When it comes to the trendiest collectible today, it’s not Chanel or Taylor Swift — it’s Labubu, the sharp-eared, wide-eyed character with its signature nine fangs! According to Dr. Tingting Fan, Principal Lecturer in Marketing at HKU Business School, the rise of Labubu under Pop Mart was no coincidence. It was driven by the brand’s unique IP strategy — collaborating with designers worldwide to create diverse character series, supported by an integrated business model covering design, production, and marketing, all tailored to young consumers’ tastes. “Pop Mart has excelled in using data analytics to understand the preferences and trends of

On “Liberation Day”, US President Donald Trump announced a sweeping plan to impose reciprocal tariffs—taxes that exceeded market expectations and triggered immediate shocks across financial markets. According to Yale’s Budget Lab, these tariffs could raise short-term inflation in the US by 2.3%, reduce household spending by an average of US$3,800, and lower the country’s 2025 GDP growth rate by 0.9%. Dr Y.F. Luk, Honorary Associate Professor at HKU Business School, noted that for the Trump administration, tariffs served both as a policy tool and a political signal. While they could generate government revenue, they were unlikely to replace major taxes.

As millions worldwide are addicted to video games, governments and organizations are actively taking measures to curb this trend. Our research suggests that dynamic pricing can help solve the problem of gaming addiction.

After President Donald Trump began his second term, he swiftly escalated the trade war by imposing a 25% import tariff on steel and aluminium products, along with ‘reciprocal tariffs.’ Dr. Jing Li, Deputy Program Director of International Business and Global Management at HKU Business School, said although Trump aimed to attract manufacturing back to the United States, history—such as the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act—showed excessive protectionism often backfired, raising import prices, straining supply chains, and increasing uncertainty for businesses and consumers.

Could cryptocurrency mining have become a driving force for carbon reduction in China? As the global cryptocurrency market rapidly expanded, mining evolved into a billion-dollar industry. However, its high energy consumption attracted criticism and was a key reason for the Chinese government’s ban on mining in 2021. Despite this, Prof. Guojun He highlighted that appropriate electricity pricing policies could have enabled mining activities to promote renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions.

AI image generation is rapidly evolving, driving innovation in marketing, advertising design, and art creation. HKU Business School’s Professor of Innovation and Information Management, Prof. Zhenhui Jack Jiang, along with his research team…

Since its launch of ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI, the US-based company, has maintained dominant leadership in the generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI) market. The field of AI innovation has long become a fiercely contested…

U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced a significant increase in tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with tariffs on automobiles and auto parts reaching as high as 25%. This move is said to be aimed at promoting the return of manufacturing to the U.S. while reducing the trade deficit. However, in reality, it may trigger a series of profound negative consequences.