Li Yanqing, executive vice-president and secretary general of the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry (Cansi), discusses the impact of US trade policies, global market cycles and China’s strategic pivot towards high-quality manufacturing. As a shipbuilding veteran who also serves as chairman of the ISO/TC 8 ships and marine technology committee, which oversees international standardisation for shipbuilding and marine operations, Li is a prominent voice for China’s industry on...

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Ahead of China’s annual legislative meetings – typically a window into Beijing’s top-level policy agenda – this is the fourth entry in a series examining the complex economic recalibration driving China’s growth philosophy and its wide-ranging implications for local governments, financial investors and private enterprises. China’s private businesses, many still facing cash flow problems amid a prolonged property slump, want treasury bonds and legal obligations on state-owned enterprises and...

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US-Israeli strikes on Iran have grounded at least 37 flights between Hong Kong and the Middle East, with flag carrier Cathay Pacific suspending its Dubai services until Thursday. Cathay also announced on Monday that it would suspend its Riyadh flights until Tuesday amid the developing situation in the region. The carrier said customers booked to travel between Hong Kong and Dubai or Riyadh would be offered more flexibility to rebook, divert, or refund their tickets, with usual fees waived until...

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Australia’s internet regulator said it might push search engines and app stores to block artificial intelligence services that failed to verify user ages after a review found more than half had not made public any steps to comply by a deadline next week. The warning reflects one of the most aggressive efforts globally to rein in AI companies, which face a growing number of lawsuits for failing to stop – and even encouraging – self-harm or violence, while researchers caution that such platforms...

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Hong Kong hit a record low in births last year despite a range of government incentives, including a HK$20,000 (US$2,560) baby cash bonus for new parents launched in 2023. Just 31,714 babies were born last year. This might have come as a surprise for the authorities, which had projected a rise to 39,000 births. So was the baby bonus worth the try? Yes, if we can draw insight from the experience. To be fair, it wasn’t the only thing the government had done to encourage babies. It rolled out tax...

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At least 10 pro-Iranian protesters were killed in clashes with police as they tried to storm the gates of the US consulate in Pakistan’s main port city of Karachi on Sunday. Security forces opened fire at the consulate, resulting in the deaths of 10 protesters, with 34 injured, said Sukhdew Assardas Hamnani, a spokesman for the Sindh government. “The police reached the site and took the situation into control,” he said. Faisal Edhi, who runs Edhi Foundation, a rescue service, said several of...

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Fines worth HK$2.1 billion (US$268.39 million) flowed into Hong Kong’s coffers in 2025‑26, nearly 26 per cent more than initially forecast, following an increase in cigarette penalties and a surge in forfeitures. According to budget estimates analysed by the South China Morning Post, the HK$2.1 billion income amounted to 0.3 per cent of the government’s total revenue. The funds were primarily from court fines and forfeiture orders, statute penalties, forfeitures from breaches of contracts and...

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A woman in southern China who was being pressured by her family to marry has been defended by her nephew, leaving relatives speechless. On February 19, the 26-year-old woman from Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, known online as “I Have a Nephew (Boasting Edition)”, shared a viral video. The clip showed a family gathering during Chinese New Year, where she was introduced to a man in his 30s and urged to marry. Caught off guard, the woman was immediately defended by her six-year-old...

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Minna Honkanen could not have anticipated the seismic events that would grip Hong Kong after she decided to try her luck there in early 2019. Two months after she arrived, unprecedented social unrest engulfed the city, followed immediately by the coronavirus pandemic, which shut borders and restricted travel for more than two years. Least of all did the Finnish national imagine she would become a luxury property agent in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets, securing exclusive...

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The United States and Israel’s military campaign against Iran entered a more volatile phase on Sunday, with Washington reporting its first casualties, Tehran widening retaliatory strikes across the region, and energy markets bracing for shock after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict – triggered by US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader and senior officials – is rapidly reshaping regional security calculations and global economic outlooks. Here are five key...

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For her New Year’s resolution, Cheryl Tan decided that she would drink less alcohol on nights out. The 26-year-old Singaporean finance professional said she was starting to find it increasingly difficult to shed the effects of hangovers, rendering her immobile long into the next day. “It seemed like recovery after a night out was taking too long, and I started to scale back so I would be more productive,” she said. Cutting back has also saved her money. A cocktail at a speakeasy in Singapore...

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HSBC, the largest lender in Europe and Hong Kong by assets, has signalled for the first time its intent to engage with the city’s forthcoming stablecoin regime, citing Hong Kong’s sound regulatory environment and its potential to drive innovation in the digital asset space. “We are interested in every part of Hong Kong’s innovation landscape, and we want to play a role in all of it,” CEO Georges Elhedery said in a small-group interview – in response to a question whether the bank had applied for...

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