HKIC leads its first overseas delegation to Malaysia and Brunei
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South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
Accelerating Northern Metropolis considered priority by Hongkongers: John Lee
The accelerated development of the Northern Metropolis megaproject through novel approaches is a matter of key community consensus, Hong Kong's leader has said as he rounded up a 1½-month-long public consultation exercise for his annual policy address in September. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also said on Sunday that government policies had to consider macroeconomic development and local-level livelihood concerns to ensure that residents felt included. 'When formulating policies, we have to care about the details and do better communication with our residents about the aims of these policies so they feel acknowledged and have something to gain,' he said. Lee spoke to the media after concluding his second town hall this year on Sunday morning, where he and his principal officials met about 120 residents at a secondary school in Yuen Long to gauge public views ahead of his next policy address. The first such event was held on Sunday last week and was also attended by about 120 people. Since June, the government has held more than 40 consultation sessions and received over 5,500 submissions online and via a hotline, a 10 per cent increase from the same period last year.
South China Morning Post
2 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Trump's Pakistan pivot redefines US-India dynamics: ‘no permanent friends'
An unexpected resurgence in ties between the United States and Pakistan amid Washington's simmering tensions with India has turned the tables in the dynamics between the three nations, according to observers. Hours after the announcement, the American leader revealed a 'massive' oil exploration deal with Pakistan, saying that some day, India might have to buy oil from Islamabad. Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Centre's South Asia Institute, said the tables had turned in the US-Pakistan-India triangle. US relations with Pakistan had experienced 'unexpected resurgence', Kugelman told This Week in Asia, adding that the sudden change signalled a serious challenge for New Delhi, given Washington and India had seen a deepening strategic partnership over the last two decades. 'There have been moments of crises, bumps on the road, but they have largely been surmountable, but in this case you are looking at a long period of a time, there have been repeated cases of US statements messaging actions that have concerned India a lot,' Kugelman said.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong may return to operating account surplus in 2025-26: Paul Chan
Hong Kong is on track to return to an operating account surplus for the 2025-26 financial year, with the result largely fuelled by a surge in stamp duty income from the city's robust stock market performance, the finance chief has said. Advertisement Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po made his prediction of a surplus – set to occur a year earlier than previously estimated – on Sunday, while cautioning that economic growth in the second half of the year would be less pronounced than in the first, without the export surge driven by 'rush shipments' ahead of renewed US tariffs. 'For stamp duty, we expect to gain around HK$130 million [US$16.5 million] for every HK$100 billion of transactions because some transactions, such as the exchange-traded products, are exempt from stamp duty,' he told a radio programme. The Hang Seng Index has recorded an increase of more than 25 per cent so far this year. The average daily turnover in the stock market for the first half of the year was around $240 billion, an increase of 120 per cent year on year. Hong Kong's stock exchange earlier reported a surge in IPO activity in the first quarter of the year, with 17 new listings attracting a total of HK$18.7 billion, nearly quadrupling year-on-year figures. Advertisement 'If the momentum goes on, the operating account in the 2025-26 financial year, which we earlier predicted to suffer a deficit of several billion dollars, may return to surplus,' Chan said. The government earlier predicted that the operating account would return to a surplus in the 2026-27 financial year or later.
