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Financial literacy

Financial literacy

Get up-to-speed with our features on financial literacy for millennials, including investing, banking, shares, debt, money-saving and taxes.

last updated:

9 September, 2024

Malaysian ringgit banknotes. Nearly 3 million people collectively withdrew about 7 billion ringgit from Malaysia’s Employees’ Provident Fund last month. Photo: Shutterstock

‘Don’t have much saved’: Malaysians dip into retirement funds in their millions

Faced with rising costs and low wages, cash-strapped Malaysians jumped at the chance to drain billions from the mandatory savings fund.

6 Jul 2024 - 12:15PM

China's population

‘People still have no idea’: weak financial literacy pains China’s pension plan

30 Apr 2024 - 11:00AM

Does ‘Girl Math’ help Singapore’s Gen Z ‘find joy’ – or spend recklessly?

1 Oct 2023 - 9:30AMvideocam

Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)

Exclusive | Hong Kong’s MPF picks 5 providers for e-platform launch next summer

China Life, Bank of East Asia, YF Life, Bank of Communications and RBC Investor Services Trust will be the first batch of pension providers when the MPF kicks off its electronic platform next year.

15 Aug 2022 - 2:54PMvideocam

The Hong Kong government’s Mandatory Provident Fund covers 4.6 million pension holders. Photo: Jonathan Wong

In Thailand, having a regular job could still leave you US$200,000 in debt

Meagre incomes don’t leave workers with much at the end of the month, and millions are pushed deeper into debt as they take out new loans to get by.

22 Jan 2024 - 6:17PMvideocam

Fame and celebrity

5 child stars who survived financial meltdowns – from Britney to Lohan

Before the global #FreeBritney movement, Macaulay Culkin and Jena Malone emancipated themselves from their parents to keep control of their cash – who else suffered money problems on their way up?

25 Jun 2022 - 1:00AMvideocam

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Abacus | 8 tips to save money as inflation hits households from Singapore to China

Using a budget app can reduce expenses without affecting your quality of life, while buying second-hand and learning to invest will help ease the pressure on your household, Singapore blogger Dawn Cher says.

1 May 2022 - 11:30AM

Banking & finance

Digitised Hong Kong pension scheme to save members billions in fees

The switch to a digital platform will save the 4.5 million Mandatory Provident Fund members as much as US$5.14 billion over 10 years, MPFA’s Lau says.

22 Nov 2021 - 9:30AMvideocam

Letters | Financial education can help tackle poverty in Hong Kong

Readers discuss improving financial literacy among the disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong, and call for a more sympathetic attitude to the city’s homeless.

18 Nov 2021 - 7:30AMvideocam

Will Greater Bay Area solidify Hong Kong’s role as a fintech hub?

From faster payments to Wealth Management Connect, Hong Kong has adopted a number of measures in recent years to bolster its bona fides as a fintech hub.

12 Nov 2021 - 6:24PMvideocam

Illustration: SCMP Graphics

Super-frugal Chinese influencer sparks debate over her extreme lifestyle

A video from influencer Wang Shenai, who pushes the limits of frugality, is being hotly debated in China, as some people wonder if it is worthwhile, or possible, to emulate her lifestyle.

8 Nov 2021 - 8:13AM

Wang Shenai says her frugal lifestyle has allowed her to buy two apartments by the age of 32. Photo: QQ

Hong Kong watchdog tightens rules on investment-linked insurance products

The Securities and Futures Commission introduced tougher regulations on investment-linked assurance schemes in a bid to improve transparency and protect investors.

1 Nov 2021 - 10:58PM

Banking & finance

Sovereign bonds could soon be in MPF members’ investment portfolio

Hong Kong’s pension regulator is considering changing its investment rules that could allow the 4.5 million MPF members to invest in sovereign bonds.

21 Oct 2021 - 10:30AMvideocam

Sex and relationships

The Naked Truth | Financial infidelity: why we lie about money and how to avoid it

Why are we tempted to lie about money when it can truly poison a relationship? To avoid financial infidelity couples need to talk openly about their finances.

13 Sep 2021 - 2:57PM

asian young couple calculate expenses finance with laptop and they have some argument at home. CREDIT: Shutterstock

Digital currencies

Bitcoin can still be bought in China after latest crackdown

Chinese individuals could still buy bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and trade them on overseas exchanges on Thursday.

21 May 2021 - 12:36PMvideocam

Small toy figurines are seen on representations of the bitcoin virtual currency displayed in front of an image of China's flag. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong lifts listing bar for the first time in 27 years to deter duds

The change of heart by the exchange underscores its need to balance its pursuit of a robust pipeline in initial public offerings with an acceptable minimum standard and quality on the exchange.

20 May 2021 - 10:57PM

Hong Kong digital firms connect with customers over coffee

On a busy street in Hong Kong’s Central district, a shopfront sticks out. Painted on its pure white exterior are the words ‘How’s your coffee today?’

9 May 2021 - 10:28PMvideocam

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Is there a GameStop hiding somewhere among Asia’s stock markets?

The equity trading revolution playing out in the US is unlikely to be matched any time soon in Asia and Europe because tighter restrictions on short selling, limited options trading and higher taxes and fees will keep it a US game for now.

3 Feb 2021 - 11:00AM

A trader wipes his forehead at the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on 16 March 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

Coronavirus pandemic

As Covid-19 brings untold misery, we’re ill-equipped to manage our finances

We need to cut spending, conserve savings and assume things are going to get worse. Yet, research suggests near-crisis levels of financial illiteracy, raising the prospect of greater suffering until Covid-19 is under control.

12 Dec 2020 - 6:45AMvideocam

Scams and swindles

Singapore woman wooed by sweet-talking stocks con man loses HK$700,000

Spike in online investment fraud cases up to October, with 379 reports involving HK$196 million.

6 Dec 2020 - 9:58PM

Coronavirus pandemic

South Korean dad loses US$115k from child’s in-app purchases

As Covid-19 keeps children indoors, authorities say cases have spiked of parents facing bill shocks over unauthorised payments.

6 Nov 2020 - 7:03PM

Some parents are getting bill shocks as their children make unauthorised payments. Photo: Handout

Residents throng to first sale in four years of government-guaranteed iBonds

The first sale in four years of Hong Kong’s inflation-linked bonds got off to an encouraging start on Friday, as investors sought refuge in government-guaranteed returns in an environment of declining interest rates.

23 Oct 2020 - 11:25PMvideocam

The iBonds offer Hongkongers some refuge in an environment of declining interest rates. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Investing for beginners

Hong Kong’s inflation bonds face new risk factors. Should investors worry?

As Hongkongers evaluate the first inflation-linked bond offering since July 2016 later this month, few things are worth noting. Economic conditions and risks surrounding the impending sale are different this time.

12 Oct 2020 - 7:30AMvideocam

Hong Kong national security law

Major US investment advice site quits Hong Kong over ‘uncertainties’

The Motley Fool, which advises millions of small stock investors worldwide, cited the national security law, anti-government protests and souring US-China relations for its decision to depart.

7 Oct 2020 - 8:00PMvideocam

‘Be water’: Rise and fall of Next Digital highlight hurdles of social-media age

A two-day rally in Next Digital’s shares has receded as quickly as it rose, much like the metaphor “be water” that guided Hong Kong’s anti-government protests, leaving the city’s financial regulators to deal with volatility driven by highly motivated participants in the age of social media.

12 Aug 2020 - 11:50PMvideocam

Jimmy Lai, Next Digital’s chairman, was released on bail early on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg

China tightens grip on small banks amid mounting risks to financial system

Many Chinese companies have taken a big hit from the coronavirus pandemic. And as they struggle to repay debts, pressure is mounting on the country’s small lenders.

6 Aug 2020 - 10:27PMvideocam

A teller counts money at bank in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. Photo: AFP

State-owned enterprises

China extends tax dragnet, with state employees in Hong Kong first to suffer

China is tightening its personal income tax law by extending the dragnet to income earned globally, with employees of state-owned enterprises based in Hong Kong first to suffer.

9 Jul 2020 - 10:58PM

US-China trade war

Exclusive | Who’re you calling a cheat? China rebuts US fraud claim with overture

The previously unreported outreach by the CSRC was too late to stave off retribution by the US Congress to punish Chinese companies for what Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy called “cheating” in America’s capital markets, amid deteriorating US-China relations.

19 Jun 2020 - 9:11AM

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