Business
Hong Kong’s workforce shrinks amid consecutive population outflow
- 2022-12-05
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Lok Yi CHUEdited by: Tiffany Ma
- 2022-12-05
Kong Gam-lung, 33, is sitting in his office, worrying about the recruitment he posted on the Internet a few months ago. Over the past year, he has posted several job advertisements on different online recruitment platforms, but few have applied. He owns an interior design firm DLP Studio Limited, which has been hit hard by the decline of the young labour force in Hong Kong. “The former designer resigned because he planned to leave Hong Kong, and we have posted many advertisements to hire a new junior interior designer since last June, but this position is still vacant at this moment,” said Kong. He said DLP Studio is having “the most difficult time” in recruiting new workers this year. Hong Kong’s exodus shrank the labour force as many left for political reasons or due to strict Covid-19 restrictions. More than 113,000 people have left Hong Kong since June 2021, a record high since the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, said the Census and Statistics Department. Entry and mid-level positions, such as the junior designer at Kong’s company, have been hit the hardest, as most of the leaving employees are under 30. The labour force of Hong Kong was 3.77 million in the third quarter of 2022, down around 3% year-on-year and at a ten-year low, according to official data. Kong currently works 12 hours a day with several employees to manage around 10 projects at the same time due to the shortage of manpower. “This not only affects my work-life balance but more importantly, it affects the operation of the company,” said Kong, explaining that the unstaffed situation has made his company lost many opportunities to undertake design and construction projects. Kong said the company has already rejected four store and home interior design projects this year, …
Hang Seng Index slightly sinks as China protest fear
- 2022-12-02
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Nga Ying LAU、Mei Ching LEEEdited by: Rex Cheuk
- 2022-12-02
Hong Kong stocks closed at a slight drop on Friday, ending the three-day increasing trend since Nov. 29 as the prolonged zero-COVID policy triggered protests across China. The Hang Seng Index closed at 18,675 today with a drop of 0.3% and the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.3%. The index soared by 26.6% in November, which recorded the highest monthly gain since October 1998 as China eased some COVID measures and introduced policies helping developers with financial difficulties. The best-performing stock for today was AliHealth, a blue chip stock with an increase of 9.7%, followed by 7.1% by Haidilao, and 3.1% by Meituan. AliHealth announced the interim results from April to September on Monday, stating the total revenue of Q2 and Q3 has bounced by 22.9% compared to the end of Q1. The worst performing stocks were the semiconductor manufacturer SMIC with a decrease of 5.4% and followed by 4.5% in CG Services. Real estate stocks generally contracted, with Longfor Group and Country Garden recording a 4% slip respectively. Moody said in a report released on Thursday that after China softened the limit of excessive borrowing to developers, the future for the property sector “remains negative on sluggish demand and weak contracted sales.” Other major Asian markets all slumped as investors await the release of a fresh batch of US jobs numbers due on Friday. Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,156 points, dipping 0.3%. RMB rose to a new closing high in two weeks, with the closing of an increase of 411 basis points. “China may accelerate its exit from the zero-COVID policy, which will benefit their market currencies and the rebound of assets,” said Barclays Bank.
Foodpanda riders strike over wage cuts
- 2022-11-21
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Zimo ZHONG、Chengqi MOEdited by: Karmen Li
- 2022-11-21
Saam Bilal, a Pakistani Foodpanda rider, woke up at 6:30 am. He finished a quick breakfast before starting his 12 to 14-hour shift delivering food orders. It took Bilal two hours to get to work from his home in Tuen Mun to Central. “I used to earn around HK$50 per order, which is double compared to the wage now,” he said, showing his order record. “Now I only get HK$20 to HK$30 for each order.” Bilal joined a strike by a group of Foodpanda delivery workers on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4. Most of the strikers are Pakistani. On 29 September, the food delivery platform introduced a new system to calculate the riders’ earnings. Instead of using the linear delivery distance, Foodpanda switched to using Google Maps. Although Foodpanda claimed that the minimum order service fees had remained unchanged, couriers complained that the new system led to the salaries cuts again. Another local Foodpanda rider, Tim Law, 39, has worked for Foodpanda for about three years. He said that he earned at least HK$200 less every day since the implementation of the new mapping system. “(In order to get the same salary,) I have to work longer hours and sometimes I can’t even finish my work until 2 am,” Law said. The wage cut has sparked several strikes in October and November. Another rider who gave his name as M Lee joined Foodpanda in 2020. He was resentful about the company's batch system, an order distribution system which ranks delivery workers into batches based on certain criteria. The batch number determines the shift booking and service fees category they’ve been placed into. “Foodpanda uses this way to control us. If you follow the rules, you’ll become Batch 1, and the system will send you better orders, which means higher service …
Hang Seng Index rebounds strongly as China tech and property giants boost price
- 2022-11-07
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Kin Hou POONEdited by: Serena Kong
- 2022-11-07
Hong Kong stocks bounced to 16,595.91 points today, building on last week’s strong rallies after speculation of China’s easing of the current zero-covid policy. China’s tech giants and property stocks drove the price. Hang Seng Index ended the day at 16,595.91, jumping 2.69% compared to the previous close with Hang Seng’s tech index surging 4.06% to 3,396.64 against the previous market close. The stock price of Kuaishou Technology (01024) rocketed by 8.23%, while Tencent (00700) and Xiaomi (01810) surged by 2.85% and 5.15%. Beijing Radio and Television plan to take a 1% stake in Kuaishou Technology to seize the influence of social media, said local media. Among Chinese real estate and property stocks, Country Garden (02007) rose 11.02%, which is the best-performing blue chip today. The stock price of HKEX increased by over 5.44% compared to the previous market close. The stock price of Mengniu Dairy (02319) bucked the market today and fell 1.64%, making it the worst-performing blue-chip stock. However, China’s State Council reiterated that epidemic prevention must be cleared, which is unshakable. The news led to continued pressure on recovery concept stocks. China’s exports and imports unexpectedly dropped as exports fell 0.3% in dollar term in October compared to the year before and imports declined 0.7% in the same month, the first drop since August 2020, said the general administration of customs of the country this morning. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.23% or 7.02 points to 3,077.82 and Shenzhen Composite Index grew 0.38% or 7.69 points to 2,027.86.
Digital Art Fair Xperience Hong Kong 2022: 6 takeaways about NFT art
- 2022-11-06
- Culture & Leisure
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bella Ding、Yixin GaoEdited by: Clarice Wu
- 2022-11-06
The Digital Art Fair Xperience Hong Kong 2022 with a focus on innovative art is held in Central. It has showcased NFT utilising virtual reality and artificial intelligence, and tokens for transferring real-time data from the physical to the digital world. The fair features more than 400 digital artworks made with NFT with a total value of nearly HK$30 million from more than 70 artists. To coincide with the Xperience exhibition, DAF and Sotheby's, one of the world’s top auction houses, hosted the Xperience Digital Art Auction online. How has NFT affected art in recent years? Here are some takeaways for you. 1. What is NFT? NFT is a cryptocurrency asset representing either real-world or digital objects with a serial number based on Ether Blockchain, a decentralised and mainly user-generated content database with functions for storage, verification, transmission and communication. NFTs are non-fungible, meaning the value of each NFT is unique and cannot be used interchangeably. It could verify the ownership of a digital collectible. Individuals could bind their assets to the NFT, making the item a digital abstraction attached with a serial number. The asset could be in any form such as a song, a video or even a post on your social media account. While the assets themselves could be infinitely reproducible, the tokens that represent them are fully traceable on their underlying blockchain, thus providing proof of ownership for buyers. 2. How does NFT work in the field of art? “Traditional artworks are valuable because they cannot be copied,” according to Heiman Ng, Digital Art Fair Head of Business Development. Comparatively, general digital artworks are in a more awkward situation as people can easily copy and paste them, leading to copyright disputes. NFT artwork is a new branch of digital artwork that can avoid this problem by …
2022 Hong Kong FinTech Week ends with the talk of digital payments
- 2022-11-04
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Bella Ding、Zimo ZHONGEdited by: WANG Jingyan 王婧言
- 2022-11-04
Hong Kong FinTech Week came to a close today with the discussion of digital payment, with more than 400 exhibitors and 20,000 attendees joining the event this week. The five-day event is organised by InvestHK and supported by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, containing physical conferences and online activities. The FinTech Week aims to bring together global leaders from the innovation, technology and finance industries to share insights, present innovative ideas and build business connections. Over 300 speakers gave views on fintech development, including a global market overview, the fintech industry in mainland China and the Greater Bay Area, application of emerging technologies and virtual assets. Barry Mak, Chief Operations Officer of BBMSL, a digital payment provider based in the city, said it was the first time his company participated in Hong Kong FinTech Week. “FinTech Week is a milestone for everybody to learn about digital payments, not only small merchants or start-ups,” said Mak, adding that the activity gave his business a platform to gain more exposure. Koernraad Michael Van Huffet is a director Risk Apac for SAS Institute Hong Kong, a data-analysis software provider. He attended FinTech Week for three days. “It is brilliant for me to learn new things such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies,” said Koernraad. “I like the payment topic most since it was straight on the subject that I needed for my study,” he added. “This year, we witnessed many highly promising fintech ventures and were also really pleased by the participation from the various corporate champions,” said King Leung, head of FinTech at InvestHK. The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau unveiled a Policy Statement on the Development of Virtual Assets in Hong Kong before the opening of the event, to set out the policy position and approaches to facilitate a vibrant virtual …
Expert remains confident amid attracting lost financial talents in Hong Kong
- 2022-10-31
- Society
- The Young Reporter
- By: Rex Cheuk、Man TSEEdited by: Kylie Wong
- 2022-10-31
Martin Li plans to work for several years in Hong Kong when he graduates from university in order to save up money to leave. He majors in accounting and management at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and this summer. “I am not afraid of being jobless in the future. I am just worried about Hong Kong’s decreasing significance and competitiveness as a financial centre,” said Li. In mid-2022, Hong Kong’s population declined 1.6% to 7,291,600 from 7,413,100 year on year. The net outflow of Hong Kong residents is more than 113,000 residents since June 2021, after deducting the population inflow. Since January 2021, the UK has allowed all Hong Kong permanent residents born before 1997 to apply for British National (overseas) passports. According to the Home Office of the UK, 116,702 applicants have been successful as of 2022 Q2, while 68,146 of them were Hong Kongers.) Some of Li's peers also plan to emigrate because they fear Hongkongers are losing their freedom of speech. But in some cases, plans to leave are limited by financial situations. Cherry Tsang, former KPMG accountant, left for the UK in March for political reasons, and the strict Covid policies. “My coworkers here are more open-minded and willing to express their opinions without any concerns,” Tsang said in London. Politics aside, Hong Kong’s living environment, fast-paced lifestyle and working conditions are other factors both Tsang and Li considered. Temporary blasts Dr.Vera Yuen Wing-han, an economics lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, said that the emigration waves post neither immediate nor critical impact on the local financial industry, since corporates are attracting and retaining employees through promotions and salary raises. In fact, the mass emigration benefits those who stay because it is now easier for them to get a job or a promotion, …
Hang Seng Index rebounds slightly amid Meituan and Tencent’s rise
- 2022-10-27
- Business
- The Young Reporter
- By: Ho Yi CHEUNG、Kei Tung LAMEdited by: Serena Kong
- 2022-10-27
Hong Kong Stock market arrested a five-day tumbling on Wednesday, up 1% compared to the previous close as the price of Meituan and Tencent sharply grew, while Alibaba underperformed the market. Hang Seng Index closed at 15,317.67, increasing 152.08 points compared to the previous close. The market opened down at 15,096.32 in the morning and climbed to its highest at 15,584.06 before the lunch break. The city’s tech index rose 2.48% to 2,956.41 against the previous close. The stock price of Meituan (03690) rallied 5.02% while Tencent (00700) and Xiaomi (01810) surged 2.52% and 3.51% respectively. However, Alibaba (09988) fell 2.04% against the market. Medical and pharmaceutical stocks are doing well, as Wuxi Biologics (02269) increased 3.36%and Alibaba Health Information Technology Limited (00241) bounced nearly 9% to close the market. The company expected a profit of over 80 million yuan in the past six months from April, said the report released late Tuesday. CSPC PHARMA (01093) and Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company Ltd. (03692) surged 5.33% and 5.26% respectively. But property stocks dragged down the market’s gains, with this sub-index slipped 0.71%.Hang Lung Properties (00101) plunged 6.53%, the worst among blue chips. The Shanghai Composite increased 0.78% to 2,999.50 points and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 1.68% to 10,818.33 on Wednesday. China’s Central Bank said in an article that it would ensure health markets, including stocks, properties and debts, and would further develop the currency market.
Policy Address 2022: John Lee announces new visa to trawl the world for young talents
- 2022-10-19
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yixin Gao、Bella DingEdited by: WANG Jingyan 王婧言
- 2022-10-19
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled a series of policies to attract young talents worldwide amid a brain drain caused by the COVID-19 quarantine restrictions and political situation. Lee said in today’s speech that the government would extend the IANG visa, which allows non-local graduates of Hong Kong universities to stay in the city while job hunting, from one year to two years. The visa will also be extended to those students graduating from the universities whose campus is located in the Greater Bay Area in the mainland. "Over the past two years, the local workforce shrank by about 140,000,” Lee said. More than 113,000 residents have left Hong Kong since June 2021, according to the latest data released by the Census and Statistics Department in June. Haywood Guan, director of the Hong Kong Quality And Talent Migrants Association, said that some induction procedures are slow because of the pandemic as even if companies decide to hire non-local graduates, they might not be able to handle their entry process immediately. “One year is too short for me to find an ideal job in Hong Kong. There could be fewer working opportunities,” said Zhang Yunhan, who is now studying for a master's degree in finance at Lingnan University. The new policy boosts students’ confidence to stay in Hong Kong after graduation, said Guan. Han Liuchenxin, a final-year undergraduate student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, said that this policy attracted him most as the visa extension could give him a sense of safety if he cannot find a job in Hong Kong immediately after his graduation. “It is a symbol of stability which could increase my possibility of working here,” said Han. Keith Lee, chairman of Yau Tsim Mong Youths Society, added that Hong Kong could reserve …
Policy Address 2022: Elderly Health Care Voucher enhanced but still lacking
- 2022-10-19
- Politics
- The Young Reporter
- By: Yuchen LI、Man TSEEdited by: Kylie Wong
- 2022-10-19
To improve the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme, John Lee promised to expand its coverage and amount, while increasing the quota for the Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs) next year. The voucher amount would be raised to HK$ 2,500 per year from the previous year’s HK$2,000. The voucher amount in 2018 and 2019 was HK$ 3,000. The enhanced Scheme allows holders of such vouchers’ spouses to enjoy its services. New services include medical procedures by audiologists, dietitians, clinical psychologists and speech therapists. This could potentially help grassroot elderly, according to Yuen Wai-kee, assistant professor of the Department of Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. Elderly aged 65 or above with a Hong Kong Identity Card or equivalent identification by the Immigration Department are eligible to use the Voucher for primary healthcare services. “Some elderly people need long-term medication, such as Cholesterol medicines. This would cost them around HK$ 200 per month. This could be a substantial amount, burdening the more grassroot elderly,” said Yuen. However, this is only adequate for elderly who require basic medical care or occasional clinical visits, Yuen added. For more advanced or private healthcare, they should seek other governmental subsidies, Yuen explained. “The HK$ 2,000 Elderly Health Care Voucher is insufficient, because we often feel unwell and need diagnosis and medications. The voucher will soon be used up after going to the clinic about 4 times,” said Lam Bing, a 82-year-old lady. Lam lives in a public housing estate in Mei Foo. On 13 Oct under typhoon signal number three, she went to Pei Ho, a charity restaurant in Sham Shui Po for a free meal. Chan Cheuk-Ming, founder of Pei Ho revealed most elderly use the voucher for healthcare purposes, making the budget for daily expenses tight. Oxfam suggests that …