Hong Kong

Companies in the Asia-Pacific region are being urged to diversify their boardrooms, in part to better meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. 
Companies

COVID-19 adds urgency to Asia's push for boardroom diversity

True board independence needed to meet pandemic and other challenges, experts say

23 September 2021
SoftBank Robotics and Keenon Robotics are keen to roll out their service bots to the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. (Photo by Mayuko Tani)
Technology

SoftBank-powered robots to help Grab with meal deliveries

Singapore and Japan to use the droids jointly developed by China's Keenon

21 September 2021
Tokyo stocks fell sharply in morning trade on Sept. 21, following other major markets lower on China Evergrande turmoil. (Photo by Tetsuya Kitayama)
Markets

Evergrande turmoil drags down Japan stocks on holiday return

Other Asian markets flat as investors await news on property developer

21 September 2021
Shares of Chinese property companies rebounded on Tuesday after falling steeply the previous day. 
China debt crunch

Evergrande turmoil forces Chinese developers to prove strength

Property companies announce capital injections and bond redemptions

21 September 2021
Airwallex, which offers a global fintech payment platform, has over 1,000 employees in 20 offices around the world.
DealStreetAsia

Fintech unicorn Airwallex hits $4bn valuation after raising $200m

Hong Kong-based company wants to expand its global operations

21 September 2021
A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange.
China debt crunch

China Evergrande crisis rocks markets across globe

Dow sheds 600 points in worst day since July; Nikkei falls nearly 2%

21 September 2021
Police on Sept. 20 seized around 40 cartons and plastic storage boxes containing M&M's, crackers, wet wipes, baby powder and other products that had been warehoused for distribution to prisoners.
Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong police seize M&M's as national security threat

Force alleges activists 'incited subversion' in distributing goods to prisoners

20 September 2021
“We tried our best, but we just can't see any more room for us to stand anymore," said HKCTU Chairman Joe Wong, middle, on Sunday. (Photo by Kenji Kawase)
Hong Kong security law

Leading Hong Kong pro-democratic labor group to disband

HKCTU's Lee Cheuk-yan also calls on June 4 vigil organizer to dissolve

20 September 2021
Joe Biden will give his first U.N. General Assembly speech as U.S. president on September 21, followed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines via video.
Your Week in Asia

Quad summit, Evergrande bond deadline and UNGA opening

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

19 September 2021
The International Finance Centre, HSBC headquarters and the Bank of China are seen in Hong Kong.
IPO

Hong Kong proposes SPAC listings, but only for professional investors

Exchange's entry into race for 'blank-check' IPOs shadows Singapore's move

17 September 2021
Hong Kong IPOs show signs of a comeback, after a lull driven partly by Beijing's crackdown on the tech sector.
IPO

Chinese bank's $1.3bn offering rekindles Hong Kong IPO market

City's exchange vets over 220 applications in year-end listing deluge

17 September 2021
A pillbox built by the Japanese army on a British-made artillery observation post commands a sweeping view of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. (Takeshi Kihara)
Life

Race to save Hong Kong's wartime relics

Growing interest spurs new interest in region's World War II heritage sites

17 September 2021
This home page of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China as of Thursday afternoon. 
Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong police invoke security law to censor online posts

June 4 vigil organizer forced to purge social media accounts

16 September 2021
The Sept. 24 launch of the southbound Bond Connect will entrench Hong Kong's role as China's financial gateway.
Bonds

China widens access to offshore bonds for domestic investors

Southbound Connect program makes Hong Kong-traded debt available Sept. 24

15 September 2021
Activists gathered outside the court on Wednesday as 12 people received sentences over their roles in the 2020 vigil. 
Hong Kong security law

12 Hong Kong activists given prison sentences over June 4 vigil

Government disqualifies seven district councilors for 'invalid' oaths

15 September 2021
The Macao Electoral Affairs Commission attributed the decline in voting to bad weather and pandemic travel controls. (Courtesy Macao Government Information Bureau)
Politics

Plunge in Macao voter turnout carries signal for Hong Kong

Participation falls below 50% for first time after 21 candidates disqualified

13 September 2021
The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge. The Wealth Management Connect link will be restricted to investors in the Greater Bay Area, which covers Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and seven other Guangdong Province cities.
Finance

Hong Kong to tap mainland savings with debut of wealth management link

Bonds between China and financial center to tighten with arrangement

10 September 2021
Police collect a cutout of the Goddess of Democracy at the June Fourth Museum as they search the museum after four members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China were arrested, in Hong Kong on Sept. 9.
Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong police raid Tiananmen memorial museum

Top three leaders of vigil organizer charged with 'subversion'

10 September 2021
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China Vice Chairwoman Chow Hang-tung inside a police vehicle on Sept. 8.
Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong police arrest defiant June 4 vigil organizers

Alliance had rejected demand to submit membership and financial records

8 September 2021
A Yoshinoya restaurant in Hong Kong: Hop Hing runs 390 Yoshinoya locations, mostly in northern China, along with 189 Dairy Queen ice cream shops.
Food & Beverage

Chinese operator of Yoshinoya and DQ to go private

Hop Hing shares surge 63% in Hong Kong on planned buyout by founding family

8 September 2021
The organizer of Hong Kong’s annual commemoration of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown rejected police demand to handover information. (Photo by Kenji Kawase)
Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong's pro-democracy body rejects order to reveal member details

Tiananmen Square crackdown vigil organizer to consider dissolution this month

5 September 2021
The Philippines' PDP-Laban Party, chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte, will hold a convention on Sept. 8, announcing its candidates for the May 2022 general election.
Your Week in Asia

Singapore border opens, Duterte party convention, China trade data

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

5 September 2021
The Singapore Exchange cut the required market cap for SPACs by half after consultation revealed that stakeholders found the previous level prohibitively high.
Markets

Singapore Exchange cuts required SPAC market cap by 50% to $112m

Such entities must merge with targets within 24 months under new framework

2 September 2021
The June 4th Museum in Hong Kong, left, was forced to shut down in June but came back in digital form in August. (Source photos by Reuters and Ken Kobayashi)
Comment

Digital technology becomes bastion for Hong Kong's lost freedoms

German-based Chang Ping and anonymous partners carve out cyber haven

2 September 2021
The flags of China and Hong Kong against the city's skyline, pictured on June 30: what Xi is doing is simply not in the DNA of a city literally in the business of doing business.
Opinion

Hong Kong's troubles are deeper than even its own leaders realize

Social scars exposed thanks to Beijing's ongoing economic clampdown

2 September 2021