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Currencies

Currencies
Currency market action focused on developments with the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar.
Hong Kong police have arrested six suspects in connection with a 51 million yen robbery in Sheung Wan. Photo: Karma Lo
Crime in Hong Kong

Are Hong Kong foreign exchange firms secure enough?

After a shocking 51 million yen robbery last week, the South China Morning Post examines the risks in the city’s cash exchange trade.

Yuan

Editorial | China well placed to take advantage of the shift away from the US dollar

Banking & finance

Letters | As US dollar weakens, time to rethink Hong Kong dollar peg?

Yuan

China is on a ‘strong currency’ mission to make the yuan a global reserve: Xi

Xi Jinping says the goal of becoming an international powerhouse is a long-term one and will rest on core foundations.

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Beijing has been pushing for the internationalisation of the yuan over the past decade or so, but its global footprint remains limited. Photo: Reuters
Japan

Macroscope | Could Japan stop being the ballast of the bond market?

A lower house election victory would give flight to Prime Minister Takaichi’s fiscal expansionism – and introduce upheaval far beyond Japan.

Hong Kong economy

Editorial | Hong Kong cannot take its Exchange Fund’s stellar year for granted

The fund posted a record gain last year, boosting the Hong Kong government’s fiscal health, but global headwinds must be heeded.

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Hong Kong economy

Editorial | No better time for Hong Kong to strike its golden deal with Shanghai

Hong Kong’s ambitions to be a global hub for the trading and storage of the safe-haven asset get a lift from the spectacular gold rally.

People queue outside a gold dealer in Hong Kong on January 28. The price of the precious metal surpassed US$5,500, hitting a record amid the global uncertainty and turmoil set off by US President Donald Trump’s policies. Photo: AFP
Commodities

Runaway gold: why even Wall Street can’t keep up with the metal’s record ascent

Some Chinese funds halt subscriptions as uncertainty fuels volatility in the metals market, while Hong Kong’s first gold exchange-traded fund surges on its debut.

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Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund reports record earnings in 2025

The Exchange Fund’s full-year earnings jumped 51 per cent to HK$331 billion (US$42 billion), from HK$218.8 billion in 2024.

Banking & finance

Trump says the US dollar can move like a yo-yo. Will Treasuries be left hanging?

With the US president levelling threats at enemies, allies and his own central bank, alternatives like gold and Chinese assets are gaining appeal.

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Malaysia

As Malaysian ringgit strengthens, Singapore shoppers in Johor reap less savings

The ringgit’s appreciation is also bad news for Malaysian export-oriented sectors, such as gloves and electronics, analysts say.

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A woman counting several notes of the Malaysian ringgit. The currency has risen against the Singapore dollar in recent trading sessions. Photo: Shutterstock
Interest rates

Spiking yen fuels risk-averse mood as investors take defensive stance

Yen hits two-month high amid fears US and Japan will intervene to prop up the currency ahead of Japan’s election next month.

Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)

China’s central bank to support doubling of yuan liquidity for Hong Kong lenders

PBOC to increase yuan facility to US$28.68 billion and issue more sovereign yuan bonds to enhance city’s role as yuan hub, official says.

China economy

Opinion | Talk of digital yuan challenging dollar dominance misses real power shift

China is merely building parallel capabilities. Whether the systems remain complementary or become competitive depends on how others respond.

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People walk past an e-CNY sign at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services, in Beijing on September 5, 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Malaysia

Gloves are off as Malaysia’s strong ringgit bites into producers’ profits

The ringgit climbed more than 10 per cent against the dollar last year, squeezing the bottom line of the export-reliant market.

A worker inspects disposable gloves at Top Glove’s factory in Shah Alam, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP
Yuan

China lets yuan break through 7 per US dollar mark as dollar jitters grow

China’s central bank set the yuan fixing rate at under 7 per US dollar for the first time since mid-2023 as concerns over dollar assets mount.

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China trade

China should leverage buying power to boost yuan’s use, former PBOC adviser says

With the yuan’s fixing at fresh 2023 highs and US dollar uncertainty rising under Trump, Beijing is urged to expand yuan-settled imports to internationalise its currency.

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US-China relations

China dumps more US debt, buys other assets as Trump targets Powell

Beijing’s Treasury holdings hit a September 2008 low, and analysts point to fears over Fed independence and debt sustainability, while gold’s appeal rises.

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China trimmed its holdings of US Treasuries in November to the lowest level since 2008. Image: Shutterstock
China manufacturing

Fears over China’s trade surplus misplaced as West also driving trend: analysts

China’s global manufacturing dominance is a tale of two halves; reliant on home-grown industrial growth and Western consumption, experts say.

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Yuan

China’s PBOC sets onshore yuan fixing at strongest point in nearly 16 months

Analysts note how Beijing’s policy goals, such as internationalising China’s currency and curbing overcapacity, are aligning with a firmer exchange rate.

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Chinese offshore investment

How China’s global investment model is changing – and what it means for the yuan

The trade war, weak domestic demand and stronger policy support push more firms to invest overseas, with growing implications for currency.

The logo of China’s Huawei Technologies Co is displayed on the middle of city road in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE
United States

US says Argentina has ‘fully repaid’ currency lifeline

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the loan is paid in full, netting millions in profit for the US while stabilising Javier Milei’s government.

Javier Milei holds a giant 100-dollar bill with his face painted on it during a campaign rally in Argentina in September 2023. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

US dollar, gold rise after Maduro abduction as investors seek safe havens

Yuan also remains relatively resilient as analysts predict the Chinese currency could strengthen to as high as 6.8 against the US dollar in 2026.

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International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Argentina targets US dollars hoarded under mattresses, eases tax evasion rules

The country wants Argentines to bank their dollars amid high inflation, with estimates of ‘mattress dollars’ totalling US$251 billion.

Japan

Japan may lose GDP race to India amid weak yen, tourism woes, China row

Japan’s economy is likely to fall behind India’s this year, which analysts say would diminish Tokyo’s global influence.

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Tourists pose in front of Mount Fuji in Yamanakako, Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture. Photo: AFP
European Union

Bulgaria becomes 21st country to adopt euro in historic milestone

The Balkan nation, which joined the EU in 2007, retires the 19th-century lev for the single currency.

Revellers celebrate the New Year in front of the Bulgarian National Bank in Sofia as Bulgaria officially adopts the euro. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

How China is upgrading its digital yuan for the stablecoin era

Beijing is upgrading its digital currency in response to the rise of stablecoins, but the goal is to create a fundamentally different system.

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Malaysia

‘I’m lucky’: Malaysians cash in as ringgit’s surge boosts travel budgets

Travellers capitalise on the favourable exchange rate for holidays after the currency hit a five-year high against the US dollar.

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