News

Exchange Fund posts $46.3bn income during the first half

The fund rakes in $43.6bn net investment income amidst the asset markets’ volatility in the first half of the year.

Exchange Fund posts $46.3bn income during the first half

The fund rakes in $43.6bn net investment income amidst the asset markets’ volatility in the first half of the year.

iBond subscription amounts to HK$13b

This represents a 30 percent oversubscription.

Hong Kong smartphone users keen on news apps

A survey revealed that most apps are used to look for various information and entertainment from the Internet via mobile devices during commuting time.

Hong Kong is the most popular city for international businesses: survey

Almost 70% of international companies surveyed are represented in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s June composite interest rate up 5 basis points

Upward adjustment of the weighted deposit rate was seen from the data from retail banks.

Hong Kong's 2nd quarter unemployment rate at 3.5%

Hong Kong's unemployment rate stood at 3.5% in the April-June period, same as that in March-May, according to the figures released by the Census & Statistics Department.

Happy Birthday: The Offshore RMB turns one

From a RMB90bn weakling at birth this monster baby now weighs in at a massive RMB549bn deposit base supporting an actively traded currency and money market.

Residential property sales plunged 58% in June

And the loan-to-value ratio of homes costing between HK$7m -10m has been limited to 60%.

Investor confidence in HK property drops

Homes are now less affordable for the general public after a rally in property prices.

CEO resignation pushes SMIC down in HK trading

China’s biggest chipmaker saw the biggest decline in months in Hong Kong after David Wang failed to win reappointment and eventually quit.

Hong Kong now has more than 900k registered companies

77,991 new local companies were registered during the first half of this year, an increase of 8.53% from 71,861 in the second half of last year.

Government boosts public education on intellectual property rights

The Customs and Excise Department, the Intellectual Property Department and the copyright industry have been jointly organising various publicity and educational events to promote respect for IPRs in the community and especially among the youth, so as to inculcate a culture of IPRs protection when they are young. One of the educational events is the Youth Ambassador Against Internet Piracy Scheme, which was initiated by the C&ED in 2006 in collaboration with the copyright industry. Some 200 000 members of 11 youth uniformed groups have so far joined the scheme, which is aimed at promoting a sense of respect for copyright works among young people. In the past five years, different promotional activities have been organised under the scheme to raise the awareness of, and to motivate the youth ambassadors to support, IPRs protection. The IPD, together with the C&ED, the copyright industry and different organisations in the community have also organised different anti-piracy activities to promote public respect for IPRs. The Youth Ambassador Competition on Business Software Proposal is one of these activities.

CE’s policy address vows to bring housing relief

Tsang said the government will consider various subsidised housing schemes to address one of Hong Kong’s crucial social issue.

Bankruptcy petitions down by more than 15%

Total number of bankruptcy petitions was 4,086 for the first six months of 2011.

Hong Kong’s parking rate is Asia’s highest

Hong Kong’s rental yield of car parking spaces tops 4% per annum, relatively higher than the other sectors such as residential and office properties.

Hong Kong's June foreign assets up $14.8bn

Exchange Fund bills and notes issued reached $1.05tn while claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to $114.6bn.

Group assesses Mandatory Provident Fund withdrawal options

The authority will take note of Hong Kong’s practical operating situation, overseas experience in implementing different withdrawal options and stakeholders’ views.