The current economic growth and limited land supply have driven up housing demand and long-term property price appreciation. However, due to the geopolitical tensions between China and the US, changes in Mainland Chinese tourists’ spending patterns, as well as increasingly fierce competition from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, both office and retail vacancies have reached high levels. Where should Hong Kong’s economic development go from here?

One of the indicators of whether a city can be considered as an international metropolis is perhaps the English proficiency of its residents. According to the EF English Proficiency Index report in 2023, Hong Kong ranked fourth among 23 countries and regions in Asia. However, there are two examples of different attitudes towards English in developed areas of Asia.

As distributing cash dividends has been a growing trend in A-share market, related regulations and taxation have also become issues of concern for investors. In recent years, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has implemented a series of measures to enhance the regulation of distributing cash dividends by listed companies, and encourage the increase of dividend pay-out ratios, which reflects the regulator’s commitment to protecting the interests of individual investors.

In mature stock markets, many listed companies distribute cash dividends to provide investors with recurrent income and boost their confidence in the companies. Last year, a total of 3,859 A-share listed companies proposed to pay out cash dividends, increased by 565 companies compared to two years before. The total cash dividends amounted to 2.24 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.16% from the previous year. This trend can be attributed to the policy guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The HKSAR government is committed to developing the city into a multinational supply chain management centre to become a “super-connector”, bridging the Mainland enterprises and international market. Compared to other port cities in Asia, Hong Kong has significant competitive edges in the following three aspects: Firstly, Hong Kong is experienced in trade financing which provides diverse options, and we have a sound legal framework; Secondly, the city has well-developed professional services in legal, accounting, maritime and other related industries; Thirdly, we have high quality talents with international exposure and multilingual capabilities.

What are the links between biodiversity and capital market investments? Over half of the global economy depends on nature. Protecting biodiversity can create new investment opportunities.

Will the US-China trade war further hinder global development? In May, the U.S. government announced raising tariffs on US$18 billion worth of Chinese imports, escalating the trade war. This follows the previous administration’s “America First” approach, using tariffs as a main trade tactic.

Have you watched “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” yet? This local action movie, released earlier this month, ranks second in the box office among Chinese movies in Hong Kong’s film history. Starting as a novel, it was turned into a comic series, then later adapted into a film. The commercial value of this creative franchise continues to rise, thanks to the business model of intellectual property (IP).