https://www.scmp.com/rss/327340/feed Dorothy Ma is a cadet at South China Morning Post en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Hong Kong’s third-richest man has a word of warning for property buyers in the world’s least affordable city to own a home: by all means get something to live in, but do not be sucked into speculation. Lui Che-woo, chairman of developer K Wah International Holdings, said on Wednesday that the US-China trade war and the Hong Kong government’s policy aimed at curbing prices would cause a lot of uncertainty. “It is fine to buy a home for self use. But for speculation, it is just like gambling when... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2160937/hong-kongs-third-richest-man-lui-che-woo-joins-chorus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2160937/hong-kongs-third-richest-man-lui-che-woo-joins-chorus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Aug 2018 03:00:00 +0000 Sun Hung Kai, Hong Kong’s biggest property developer, has cut the prices of homes at one of its projects by as much as 10 per cent, the second time in less than a month it has taken such action in the latest sign that the property market may be cooling down. The company is offering 119 units at its Cullinan West II development atop Nam Cheong MTR station in Kowloon at an average price of HK$23,893 (US$3,044) per square foot after discounts, about 10 per cent lower than the prices of a previous... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2159904/sun-hung-kai-cuts-new-flat-prices-again-hong-kong-developers-face-headwinds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2159904/sun-hung-kai-cuts-new-flat-prices-again-hong-kong-developers-face-headwinds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Aug 2018 00:00:15 +0000 Hongkongers have little interest in the Hong Kong government’s annuity scheme, a survey has found. More than 50 per cent of the 800 respondents surveyed by Allianz Global Investors for its fifth retirement confidence study do not plan to join the annuity scheme because of a lack of incentives and poor understanding of annuity products. The lacklustre response to the Hong Kong government’s public annuity plan reflects the public’s lack of knowledge about how annuity schemes work, said Philip Tso,... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2159706/annuity-plan-not-enough-sustain-hongkongers-after-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/2159706/annuity-plan-not-enough-sustain-hongkongers-after-retirement?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Aug 2018 22:30:30 +0000 Ricacorp Properties, one of the biggest real estate agencies in Hong Kong, has taken down thousands of false or duplicate property listings from its website, saying it wants to “stamp out the shady industry practice”. Other property agencies, however, denied fabricating or duplicating flat listings, and said that they complied with rules from industry watchdog, the Estate Agents Authority (EAA). The company said it had filtered out 9,000 property listings from the more than 15,000 on its website... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2159533/property-agent-ricacorp-removes-9000-fake-listings-it-takes-aim-rampant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2159533/property-agent-ricacorp-removes-9000-fake-listings-it-takes-aim-rampant?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Aug 2018 23:30:30 +0000 Mainland China’s booming after-school tutoring industry is ripe for further consolidation, with large players poised to gobble up smaller rivals forced out by tougher government oversight and low profit margins, a report said. Beginning in February, the central government signalled it would clamp down on industry players who do not meet standards. It unveiled a survey of nearly 130,000 after-school teaching institutions in May found that more than half – 65 per cent – did not have necessary... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2159159/mainland-chinas-after-school-tutoring-industry-ripe-consolidation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2159159/mainland-chinas-after-school-tutoring-industry-ripe-consolidation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Aug 2018 03:45:25 +0000 The Hong Kong government’s HK$10 billion (US$1.27 billion) public annuity scheme got off to a slow start on Thursday as only a few senior investors turned out to subscribe to the programme on day one. The scheme, which is open until August 8, allows those aged 65 or above to invest between HK$50,000 to HK$1 million in exchange for a lifelong monthly payment. The government originally set the maximum amount of investment it would accept in the first year of the scheme at HK$10 billion, but said... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2156057/few-takers-us127b-annuity-plan-hong-kong-retirees-complain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2156057/few-takers-us127b-annuity-plan-hong-kong-retirees-complain?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jul 2018 23:34:25 +0000 The Hong Kong government-backed HK$10 billion (US$1.27 billion) public annuity scheme is set to boost public awareness of the need for pension investment, according to Victor Yip, chief operating officer and chief actuary of MassMutual Asia, one of the major providers of pension products in the city. Under the annuity plan launched Monday by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, residents will be guaranteed a monthly fixed return after investing a lump sum from a threshold of HK$50,000 to HK$1... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2155233/hong-kongs-public-annuity-plan-set-raise-awareness-need?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2155233/hong-kongs-public-annuity-plan-set-raise-awareness-need?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jul 2018 03:01:07 +0000 China may take the edge off tariff sanctions by easing its monetary policies, but policymakers will not seek to weaponise the yuan by a sharp depreciation, even as the trade war with the US gathers pace, according to Citibank. The trade war unofficially began Friday when the US imposed tariffs on US$34 billion of Chinese imports, while China slapped taxes on an equal amount of American goods in response. China is expected to cushion the impact from the punitive tariffs by implementing a 50 basis... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2154537/china-likely-ease-monetary-policy-dont-expect-yuan-drop-further?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2154537/china-likely-ease-monetary-policy-dont-expect-yuan-drop-further?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jul 2018 02:26:18 +0000 Chinese equities will resume growth in the second half as they will be supported by strong corporate earnings, reasonable valuations and proactive government measures, according to Credit Suisse after stocks hit two-year lows amid escalating trade friction between the US and China. US President Donald Trump earlier this week threatened to impose tariffs on another US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods, which affected trading sentiment and pulled the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to a low of... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2151773/credit-suisse-sees-trade-tariffs-temporary-blip-expects-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2151773/credit-suisse-sees-trade-tariffs-temporary-blip-expects-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Jun 2018 05:00:18 +0000 Hong Kong’s first private auction of convertible farmland failed to find a buyer, in a setback to the city government’s plan to make more plots available for the construction of residential buildings. Not a single person out of nine registered bidders showed their hand during 30 minutes of hushed proceedings at the auctioneer’s office in Central on Monday, even though 40 people showed up at the sale, where 10 plots of land in Yuen Long measuring a total of 119,000 square feet were up for... https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2150266/hong-kongs-first-private-auction-farmland-flops-setback?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/hong-kong-china/article/2150266/hong-kongs-first-private-auction-farmland-flops-setback?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jun 2018 11:25:30 +0000 Generation Z, the section of the population born in the mid-90s, was the fastest-growing segment of borrowers in Hong Kong during the first quarter, according to data by the credit report company TransUnion. Loans by Gen-Z borrowers, the oldest of whom is 23 this year, soared by 78.5 per cent from last year, according to TransUnion’s data comprising 20 million accounts and 5.4 million customers. Total loans grew 1.9 per cent during the quarter compared with 2017, driven mostly by increases in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2150082/gen-zs-their-20s-are-fastest-growing-group-loan-borrowers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2150082/gen-zs-their-20s-are-fastest-growing-group-loan-borrowers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Jun 2018 05:21:53 +0000