Category: HK Business

Hong Kong’s Foreign Trade Records Biggest Decline in 70 Years in January

The year-on-year decline in Hong Kong’s foreign trade extended into January, recording its biggest monthly decline in 70 years; an expert says it’s evidence that “mainland China is slowly decoupling from the world.” Exports fell 36.7 percent and imports fell 30.2 percent in January from a year earlier, according to the January merchandise trade statistics…


Recession Is Needed to Curb Inflation

The year 2023 seems a turnaround year for the world economy: Not only in the real estate sector, where prices are on the rebound. Indeed, inflation and the interest rate hike will still be the focus, at least for the first half of 2023; recession, if any, should be later. The picture is getting clearer:…


Greater Bay Airlines Agrees to Purchase Boeing 737-9 MAX Aircraft Instead of China-Made C919

China Greater Bay Airlines recently announced its purchase of 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft and plans to buy other Boeing planes soon. Instead of buying the China-made aircraft C919, which the Chinese State Media boasted as a “national pride,” Greater Bay Airlines have agreed to purchase passenger planes from the regime’s competitor, Boeing. Outsiders questioned…


Hong Kong Probes Cause of Blaze in Shopping District

HONG KONG—Hong Kong authorities on Friday were investigating the cause of a huge blaze that broke out overnight at a construction site in a popular shopping district and forced 170 people in nearby buildings to evacuate. No deaths or injuries have been reported after the fire erupted at the Mariners’ Club redevelopment project in the…


Japan’s Inflation Is Not Different From Other G6 Countries

While the market is anticipating and central banks are planning to slow down the pace of monetary tightening, there are signs of inflation rebounding in Australia and the U.S. (the core month-over-month inflation accelerated recently).  Japan is the only advanced economy doing nothing in the face of such a trend. Japan’s inflation change over the…


Hong Kong Chief Executive Shows Interest in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Project

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that Hong Kong can play a crucial role in providing funds for the NEOM project, a smart city being built in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. The NEOM project has been accused of human rights violations and being a city of surveillance. In 2022, three former indigenous…


Hong Kong Exports Face Largest Drop Since 1950s, Chip Re-Exports Decline

Hong Kong’s exports have faced the largest decline in decades. Long-time trade in re-exporting electronic parts, particularly integrated circuits generating foreign currency, was likely impacted by U.S.-China trade sanctions and the U.S. restrictions on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s semiconductor industry. Figures released by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong showed exports recorded negative year-on-year…


China’s Economic Future Can Be Predicted by Population

Commentary China released its latest population figure for 2022, recording a year-over-year decline, which had not been seen since the Great Leap Forward in the early 1960s. Population growth is important for economic growth because all outputs are produced by labor and capital (non-labor), the two standard input factors. Given a production function in terms…


The Theory Behind Yield Curve Prediction

Commentary Since the U.S. yield curve inverted, predicting recession ahead, there have been voices again arguing “this time is different.” Like previous recessions, contrarians challenged the lack of theoretical basis behind it, others accused the yield curve slope as mainly governed by Fed policy which should be the true cause of boom-bust. In terms of…


Top 10 Global and Hong Kong Financial News in Review

In this article, we highlight ten top items of Hong Kong and global financial news and incidents of 2022. (1) Fed Raises Interest Rates To fight inflation and high prices, The U.S. Federal Reserve (FED)  raised the federal funds rate by 0.75 percent four times in succession. It raised interest rates by a cumulative 4.25…