTX’s blow-up and a sweeping ban in China. It’s not a big departure from what’s offered in the U.S. and Europe but a rivalry with Singapore to lure capital and talent could make things messy.

HSBC and StanChart give Hong Kong sport trial run

4 Nov 2022

The Rugby Sevens, sponsored by the $103 bln lender led by Noel Quinn, is back, but as a shadow of its schmoozefest self. Meanwhile the bank Bill Winters sits atop is offering cash to encourage runners at the local marathon. Both show how the city faces a long slog back to normal.

Hong Kong-Wall Street group hug only does so much

2 Nov 2022

James Gorman, David Solomon and other banking bigwigs flew in for a confab aimed at restoring the financial hub’s stature. Amid Covid curbs and geopolitical tensions, their presence alone is a boost. Curbing capital flight from the city and the mainland, though, will be tougher.

Hong Kong’s steep slide shows misplaced priorities

1 Nov 2022

Economic activity plunged 4.5% in the third quarter as consumers and companies slashed spending. The government is trying to rally support for fintech and finance, but appears to have no clear plan to help mundane sectors like real estate and retail which are the biggest drags.

Hong Kong’s real-estate correction has no winners

25 Oct 2022

Property prices are falling due to rising interest rates, a brain drain and a weak local economy. That sounds like good news for the world’s most unaffordable housing market. But first-time buyers and homeowners face rising mortgage costs, adding pressure for developers, too.

Brain drain solution is staring Hong Kong in face

19 Oct 2022

Leader John Lee hopes lower property taxes and a new visa scheme will persuade foreign talent not to move to destinations like Singapore. But it’s piecemeal stuff and ignores what’s easily the biggest cause of foreigners fleeing: the city’s increasingly nonsensical Covid policy.

Prada homecoming would set a financial fashion

18 Oct 2022

A decade after its Hong Kong IPO, the $12 bln maker of Galleria bags is seeking to trade also in Milan. That will help it into European indices and create a hedge against Western decoupling from China. It would also make sole listings in the Asian hub less desirable.