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Policy Address 2026 | HK to test tokenization of $1.3t Exchange Fund bills, regularize e-bond issuance thestandard.com.hk

Qatar is stepping up efforts to attract Chinese companies as the US-Israel war on Iran disrupts trade routes in the Gulf, adding urgency to a broader push by Chinese businesses to diversify supply chains and establish operations closer to customers. “Diversification of supply chain is going ahead anyway, right across the world,” said Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling Thani family and chief executive of Qatar-based logistics solutions company WareOne. Chinese...

The shipbuilding and maintenance arm of state-owned marine transport giant China Cosco Shipping has completed initial public offering (IPO) guidance registration, paving the way for a domestic listing to capitalise on a global shipbuilding boom. Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry finished its pre-IPO registration and preparations, according to information released on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website on Saturday. Specialising in cargo and container vessels, the unit offers...

Hong Kong’s stock market is facing renewed pressure to accelerate its review of longer trading hours after South Korea’s main bourse extended its session by four hours on Monday, according to an industry player. The Korea Exchange, South Korea’s bourse operator, launched a real-time after-market from 4pm to 8pm in addition to regular trading from 9am to 3.30pm. It also signalled ambitions to expand to nearly 24-hour trading, following similar plans by Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange. The...

SUNMI Technology signs Eurasia fintech expansion agreements in Hong Kong vir.com.vn

Ranked: Central Bank Assets as a Share of GDP by Country Visual Capitalist

Chief Executive John Lee on Monday vowed that Hong Kong’s first five-year plan would uphold the rule of law and the city’s core systems and expressed hope for everyone to reap a dividend from development. Writing in several newspapers two days before delivering the blueprint alongside his Policy Address, Lee recalled being asked whether a five-year plan would change Hong Kong’s established system. "The answer is no," he wrote, adding that Hong Kong will continue to uphold the rule of law, keep its capitalist system, adhere to the Basic Law, and safeguard "One Country, Two Systems." Lee also recalled being asked how the blueprint relates to ordinary citizens. He said the plan sets out the government’s vision for economic and social development and is designed to safeguard and improve livelihoods. “I want the people of Hong Kong – every one of you – to share in the dividends of development, and feel a sense of happiness and fulfilment,” he wrote. Lee thanked lawmakers and government bureaus and departments for their efforts in helping complete the five-year plan from scratch in less than a year. He pointed out that over 100 consultation sessions were held over the past year, with 80

The coming meeting between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump is on the radar of market traders in mainland China and Hong Kong, as the results – whether smiling handshakes or a tense test of wills – could add volatility to an already unpredictable market. However, observers said current expectations for substantial results from the meeting are minimal – so much so that investors have placed the event low on their hierarchy of variables likely to jolt stocks. Many stock...

The head coach of the Hong Kong, China cycling team, Hervé Dagorne, said the squad hopes to secure at least five medals at the upcoming Asian Games. The team is fielding 13 male and 10 female cyclists to compete across disciplines in track, road, mountain bike and BMX racing. “We have a target on my shoulder of five medals; we hope this is what we should achieve if everything is going well,” Dagorne said. “Everybody is in a good dynamic. I'm really happy about the training currently and good mood, good atmosphere, so it's all going well so far.” Hong Kong, China captured six cycling medals at the last Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, with a gold, three silvers and two bronzes. Dagorne said the toughest opponents in the track races this time will be the national team and Japan. As for the road races, while Kazakhstan remains a major threat, the head coach also pointed to an Uzbek rival who recently switched nationality from Russia. He said Vincent Lau and Chloe Leung, who will both compete in the road events, travelled to Nagoya last week to familiarise themselves with the 23-kilometre circuit – a course featuring extended climbs and technical drops through rural terrain – and prepa

Hong Kong aims to achieve new breakthroughs in its economic development and push the Northern Metropolis development, the city’s first five-year plan revealed. The blueprint released on Wednesday said Hong Kong will consolidate and enhance its status as international financial, maritime, and trade centres and an international aviation hub, while expediting the city’s development into an international innovation and technology centre and a hub for high‑calibre talent. Delivering the five-year plan, Chief Executive John Lee said these efforts would enhance Hong Kong’s edge in global competition. “To ensure our long-term prosperity and stability, we must leverage our existing advantages while expediting development of new quality productive forces,” he said. “We must consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as international financial, maritime and trade centres, and develop Hong Kong into an international I&T centre and a global hub for high calibre talent. “We must advance the development of the ‘four centres and one hub’ at full steam to sustain economic development and improve people's livelihood.” The blueprint also vowed to strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a global offshore renmi

CapitaLand acquires Hong Kong hotel for student housing conversion Institutional Real Estate, Inc.

Hong Kong’s HK$500b silver economy by 2034 offers ‘ocean’ of prospects: Paul Chan South China Morning Post

Syngenta Files Hong Kong Ipo That Could Raise 5 Billion Bloomberg News Reports

Citigroup has appointed veteran banker Sophia Wang as a managing director and head of China financial-institutional sales and senior relationship management (SRM), marking the latest move by the Wall Street lender to deepen its footprint in mainland capital markets despite ongoing geopolitical friction. Wang joined the bank on Tuesday, according to an internal staff memo. Based in Shanghai, she will oversee institutional sales coverage across rates, spread products, foreign exchange, commodities...

Hong Kong Bourse May Launch First Bond Index Before End-2026

Hong Kong Unveils First Five Year Plan Add Jobs Homes Align Closer Mainland

Hong Kong is intensifying efforts to attract technology start-ups and nurture unicorns through expanded financial support via a key government-backed platform, leveraging the city’s booming fundraising activities and world-class financial infrastructure. Investors are displaying an increased appetite for the local tech scene compared with a decade ago – a trend that Terry Wong Ping-sau, CEO of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), said was a positive sign for the city’s...

Hong Kong’s employment outlook rebounds sharply to 14% in fourth quarter South China Morning Post

Hong Kong Vows to Deepen Role as Premier Offshore Yuan Hub

Hong Kong Plans Faster Tech Hub Development to Boost Home Supply

Hong Kong Plans Faster Tech Hub Development to Boost Home Supply Bloomberg.com

Hong Kong Unveils Plan to Align Economy with China’s Goals ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English

Hong Kong Sets Five-Year Tech Goals, Expands Baby Bonus

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China’s securities regulator and its industry body are moving to close compensation loopholes for brokerage management and staff, extending anti-corruption oversight to overseas operations for the first time, as Beijing pushes the sector to build world-class investment banks. The Securities Association of China, a self-regulatory body under the supervision of the regulator, recently sent brokerages a revised draft of its rules on “clean practices”, seeking industry feedback by September 29,...

Chief Executive John Lee promised that the government would push forward with measures needed to drive reform in the maintenance of older buildings. Following November's fire at Wang Fuk Court, which took 168 lives, law enforcement and government departments have filed hundreds of charges against the consultancy firm and the main contractor, which were undertaking major renovations at the Tai Po estate when the inferno broke out, as well as individuals linked to the tragedy. Delivering his Policy Address on Wednesday, Lee noted that the government had introduced several steps to strengthen regulations, boost enforcement, and initiate legislative amendments to drive reform. These include a comprehensive smoking ban on construction and renovation sites, enhanced regulation of fire-service installations, equipment and contractors, as well as stricter rules and heavier penalties on professionals and contractors for non-compliance during major building maintenance works. Lee said officials were also studying the possibility of criminalising bid-rigging in major building maintenance works with the aim of submitting a legislative proposal this year. For the first time, tender invitation a

Hong Kong’s water supply network is set for major upgrades, with all cast iron and asbestos cement pipes to be phased out within the next decade, Chief Executive John Lee announced in his Policy Address on Wednesday. Lee said that during the initial years of the upgrading programme, the government will focus on replacing pipes in areas with higher concentrations of public housing estates and elderly residents. “By adopting a risk-based approach, we will replace or rehabilitate a total of 350 kilometres of aged water mains, at an average rate of 70 kilometres per year, double that for 2026-27,” he said. “We will focus on replacing cast iron and asbestos cement pipes in areas such as Shau Kei Wan, Wong Tai Sin and Kwai Tsing, where there are more public rental housing estates and elderly residents. The target is to have all cast iron and asbestos cement pipes phased out over an estimated 10-year period.” Lee added that the objective is to reduce water pipe bursts and serious leaks by 20 to 30 percent within the first five years. The administration will also collaborate with universities and private enterprises to establish an “Intelligent Water Network Closed-loop Management Chain” f

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AI數據中心佈局勢頭引投資者關注！高通(QCOM.US)股價攀升至兩個月高位

Hong Kong Stocks Open Higher as Oil Prices Stay Elevated marketscreener.com

Chief Executive John Lee said on Wednesday the government aims to cut the waiting time for public housing to less than four years by 2030 as he stressed the need to boost overall supply and eradicate substandard subdivided units. With the average wait for public rental housing down to 4.5 years in 2026-27, the goal is to lower it even further thanks to an increase in public housing supply to 196,000 flats in the next five years – including 30,000 Light Public Housing units – according to the city's first five-year blueprint. The government also aims to resolve the issue of substandard subdivided flats by 2030. "We will take an orderly approach to the eradication of poor-quality subdivided units. Implementing the basic housing unit regime will massively increase the supply of public housing that will take forward the long-term housing strategy," Lee said. "We will crack down on the abuse of public housing and speed up the turnover of public housing. We will continue to embrace the spirits of people-centric and care for the community, and respond swiftly to the disadvantaged community's needs." The chief executive said the government plans to utilise public housing resources to help

Chief Executive John Lee on Wednesday announced that families would receive HK30,000 for every baby after their first, aimed at encouraging people to have more than one child. Delivering his Policy Address, Lee also said an existing HK$20,000 reward for a new baby, due to expire next month, would continue for another three years. "The current term government has shifted from a non-interventionist approach to actively promoting fertility, working to create a conducive environment for childbearing," he said The CE also announced other measures to encourage childbirth. He said families with more than one child would see the tax allowance for the second child and beyond rise from HK$140,000 to HK$160,000. He added that if they buy a home within one year before the baby is born or two years after, they can get a HK$20,000 deduction on stamp duty. He said if they buy a flat under the government's Home Ownership Scheme, the maximum loan-to-value ratio would be raised to 95 percent — meaning they will need to pay less upfront. Other measures to support families who want to have children include more IVF places at the Hospital Authority, more childcare centres, and expanded after‑school chi

The ballot to determine flat-selection order for Wang Fuk Court owners seeking new homes under the government’s Special Sales Exercise was held Tuesday morning. For the first batch of applicants, the first 10 numbers drawn, in order, were 25, 28, 75, 12, 56, 99, 59, 64, 36 and 47. Official results are scheduled to be uploaded to the scheme website at about 3pm. Under the exercise, selection order is decided in batches according to the date the government received an owner’s signed "Letter of Acceptance". The first-batch deadline was June 30, and the second-batch deadline was August 31. Within each batch, applicants are ordered by a computer ballot based on the last two digits of their application number. The government has reserved more than 4,400 units across 10 Housing Authority and Housing Society developments for owners who have sold their Wang Fuk Court units to the government, allowing them to buy a new subsidised unit or exchange flat-for-flat. The estates are located in various areas including Kowloon Bay, Kai Tak, Tseung Kwan O, Kwun Tong and Tai Po, with prices ranging from more than HK$1.5 million to over HK$5.3 million. Unit selection is expected to begin this month. An

Yuan Popularity Boost Likely Focus of Hong Kong's Five-Year Plan

Chief Executive John Lee started announcing Hong Kong's first five-year plan on Wednesday morning by saying that the blueprint is a forward looking and directional guiding document for the city's economic and social development in the next five years. Lee opened his speech at the Legislative Council by noting that the blueprint consists of seven chapters and 28 units. The five-year plan covers various development areas such as the Greater Bay Area and the Northern Metropolis. "The Hong Kong SAR government has completed the historic mission of formulating Hong Kong's first five-year plan which I will announce today to be immediately followed by the 2026 Policy Address," he said. "This arrangement is so that members of the public can understand the relationship between the Hong Kong's five-year plan and the Policy Address. When you read the two documents together, you can understand how the government has formulated policies in 2026 to translate the blueprint into practical measures." The chief executive has said the city's first five-year plan would set out Hong Kong’s overall direction and long-term vision, adding that authorities would push reforms, create opportunities and ensure

Yuan Popularity Boost Likely Focus of Hong Kong’s Five-Year Plan Bloomberg.com

Dogs join diners as Hong Kong bets on the pet economy ft.com

Global X Launched Hong Kong’s First Copper Miners ETF (3014/9014 HK) Macau Business

Hong Kong Boosts Tech Startup Funding to Develop Unicorns - News and Statistics indexbox.io

Hong Kong lays non-stop investment pipeline across MENA internationalfinance.com

Securities regulators in Hong Kong and mainland China are doubling down on efforts to raise the quality of Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPOs), which could slow the flow of new listings but would not reduce underlying demand, according to analysts. In an unusual move, the China Securities Regulatory Commission recently asked nine mainland companies, which had already been pre-approved for listings, to provide supplementary materials detailing fund usage, shareholding structures and pending...

Hong Kong man loses HK$13 million in fake crypto investment app scam Crypto News

The Fire Services Department (FSD) has arrested a man after busting a suspected illegal filling station located at a public housing estate car park in Wong Tai Sin, seizing nearly one tonne of petrol. The department was alerted on Monday that a car parked at Phase 2 of Tsz Lok Estate was leaking fuel and giving off a strong smell of petrol. Upon arrival, firefighters found a seven-seat vehicle leaking fuel and discovered a fuel tank along with refuelling equipment stored inside. During the operation, officers seized 921 litres of petrol – which was enough to fill around 20 private cars. A 34-year-old man holding a two-way permit was arrested on suspicion of committing multiple offences under the Dangerous Goods Ordinance and the Fire Services Ordinance. The department stressed that petrol is a highly flammable liquid fuel, posing a severe explosion risk in a densely populated area like Tsz Lok Estate. To combat illegal fuel activities, the FSD held a joint meeting on Tuesday with the Wong Tai Sin District Office, the local Fire Safety Committee, and the relevant property management firm to discuss ways to strengthen monitoring and heighten vigilance among front-line staff. The depa

Over 60 memorandums of understanding (MoU) were signed at the two-day Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong last week, with a total deal value worth US$3.1 billion – three times last year's figure, the city's Belt and Road Commissioner said on Monday. Nicholas Ho said the 11th edition of the summit drew a more diverse range of foreign government speakers than in previous years, including the Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, the Vice President of Uruguay, and other ministerial-level officials from South Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and North Africa. Ho attributed the strong Central Asian presence at the summit to the chief executive's delegation to the region in June, which generated 96 MoUs worth US$1.65 billion. Since that visit, a Kazakh state-owned company has filed to list in Hong Kong, while Kazakh institutions have issued 7.2 billion yuan worth of dim sum bonds — double the total from last year. Ho said his office has been working on inviting officials from different parts of the world. "We want to increase the country coverage. So, apart from just Asean, the Middle East and Central Asia as its core, we have also included South Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and North Af

Ligent Technologies Seeks $727 Million in Hong Kong IPO

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] KUALA LUMPUR, 11 September 2026 — The 8th Asian Captive Conference (ACC) 2026 yesterday brought together more than 300 risk and industry professionals from the region and beyond to explore how captive insurance is enabling businesses to refine their risk management strategy amid an uncertain and multi-faceted operating environment. The conference was co-organised by Labuan IBFC Incorporated Sdn. Bhd. (Labuan IBFC Inc.)...

Weeks after sparking a nationwide outcry over its mass dismissal of recent college graduates, Xingyu – a major automotive lighting maker in eastern China – has severely penalised four of its executives and promised to help the former employees find new jobs. Two of the firm’s top executives received salary deductions and two human resources managers were dismissed or demoted for their “misjudgment and hasty decision-making”, the company said in a lengthy statement detailing its recent “mistake”...

Over the past three decades, investor Fang Fenglei has had a major role in shaping China’s capital markets. He worked with Morgan Stanley in the early 1990s to help create the country’s first joint venture investment bank – China International Capital Corp. Then, at the start of the millennium, he spearheaded the listing of state-owned giants in Hong Kong as CEO of Bank of China International, later chairing a China joint venture with Goldman Sachs. Now the chairman of Hopu Investments, Fang...

Lawmaker and non-official member of the Housing Authority Scott Leung is urging swift concrete testing at a public housing development project in Tung Chung to ensure safety. Leung’s call came after the authority confirmed on Saturday that structural components in Blocks 3, 4, and 5 of the project in Area 42 may have failed to meet required safety standards. The authority’s engineering team uncovered the issue during routine concrete cube strength tests carried out between late August and early this month. While the contractor concerned has been instructed to repeat the tests, Leung urged authorities to speed up the process. "Most importantly, the Housing Authority needs to instruct the contractor and relevant stakeholders to complete the re-examination as soon as possible," Leung told an RTHK radio programme on Monday. "This is to confirm whether the problem lies with the procedures followed during spot checks, or whether the concrete strength of the buildings is a concern." Leung stressed that only about a month had elapsed between the discovery of the problem and its public announcement, showing that the authority’s testing mechanism was effective at spotting potential issues ea