Latest news with #HongKong
South China Morning Post
40 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Your perfect week: what to do in Hong Kong, June 29-July 5
Do this Next Wave Beach Festival Soak up the tunes at the Next Wave Beach Festival in Hong Kong's Discovery Bay. Photo: Next Wave Beach Festival Looking to cool off this summer? The Next Wave Beach Festival is returning to Discovery Bay's Tai Pak Beach on July 5 and 6. K-pop girl group Itzy and rising Korean talent Chung Ha lead the roster, while local singer Joey Hung Ka-ho is expected to deliver a set of crowd-pleasers. Attendees can get up close to the main stage or lounge about on a floating jetty in the sea to soak it all in. Tai Pak Beach, Discovery Bay; See this Vox Luminis Vox Luminis is a Belgian ensemble led by Lionel Meunier. Photo: Leslie Artamonow Founded in 2004 by bass vocalist Lionel Meunier, the Belgian ensemble is set to debut in Hong Kong on July 2. Specialising in 17th and early-18th century English, Italian and German repertoires, Vox Luminis – which won the 2012 Gramophone Recording of the Year – has nearly 20 recordings and more than 70 annual concerts under its belt. St John's Cathedral, Central, on July 2, and Tsuen Wan Town Hall, on July 5; Eat this Mott 32 The Celebration Peking duck at Mott 32. Photo: Mott 32 A new à la carte menu has been unveiled at this ever-stylish Chinese restaurant in Central. Created by head chef Lee Man-sing, the Celebration Menu fuses traditional techniques with contemporary flair in dishes such as the Celebration Peking duck, roasted with applewood and topped with caviar. Also roasted with applewood is the pluma Ibérico pork with Yellow Mountain honey, presented tableside in a tailor-made box. Advertisement Basement, Standard Chartered Bank Building, 4–4A Des Voeux Road Central Drink this Hennessy Mart Hennessy Mart features collaborative cocktails with Draft Land. Photo: Hennessy Mart One of the world's leading cognac brands is teaming up with local tap-cocktail bar Draft Land to launch a grocery store-themed pop-up at Central Market. Cognac lovers can expect refreshing summer tipples such as the Hennessy ginger and oolong, while those who buy a bottle can win merch from the Hennessy x NBA collectible series. Until July 4, Central Market, 93 Queen's Road Central
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
No better time than a property slump to ‘future-proof' urban Hong Kong
How do we 'future-proof' Hong Kong's built environment? For the design and construction industry in particular, this could be the most relevant question amid today's grave challenges. In the global environment, military and tariff wars interrupt supply chains and the uncertain economic outlook hinders project investment and financing. These issues are complicated locally by a suspension of commercial land sales, a property market slump and escalating construction costs Advertisement If the worst of times can also be the best of times – to borrow from Charles Dickens – and hope and progress can rise above despair and stagnation, what can we do to future-proof Hong Kong? But first, what does future-proofing mean? According to the non-profit organisation Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the consultancy Arup, which recently released a report on the future-proofing workshop they co-hosted, it means preserving and protecting Hong Kong's infrastructure, systems, products and services while addressing how to leverage our advantages to achieve our development goals. The United Nations might shed some light on what goals to aspire to. In September 2015, all 193 UN member states unanimously adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several of the 17 goals apply to the living environment, focusing on creating sustainable cities and communities and preserving nature and ecologies. With only five years to 2030, there is a lot to be done for cities, and Hong Kong is no exception. Moreover, Hong Kong is not just any city. We are a financial powerhouse with world-class infrastructure, top-tier universities, a robust and hardworking workforce and forward-thinking leaders, investors and developers. If any city can achieve the SDGs, we should be one of the first to do so. 03:28 Beauty in plain sight: why Hong Kong's public housing estates are worth a closer look Beauty in plain sight: why Hong Kong's public housing estates are worth a closer look Thus we must move from the monovision typical in a capitalist economy towards collaboration.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Asia Morning Briefing: Asia's Banks Look to Stablecoins to Prevent Deposit Flight
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk's Crypto Daybook Americas. While stablecoins (USDT, USDC) dominated U.S. headlines last month amid the GENIUS Act and Circle's (CRCL) blockbuster IPO, Asia's quieter yet strategic adoption is reshaping the region's cross-border finance. Asian banks increasingly see stablecoins like USDT and USDC as defensive tools against deposit flight and lost transaction revenue. Behind the scenes, stablecoins are already playing an important role in the region's financial plumbing. Fireblocks' Head of Asia, Amy Zhang, said in a recent interview with CoinDesk that major banks across Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong are proactively exploring local-currency stablecoins to mitigate these threats. 'If I'm not one of the banks banking Circle or banking Tether, am I going to lose deposits?' Zhang told CoinDesk. 'That's a huge risk for banks.' In Korea, eight major banks, including KB Kookmin and Shinhan, are forming a consortium to launch a Korean won stablecoin by 2026, a direct response to surging local use of USDT and USDC for cross-border transactions. Japan's banking giants MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho are piloting yen-pegged stablecoins to streamline trade finance and reduce dependence on traditional cross-border rails. Hong Kong's Bank of East Asia also recently piloted its own USD and HKD stablecoin settlement network. Payment service providers (PSPs) are aggressively fueling the adoption of stablecoins, shifting away from costly traditional banking channels. "A year ago, PSPs were asking if they should do stablecoins," Zhang said. "Now they say, 'I'm moving a millions of client flows; I need a better wallet.'" Fireblocks, which processed over $3 trillion in digital assets last year, reports that stablecoins now account for about half its transaction volume. Zhang cited growing usage among Asian e-commerce giants. Recent media reports say that China's plans to cut supplier-payment costs dramatically using stablecoins, which is an example of what Zhang mentioned. PSPs such as Hong Kong's Tazapay use Circle's USDC to efficiently route cross-border payments into USD and HKD disbursements to help with instant payouts for content creators and gamers in Asia's emerging markets. A dashboard from Visa Analytics shows that weekends have 30% higher stablecoin volumes, underscoring their role in retail and gig use. Tether's USDT dominates stablecoin flows in emerging Asian markets, driven by its liquidity and ease-of-access Zhang said, and by contrast, USDC gains traction in highly regulated financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong. As the region's financial institutions adopt stablecoins defensively and corporate users operationalize them pragmatically, Asia's quiet transformation in cross-border finance infrastructure could become the next headline in stablecoin's evolving history. The question is, what will be the next IPO to capitalize on this? Bakkt Holdings (NYSE: BKKT) is preparing to join the growing ranks of public companies allocating capital to bitcoin, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday. The SEC filing shows that Bakkt is looking to raise $1 billion through a mix of securities, common stock, preferred stock, debt, warrants, and units to buy BTC. The move comes as corporate BTC treasury strategies gain momentum globally. Companies like Metaplanet in Japan, Bridge Biotherapeutics in Korea, and Semler Scientific in the U.S. have made headlines by adding BTC to their balance sheets. The registration follows a wave of negative news: Bakkt recently lost two of its largest clients, Bank of America and Webull, responsible for a significant chunk of its loyalty and crypto service revenues. In February of last year, the company warned that it might not be able to continue operations. A few months later, Trump Media was reportedly said to be looking into an acquisition, but since then, nothing has materialized. Bakkt is also said to be exploring the potential sale or wind-down of its loyalty division as it refocuses on crypto payments and trading infrastructure. BTC: Bitcoin held steady above $107K Thursday ahead of a major $40B options expiry on Deribit, with a $102K max pain price and no clear directional bias from traders, while Core Scientific surged 33% on takeover rumors. ETH: Ethereum is trading at $2,420 as it tests major resistance between $2,500–$2,600, with analysts saying a breakout could pave the way to $2,800 or even $4,000 amid falling exchange reserves and record user activity. Gold: Gold slipped to $3,331 on Thursday despite a weaker dollar and falling Treasury yields, as strong U.S. jobless claims and durable goods data offset recessionary GDP revisions and added uncertainty over the Fed's future leadership. Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets are poised to rise Friday, tracking Wall Street gains after the White House downplayed concerns over upcoming tariff deals. S&P 500: The S&P 500 rose 0.8% Thursday, nearing a record high after a $9.8 trillion rebound from April lows, capping a 23% rally driven by easing tariff fears and renewed market optimism. Hong Kong sharpens crypto hub focus amid rising global competition (SCMP) Real-World Asset Tokenization Market Has Grown Almost Fivefold in 3 Years (CoinDesk) What's Next for Tokenization? (CoinDesk)
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump-Linked DeFi Project World Liberty Teams With Re7 for USD1 Stablecoin Vault
World Liberty Financial (WLF), the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol associated with U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, is working with Re7 Labs to establish a vault for its USD1 stablecoin on lending platforms Euler and Lista, the companies said in a statement Friday. The move is part of World Liberty's broader initiative to scale USD1 across Binance's BNB Chain, a blockchain known for its low transaction costs and high-speed infrastructure. The stablecoin is positioned as a dollar-pegged digital asset designed for use within DeFi ecosystems. Re7 Labs, an arm of London-based DeFi hedge fund Re7 Capital, is playing a key role in the effort. Just last week, Re7 Labs disclosed it would receive up to $10 million from Hong Kong-based VMS Group. The family office, which oversees roughly $4 billion in assets, is making its first foray into crypto with the investment. 'This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to building the next generation of DeFi infrastructure — where stability, transparency and capital efficiency converge,' said Evgeny Gokhberg, founder of Re7 Capital, said in the statement. 'Working alongside World Liberty, Euler and BNB Chain, we're advancing a model for stablecoin adoption that meets the expectations of both crypto-native and institutional users.' Euler and Lista are decentralized lending platforms that enable users to borrow and lend digital assets using smart contracts. The addition of a USD1 stablecoin vault to these platforms could make it easier for traders and institutions to access dollar-pegged liquidity within the DeFi environment. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bloomberg Invest Hong Kong Highlights
Held in Hong Kong, Bloomberg Invest convenes allocators, dealmakers, and investors from across Asia. Powered by one of the world's largest newsrooms, the 2025 event highlighted the most influential voices discussing the impact of tariffs on markets, opportunities across private assets, and tensions over US-China tech. Sign in to access your portfolio
