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The Hong Kong Gold Exchange kicking off the Year of the Horse with its traditional Chinese New Year opening ceremony in Sheung Wan. Photo: SCMP
Banking & finance

Hong Kong wants to be a global gold vault. Does the Iran war create an opening?

Geopolitical risk is driving a rethink of where bullion is stored – and Hong Kong’s unique status is drawing attention.

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China manufacturing

Iran war energy shock sees Chinese firms recalibrate overseas expansion plans

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China exports

Iran war energy shock threatens Southeast Asia’s supply chains. A win for China?

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China manufacturing

China focuses on car standards to put industry in global driving seat

New five-year plan also emphasised importance of stronger standards in boosting Chinese manufacturers’ competitiveness.

Chinese carmaker Nio’s one millionth vehicle rolls off the assembly line in Hefei, Anhui province, in January. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese carmaker Nio’s one millionth vehicle rolls off the assembly line in Hefei, Anhui province, in January. Photo: Xinhua
Comac

VietJet Air to lease up to 10 C909 jets in boost for Chinese aircraft maker

Deal follows talks between Chinese and Vietnamese presidents in Beijing this week.

China trade

China’s ‘new three’ exports in 2024

China’s exports of EVs, Li-ion batteries and solar panels fell 15 per cent on year amid Western protectionist measures, our updated ‘new three’ exports FactSheet shows.

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China food security

‘Sharp swings’: why China is warning of food security risks despite bumper crops

The country has ample grain supplies but could still face challenges if extreme weather or global conflict spark global shortages, Beijing says.

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A worker sorts imported soybeans at a processing company in Binzhou, China, on March 6, 2025. Photo: Getty Images
A worker sorts imported soybeans at a processing company in Binzhou, China, on March 6, 2025. Photo: Getty Images
Business of climate change

Asia-Pacific firms face credit pressure from Iran war energy shock, S&P says

Higher energy prices ratchet up pressure on manufacturing businesses to maintain their profit margins amid rising raw material costs.

US-China trade war

Trade tensions dim foreign investment outlook in US and China, survey finds

US and China have ‘suffered the most’ amid global decline in outbound investment appetite due to heightened geopolitical tensions.

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Yuan

China boosts overseas-loan quotas as ‘panda bond’ issuance hits record high

Beijing’s move to lift offshore-loan quotas seen helping stabilise yuan against weaker US dollar while accommodating a surge in net financing via ‘panda bonds’.

A person walks past the building of China’s central bank in Beijing. Chinese regulators have raised the overseas-loan leverage ratio for foreign banks in China and their joint ventures with Chinese lenders. Photo: Getty Images
Foreign exchange market

China trims US Treasury holdings as global ownership hits record

Beijing slightly pares its sovereign US debt position as private investors and certain financial hubs drive demand up.

China has been gradually diversifying its foreign exchange reserves away from holdings of sovereign American debt. Photo: dpa
China has been gradually diversifying its foreign exchange reserves away from holdings of sovereign American debt. Photo: dpa
China GDP

China beats expectations with 5% growth in first GDP release since Iran war

‘Stronger than expected’ growth figure indicates minimal impact from the conflict and a low likelihood for near-term stimulus, analysts said.

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China trade

Record-setting Canton Fair under Middle East cloud as costs hit China’s exports

Manufacturers and buyers offer on-the-ground perspectives at China’s largest trade exhibition, swapping stories and predictions amid massive turnout.

US-China relations

‘No alternative’: Yellen defends dollar dominance, calls to preserve China trade

Former US Treasury secretary, in Hong Kong, discusses China’s ‘serious conflicts’ with other economies in trade, while warning of decoupling risks.

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Janet Yellen, former secretary of the US Treasury, spoke in Hong Kong on Wednesday at the HSBC Global Investment Summit. Photo: SCMP
China energy security

US officials claim China is ‘hoarding’ oil. What does the data say?

While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China is stockpiling crude amid the Iran war, the numbers suggest Beijing is facing a supply crunch.

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A woman walks past a giant billboard reading “The Strait of Hormuz remains closed” at Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran. Photo: TNS
A woman walks past a giant billboard reading “The Strait of Hormuz remains closed” at Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran. Photo: TNS
China GDP

Despite Iran war, China set for ‘solid’ first-quarter GDP growth: analysts

Flexible growth target means little likelihood of imminent stimulus, but focus will switch to impact of disruptions in second quarter.

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China exports

Chinese steelmakers team up to adjust to EU’s carbon-linked import imposts

Industry insiders say carbon costs are expected to cascade through supply chains, adding to compliance costs for Chinese exporters.

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US, Israel war on Iran

Hormuz blockade: shipping body slams transit fees as 20,000 seafarers stranded

A ‘retrograde’ toll proposal by Tehran risks similar charges in other vital waterways, warns global association for merchant shipowners and operators.

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A person points at a website tracking marine traffic and showing commercial vessels on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast last month. Photo: TNS
A person points at a website tracking marine traffic and showing commercial vessels on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast last month. Photo: TNS
China energy security

Which countries are most vulnerable as US imposes Persian Gulf blockade?

Nomura says more than 90 per cent of the crude oil imported by Japan and the Philippines comes from the Middle East.

China GDP

IMF cuts China’s GDP growth forecast to 4.4% as Iran war hits global economy

The latest projection is 0.1 percentage lower than January’s estimate but higher than October’s.

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Banking & finance

Kazakh sovereign fund issues Central Asia’s first panda bond in ‘milestone’ sale

Samruk-Kazyna chairman says issuance marks ‘an important milestone in strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and China’.

By the middle of last month, 78 billion yuan of panda bonds had been issued this year. Photo: Shutterstock
China energy security

China turns to central Asia as US blockade in Hormuz chokes global energy flows

Chinese vice-premier to visit major gas field in Turkmenistan as Beijing aims to shore up energy security and diversify away from volatile maritime routes.

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In this 2013 image, President Xi Jinping stands alongside a model of the purification plant in Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field during an opening ceremony. Photo: Getty Images
In this 2013 image, President Xi Jinping stands alongside a model of the purification plant in Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas field during an opening ceremony. Photo: Getty Images
China trade

China’s March trade

Exports from China slowed while imports surged in the first full month of trade data following the outbreak of the US war against Iran on February 28.

Asia travel

Lack of fuel reserves forces Southeast Asian flight cuts amid Hormuz crisis

Airlines are cutting flights, as dependence on Middle Eastern fuel hits operators from Pakistan to New Zealand.

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China-EU relations

Brussels must resist ‘passive’ role in US-China trade war, EU chamber urges

European companies keep becoming ‘collateral damage’ in others’ disputes, laments president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.

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Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said European companies have suffered “significant operational and financial damage” while trying to navigate Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. Photo: EPA-EFE
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