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Investing
Latest news and features on investing, with a particular focus on the economies in Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia.
Illustration by Henry Wong
Banking & finance

What does HSBC’s buyout of Hang Seng Bank mean for its future and investors?

HSBC’s historic US$13.6 billion buyout of Hang Seng Bank aims to cut costs, tackle bad debts and fuel growth, but challenges abound.

US-China relations

Trump-Xi diplomacy put to test thanks to contentious tit-for-tat Covid lawsuits

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IPO

Chinese AI start-up MiniMax shines on Hong Kong IPO debut

Hong Kong property

Repeat buyer tucks into another McDonald’s Hong Kong shop for US$15.2 million

Evergreen Capital Partners added the Causeway Bay shop to its portfolio after acquiring two other outlets from the fast-food giant.

McDonald’s offloaded a retail property in excess of 10,000 sq ft in Causeway Bay. Photo: Handout
Banking & finance

Chinese financial firms press on with debt issuance to fund overseas expansion

Guangzhou-based GF Securities announces plan to raise US$780 million after mainland Chinese finance firms raise over US$10 billion in 2025.

Hong Kong property

Hong Kong politician Bunny Chan buys Stanley homes for US$40 million

Businessman and National People’s Congress deputy gets nine-unit property at a 44 per cent discount, says market has bottomed out.

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Asean

Why investors continue betting on Southeast Asia amid global tensions

The region’s young labour force, rapid urbanisation and emergence as a tech hotspot have made it attractive to investors, analysts say.

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People walk across the Anderson bridge in the backdrop of the skyline in Singapore. The city state is poised to continue leading the charge in attracting FDI into the region, observers say. Photo: AFP
Banking & finance

Hang Seng Bank shareholders approve HSBC’s US$14 billion buyout plan

HSBC receives strong backing from Hang Seng Bank’s independent shareholders, getting 85.75 per cent of the votes.

Hong Kong property

Hong Kong developers rush new flats as sentiment lifts, pressuring recovery

Wheelock and Kerry plan to roll out more than 4,500 units in 2026, even as analysts warn that inventory overhang may cap price gains.

Hong Kong property

Morgan Stanley lifts Hong Kong property to ‘attractive’ as stars align

City’s home prices are expected to rise around 10 per cent in 2026, with an ongoing rebound heralding the start of a new upcycle.

Hong Kong’s property sector is at the beginning of an upcycle, with prices likely to trend higher this year, according to Morgan Stanley. Photo: Dickson Lee
McDonald's

McDonald’s Philippine rival Jollibee to list global business in the US by 2027

The spin-off and potential US listing of Jollibee Foods Corporation would include all of the company’s businesses outside its home market.

An outlet of the Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee in Hong Kong. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Hong Kong property

Hong Kong home sales rise in December amid demand for affordable units

Overall residential transactions rose 5.3 per cent to 5,883 last month, but deal value fell nearly 1 per cent to US$6.6 billion.

US-Venezuela conflict

Gold, oil jolted by US assault on Venezuela as investors recalibrate

Gold and oil move in opposite directions as attack underscores gold’s haven value, fails to alter oil market’s supply glut.

IPO

MiniMax’s Hong Kong IPO set to hit US$538 million amid Chinese AI sector frenzy

The Alibaba-backed firm is set to price its 25.4 million shares at HK$165 each, the top end of its marketed range, sources say.

MiniMax, founded in early 2022 by former SenseTime veteran Yan Junjie, develops multimodal AI models. Photo: Shutterstock
Banking & finance

US dollar, gold rise after Maduro abduction as investors seek safe havens

Yuan also remains relatively resilient as analysts predict the Chinese currency could strengthen to as high as 6.8 against the US dollar in 2026.

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Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is escorted from a US federal aircraft in New York on January 3, after being captured during a US military operation. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

China’s wealthy swap real estate for insurance, gold as retirement looms

Declining returns on property are prompting China’s affluent to diversify their investments, including high-value insurance policies and gold.

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Stocks

Opinion | Rising markets, falling interest rates and more: 5 investment myths for 2026

Investors must be careful in following conventional wisdom this year as several seemingly sure bets might be anything but.

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China property

Beijing trims property resale tax in fresh push to stabilise housing market

Under new rules, sellers will pay just 3 per cent VAT if they offload a property within two years of purchase, down from 5 per cent.

Under new rules, individuals who sell a residential property within two years of buying it will pay VAT at 3 per cent instead of 5 per cent. Photo: Getty
IPO

China’s Zhipu AI launches US$560 million share sale amid heated IPO tech race

The company, marketed overseas as Z.ai, eyes US$6.6 billion valuation with Hong Kong’s first large language model listing.

China trade

China has logged a US$1 trillion trade surplus. Where is all that money going?

Trade surplus growth has not been matched in foreign exchange reserves – a gap analysts said can be explained by private sector outflows.

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China stock market

From hope to hard numbers: China stocks will need profits to boost the bull run

Chinese shares surged in 2025 on a confidence-led re-rating – strategists now say the next leg in 2026 will hinge on an earnings uplift.

Earnings, and not valuations, will be the main booster for China’s equities in the year ahead. Illustration: Henry Wong
Banking & finance

China launches venture capital fund to lead the charge on tech investment

The fund, which will put state-backed money behind early tech bets, could guide trillions of yuan in private capital to chosen sectors.

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China’s new national venture capital fund has made investments in emerging technology like quantum computing an explicit priority. Photo: Xinhua
China's economic recovery

China broadens foreign investment list in renewed pitch for overseas capital

The catalogue, which lists the sectors carrying policy incentives for overseas investors, has hundreds of new entries, many in advanced manufacturing.

China stock market

Chinese ETFs investing in US stocks cap subscriptions as they run out of quotas

GF Fund and E Fund have capped daily subscriptions at 10 yuan, while China Asset Management has stopped accepting new subscriptions.

China consumption

China vows city-specific fixes to clear housing glut, stabilise property sector

Housing minister pledges to empower local governments to buy unsold inventory and shift towards selling only finished homes with a ‘what you see is what you get’ model.

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Residential buildings are seen under construction in Fuyang, Anhui province, on December 15. Photo: Getty Images
Banking & finance

Billionaire detained in shadow banking scandal in China

Police in Zhejiang have imposed ‘criminal compulsory measures’ against Yu Faxiang and are conducting a probe into his alleged wrongdoings.

A 12-metre-tall sculpture of Ultraman Zero stands at an Ultraman-themed venue inside Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park in Shanghai in July 2022. Photo: Getty Images
Banking & finance

Exclusive | Old lender, new twist: Shanghai Commercial Bank teams up with HashKey on card

The 75-year-old lender will work with the newly listed digital asset exchange to issue a co-branded Visa card for HashKey traders.

Hong Kong property

2 Deep Water Bay homes sold for US$283 million in biggest deal in years

The two three-storey units at 6 Deep Water Bay Road fetched HK$147,010 per square foot, the highest since HK$150,000 for a 2015 deal.

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