https://www.scmp.com/rss/161555/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The Japanese government has requested that Chinese authorities step up security around schools, businesses and other locations around the country with links to Japan, fearing its citizens might become targets as China commemorates the anniversary of the Nanking massacre on Friday. The Japanese embassy in Beijing and its consulates have formally requested increased security measures for Japanese nationals following two attacks on children this year. In June, a Japanese woman, and her daughter... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290493/japan-urges-beijing-protect-its-citizens-china-nanking-massacre-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3290493/japan-urges-beijing-protect-its-citizens-china-nanking-massacre-anniversary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Dec 2024 09:00:12 +0000 Twelve years ago, Homyar Nasirabadwala was working as an accountant in his hometown of Mumbai, India, when he came across a job advert in a Parsi magazine seeking a full-time dasturji, a Zoroastrian priest. Already ordained in doctrines dating back to antediluvian Persia that influenced essential principles of Judaism and Christianity, Nasirabadwala figured it might be time for a change, so after 11 years of number-crunching service at Shapoorji Pallonji & Co, he applied online. There was just... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3097231/parsis-hong-kong-whats-secret-behind-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3097231/parsis-hong-kong-whats-secret-behind-their?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2020 03:15:17 +0000 At the heart of China’s future development is Beijing’s long-term plan to turn the Greater Bay Area into an economic powerhouse. Such a plan puts Hong Kong's current position under pressure, as alternative locations will soon provide legal and financial services similar to those found in the special administrative region. Thus, the city’s position depends very much on China’s economic and social conditions, particularly its progress in reform and opening up. A vision for Hong Kong is also of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3047904/hong-kong-not-only-star-chinas-greater-bay-area-it-must-adapt-or-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3047904/hong-kong-not-only-star-chinas-greater-bay-area-it-must-adapt-or-be?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2020 01:30:13 +0000 As a Briton who visits Hong Kong multiple times a month, I can’t help but notice the parallels between my country’s political quagmire and the uncertainty that currently engulfs Hong Kong. Brexit represented the biggest challenge to Britain when it shouldn’t have. Hong Kong similarly faces a complex future due to the difficult symbiotic relationship with China. The noticeable similarity between these situations, and generally across the global political landscape, is that the key participants... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3044938/hong-kong-finland-and-beyond-young-are-taking-charge-their-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3044938/hong-kong-finland-and-beyond-young-are-taking-charge-their-future?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2020 23:10:15 +0000 There have been signs of a new democratic maturity in Taiwan, particularly since 2014 – the electorate has been more welcoming of off-centre independent politicians, the traditional dualistic political positions of the two main parties have been questioned, and there have been clear signs of a public rejection of the predominant “Chinese fear” rhetoric on cross-strait issues. Presently, however, mere weeks away from the Taiwanese presidential election, a barrage of confused information and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3041757/hong-kongs-hopes-and-fears-are-not-taiwans-and-its-protests-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3041757/hong-kongs-hopes-and-fears-are-not-taiwans-and-its-protests-are?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2019 01:30:11 +0000 Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony in 1997 when the People’s Republic of China resumed sovereignty over the territory. The Hong Kong government should have reformed the territory’s history curriculum early on so that our younger generation could have the correct perspective, neglected before 1997 by the British colonial government (“How to teach Hong Kong history”, August 24). Twenty-one years have now passed and our government should not delay doing so any longer to the detriment of our... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2161633/should-hong-kong-chinese-be-proud-birth-british-crown-colony-1842?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2161633/should-hong-kong-chinese-be-proud-birth-british-crown-colony-1842?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Aug 2018 09:31:40 +0000 This year marks both the 80th anniversary of the Nanking massacre and the 175th anniversary of the Treaty of Nanking, which formally ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. This historical city on the Yangtze River is about a couple of hours away from Hong Kong, and easily accessible via inexpensive flights, so it’s an apt time to plan a trip to the former capital of China and sample its cultural treats. Now known as Nanjing, the city’s rich heritage stretches back long before the opium wars. It was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2109696/whats-see-nanjing-and-why-nows-appropriate-time-explore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2109696/whats-see-nanjing-and-why-nows-appropriate-time-explore?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Sep 2017 22:45:15 +0000 While Hong Kong grumbles about floods of mainland visitors - muttering about denuded shop shelves and their "uncouth" cousins slurping noodles on the MTR, among other breaches of etiquette - offended commentators in Beijing rage over ungrateful Hong Kong "bastards" who are "used to being running dogs for British imperialists". Meanwhile, many in Shanghai appear wounded for a quite different reason. The upwardly mobile classes here believe that the anti-mainlander hot air blowing from Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1063197/city-scope-hostility-or-hospitality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1063197/city-scope-hostility-or-hospitality?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Collusion with tycoons keeps prices high There is a great deal of public concern over high property prices and soaring rents in Hong Kong. The government, in collusion with the property tycoons, has made these prices possible and has no interest in seeing a downward correction. Market forces should set prices in a society but this does not happen in Hong Kong, where the market is biased. The government curtails land supply in a drip-by-drip fashion, with no appropriate intervention when prices... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1027702/letters-editor-september-02-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1027702/letters-editor-september-02-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The 170th anniversary of the treaty that ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain and set it on a very different path to that of the rest of China falls on Wednesday. In the year that Hong Kong celebrates the 15th anniversary of its reunification with the motherland, you might think few residents would take any notice, given that it was so long ago. The Treaty of Nanking, signed in 1842 to mark the end of the first Anglo-Chinese opium war, may inspire a glimmer of interest in a few diehard reactionary... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1021743/big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1021743/big-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The recent leadership changes at a major Shanghai newspaper sends a signal to the city's media that it must be more careful with its reporting ahead of the Communist Party's 18th national congress, when a new leadership will be unveiled. Lu Yan was dismissed as publisher of the Oriental Morning Post, and Sun Jian was suspended as deputy editor-in-chief, on July 18. A newspaper employee said the reshuffle was the result of a series of bold reports, including one on economist Mao Yushi , who... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007895/crackdown-newspaper-sends-chilling-signal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007895/crackdown-newspaper-sends-chilling-signal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Two senior executives of a major Shanghai newspaper were removed or suspended yesterday, sources said, a day after a newspaper in Guangdong saw its editor-in-chief removed and a considerable amount of coverage cut. Lu Yan, publisher of the Oriental Morning Post, was transferred to head another division of the Shanghai-based Wenxin United Press Group that owns the paper, and deputy editor-in-chief Sun Jian was suspended, according to two sources at the newspaper who declined to be named. On... https://www.scmp.com/article/1007054/officials-crack-down-outspoken-shanghai-daily?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1007054/officials-crack-down-outspoken-shanghai-daily?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai's job market remains buoyant despite slowing economic growth at home and continuing concerns over the impact of the euro debt crisis on global economies. 'A lot has been written about the possible impact of the European crisis on China,' said Simon Lance, regional director for recruitment consultancy Hays in China. 'But we haven't seen a slowdown in the sectors in which we are operating.' Lance said in sectors such as life sciences and banking and finance, Shanghai employers were forced... https://www.scmp.com/article/1006968/boom-time-skilled-workers-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1006968/boom-time-skilled-workers-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 I am back in the US for the summer, for the first time in almost a year, and feeling Chinese. First there was the marathon flight from Hong Kong via Shanghai to New York. It had been nearly two years since I'd seen Shanghai and I was fortunate enough to again see at first hand the ever-changing city. The airport had at least 30 immigration counters open and the line moved at a fast clip. My luggage arrived right on cue. The squeaky-clean subways ran swiftly and I marvelled at the glossy ads, a... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005887/newer-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005887/newer-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Mainland land sales were mixed in the first half of the year depending on the type of market: tier-one locations reported declines in revenues during the period, while second-tier cities saw land sales go up. Total land sales revenues for 300 mainland cities surveyed amounted to 652.98 billion yuan (HK$801.55 billion) in the first six months of this year, representing a drop of 38 per cent compared with the first half of 2011, according to a report by China Index Academy, one of the mainland's... https://www.scmp.com/article/1005791/land-sales-dip-38pc-first-half?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1005791/land-sales-dip-38pc-first-half?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The Indigo chain of hotels prides itself on making its designs reflect local neighbourhoods, and its first Asian branch is no exception. As soon as you enter the Hotel Indigo Shanghai, everywhere you turn, you see subtle - and not so subtle - reminders of the colourful old Bund. 'There are a lot of stories here, and we wanted to create a little experience of what the neighbourhood is all about,' says general manager Bruce Ryde. Ryde led the entire staff, from top management to front desk, on a... https://www.scmp.com/article/1004600/mood-indigo-reflections-old-shanghai-colour-your-stay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1004600/mood-indigo-reflections-old-shanghai-colour-your-stay?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai is under pressure to chase industrial output growth as an increasing number of manufactures relocate facilities to other parts of the country, baulking at the city's higher land and labour costs. Zhou Minhao, a deputy director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information, told a media briefing yesterday that the city's industrial sectors, grappling with a global slowdown, would play a diminished role in the local economy that is already the slowest-growing among the nation's... https://www.scmp.com/article/1003262/shanghai-industrial-output-decreasing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1003262/shanghai-industrial-output-decreasing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Top-rated Hong Kong university students are Shanghai-bound for a six-week study tour, the first of a series planned by the government under a deal to improve financial co-operation between the two cities. The 22 students from nine universities will undergo a four-week work placement at the Shanghai offices of well-known financial institutions. During the visit - described by one student as great opportunity to see whether Shanghai is really catching up with Hong Kong as a finance hub - they... https://www.scmp.com/article/1003133/top-students-get-stint-finance-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1003133/top-students-get-stint-finance-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing's policies targeting speculation in the property market may be cooling prices, but ordinary Chinese - many of whom just want a home to raise a family - say they are the real victims. Protests by homebuyers have erupted in several cities across the mainland, but they have taken on a special poignancy in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. For much of the past decade, property prices there have been among the most buoyant in the nation. Hundreds of people who bought unfinished... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002745/homebuyers-just-want-fair-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002745/homebuyers-just-want-fair-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Jun 2012 16:00:00 +0000 China Overseas Land and Investment yesterday warned the worst was yet to come for the property market as it defended its low-price strategy for the launch of a luxury residential project in Shanghai, saying it would not hurt its margins. 'We have been employing the sales strategy of starting with low prices to appeal to potential buyers and raising prices later,' said chairman Kong Qingping. Last week, the developer released its luxury residential project, The Amethyst, in Shanghai's northwest... https://www.scmp.com/article/1002557/worst-yet-come-warns-china-overseas-land?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1002557/worst-yet-come-warns-china-overseas-land?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A sell-off of Shanghai Pharmaceuticals' stocks showed signs of abating yesterday after management denied it was being investigated by Hong Kong and mainland securities watchdogs over alleged accounting fraud. Stock of the second-largest drug distributor on the mainland fell more than 7 per cent before closing at HK$9.10 in Hong Kong yesterday. The selling pressure seemed to ease somewhat after the company denied receiving any notice of a probe by regulators and stating that its accounts comply... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001943/sell-eases-shanghai-pharma?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001943/sell-eases-shanghai-pharma?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The overland Silk Road has a cousin, the Maritime Silk Route, which began much earlier, carried more cargo and visited more cities than the famous camel caravans that crossed the deserts of Central Asia. The maritime route had an enormous impact on world affairs from the 16th century until the late 19th century, and has been revived in the past 30 years as traditional ports such as Ningbo fuel the modern global economy. It all began with silk. The silk trade began in ports such as Ningbo,... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001688/staying-true-its-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001688/staying-true-its-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Property developer Socam Development has warned shareholders it might report a first-half loss, and said it would embark on an aggressive sales programme over the next several months to help offset a slump in revenues. The company, which filed a profit warning statement with the stock exchange on Friday, said it had secured just 20 per cent of its targeted sales so far. The group is now pinning its hopes for improved second-half revenue figures on finding buyers for its 73 luxury serviced... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001586/socam-warns-loss-pins-hopes-luxury-flats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001586/socam-warns-loss-pins-hopes-luxury-flats?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Why do you like to live and/or work in Shanghai? Bob Partridge: Many multinational corporations use Shanghai as their China headquarters. In working with clients, it's critical to spend time with the people. Christine Ip: I feel I can be part of the 'growth story' of China when I am in Shanghai. Why do you like to live and/or work in Hong Kong? Partridge: Hong Kong is filled with great [international] communities, a welcoming sense for anyone not originally from Hong Kong. It has the best... https://www.scmp.com/article/1001277/qa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/1001277/qa?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Best place to stay... For something intimate, check into Quintet (pictured middle), a bed-and-breakfast in a three-storey garden house built in 1939. It's in the French Concession. Best place for dim sum... Xian Yue Hien off Huashan Lu is exceptional. It's in front of a beautiful garden in a quiet area and this local favourite has a great selection of dim sum. A more conservative choice would be Wei Jing Ge, at the magnificent Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund. Best place for an urban... https://www.scmp.com/article/999962/inside-story?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/999962/inside-story?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Beijing's move to push property prices down is starting to show results, with the cost of a new home in major cities falling last month for the sixth consecutive month. The central government began efforts to cool the red-hot property market two years ago amid concerns that home ownership was getting beyond the reach of average people. Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that prices fell in March in 46 of the 70 cities reviewed, up from 45 in February. Prices were stable... https://www.scmp.com/article/998636/big-city-home-prices-feel-effect-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/998636/big-city-home-prices-feel-effect-curbs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A top Shanghai high school has secured approval to open the city's first two all boys' classes at the start of the new school year in September, in a pilot programme designed to tackle a 'masculinity crisis' in mainland education. The move has spurred debate about whether the problem - weak male students who perform poorly academically and lack leadership - actually exists. Shanghai No 8 Senior High School headmaster Lu Jinsheng said the Huangpu District Education Department and the East China... https://www.scmp.com/article/997017/all-boys-classes-tackle-school-masculinity-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/997017/all-boys-classes-tackle-school-masculinity-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Latex, leather and lace descended on Shanghai this weekend as the city played host to the region's largest trade fair for the adult industry. And in a sign of changing social mores, organisers and exhibitors at China Adult-Care Expo 2012 yesterday hailed higher numbers of female and elderly visitors as evidence that traditional taboos are rapidly breaking down. 'There's nothing to be ashamed of,' said Jennifer Wang, a 25-year-old visitor from Anhui province. 'I think a lot of young women like me... https://www.scmp.com/article/995887/sex-fairs-success-challenge-taboos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/995887/sex-fairs-success-challenge-taboos?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A series of food-safety-related scandals in the second half of 2011 took the shine off profits at China Yurun Food, which said full-year net profit fell 34 per cent to HK$1.8 billion last year, from HK$2.73 billion in 2010. The fall in profit came despite a 50.5 per cent rise in turnover last year to HK$32.3 billion, and Yurun, the mainland's second-largest meat processor, said its gross profit margin narrowed to 8.6 per cent during the year, from 14.4 per cent in 2010. 'We saw the worst... https://www.scmp.com/article/994988/safety-scandals-cut-yurun-profits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/994988/safety-scandals-cut-yurun-profits?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Like other working mothers, Shanghai-based Stella Shi has her hands full from the moment she wakes up to cook breakfast for her family to the time she tucks her daughter in bed at night. But unlike the time she worked for a foreign trade company years ago, the 41-year-old's hectic schedule these days is filled with the more domestic tasks - no less challenging than high finance - of the quintessential stay-at-home mum. Shi is among a growing number of women in mainland cities who choose to stay... https://www.scmp.com/article/994790/hottest-job-mainland-supermum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/994790/hottest-job-mainland-supermum?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Ban foreign language classes in kindergartens A Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delegate has suggested banning the teaching of foreign languages at kindergartens, the Beijing Times reports. Ling Zi, deputy director of the Ministry of Education's Chinese Confucian Academy and the daughter of late marshal Ye Jianying, said students experienced their 'golden period' of study in kindergarten and primary school, and should focus on learning their mother tongue and ... https://www.scmp.com/article/994791/odd-proposals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/994791/odd-proposals?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson William Morrow There's a good novel in this book, but first you need to unpack it. Once you get past the soppy romance title and the cover (with its simpering 1930s Shanghai poster girl in front of a lotus pond) you encounter a novel in the form of a memoir of a woman whose struggles and heartbreak mirror the turbulent years of China's modern history. Sound familiar? The plot hinges on a highly melodramatic lost-and-found child... https://www.scmp.com/article/994397/all-flowers-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/994397/all-flowers-shanghai?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai plans to relax its housing criteria to help more people qualify for preferential tax treatment to revive the property market despite recent central government comments reiterating that measures to curb the sector must remain in force. From March 1, the city will raise the price threshold for what it calls 'normal' housing to 3.3 million yuan (HK$4.06 million), from 2.45 million yuan, according to the Shanghai municipal bureau of planning and land resources. This effectively eases the... https://www.scmp.com/article/992943/shanghai-lowers-tax-new-flats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/992943/shanghai-lowers-tax-new-flats?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai is taking on its regional city rivals, including Hong Kong, in the race for global talent by offering higher salary incentives and senior positions to executives. As a result, the salary gap between Shanghai and established regional financial centres for business executives is narrowing, as employers based in the mainland's commercial capital constantly increase pay benefits to court senior-level managers amid severe skill shortages. According to British recruitment agency Hays, a... https://www.scmp.com/article/992471/shanghai-tempts-global-talent-higher-pay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/992471/shanghai-tempts-global-talent-higher-pay?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Exquisitely carved wooden features lie strewn on the ground. Broken East-meets-West balconies sit atop piles of crumbled bricks. A small stray dog stands in the midst of the shattered remains of what was once a home. That gallery of images was how Shanghai's semi-official news portal Xinmin.cn reported local residents' dismay at the 'overnight' demolition of two courtyard houses dating from the 1920s during the Lunar New Year holidays. Sitting inside what was the original walled town of... https://www.scmp.com/article/991656/despair-old-shanghai-feels-wreckers-ball?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/991656/despair-old-shanghai-feels-wreckers-ball?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland market is expected to see more transactions but weaker prices this year, according to the China division of Midland Properties. In Beijing, tightening policies last year resulted in a 26 per cent drop in firsthand transactions and a 37 per cent tumble in secondhand homes, while Shanghai and Guangzhou both saw small increases. Government figures showed total commercial housing sold was 970 million square metres, up 8 per cent. https://www.scmp.com/article/991519/prices-set-fall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/991519/prices-set-fall?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai's international community has been buzzing with gossip about an expat scandal. Scores of unsuspecting tenants are complaining they have been swindled out of large sums of cash after their Canadian landlord skipped town with their deposits. Ryan Fedoruk is alleged to have run out over Christmas on 80 people who gave him a total of 340,000 yuan (HK$417,800) in down payments and advance rent on rooms in 30 apartments he was subletting. The real landlords have thrown the victims out onto... https://www.scmp.com/article/990681/where-streets-are-not-always-paved-gold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/990681/where-streets-are-not-always-paved-gold?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai's economy will continue to slow this year as the municipality targets 8 per cent growth amid weaker external demand and continued curbs on the property sector. The city's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 8.2 per cent last year, one of the slowest-growing provincial-level regions in the nation, Shanghai's statistics bureau said. The figure beat mayor Han Zheng's estimate of 8 per cent last week, but it was one percentage point lower than the growth in the mainland's overall GDP. ... https://www.scmp.com/article/990725/shanghai-lowers-growth-aims-demand-weakens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/990725/shanghai-lowers-growth-aims-demand-weakens?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai Vice-Mayor Tu Guangshao yesterday said the lack of thorough reforms was the greatest obstacle preventing Shanghai from becoming an international financial hub. Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Tu said the central government was becoming more aware of the problem and would speed up reforms in interest- and exchange-rate liberalisation. Shanghai, which for years has been positioning itself as a global financial centre, hit a wall last year when data showed that the... https://www.scmp.com/article/990389/shanghais-enemy-rusty-reform-vice-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/990389/shanghais-enemy-rusty-reform-vice-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Sean Justice's photographs (including Bikes, Shanghai [3 breaths], left) chronicling his experiences in China and efforts to encapsulate moments of existential awareness. Today-Fri, 11.30am-7.30pm, Art Beatus Gallery, 50 Peel St, Central. Inquiries: 2526 0818. Ends Fri https://www.scmp.com/article/990378/breathing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/990378/breathing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai's economic growth slowed to around 8 per cent last year, the municipality's mayor said yesterday, down from double-digit growth in 2010 and potentially the lowest figure in almost 20 years. Delivering his annual report at the opening of the Shanghai people's congress, Han Zheng described the slower growth as 'stable and healthy', and said the drop was partly due to less activity in the property sector. Inflation in the city ran at 5.2 per cent last year, up from 3.1 per cent the year... https://www.scmp.com/article/989912/shanghai-growth-may-be-lowest-almost-20-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/989912/shanghai-growth-may-be-lowest-almost-20-years?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Authorities are offering rewards totalling almost 2.5 million yuan (HK$3.07 million) in a massive manhunt for a policeman turned violent robber who has been on the run for nearly eight years. More than 13,000 officers have been mobilised in an attempt to seal off Nanjing after a man was gunned down in the street moments after withdrawing 200,000 yuan at a bank in the city centre on Friday. Local media broadcast footage of police in bulletproof camouflage vests and armed with... https://www.scmp.com/article/989735/13000-police-search-ex-officer-turned-killer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/989735/13000-police-search-ex-officer-turned-killer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The central government may expand its pilot property tax scheme to Guangzhou and Nanjing and some second- and third-tier cities, according to a researcher at the Ministry of Finance. Jia Kang, the head of the ministry's Institute for Fiscal Science Research, said Beijing might launch the scheme in other major cities, citing Nanjing and Guangzhou as examples. Jia was quoted by the Shanghai Securities News as saying the scheme could also be extended to smaller cities in the central and... https://www.scmp.com/article/989468/mainland-mulls-expanding-tax-more-cities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/989468/mainland-mulls-expanding-tax-more-cities?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Shanghai is delaying the implementation of an unpopular order from the central government that requires expatriate workers to join the local pension system. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's announcement in October that all expat workers would have to contribute to mainland pension schemes sparked strong opposition from expat employees and foreign-funded businesses. Foreign workers, who are mostly on the mainland for just a few years and unlikely to collect mainland... https://www.scmp.com/article/989435/shanghai-flies-flag-expats-pension-scheme-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/989435/shanghai-flies-flag-expats-pension-scheme-row?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Production resumed at a South Korean electronics factory in Nanjing late yesterday afternoon after management reached a deal with workers who had been on strike for three days over year-end bonuses. Hundreds of police were on guard and dozens of police vehicles lined the road outside the huge LG Display plant in an industrial zone on the northeastern edge of the city, but there were no signs of protest inside the factory gates. China Labour Watch and online postings said about 8,000 workers... https://www.scmp.com/article/988727/deal-ends-3-day-strike-korean-plant-nanjing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988727/deal-ends-3-day-strike-korean-plant-nanjing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland's high-end restaurant chain Noble House (China) plans to raise up to HK$83.3 million in an initial public offering in the growth enterprise market in Hong Kong. The company plans to issue 98 million shares - 35 per cent of its enlarged issued share capital - at HK$0.55 to HK$0.85 per share. The other 65 per cent will be held by chairman Chan Taineng and executive director Cheung Chikeung. Noble House runs seven restaurants in Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao and Chengdu and is going to... https://www.scmp.com/article/988345/noble-house-restaurant-chain-cooks-hk83m-recipe-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988345/noble-house-restaurant-chain-cooks-hk83m-recipe-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Cash-strapped mainland developers are resorting to selling land as they battle to repay debts - and that is drawing a growing number of foreign real estate funds into a hunt for bargain-priced properties. 'It's the time for cashed-up investors to look for acquisition opportunities,' said David Ma, a director and general manager of Hon Kwok Project Management, a subsidiary of Hon Kwok Land Investment. Faced with growing liquidity pressure, some developers would be willing to offload either... https://www.scmp.com/article/988310/bargain-hunters-cash-debt-woes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988310/bargain-hunters-cash-debt-woes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 A mainland property company has promised to pay out more than 600 million yuan (HK$730 million) to refund people who bought units at two of its luxury residential projects in Shanghai before it cut prices by up to 20 per cent last week. Star River Property Holdings is offering buyers of Shanghai Star River Phase I and Pudong Star River Phase II developments the difference between the price they paid in August and the going price last week. 'In a depressed market, it's hard to generate sales if... https://www.scmp.com/article/988262/star-river-offers-irate-buyers-refunds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988262/star-river-offers-irate-buyers-refunds?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 The mainland conglomerate Shanghai Industrial Holdings (SIH) is planning to add a Hong Kong listing for its Singapore-listed subsidiary Asia Water Technology, as it aims to expand aggressively its water services business. SIH, an arm of the Shanghai municipal government, has a 73.4 per cent stake in Asia Water. The conglomerate, which already has its own Hong Kong listing, is planning a listing for Asia Water in Hong Kong at the end of next year or in 2013. Asia Water raised a net S$72... https://www.scmp.com/article/988186/hk-listing-water-company?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/988186/hk-listing-water-company?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000 Hundreds of striking workers at an electronics plant in Shanghai vowed last night to continue their protest for a seventh day after talks with the Singaporean management failed. The workers, mostly women, have been picketing the Hi-P International plant in east Shanghai's Jinqiao industrial zone since Wednesday over plans to relocate the factory to the outskirts of the city. 'We work long shifts, sometimes over 20 hours. Even with a company shuttle bus, the new factory will mean an hour... https://www.scmp.com/article/986937/shanghai-strike-enters-7th-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/986937/shanghai-strike-enters-7th-day?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000