South China Morning Post - Business

Officials from China’s central bank have pledged to introduce further measures to make it easier for global investors to access yuan-denominated assets, as Beijing views the recent appreciation of the yuan and surge in demand for panda bonds as reflecting rising global recognition of the Chinese currency. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, officials highlighted the yua...

China’s booming luxury housing market is keeping more wealth onshore, a trend that analysts say may pose a growing challenge to Hong Kong’s still resilient high-end residential market. A report by Gavekal Dragonomics analyst Zhang Xiaoxi said Beijing’s tightening crackdown on illicit capital outflows, including through Hong Kong’s “grey market”, was making domestic luxury proper...

China’s economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly four years in the second quarter, with sluggish consumption amid the fallout from the Iran war offsetting strong export growth. The 4.3 per cent increase in gross domestic product, down from 5 per cent in the first three months of the year, dragged first-half growth down to 4.7 per cent. While that is within Beijing’s annual tar...

When Hong Kong launched its latest Connect programme on July 7, most of the attention focused on gold. That misses the bigger story. Delivery Connect, part of the city’s new gold clearing and settlement system, is not simply another financial initiative but the latest evidence that Beijing has settled on a distinctive model for opening up China’s financial markets. Rather than e...

Hong Kong needs to diversify the source of its listed companies and investors if it is to reclaim its recently lost crown as the world’s top initial public offering (IPO) venue, according to a government think tank. “Hong Kong should continue to find ways to diversify both its listing issuers as well as potential future investors,” said Benjamin Hung Pi-cheng, chairman of the Fi...