https://www.scmp.com/rss/322261/feed Cheah Cheng Hye is the chairman of Cheah Capital, a single-family office, and honorary chairman of Value Partners Group, a Hong Kong-listed fund management company. He is also an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. He was previously a financial journalist, working in such publications as Far Eastern Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Cheah Cheng Hye Cheah Cheng Hye After several years of challenges, the Hong Kong economy is showing surprising strength. This has largely come about due to a rebound in financial services, with sectors in Hong Kong not involved in finance still stuck in a slump. However, a bit of recovery is better than none at all, especially since 2025 had been expected to be tough for Hong Kong, which is caught up in the geopolitical tensions between China and the United States. Ironically, it’s those precise anxieties that have brought... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3318041/hong-kongs-financial-recovery-shows-power-synergy-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3318041/hong-kongs-financial-recovery-shows-power-synergy-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 01:30:07 +0000 Hong Kong is a key beneficiary of mainland China’s high household savings rate. A spillover of capital into Hong Kong from the mainland’s overflowing reservoir of household savings could provide much-needed relief for Hong Kong, which is struggling with protracted economic and geopolitical uncertainties. While the mainland is subjected to capital controls, Hong Kong is treated as a special case, with Beijing gradually easing restrictions to allow money to flow under various schemes. At the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3288358/hong-kong-stock-markets-best-bet-more-access-mainland-savings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3288358/hong-kong-stock-markets-best-bet-more-access-mainland-savings?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:30:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s ability to recover from its difficulties would be much improved if it goes ahead with democratic reform. By introducing a system of one person, one vote for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong would have a government with much broader representation, giving it a stronger mandate to push through changes. Universal suffrage is already included in Article 45 of the Basic Law that governs Hong Kong, but no one is sure when and how it might be implemented. Hong Kong should delay... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hk-opinion/article/3257425/hong-kong-needs-full-universal-suffrage-unlock-full-potential?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hk-opinion/article/3257425/hong-kong-needs-full-universal-suffrage-unlock-full-potential?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Apr 2024 01:30:11 +0000 Global financial markets face an upheaval. Gone is the stability and security that prevailed when a single superpower in the form of the United States dominated the world and set the rules for everyone to follow. Instead, with the current world order crumbling, investing has become a scramble for safe havens. The current generation of investors is poorly prepared. Most of them have become accustomed to an era in which making money was a matter of spotting the best financial or economic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3198617/why-chinese-stocks-and-bonds-are-safer-bet-investors-seeking-value-over-long-term?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3198617/why-chinese-stocks-and-bonds-are-safer-bet-investors-seeking-value-over-long-term?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Nov 2022 08:00:10 +0000 So, what’s next for China, following the government’s crackdown on real estate? We all know that sectors currently in favour include priorities such as semiconductors, green energy and biosciences. But here’s the surprise: financial services, too, will be a big winner. In Chinese state capitalism, the winners and losers are chosen by the government at each stage of the country’s development. Right now, Beijing urgently needs to upgrade the nation’s capital markets. The current policy is to shift... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3163922/chinas-focus-switches-property-capital-market-development-who-will?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3163922/chinas-focus-switches-property-capital-market-development-who-will?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jan 2022 22:45:18 +0000 Founded 100 years ago, China’s Communist Party has always branded itself as a party for workers and peasants. But it is also known for being flexible and pragmatic. With rising wealth and improving social mobility, China is moving poorer people into the middle class, a process that the party has branded its “common prosperity” programme. The party is thus moving with its constituency and staking its brand on a successful outcome, transforming itself into a party of the middle class. China, with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3156287/middle-class-nation-how-china-rising-challenge-common-prosperity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3156287/middle-class-nation-how-china-rising-challenge-common-prosperity?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:30:14 +0000 Hong Kong politics is often described as a contest between the blue and yellow camps. On the blue side are the conservative, pro-establishment forces, many of whom are people disillusioned by the West because of what they see as its growing bias against China. Across the divide is the other Hong Kong, consisting of people who identify with what they perceive to be Western values. Some of them retain an emotional bond with the territory’s heritage as a British colony and wish for more distance... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3146140/why-yellow-blue-hong-kong-are-both-blame-citys-identity-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3146140/why-yellow-blue-hong-kong-are-both-blame-citys-identity-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Aug 2021 14:00:12 +0000 Hong Kong needs to reinvent itself. The national security law has provided some breathing space, but it cannot cure all the ills of Hong Kong society, including widespread frustration over high living costs, unaffordable housing and an economic system that benefits a privileged few but leaves out ordinary people. The truth is that the extreme form of capitalism that served Hong Kong so well in the 20th century – laissez-faire policies that permitted a blind pursuit of corporate profits – has... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3136437/lets-build-more-inclusive-hong-kong-and-put-peoples-happiness-first?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3136437/lets-build-more-inclusive-hong-kong-and-put-peoples-happiness-first?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jun 2021 22:45:00 +0000 The social media-fuelled mania in stocks like GameStop could trigger a global political crisis. Inevitably, this frenzy will end in widespread losses because such trading decisions are not based on fundamental value, but are a kind of internet gaming on a massive scale. When losses build up, there could be an explosion of anger, and protest movements like Occupy Wall Street could return. Then, it would be difficult for the world’s central banks to increase interest rates even when it becomes... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120329/gamestops-wild-ride-and-other-risks-just-add-chinas-appeal-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120329/gamestops-wild-ride-and-other-risks-just-add-chinas-appeal-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Feb 2021 07:30:15 +0000 The US-China relationship is on the rocks and possibly headed for a nasty break-up, but don’t rush to write it off. While this may seem like a contrarian view, renewed cooperation or even a fresh partnership between China and the United States remains a logical and compelling solution to the problems faced by both nations and the world. We need to look past the current crisis. While the politics of blame and rivalry currently prevails, the fundamentals can be summarised thusly. The two countries... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3091153/us-china-relationship-can-be-saved-despite-coronavirus-and-trade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3091153/us-china-relationship-can-be-saved-despite-coronavirus-and-trade?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jul 2020 01:30:09 +0000 Let us try again. Hong Kong needs to restart political reforms, stalled by endless debate, as it searches for crisis solutions. The key is to find a format for electoral democracy that can win support from a substantial number of Hong Kong people, even if it leaves a sizeable minority dissatisfied. A solution would allow Hong Kong people to rule Hong Kong, through a system of one man, one vote, and direct elections for the position of chief executive. Such a change would vastly strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/unrest-gives-hong-kong-chance-start-afresh/article/3021794?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/unrest-gives-hong-kong-chance-start-afresh/article/3021794?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 09:53:51 +0000 Let us try again. Hong Kong needs to restart political reforms, stalled by endless debate, as it searches for crisis solutions. The key is to find a format for electoral democracy that can win support from a substantial number of Hong Kong people, even if it leaves a sizeable minority dissatisfied. A solution would allow Hong Kong people to rule Hong Kong, through a system of one man, one vote, and direct elections for the position of chief executive. Such a change would vastly strengthen... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3021492/turmoil-gives-hong-kong-its-best-chance-badly-needed-political-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3021492/turmoil-gives-hong-kong-its-best-chance-badly-needed-political-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 01:30:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s economy has long thrived on a formula of free competition, low taxes and a level playing field. During the economic miracle in the second half of the 20th century, there were few objections to this old style of capitalism, which, for all its injustices, delivered rapidly rising incomes to the general population. But that was then, and now the situation is not the same. As its economy plateaus and Hong Kong as a whole becomes less competitive in global markets, we see the collateral... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015310/hong-kong-needs-radical-social-and-economic-reform-lets-start?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015310/hong-kong-needs-radical-social-and-economic-reform-lets-start?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2019 22:30:10 +0000 China has the world’s second-largest stock market but foreign ownership amounts to less than 3.5 per cent. Usually, when Hong Kong and foreign investors talk Chinese stocks, they’re not referring to those on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, but companies listed outside the mainland – primarily Hong Kong and New York. Thus, the way the market for Chinese equities has developed since 1990 has been to create an onshore market (currently 3,600 stocks denominated in renminbi, listed in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010111/chinas-share-market-reforms-have-begun-and-investor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3010111/chinas-share-market-reforms-have-begun-and-investor?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 11:00:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s domestic economy is mature, meaning that almost every company eligible for listing is already listed. Thus, Hong Kong depends very much on the Chinese mainland to support its role as a financial centre. Currently, mainland Chinese companies – the “red chips” with their “H shares” – make up 42 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the Hong Kong stock market; actually, the true percentage of mainland Chinese involvement is much higher because many Hong Kong-registered... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1920095/hong-kongs-days-thriving-financial-hub-may-be-numbered?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1920095/hong-kongs-days-thriving-financial-hub-may-be-numbered?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2016 00:30:40 +0000 One of the biggest problems we face today is that a large and growing number of Hong Kong people no longer feel they have a stake in the success of Hong Kong. This is contributing hugely to social unrest and a spirit of defeat in our community. Clearly, we now have a part of Hong Kong that dislikes authority, doesn't welcome too much economic development, and has a tendency to engage in actions that could bring self-injury, such as the Occupy Central protest movement. Fixing the problem requires... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1539636/give-people-fair-chance-be-part-hong-kong-success-story-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1539636/give-people-fair-chance-be-part-hong-kong-success-story-again?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jun 2014 10:00:30 +0000 The Hong Kong economy relies heavily on spending by visitors from the Chinese mainland - yet a growing minority of Hong Kong residents don't want them around, at least not in such large numbers. We need to find a way out of this, for not only is there a lot of money at stake but an even larger issue of whether Hong Kong can survive the transition from British colony to being part of the People's Republic. At first, it is tempting to ignore those in Hong Kong protesting against the visitor... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1463179/how-hong-kong-can-accommodate-growing-number-mainland-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1463179/how-hong-kong-can-accommodate-growing-number-mainland-visitors?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2014 09:00:45 +0000