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Amy Nip

In his five decades in the spirits industry, James Espey has helped launch some of the most loved brands - Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Chivas Regal 18-Year-Old and The Classic Malts, as well as Malibu and Bailey's Irish Cream.

Crime is rising in Hong Kong, according to the latest figures, as the city's new police chief arrives in Beijing today for talks with top security officials.

As disgruntled voices about the city's "unlivability" rise along with the property prices, Hongkongers can only envy residents of Vienna - the Austrian capital that has been named the world's most liveable place for six years in a row.

Hong Kong's economic growth slowed further to 2.1 per cent in the first quarter in the face of a sluggish global economy.

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For the first time in a decade, Hong Kong has been unseated as the most competitive city in China, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which placed Shenzhen in the top spot.

Police last night expressed regret over the treatment of an autistic man wrongly charged with manslaughter, but stopped short of a formal apology. 

Family claim that after wrongly holding him for murder amid media glare, officers denied medication to intellectually disabled detainee.

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying on Friday tried to assuage fears about the Guangdong Free Trade Zone’s impact on Hong Kong’s economy, saying that even though tax-free shopping would be available there, the impact on Hong Kong’s tourism and retail sectors would be minimal.

The economic slowdown on the mainland and Beijing's anti-corruption campaign have not stopped a Hong Kong wine dealer from putting 150 bottles of Chateau Mouton Rothschild worth HK$4.8 million up for sale.

Hong Kong's expatriates have the fifth most-generous employment packages in the Asia-Pacific region, an annual study has shown, putting the city one place behind the mainland.

A research team at the University of Science and Technology is looking to address workplace air quality problems with the development of a multifunctional sensor that can be fitted in offices to detect temperature, humidity and harmful gases.

Tourist numbers soar by 22 per cent on first day of holiday but figures suggest many only use city as transit point and don't stay long.

There was good news for the tourism industry as large numbers of visitors flocked to Hong Kong for the Labour Day weekend. Mainland tourists also said it could be another few years before the city loses its lure as a shopping centre.

Sellers of luxury yachts are banking on a falling euro and design styles with a Chinese twist to keep sales afloat at the city's most prestigious annual boat show, which got under way yesterday.

Things have picked up since a grim March, but arrivals are down on last year, hotel room rates are sliding and retailers say the outlook is bleak.

Premier Li Keqiang has again shown impatience over bureaucratic delays, ordering officials to speed up trials on cutting tariffs for consumer products.

The mainland will reduce tariffs on popular imported consumer goods to boost spending amid the economic slowdown, the State Council announced.

Campaigners seeking to end the affiliation of Chinese University students' union with the Federation of Students, the leading player in the Occupy democracy protests last year, suffered a setback.

As the death toll passes 2,300, fears grow of a humanitarian disaster as rescue workers struggle to reach survivors buried under rubble.

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Hong Kong's first Apple Watch owners strapped on their new gadgets for the first time - but launch day proved a low-key affair, in stark contrast to the frenzy of queueing, buying and reselling every time a new iPhone comes out.

In a stunning reversal of fortune for Ricky Wong Wai-kay, the High Court ruled that it was unlawful of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his cabinet to deny a free-to-air licence to the maverick businessman's Hong Kong Television Network.

Hong Kong's new competition law will bring tangible benefits to consumers by tackling price fixing and lowering prices in distorted markets, the head of Competition Commission says.

The Immigration Department is expecting a jump of almost 15 per cent in the number of people - including Hongkongers - passing through the territory's control points during the upcoming Labour Day holiday.

Small businesses have little to fear from the new competition law, according to the city watchdog chief who has advised governments around the world.

A public agency providing sports training and support to elite athletes has been upbraided by the government's audit watchdog for lacking an internal mechanism of checks and balances.