TOPIC

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.
Teaching financial literacy in school helps children develop a healthy relationship with money. Photo: Shutterstock
International schools in Hong Kong

How schools are preparing students to make the right financial decisions

Parents discussing their own moneymaking decisions can inspire children to make fiscally sound choices – and giving them pocket money can help

Banking & finance

Cross-border retirement plans could give Hongkongers cheaper healthcare: experts

Malaysia

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

China's population

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

After a stretch of trials in select Chinese cities, there is rising urgency to rapidly expand use of the underperforming retirement accounts as demographic challenges mount.

China’s private pension scheme is falling short of expectations due to low participation. Photo: EPA-EFE
Singapore

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

Some Singaporeans say Girl Math is a ‘coping mechanism’ for young people grappling with cost-of-living pressures in the city state.

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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.

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Thailand

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.

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A Thai street vendor waits for customers in Bangkok. Photo: Shutterstock
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?

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Jobs

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.

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.

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Hong Kong’s Mandatory Pension Fund scheme covers 4.5 million employees in the city. Photo: Sam Tsang
Poverty

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.

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An elderly woman collects cardboard in Sham Shui Po on November 15. Photo: Sam Tsang
Fintech

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.

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Retailing

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.

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SFC

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.

The Securities and Futures Commission has tightened rules on the design and pricing of investment-linked insurance schemes. Photo: Handout
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.

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People cross the road in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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.

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.

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IPO

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.

Exchange Square in Central, where HKEX is located. Photo: Sam Tsang.
Insurance

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?’

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Stocks

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.

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.

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Recent research indicates low levels of financial literacy across several countries that could exacerbate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Shutterstock
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.

Many overseas investors have found themselves duped in Hong Kong-based stock scams. Photo: Sam Tsang
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.

Investing

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.

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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.

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A poster of iBond promotion seen here in the Bank of China branch in Cental, Hong Kong when the bonds were sold in 2014. Photo: SCMP
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.

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Critics say the national security law imposed by Beijing represents an erosion of Hong Jong’s freedoms. Photo: AFP
Next Digital

‘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.

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China economy

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.

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