Columnist

Shirley Yam

Is the baby step in Unicom’s mixed-ownership trial anything to cheer about?

Opinion

Is the baby step in Unicom’s mixed ownership worth cheering for?

25 Aug 2017 - 5:42pm 18

Small investors holding placards protest outside the Legislative Council on July 31, 2002 to express their discontent over a penny-stock crash. Photo: AP

Opinion

Confessions of a market maker in Hong Kong’s penny stocks fiasco

11 Jul 2017 - 11:04pm 3

Floor traders are seen at the Hong Kong stock exchange in Central. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

Three theories to explain Hong Kong’s penny stock crash

4 Jul 2017 - 11:00pm 4

A flag of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) flying at Exchange Square. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics is here to stay

27 Jun 2017 - 11:02pm 6

A stack of crisp renminbi notes. Photo: Shutterstock

Opinion

Hong Kong’s start-up board is a dream come true for wrong reasons

20 Jun 2017 - 10:53pm 2

A train runs through the Whistling Dune Bay in Dalad Qi in Ordos, in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Located to the east of Kubuqi Desert, the Whistling Dune Bay was developed as a tourist destination since 1984. After years of improvement, it became a landmark for tourism industry of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion

How the gravy train chugs along in China’s funding drought

13 Jun 2017 - 10:53pm

A display board shows the falling Hang Seng Index during morning trading on the first day of trading after Lunar New Year holidays at the Hong Kong Stocks Exchange in Hong Kong, China February 11, 2016. Photo: REUTERS

Banking & Finance

Trust in an accountant speaks volumes of Beijing’s priorities

26 Jan 2018 - 4:14pm 1

As many as 19 Chinese state companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have established Communist Party committees. Whose rules do they hew to?

Opinion

The hammer and sickle in Hong Kong’s public companies

30 May 2017 - 10:59pm 4

Why Henderson Land’s ‘Uncle Four’ spent record US$3bn on Murray Road land plot

Opinion

Why Henderson’s ‘Uncle Four’ spent US$3bn on Murray Road site

24 May 2017 - 8:04am 8

Exterior of TVB City in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

The identity of TVB’s true controller lays bare for all to see

17 May 2017 - 12:11pm 13

It’s not too hard to net some innocent investors in Hong Kong. Photo: EPA

Opinion

All you need to know about cheater’s stocks

10 May 2017 - 12:40am 1

The Common Reporting Standard will make it harder for the super-rich to hide their wealth offshore. Photo: Marc Stickler Photography

Opinion

Opinion: How a new accounting law will prop up Hong Kong home prices

26 Apr 2017 - 2:35pm 8

Xiang’s dismissal shows Xi is picking his battles, and letting the old power brokers be, for now

Opinion

Xi is picking his battles, and letting old power brokers be, for now

19 Apr 2017 - 8:00am 2

Whoever ends up with a stake in China United Network will be operating in a tailor made straightjacket.

Opinion

Unicom’ mixed ownership sets China’s reforms backward

12 Apr 2017 - 8:02am

Loans beget shares, which beget more loans, and letters of credit, which beget more loans, and cash

Opinion

How a self-made Chinese tycoon becomes too big to fail

5 Apr 2017 - 8:15am 5

Holstein cows on a farm. Huishan Dairy is China’s largest operator of dairy farms, with as many as 200,000 dairy cattle.Photo: AFP

Companies

The magic went out of Huishan’s wizardry

29 Mar 2017 - 8:16am

The share price of Dadi Education Holdings fell then they traded for the first time in Hong Kong last month, seemingly breaking the long tradition of first-day bumper gains. The stock began a three-day surge last week in which it soared fivefold, and fell 31 per cent in two days. Photo: SCMP

Companies

Roller coaster ride exposes weaknesses on Hong Kong’s GEM

22 Mar 2017 - 8:00am

Compared to the deep bench that makes up the elite families’ consigliere, the list of candidates to enforce Xi Jinping’s vision of financial integrity is short

Opinion

A guide to the menagerie lurking in China’s corridors of power

15 Mar 2017 - 8:00am 1

Foresea Life’s birth, rapid growth and current reprimand all took place on the insurance regulator’s watch, every step of the way.

Opinion

Is Foresea the poster boy or scapegoat of Chinese insurance?

28 Feb 2017 - 11:26pm

Mystery surrounds the fortunes of Ye Jianming, his company structure, or why he pays triple the prevailing interest rate for loans to fund his acquisitions

Opinion

Who’s that 39-year-old paying HK$1.4 billion for three office floors?

22 Feb 2017 - 8:29am 13

China’s financial watchdog agencies and regulators are coming out strong in inveighing against corporate raiders that use their insurance units as war chests to fund their takeovers and stock market punts. Photo: Bloomberg.

Opinion

What’s in the short leash on China’s insurers – risk or politics?

15 Feb 2017 - 6:00am

Photo: Shutterstock

Business

The cat prevails over the mice in China’s money mill, for now

9 Feb 2017 - 12:24pm 1

The Year of Rooster could be business as usual for owners of listed shell companies amid a soft approach on disclosure requirements by Hong Kong regulators. Photo: Xinhua

Opinion

Shell company trading to remain ‘business as usual’

31 Jan 2017 - 10:53pm

FILE - In this file photo taken Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, Li Hejun, chairman and CEO of Hanergy Group Ltd., gestures during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Beijing, China. In 2014, Hanergy was ranked No. 23 on the MIT Technology Review’s list of the world’s 50 “smartest companies.” (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan, File)

Opinion

Hong Kong regulator just a chained lion in Hanergy civil action

24 Jan 2017 - 11:01pm 1

Goldin Financial founder Pan Sutong resides in Hong Kong and has been an avid participant in the local horse racing scene since 2011. Photo: Kenneth Chan

Opinion

Li Ka-shing looks abroad as mainland developers move in

2 Feb 2017 - 6:15pm 2

To understand why HNA Group paid such an insane price for Kai Tak land, we need to take a closer look at its business model

Opinion

Mainland developers are ‘money mills’ that fuel asset prices

13 Jan 2017 - 10:53am 2

‘State companies compete for political and financial resources on the size of assets, not profitability’

Opinion

China’s state-owned companies seek out listed shells

3 Jan 2017 - 11:00pm

Artist impression pics of the latest Kai Tak development plan. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

Here’s a HK$100 bet that HNA wins third bid for Kai Tak land

27 Dec 2016 - 10:24pm 2

An Evergrande-Vanke merger, backed by Baoneng, will create a mega developer that’s too big for Beijing to ignore, or trust

Companies

Here’s why Evergrande’s pursuit of Vanke failed: politics

20 Dec 2016 - 11:11pm

Floor traders are seen at the Hong Kong stock exchange in Central. Photo: Dickson Lee

Opinion

Shell farming is now a part-time job for novices

13 Dec 2016 - 11:17pm 1

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) is putting the burden on China’s banks when it comes to verifying offshore asset purchases. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Banks in hot seat after China’s crackdown on capital flight

6 Dec 2016 - 10:59pm 1

Mainland developer HNA Group stunned local property experts by paying HK$8.8 billion for a Kai Tak land plot earlier in November. Photo: Nora Tam

Opinion

Hong Kong’s developer cartel is beginning to lose its grip

29 Nov 2016 - 11:27pm 9

Stewardesses stand in line during the inauguration of the new train line linking Addis Ababa to the Red Sea state of Djibouti. Chaoyue Group said it’s landed a contract to build a renminbi settlements network for the African country. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

How to triple a stock’s price: a concept, a low float and a regulator looking the other way

22 Nov 2016 - 11:10pm

Can Agricultural Bank of China rein in its errant New York branch?

Opinion

Can Agricultural Bank of China rein in its errant New York branch?

11 Nov 2016 - 10:52pm

Au-yeung Mak was suspended from the accountants’ register for his participation in fraudulent transactions involving a gas pipeline project that did not exist when he was working as a company secretary at Grand Field. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Why does HKSE stay mum on Energine’s choice of company secretary?

4 Nov 2016 - 11:12pm

Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

Opinion

HKSE’s waiver for BoC Hong Kong’s corporate secretary sets a bad precedent

28 Oct 2016 - 10:59pm 3

Shandong International Trust is seeking a Hong Kong listing with a shadow banking business no less murky and risky than a casino junket

Opinion

Should Hong Kong brave something Beijing won’t dare?

21 Oct 2016 - 11:22pm

Gone are its HK$30 billion crown jewels, replaced by receivables

Opinion

Ailing Chinese Estates boss Joseph Lau striving to outwit God

14 Oct 2016 - 10:58pm 2

A visitor looks at a model of a new apartment complex at a showroom of Evergrande Real Estate Group in Wuhan, Hubei province. Photo: Reuters

Opinion

Evergrande finds a lifeline in back door listing, thanks to soft-touch regulators

7 Oct 2016 - 10:56pm

Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing has always recognised the value of good media coverage. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

Li Ka-shing wants his Postal Savings Bank investment heard in Beijing

30 Sep 2016 - 11:06pm 3

Steel merger casts bad light on China’s economic reform

Opinion

Steel merger casts bad light on China’s economic reform

23 Sep 2016 - 10:56pm

Opponents of regulatory reform proclaim nothing is broken, but a study of 91 listed firms from 2014 proves otherwise

Opinion

Reform is needed when half of Hong Kong listings in a year turn out to be of dubious quality

16 Sep 2016 - 10:54pm 3

The victory of democratic candidates in the accountancy, technology and functional constituencies, has shaken up some beliefs. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

Hong Kong’s political undercurrent makes reform of listings market look gloomy

10 Sep 2016 - 12:56am

Sunday’s LegCo election is more about whether Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying keeps his job. Photo: Nora Tam

Opinion

Ring ring! Don’t forget to vote on Sunday for the CE election

2 Sep 2016 - 11:14pm 1

Indeed, the headlines do look promising.Land sales are notching up one record one after another in some Chinese cities. Photo: AFP

Opinion

Brick and mortar facade buries real truth about China’s property sector

26 Aug 2016 - 10:59pm

Hui Ka-yan accumulated his interest in Vanke at a time when the developer’s management did everything possible to push the share price down by 20 per cent to put a financial squeeze on Baoneng. Photo: Nora Tam

Opinion

Politics will decide whether Evergrande can hit jackpot

20 Aug 2016 - 8:02am

Ginseng for sale outside a store in Chinatown, Toronto, Canada. The biggest buyer of Canadian ginseng, Hong Kong-based Hang Fat Ginseng, spectacularly melted down in January, leaving farmers in limbo. Photo: Bloomberg

Opinion

Court judgement exposes lies and mockery in Hong Kong’s regulatory regime

29 Jul 2016 - 10:38pm