Business
2023-24 Budget: Tourism industry calls for sufficient financial support to revitalise businesses
- 2023-02-24
- Society
- By: Man TSEEdited by: Bella Ding、Zimo ZHONG、Yuchen LI
- 2023-02-24
Hong Kong is set to spend HK$350 million in organizing international events to attract tourists and offers fully guaranteed loans to revive tourism businesses. The funds are primarily for promoting major tourism events, including the first-ever Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival and the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Tourism Board will spend another HK$200 million hosting more international meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions in the fields of finance, innovation and technology and medicine. “Hong Kong has long been a world‑renowned events capital. Organisation of mega events, international conferences and exhibitions is especially crucial to drawing high value-added visitors,” Chan said. This is the first Budget under the current-term government’s administration and after the resumption of quarantine-free travel with the Mainland and the international community. Hello Hong Kong campaign, launched on Feb. 2, will distribute 500,000 free air tickets and various cash vouchers to attract worldwide tourists. Li Wai-pong, the operation manager of Hong Kong Travel Bus Company said that Hong Kong may not have the capacity to cater for visitors due to the labour and resource shortage in the tourism industry. “It will cost me around HK$90,000 each bus to repair the travel buses before operation,” said Li, “No transport operator could afford it without the financial help from the government, especially after a three-year business suspension.” The government announced the fully guaranteed loans worthing HK$2.7 billion for transport operators and travel agents on Wednesday, to support cross-boundary passenger transport and the tourism industry. Li said that this scheme’s effectiveness in supporting companies’ reopening is limited, since many companies can no longer afford new debts. The deficiency of manpower also exists among travel agencies. “Only 10% of our leaving bus drivers are willing to come back to …
New round of consumption vouchers and increased football betting tax centre Budget 2023’s discussion
- 2023-02-23
- Society
- By: Nga Ying LAUEdited by: Le Ha NGUYEN、Mei Ching LEE
- 2023-02-23
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po released the budget speech for fiscal 2023-24, the first under the administration of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, on Wednesday with major public concern surrounding the fresh round of consumption vouchers and raising the football betting duty of Hong Kong Jockey Club amid the government’s deficit. Eligible citizens will receive HK$5,000 electronic consumption vouchers in two instalments, HK$3,000 in April and the remaining in the middle of the year. The amount of consumption vouchers is reduced from HK$10,000 due to an expected deficit of HK$140 billion in the financial year 2022-23, said Chan. “HK$5,000 is the best we can do,” said Chan when asked why the amount of this year’s consumption voucher was lower than last year's during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Non-permanent residents who have come to Hong Kong through different admission schemes or to study will receive vouchers in half value, i.e. HK$2,500 in total. But whether inbound persons admitted recently to the Top Talent Pass Scheme with rich work experience and good academic qualifications are eligible to receive the vouchers is yet to be confirmed. The budget also introduced the annual special football betting duty of HK$2.4 billion on the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) for 5 years starting from 2023/24, a cumulative total of HK$12 billion. HKJC, a local non-profit unit providing horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment, slammed the policy in its latest statement, saying that “any permanent hike in betting duty rates will irreversibly create structural problems, which will only benefit illegal and offshore betting operators. The soccer betting duty was originally set at the rate of 50% of gross profit. According to HKJC, even the original rate is already the highest in the world. “Most importantly, such increase will adversely impact the Club’s ability …
2023-24 Budget: Hong Kong government distribute consumption vouchers to consolidate economic recovery
- 2023-02-23
- Business
- By: Ho Yi CHEUNGEdited by: Bella Ding、Lok Yi CHU
- 2023-02-23
The government announced a "moderately liberal" fiscal stance in the following financial year, issuing consumption vouchers to promote private consumption and stimulate economic growth during the post-pandemic era. Hong Kong permanent residents and new arrivals aged 18 or above, as the first section, will receive HK$5,000 electronic consumption vouchers, half of the amount received last year, while persons who live and study in Hong Kong through admission schemes as the second section will receive the voucher at half value. "As economic activity regains momentum and after considering the fiscal deficit, we will continue the consumer voucher scheme to support the retail industry and consolidate the economic recovery,” said Paul Chan Mo-po, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong at the press conference. The government has implemented the consumption voucher scheme with HK$5,000 and HK$10,000 to over 6 million eligible citizens of the first category respectively to boost domestic consumption in the last two years. Hong Kong’s private consumption expenditure in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached HK$514.3 billion with a year-on-year increase of 1.9%, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Leung Chak-tim, the owner of Quarter Bar, expected that consumer vouchers cannot stimulate the business of the food and beverage sector as his bar has similar figures on revenue before and after the distribution of vouchers. “There are more policies as barriers stifling revenue growth during COVID-19, like social distancing,” said Leung. The volume index of retail sales for food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco recorded an overall decline of 4.2% in 2022, according to the Census and Statistics Department. “Rental expenditure is 30% of our total cost. If we are unable to increase the revenue, we prefer the government to implement subsidies for restaurants and shops as a way to cut costs,” added Leung. Tsang Mei-kuen, a housewife, said …
Hong Kong’s unemployment rate drops in 9 months trend
- 2023-02-17
- Business
- By: Yuchen LI、Yuhe WANGEdited by: Bella Ding、Rex Cheuk、Man TSE
- 2023-02-17
Hong Kong’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged lower from 3.5% in the period from October to December 2022 to 3.4% between December 2022 and January 2023, recording the ninth consecutive improvement from last year. The underemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage points to 1.4% from November 2022 to January, with the number of the underemployed persons decreasing by 3,200 to 52,100, while the number of unemployed decreased by 7,600 to 118,400. The unemployment rate of the retail sector and the food and beverage sectors declined by 0.4 and 0.1 percentage points to 4.2% and 4.9% respectively. The unemployment rates of other sectors line lined in general. Hong Kong's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has kept a steady downward trend since May 2022 as the city recovers from the epidemic alongside border reopening between Hong Kong and China, said Chris Sun Yuk-han, the Secretary for Labor and Welfare. “The unemployment and underemployment situation continued to improve,” said Sun. Amid the fifth wave of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2022, retail, accommodation and food service was the most affected industry, with its unemployment rate hitting 10% in the period of February to April 2022, according to the Census and Statistics Department. Vera Yuen Wing-han, an economics lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, said that Hong Kong's service industry had to shut down extensively before border opening as the consumption level was low. Moreover, Hong Kong's local labour market has been troubled for a long time by the shortage of labour, especially in the service industry, Yuen added. “The recruitment advertisements hang all the time but few people apply for the vacancies,” Roy Chan, the human resource manager of 616 Catering Management Limited said. The staff shortage in the catering industry is a common phenomenon especially for the full-time staff. “We prefer the full-time staff …
Hong Kong stock market plunges as Sino-US tension rises
- 2023-02-06
- Politics
- By: Yixin Gao、Kin Hou POONEdited by: Bella Ding、Mei Ching LEE、Zimo ZHONG
- 2023-02-06
Hong Kong stocks slumped on Monday amid growing concerns over the spy balloon incident between China and the US and the bet on Chinese full border reopening. The Hang Seng Index opened 311 points lower this morning and dropped 2.1% to 21,222 at the close of Monday trading with a HK$136.02 billion turnover. The Hang Seng Technology Index went down by 3.7%. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index dipped by 2.7%. A US military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday, while the Chinese government said it was a stray civilian airship blown off course. “The Hang Seng Index had been rising since November last year, once up over 8,000 points. Therefore, the market is sensitive to adverse news. Friday's incident about China's ‘spy balloon’ made investors feel uneasy, leading to a fall in today’s stock market,” said Sam Chi-yung, Strategist at Patrons Securities limited. Bilibili(09626) decreased by 5.4% to HK$186.6. Meituan(03690) dropped 5% to HK$164.1. Tencent(00700) slid 2.1% to HK$376.8. Southbound Stock Connect trading funds, however, bucked the trend, buying a net of nearly HK$2 billion for the day. The Chinese authorities announced on Feb. 3 that mainland China would fully reopen the borders with Hong Kong and Macau from today. The travel and tourism industry performed a 0.5% increase under the overall negative performance of the stock market, according to AASTOCK. Feiyang Group(01901) increased by 10.1% to HK$1.31. Guangdong Nan Yue Logistics Company Limited(03399) went up 5.5% to HK$1.15. Global MasterMind Securities Limited(08063) rose 4.6% to HK$0.068. “There will be more opportunities for both personal and corporate business travel. With relatively weak business operating dynamics in the previous three years affected by COVID-19, the industry should see a more pronounced upturn in the future,” said Harris Wan Kong-sing, Vice President of iFast Global Market.
HSI retreats from 11-month-high as mainland stock market resumes
- 2023-01-31
- Business
- By: Lok Yi CHU、Ho Yi CHEUNGEdited by: Nga Ying LAU、Bella Ding
- 2023-01-31
Hong Kong stocks pulled back on the third trading day of the Year of the Rabbit, also the settlement date of HSI futures, after a week-long Lunar New Year break in mainland China. The Hang Seng Index opened 109 points lower this morning and dipped 2.7 percent, or 619 points, to 22,069.73 at the close of Monday trading, with a turnover of 203.25 billion. “The Hang Seng Index will experience profit-taking after hitting an 11-month-high, also the futures index is settled on today, which caused market fluctuations,” wrote Sam Chi-Yung, a Certified Financial Consultant of Patrons Securities, on Facebook. CRIC Securities Company Limited announced yesterday that the transaction volume of mainland real estate during the Lunar New Year fell by 14 percent year-on-year, leading to weakness in mainland real estate stocks. Country Garden (2007) slumped 8.3 percent to HK$2.97 while Longfor Group (0960) declined 5.7 percent to HK$26.60. The Hang Seng Mainland China Property Index overall downed 4.7 percent. Property management stocks fell correspondingly. Country Garden Services (6098) slid 5.92% to close at HK$21.45. The Hang Seng Technology Index dropped 4.8 percent amid profit-taking after two consecutive days of rising. Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. (0241) sank 8.0 percent to HK$7.05, while Alibaba (9988) and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700) dropped 7.1 percent to HK$109.00 and 6.7 percent to HK$387.20 respectively. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index decreased by 3.6 percent. Mainland enterprise stocks Haidilao (6862) and Sands China Limited (1928) decreased by 6.85 percent at HK$21.75 and 5.56 percent at HK$28.85 respectively. The blue chips backed the stock market. A CICC research report, based on the data provided by Informa Financial Intelligence Company EPFR, revealed that overall net inflows of the overseas active funds into Hong Kong Stock market have been recorded for three consecutive weeks as …
Chinese cross-border investors suffer losses as Futubull and Tiger Brokers face corrective measures
- 2023-01-28
- Business
- By: Jiaxing Li、Lok Yi CHUEdited by: Bella Ding、Yuhe WANG、Le Ha NGUYEN
- 2023-01-28
Investors in China have been in a weak market sentiment since China’s securities regulator ordered the two major online brokerages Futubull and UP Fintech, also known as Tiger Brokers in Asia, to rectify their business last month. Futu Holding Limited and UP Fintech Holding Limited have conducted cross-border securities businesses involving domestic investors without regulatory consent and will be banned from opening new accounts and soliciting new clients, said China Securities Regulatory Commission in a statement on Dec 30, 2022. Existing Chinese investors can still trade via the brokerages but additional fund transfers through unlawful channels to their accounts will be banned. “The sudden regulation brought uncertainty to my wealth, and I therefore chose to move my funds and not to use these two platforms anymore,” said Allen Liu, a two-year user of Futubull and Tiger Brokers, adding that the government action affected his investment portfolio and caused some losses. Ge Chenming, a cross-border securities investor on Futubull and UP Fintech, said that he suffered a sudden loss of CN¥160,000 (about HK$185,000) because of the fall in the US and platform stocks after the regulation. “After the shut-down of these platforms, I have had difficulties buying US stocks because my English is poor and foreign platforms are hard for me to understand, ” Ge added. Shares of Futu and UP Fintech, both listed on Nasdaq, slumped around 30% to a one-month low at US$37.84 (HK$296) and US$3.20 (HK$25), respectively, one day after the announcement of CSRS. As of 26 Jan, the prices of Futu and UP Fintech have increased by more than 44% and 31% year-to-date, though both prices are still below the levels before the regulation. CSRC said it was illegal for Futubull and Tiger Brokers to provide investors with overseas stock speculation services, including stock trading on Hong …
Hong Kong towards NFT art at slow pace, with unstable market factors
- 2022-12-14
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bella Ding、Ming Min AW YONGEdited by: YANG Zhenfei
- 2022-12-14
In the work of Hong Kong NFT artist David Leung, a cooked hairy crab on the dining table could turn into a bee-like creature, with its fangs bared at the audience. "Sometimes I look at food, they look back at me,” said Leung. He got inspiration from the food he works with every day and started to make photograph collections of food, manipulating them into perfect symmetry monsters. Leung entered the NFT industry earlier this year. As a part of his NFT photograph collection entitled Hairy Halloween, the hairy crab images already gained 0.3 ETH, a kind of cryptocurrency used by digital marketplace Opensea, or HK$ 2860.3 for him. Just like Leung, a number of artists or art creators in Hong Kong have attempted to explore the use of NFT, either for art creation or trading, although the market is yet well-established. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens are blockchain-based digital assets, such as digital art or music, or tokenized physical assets, such as homes, automobiles, or papers. And every NFT has its own identification code and metadata to distinguish them from one another. The government set aside HK$100 million to push the city on the road of “art tech” after former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced the plan in her last policy address in November 2020. And many organisations, for example, the auction house Digital Art Fair, embraced the idea of digital art assets, especially NFTs. "NFT art has recently been fairly popular with many generous investors in Hong Kong," said Heiman Ng, the Head of Business Development for the Digital Art Fair. "This year, we auctioned 21 pieces of art in partnership with Sotheby's. A single piece by Jacky Tsai, our digital artist of the year, is worth between HK$3 and HK$5 million." About 10.7% of adults …
World Cup makes business better, pub owners say
- 2022-12-06
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Subin JO、Mei Ching LEEEdited by: Nick Yang
- 2022-12-06
Two weeks after the beginning of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, pubs in Hong Kong saw an increase in revenue during the world-class tournament. The group stage of the game finished last Friday. As the competition heated up, The Young Reporter found the business of bars during the World Cup period has improved. Lee Dong Baek, 49, a pub owner in Tsim Sha Tsui expected to produce 15% more profit than usual, according to the number of guests that have made reservations in advance during the tournament. “Hong Kong is a global city, the pub will be crowded throughout the World Cup season,” he said. Yoon Yong-ho, 58, the owner of a beer pub in Tsim Sha Tsui, which has been running for 11 years, said liquor sales have increased since the cup competition began as customers will “stay longer during the matches.” He added that patronage of large groups of customers is the major source of income during the World Cup. Lee Myung-jin, 31, a football fan from South Korea, booked a pub with her co-workers three days ago to cheer for her home country. “If Korea wins today, I don't think spending money will be a waste,” she said. Chan Wai-ming, 21, one of the customers, also said that the atmosphere in the pub can stimulate his willingness to spend more money and time. Yet, pub owners and customers are also facing restrictions despite the government scrapping the limitation on opening hours for dining premises on Nov. 3. Guests need to take rapid tests less than 24 hours before entry, and no more than six people can sit at one table. Yoon said it was sad that he could not see more customers coming because of limitations on gathering. The time difference also hinders a significant increase …
Hong Kong’s workforce shrinks amid consecutive population outflow
- 2022-12-05
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Lok Yi CHUEdited by: Tiffany Ma
- 2022-12-05
Kong Gam-lung, 33, is sitting in his office, worrying about the recruitment he posted on the Internet a few months ago. Over the past year, he has posted several job advertisements on different online recruitment platforms, but few have applied. He owns an interior design firm DLP Studio Limited, which has been hit hard by the decline of the young labour force in Hong Kong. “The former designer resigned because he planned to leave Hong Kong, and we have posted many advertisements to hire a new junior interior designer since last June, but this position is still vacant at this moment,” said Kong. He said DLP Studio is having “the most difficult time” in recruiting new workers this year. Hong Kong’s exodus shrank the labour force as many left for political reasons or due to strict Covid-19 restrictions. More than 113,000 people have left Hong Kong since June 2021, a record high since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, said the Census and Statistics Department. Entry and mid-level positions, such as the junior designer at Kong’s company, have been hit the hardest, as most of the leaving employees are under 30. The labour force of Hong Kong was 3.77 million in the third quarter of 2022, down around 3% year-on-year and at a ten-year low, according to official data. Kong currently works 12 hours a day with several employees to manage around 10 projects at the same time due to the shortage of manpower. “This not only affects my work-life balance but more importantly, it affects the operation of the company,” said Kong, explaining that the unstaffed situation has made his company lost many opportunities to undertake design and construction projects. Kong said the company has already rejected four store and home interior design projects this year, …