https://www.scmp.com/rss/319910/feed Celine Ge is a Hong Kong-based business reporter with the Post chasing after news on consumer and services companies. She studied journalism at Hong Kong Baptist University before attending King’s College London for a masters in international political economy. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Still remember Bruce Lee’s cat calls, Wong Kar-wai’s impressionistic visuals in Chungking Express and Stephen Chow’s “mo-lei-tau” (nonsensical) comedies? For almost three decades starting in the 1970s, there was nothing like it as Hong Kong’s film industry catapulted a large number of Asian A-listers to international stardom. But the golden days are long gone. Watch: Wochit video of Hong Kong’s top grossing movies of 1996 Hong Kong films have had little to no presence in recent years at Europe’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2104540/its-fade-out-hong-kongs-film-industry-china-moves-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2104540/its-fade-out-hong-kongs-film-industry-china-moves-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Jul 2017 12:15:15 +0000 Guo Guangchang, the founder and chairman of one of China’s biggest asset buyers, has urged his company’s shareholders and investors to take action against rumourmongers whose falsehoods destroy stock market value and hurt their financial interests. “While we’re been busy working, some people were busy spreading rumours, because that’s their occupation,” Guo said in a July 22 memo to staff, sent via the WeChat social network from Sao Paolo in Brazil. “They’re actively spreading rumours because... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103865/fosuns-guo-urges-investors-make-rumourmongers-pay-wechat-post-sao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103865/fosuns-guo-urges-investors-make-rumourmongers-pay-wechat-post-sao?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jul 2017 05:55:43 +0000 The city’s iconic Canto-pop scene was a multibillion dollar business, propelling Eason Chan Yik-shun and Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing to the level of stardom that gave the Made-in-Hong Kong brand immeasurable power. But over the last two decades, annual record sales have plummeted to roughly HK$200 million from a height of HK$1.6 billion in 1998, with market share shrinking to 15 per cent of total music sales, from 50 per cent, according to industry estimates. “Since the rise of the internet, the... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2103648/no-kings-or-queens-can-canto-pop-find-its-star-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2103648/no-kings-or-queens-can-canto-pop-find-its-star-again?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong’s biggest pay-television provider i-Cable Communications has won regulatory approval to renew its license, as the ailing Hong Kong broadcaster managed to keep itself afloat following the arrival of a heavyweight white knight. The city’s Communications Authority has also given the green light to a proposed change of shareholders, with the introduction of a consortium of investors led by local property magnate David Chiu Tat-cheong as well as New World Development boss Henry Cheng... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103653/lifeline-i-cable-stay-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103653/lifeline-i-cable-stay-air?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:05:13 +0000 Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings have been included in the latest edition of the Fortune 500 list of global companies, reflecting their debuts on the prestigious business rankings and underscoring the growing prominence of Chinese companies on the world stage. Alibaba, with revenue of US$23.5 billion, ranked No 462, closely followed by Shenzhen-based Tencent in 476th, with revenue of US$22.9 billion, according to the Fortune Global 500 list for 2017 released on Thursday. Baidu, the Chinese... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103604/alibaba-tencent-included-fortune-global-500-list-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103604/alibaba-tencent-included-fortune-global-500-list-first-time?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2017 08:15:15 +0000 Two of Li Ka-shing’s cornerstone businesses reported positive progress on Thursday, a week after speculation swirled in the markets that the doyen of Hong Kong business might be starting the process of handing over control of his empire to the family’s next generation. CK Infrastructure (CKI), which has diversified infrastructure investments in energy , transportation, water related businesses worldwide such as in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and mainland China,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103482/li-ka-shings-ck-infrastructure-sees-net-income-climb-3pc-hk57-bn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103482/li-ka-shings-ck-infrastructure-sees-net-income-climb-3pc-hk57-bn?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jul 2017 12:45:45 +0000 AMC Entertainment, the US entertainment titan tasked with a worldwide cinema buying spree for its Chinese tycoon owner Wang Jianlin, has revealed his parent Dalian Wanda Group and mainland Chinese banks “have never been used as a source of funding” for its numerous acquisition deals. The revelation came in a statement issued on Tuesday, as the company tried to cushion mounting investor fears it could suffer a cash shortfall after Beijing had put Wanda under scrutiny after a string of recent... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103301/wandas-amc-douses-fears-its-expansion-will-stall-because-domestic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2103301/wandas-amc-douses-fears-its-expansion-will-stall-because-domestic?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2017 10:16:14 +0000 An aborted acquisition deal by the heiress of Chinese beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha has sent loss-making China Candy, a Hong Kong penny stock, into a free fall. The candy maker’s share price has plummeted 70 per cent from 53 HK cents to 16 HK cents since Friday. It marked an abrupt end to a dizzying 400-per cent bull run since April following the announcement of the potential takeover bid by Kelly Zong Fuli, once dubbed “China’s richest daughter”. The only scion of billionaire tycoon Zong... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102988/chinas-wahaha-heiress-takes-hong-kong-penny-stock-roller-coaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102988/chinas-wahaha-heiress-takes-hong-kong-penny-stock-roller-coaster?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Jul 2017 10:57:13 +0000 Alibaba Health unveiled this week its first artificial intelligence service for disease diagnosis, offering hope that advanced technology will alleviate the workload of mainland Chinese physicians in a nation suffering from an acute shortage of doctors. The AI solution, called Doctor You, can be used for medical image diagnosis of CT scans to identify inflammatory cells in human organs, which can be an early indicator of cancer. “It will soon serve as an assistant to physicians at a number of... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2102371/alibaba-tencent-see-ai-solution-chinas-acute-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2102371/alibaba-tencent-see-ai-solution-chinas-acute-shortage?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jul 2017 08:30:45 +0000 Against the overall consumption slump, there are signs that the world’s tobacco giants stand a chance of returning to the heyday, after delivering a “stronger performance” in 2016, a recent study showed. The study of the top 50 global consumer companies by OC&C Strategy Consultants found that active industry consolidation and a continued drive to increase margins have boosted profitability. As such, global drives to discourage smoking and curb cigarette sales – from advertising bans to mandatory... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102055/worlds-tobacco-firms-are-roll-even-china-market-shrinks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2102055/worlds-tobacco-firms-are-roll-even-china-market-shrinks?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jul 2017 12:10:20 +0000 Celine Ge Celine Ge Richemont’s sale last week of Shanghai Tang underscores how China’s cultural motifs still have a hard time gaining global currency, even though the country’s explosive economic growth is increasingly turning many Chinese brands and entrepreneurs into household names the world over. Chinoiserie is still no match for French chic, especially among China’s well heeled urban middle class and newly minted millionaires and billionaires, whose first reference points of luxury -- from bespoke tailoring,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101903/shanghai-tangs-sale-shows-chinoiserie-no-match-french-chic-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101903/shanghai-tangs-sale-shows-chinoiserie-no-match-french-chic-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jul 2017 10:00:15 +0000 China’s debt-laden Huishan Dairy said its debt restructuring advisor has proposed grouping the businesses of the company and selected assets of its chairman Yang Ka and his own ventures together to form a new entity held by some of its creditors, shareholders and management. It is the first time that China’s largest dairy farm operator has laid out plans to ease its debt nightmare as it struggles to meet payments to scores of creditors amid a drastic cash crunch. Its shares have been suspended... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101236/chinas-huishan-dairy-rolls-out-debt-restructuring-plan-amid-cash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2101236/chinas-huishan-dairy-rolls-out-debt-restructuring-plan-amid-cash?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jul 2017 09:31:00 +0000 Celine Ge Celine Ge It appears Thailand and Hong Kong just aren’t fancy enough anymore for China’s ever-higher-spending millennials, according to travel industry experts, who say that increasing numbers are now scrambling in their thousands to more exotic locations, with the Nordic countries highest on many bucket lists. Some are even willing to venture to the North Pole itself for a bit of time off with a difference. Observers say they have noticed a rush in the number of selfies -- or self portraits -- being... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100959/chinese-millennials-go-nordic-out-selfie-their-peers-back-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100959/chinese-millennials-go-nordic-out-selfie-their-peers-back-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jul 2017 13:45:45 +0000 Celine Ge Celine Ge Many see Hong Kong millennials as living from paycheque to paycheque and not committing to a long-term plan – but they actually lead their Asian peers in retirement planning, according to new research from BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager. Four out of five Hong Kong millennials (aged between 25 to 35) have already started preparing for retirement, the highest ratio across Asia-Pacific, with a majority of them betting their financial future on buying stocks, the study shows. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/investment-products/article/2100589/hong-kongs-millennials-plan-retirement-earlier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/investment-products/article/2100589/hong-kongs-millennials-plan-retirement-earlier?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jun 2017 09:24:12 +0000 Shares in Italian online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) have surged in recent days as traders cited reported interest from Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group. A report on Chinese fashion website Ladymax.cn said the Chinese conglomerate, led by founder and chairman Jack Ma, had contacted Yoox Net-a-Porter over possible capital cooperation or even a takeover, adding it had not ruled out buying shares. But a source at the company, who did not want to be named, has now told South... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2100351/alibaba-denies-links-luxury-e-tailer-yoox-net-porter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2100351/alibaba-denies-links-luxury-e-tailer-yoox-net-porter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jun 2017 06:51:33 +0000 China’s Zhejiang Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus car brands, has agreed to buy Terrafugia, a US startup that designed the world’s first practical flying cars, as the Chinese carmaker taps into cutting edge technologies that could allow urban commuters to take to the skies in their cars. The Hangzhou-based company that had just made global headlines with its takeover of a key stake in Malaysia’s Proton has been planning on a possible acquisition of Terrafugia since last year, a source familiar... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100239/will-us-flying-car-designer-take-chinas-geely-skies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100239/will-us-flying-car-designer-take-chinas-geely-skies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:33:36 +0000 China is about to undergo a consumer revolution driven by an emerging group of 34 million “mass affluent” consumers who’ve built their personal wealth in the new economy, according to a report by Oliver Wyman. Spending by this emerging demographic, which represents 2.5 per cent of China’s population, is set to rise, such that by 2020 they will account for more than 75 per cent of the country’s total consumption, a report by the global consultancy showed. They are the “mass affluent”, generally... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100208/chinas-34m-mass-affluent-consumers-drive-75-pc-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100208/chinas-34m-mass-affluent-consumers-drive-75-pc-national?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jun 2017 09:05:45 +0000 China’s prodigious appetite for crayfish has created a multibillion dollar business in China, large enough to provide a living for five million people. Originally imported by Japanese traders to China’s Nanjing as feed for bullfrogs in the 1920s, but tracing their roots back to the southern states of the US such as Louisiana, crayfish used to be an insurmountable foe to local rice farmers after their terraced fields were razed by the crawly burrowers making it impossible to grow crops. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100001/chinas-craving-crayfish-creates-us2-billion-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100001/chinas-craving-crayfish-creates-us2-billion-business?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jun 2017 10:33:22 +0000 Takata, the troubled Japanese drivers’ air bag supplier, is being bought out of bankruptcy by KSS, a US-based firm owned by China’s Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. Key Safety Systems (KSS), the American car-components manufacturer, has reach preliminary agreement to take over Takata’s assets and business for no higher than US$1.59 billion, according to a filing by Joyson to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Monday. Faults in Takata’s airbags prompted one of the industry’s biggest ever safety... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2100031/shanghais-joyson-electronic-steps-save-bankrupt-airbag-firm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2100031/shanghais-joyson-electronic-steps-save-bankrupt-airbag-firm?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jun 2017 09:44:29 +0000 It is 8am and the alarm goes off. You arise reluctantly, abandoning the warmth of your bed and stagger into the bathroom. You turn on your electric toothbrush and set it to the “whitening mode” on a mobile app. Then your iPhone reminds you to “reduce pressure” when you brush too hard, and praises you for completing the dentist-recommended two minute session every day. This might sound like science fiction, but it is really an example of how tech will overhaul our everyday lives through an... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100003/procter-gamble-refocuses-china-strategy-premiumisation-and-us114?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2100003/procter-gamble-refocuses-china-strategy-premiumisation-and-us114?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jun 2017 07:18:43 +0000 In today’s consumption environment that is driven by selfies and social media, a brand cafe is the ultimate playground. Look no further than Chanel’s pop-up beauty themed Coco Cafe which opened its doors on June 10 in Causeway Bay. It has been attracting long lines that stretched down the block, with more than 30,000 posts with “#cococafe” hashtag on Instagram. The popularity of brand cafes is not completely new but consumers’ increased revolvement of their daily activities around social media... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099727/brand-cafes-less-about-coffee-or-income-more-about-selfie?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099727/brand-cafes-less-about-coffee-or-income-more-about-selfie?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jun 2017 02:31:47 +0000 Uber has teamed up with Li Ka-shing’s favourite braised goose restaurant to take a bite out of Deliveroo and Foodpanda in an already crowded Hong Kong food delivery scene. The San Francisco-based disruptor for taxis is now making waves on the city’s culinary landscape, launching an aggressive marketing campaign to sign up the city’s Cantonese restaurants sought-after among Hong Kong foodies. Among them is even Li Ka-shing’s favourite Sun Kee, a small eatery celebrated for its braised food in Sai... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099407/ubereats-races-sign-hong-kong-restaurants-challenge-deliveroo-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2099407/ubereats-races-sign-hong-kong-restaurants-challenge-deliveroo-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jun 2017 00:03:41 +0000 Sa Sa International Holdings, Hong Kong’s biggest cosmetics seller, said the China-South Korea diplomatic row over a US-backed missile defence system had hampered sales of its Korean facial masks, once immensely popular among K-pop obsessed Chinese millennials. “We therefore had to readjust our offerings by adding Taiwanese and Japanese masks,” said Simon Kwok Siu-ming, chairman of Sa Sa, in a post-earnings press conference. It is the latest sign that China’s retaliation against Seoul’s planned... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098563/face-masks-are-latest-casualties-china-south-korea-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098563/face-masks-are-latest-casualties-china-south-korea-row?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jun 2017 00:01:06 +0000 Fosun Group, one of China’s most acquisitive conglomerates, has teamed up with Barbie doll maker Mattel to set up a network of learn and play clubs for children and families operated by its Club Med in China. It is the latest effort by the Shanghai owner of France’s Club Med, Greece’s Folli Follie and US fashion house St John to cater to affluent Chinese parents. The Shanghai firm and its billionaire chairman Guo Guangchang – often referred to as China’s answer to Berkshire Hathaway and Warren... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098422/fosun-teams-barbie-maker-mattel-open-kids-clubs-across-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098422/fosun-teams-barbie-maker-mattel-open-kids-clubs-across-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Jun 2017 04:59:33 +0000 L’Occitane, the first French company to go public in Hong Kong, reported record annual earnings since its initial public offering in 2010 as the beauty product maker’s collaboration with Chinese heartthrobs and investment in e-commerce channels started to bear fruit. The company saw its net profit for the 12 months to March rise 16.6 per cent to €132.4 million (US$148.2 million), surpassing the consensus estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Net sales jumped 3.2 per cent to €1.32... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098011/loccitane-sales-rise-celebrity-endorsements-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2098011/loccitane-sales-rise-celebrity-endorsements-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2017 15:32:51 +0000 As affluent Hongkongers shift away from flashy handbags and shoes to experiential luxury, Pure’s yoga studio is expanding into the space vacated by British brand Burberry on the ground floor in the Pacific Place mall. The yoga studio, covering over 10,000 square feet, is a likely draw for bankers, lawyers and other white collar workers when it opens in August. It will take over the ground floor premises that Burberry used to occupy, after the British brand scaled down its shop size in the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097783/hong-kong-being-super-fit-new-symbol-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097783/hong-kong-being-super-fit-new-symbol-success?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2017 00:33:13 +0000 Uncertainty arising from the British general election appears to have rubbed off on Hong Kong property investors. Fewer people than expected turned up on Saturday for the first London property exhibition held in Hong Kong since the election on Thursday, which saw the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Theresa May lose its parliamentary majority with crucial Brexit talks just around the corner. The election came days after eight people were killed and 48 wounded in a terrorist attack on London... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2097787/london-property-does-not-get-vote-hong-kong-investors-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2097787/london-property-does-not-get-vote-hong-kong-investors-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Jun 2017 15:38:55 +0000 China Evergrande Group has agreed to transfer all its shares in China Vanke to Shenzhen Metro Group at a loss, making the state-owned company the largest shareholder of China’s second biggest homebuilder. The Guangdong real estate giant will cash out of its 14.07 per cent stake in Vanke for about 29.2 billion yuan, and expects to use the proceeds to repay debts, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday night. The asset sale is poised to make Shenzhen Metro Group the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097697/shenzhen-metro-become-biggest-china-vanke-shareholder-evergrande?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097697/shenzhen-metro-become-biggest-china-vanke-shareholder-evergrande?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2017 11:58:15 +0000 Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, the world’s largest listed jeweller by market value, said on Thursday that it plans to add up to 100 new retail locations on the mainland after reporting earnings that matched expectations, thanks in part to a rebound in mainland Chinese consumption of luxury products. The jewellery chain saw its net profit for the 12 months to March rise 3.9 per cent year on year to HK$3.06 billion (US$390 million), or 30.6 HK cents per share. That was in line with the estimates of... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097534/chow-tai-fook-net-profit-rises-39-pc-says-it-will-open-100-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097534/chow-tai-fook-net-profit-rises-39-pc-says-it-will-open-100-new?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Jun 2017 13:57:15 +0000 Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank (GRCB), China’s fifth largest rural commercial bank by assets, says funds raised at its upcoming initial public offering in Hong Kong will boost its balance sheet, adding that it expects a broadening economic recovery in China. The state-backed lender, located in the most prosperous province of China, is seeking to raise US$1.1 billion from its Hong Kong IPO in what is tipped to be the biggest bank listing in the city since last September, when China Postal... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097354/guangzhou-rural-commercial-bank-expects-raise-us11b-ipo-bolster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2097354/guangzhou-rural-commercial-bank-expects-raise-us11b-ipo-bolster?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Jun 2017 14:06:52 +0000 China Huishan Dairy faces a bumpy road ahead in its effort to restructure its hefty debt, as a 2.5 billion yuan “discrepancy” in its cash position implies lingering obscurities over its financial well-being. The Shenyang-based dairy farm operator said in a statement on Monday that it has found a discrepancy in its cash position based on “incomplete” management accounts and confirmation received from banks. It also said it was in talks with its creditors over a possible debt restructuring. The... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2096933/chinas-huishan-dairy-reveals-cash-discrepancy-amid-possible-debt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2096933/chinas-huishan-dairy-reveals-cash-discrepancy-amid-possible-debt?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2017 06:39:27 +0000 British boarding schools are journeying to the East for their next growth opportunity as more and more expatriate parents and wealthy Chinese families look to the symbols of privilege and prestige as the grooming grounds for their children. Harrow School, the 445-year-old institution whose alumni included Lord Byron and Winston Churchill, just opened its Shanghai campus in August 2016, following one in Hong Kong and another in Beijing. Dulwich College, a London independent school that traces its... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2095981/british-boarding-schools-journey-east-give-chinese-elites-taste-prestige?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2095981/british-boarding-schools-journey-east-give-chinese-elites-taste-prestige?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 May 2017 09:00:15 +0000 Thousands of homebuyers shrugged off rising mortgage rates and joined long queues at the offices of some of Hong Kong’s biggest developers hoping to snap up newly released flats. As many as 4,800 buyers registered to bid for 307 flats at K & K Property’s Victoria Skye project, which is located at the former airport site of Kai Tak. One buyer, who wasn’t identified, walked away with four flats for a total of HK$30 million (US$3.85 million), agents said. “Sales had been impressive,” said Midland... https://www.scmp.com/property/article/2095937/buyers-shrug-aside-rising-mortgages-thousands-throng-sales-offices-snap?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/article/2095937/buyers-shrug-aside-rising-mortgages-thousands-throng-sales-offices-snap?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2017 10:45:30 +0000 In less than an hour on Monday, shares of Cogobuy Group, an e-commerce platform for electronic goods, slipped 22 per cent to HK$7.89 before trading was suspended. The sharpest intraday drop for Cogobuy shares in nearly two years followed a report by short seller Blazing Research, which projected the company’s stock price at a mere 53 HK cents on account that it had been a “fraud” for more than a decade, an allegation refuted by Cogobuy. Before Cogobuy, the casualty list of stocks that had been... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095891/why-short-selling-fashionable-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095891/why-short-selling-fashionable-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 May 2017 02:00:31 +0000 Two Chinese firms are investing US$600 million to acquire the world’s No 2 condom maker, owned by Australian giant Ansell, in a bid to tap a lucrative market boosted by Chinese people’s rising awareness of the health benefits of protected sex. Humanwell Healthcare Group, a Wuhan-based company, has teamed up with state-owned Citic Capital Partners to take over the glove and surgical mask maker’s condom and lubricants business, according to a statement by Ansell. The deal will give the two firms a... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095736/chinese-firms-acquire-ansells-condom-business-us600m?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095736/chinese-firms-acquire-ansells-condom-business-us600m?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 May 2017 14:25:50 +0000 A little-known Chinese tech company has agreed to pay US$240 million for America’s Grindr so that it can become fully involved in the daily operations of the world’s largest gay social media app, as it expands and builds a loyal user base beyond China. Beijing Kunlun Tech, a game developer owned by 38-year-old billionaire Zhou Yahui, said on Wednesday it planned to pay US$152 million to buy the remaining 38 per cent stake in Grindr that it does not already own. Kunlun paid about US$88 million... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095674/chinese-tech-firm-fully-buy-gay-dating-app-grindr?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095674/chinese-tech-firm-fully-buy-gay-dating-app-grindr?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 May 2017 07:38:30 +0000 Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo, has agreed to acquire a 49.9 per cent stake in struggling Malaysian car manufacturer Proton, and control of British sports car brand Lotus, in what is believed to be the biggest move by a Chinese company to tap the Southeast Asian car market. The Hangzhou-based carmaker agreed to “support the transformation of Proton and Lotus” to make Proton “the most competitive brand in Malaysia”, according to a press statement released on Wednesday. The deal, which came as... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095526/chinas-geely-about-face-decision-buy-499pc-stake-malaysias-proton?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095526/chinas-geely-about-face-decision-buy-499pc-stake-malaysias-proton?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 May 2017 08:35:01 +0000 China has more than doubled its tax on a third of imported sugar, in an attempt to protect its “seriously damaged” domestic mills. The new regime, designed to narrow the gap between sugar prices at home and abroad, could take a heavy toll on overseas growers, particularly Brazil and Thailand, which have fuelled an exponential growth in China’s sugar imports over the last six years. The move, by the world’s largest sugar importer, marks the end of a year of lobbying by Chinese domestic mills, who... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095352/china-doubles-tax-third-sugar-imports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095352/china-doubles-tax-third-sugar-imports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 May 2017 07:08:31 +0000 Cogobuy Group, an e-commerce platform for electronic goods, has become the latest Hong Kong-listed Chinese company to fall victim to short sellers this year, as its shares marked their biggest intraday decline in nearly two years following a report by Blazing Research. Cogobuy shares plummeted 22 per cent in less than an hour to HK$7.89, before trading was halted. The e-commerce company’s stock could eventually slide to as low as HK$0.53 each, Blazing said in a report entitled “More Than a... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095253/cogobuy-shares-suspended-hong-kong-trade-after-tumbling-22-pc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095253/cogobuy-shares-suspended-hong-kong-trade-after-tumbling-22-pc?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 May 2017 10:45:25 +0000 When Apple released its tablet computer the iPad seven years ago, pundits predicted its absorbing applications would sound a death knell to the makers of dolls, action figures, board games and other traditional toys, on which previous generations of children were raised. But as it turns out, touch-screens have far from ended killing them, but rekindled parents’ interest in them instead, according to the world’s largest toy retailer. “Categories like family board games, which we were told five... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095115/old-toy-and-games-makers-toast-return-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2095115/old-toy-and-games-makers-toast-return-tradition?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2017 08:53:49 +0000 China Mengniu Dairy, the country’s second largest dairy company, said it would issue exchangeable bonds worth US$194.8 million that could be exchanged for shares of China Modern Dairy. If the bonds are fully exchanged into the shares, it will represent 11.24 per cent of issued capital of the dairy farm operator that controls China’s largest cattle herd, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. “[The] Company intends to use net proceeds of issue of bonds to refinance... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094942/china-mengniu-sells-bonds-cut-its-stake-modern-dairy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094942/china-mengniu-sells-bonds-cut-its-stake-modern-dairy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 May 2017 06:42:16 +0000 Jack Ma, Alibaba Group’s chairman, has unseated Dalian Wanda boss Wang Jianlin to reclaim his crown as China’s richest man. As of Thursday, Ma’s net worth was US$31 billion, narrowly outstripping US$30.8 billion for Wang, the property-to-entertainment mogul who controls the world’s largest cinema chain AMC Entertainment and China’s largest private developer, according to Forbes. The technology tycoon’s wealth has been boosted by a solid rally in Alibaba’s share price, which has soared 37 per... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094798/alibabas-ma-unseats-dalian-wandas-wang-chinas-richest-man?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094798/alibabas-ma-unseats-dalian-wandas-wang-chinas-richest-man?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 07:03:23 +0000 It might sound like an exotic idea to gamble on opening a casino at the foot of the Himalayas. Yet for 400 million Indians inhabiting the north of the subcontinent, particularly the booming nouveau riche, just a few hours’ drive across the border could soon unlock the euphoria of splurging in their chosen game of chance, fully legally. A little-known Hong Kong company, which is Australian-listed, operating casinos in communist Laos and Vietnam has placed its biggest bet yet on a sprawling US$40... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094778/sin-top-world-hong-kong-company-turn-nepal-next-gambling-hub-after-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094778/sin-top-world-hong-kong-company-turn-nepal-next-gambling-hub-after-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 05:31:12 +0000 Celine Ge Celine Ge Macau’s top gaming mogul Francis Lui Yiu-tung has pinned his long-term hopes on wooing millennial gamblers, as he cautioned that a recent revival of the city’s VIP gambling business is not yet sustainable. “The millennials are catching up. They are young customers that embrace technology and think differently,” Lui, vice chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group, one of just six concessionaires to operate casinos in the world’s largest gambling enclave, said in an interview on the sidelines of... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094547/win-galaxy-says-casinos-must-woo-millennial-gamers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094547/win-galaxy-says-casinos-must-woo-millennial-gamers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 11:38:14 +0000 Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, has revealed his plans to build gigantic theme parks whose scale could rival Disneyland, in countries along the Belt and Road route, as Chinese business heavyweights answer a national calling from Beijing for the ambitious trade development plan. Pacts to build the two entertainment complexes, called Wanda City, are expected to be inked this year, said the property-to-entertainment tycoon, who chairs China’s largest private property developer Dalian Wanda Group... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2094419/chinas-richest-man-builds-mega-parks-belt-and-road-route?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2094419/chinas-richest-man-builds-mega-parks-belt-and-road-route?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 May 2017 11:21:22 +0000 “Turn it into a social currency.” That’s the advice being given by one China marketing expert to Coca-Cola, as the US drinks giant launches what it is being billed as an ultra-luxurious Swiss sparkling water brand, a bottle of which costs double what a Starbucks venti cappuccino might cost. Its “Valser” water first appeared in the US soft drinks giant’s store on Chinese online marketplace Tmall a few weeks ago, highlighting specifically that it is sourced from “Switzerland.” But what raised many... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094278/just-who-might-buy-bottle-coca-cola-bottled-sparkling-water?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094278/just-who-might-buy-bottle-coca-cola-bottled-sparkling-water?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 May 2017 07:45:30 +0000 AAC Technologies, the Apple supplier newly targeted by prominent US short-seller Gotham City Research, posted record first-quarter earnings while predicting further room for growth in its profit margin. The company’s shares plunged the most in seven years on Thursday after Gotham questioned its unusually high profit margins and undisclosed transactions with related parties that may have violated Apple’s labour standards. Shenzhen-based AAC later denied all the accusations. “It makes sense for an... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094163/apple-supplier-aac-posts-record-profits-day-after-short-seller-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094163/apple-supplier-aac-posts-record-profits-day-after-short-seller-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 May 2017 12:30:48 +0000 Sixty per cent of car drivers in China – the world’s largest automobile market – are considering buying an electric car, much higher than the global average of 37 per cent, according to a survey by German consulting firm Roland Berger, published on Friday. The company polled more than 10,000 car users in ten countries, including the US, Britain, South Korea, Japan, India, Germany and Singapore, and Chinese participants also demonstrated the sharpest appetite for autonomous driving. Globally, 46... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094103/china-embracing-driverless-electric-future-shows-study?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094103/china-embracing-driverless-electric-future-shows-study?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 May 2017 08:00:15 +0000 Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, China’s biggest dairy company, is competing to buy Stonyfield, the largest American producer of organic yoghurt, in its first overseas acquisition to expand the range of its dairy products. Yili is vying with Dean Foods Co. of Texas in buying Stonyfield in a deal estimated at US$850 million, although the Chinese company is considered the front runner because it’s offering a more favourable pricing, according to people familiar with the matter. Yili said in a... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094000/yili-us850m-bid-buy-us-yoghurt-producer-stonyfield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2094000/yili-us850m-bid-buy-us-yoghurt-producer-stonyfield?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2017 12:40:16 +0000 AAC Technologies Holdings denied allegations of “dubious accounting practices” made by a leading short-seller that sent shares in the Apple supplier into free-fall. Gotham City Research, which is well recognised among hedge fund managers, said the acoustic parts maker used more than 20 undisclosed related parties to overstate its profits and to evade Apple’s labour standards. Gotham City is among the top five short-sellers worldwide in terms of campaign returns, well ahead of Muddy Waters,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2093996/apple-supplier-aac-denies-short-sellers-accusation-dubious?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2093996/apple-supplier-aac-denies-short-sellers-accusation-dubious?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 May 2017 12:10:50 +0000