Hong Kongs retail sales rose 1 per cent last year after recording a 6.6 per cent yearonyear increase in December, with authorities saying that improving consumer sentiment and growth in visitor arrivals would continue to support the sector. Figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Tuesday estimated that the value of Decembers retail sales ...

Chinas economic locomotive Shanghai is aiming for a growth rate of around 5 per cent this year, after gradually rebounding since 2023 and reaching a better-than-expected 5.4 per cent growth last year. The megacity, whose economic size is comparable to that of Belgium with last years GDP totalling 5.67 trillion yuan (US$816.2 billion), is upgrading its role ...

Around 85 per cent of insurance claims for damages caused by Hong Kongs deadliest fire in decades have been settled, with the amount paid out totalling almost HK$510 million (US$65.3 million). The citys Insurance Authority said on Tuesday that insurers had settled 1,032 claims related to the Tai Po fire that broke out last November, accounting for around 85 ...

Two men are set to be charged with murder in Malaysia following the discovery of the charred skeletal remains of six people including three young children in a remote, abandoned house in Johor state. Johor police chief Ab Rahaman Arsad confirmed on Tuesday that the grisly findings were made on January 9 in Kangkar Pulai. The remains were discovered by a ...

I pay far less attention to Chinas growth numbers today. What matters more is where fiscal capacity is flowing. China has entered a phase where population ageing, security needs and industrial upgrading all draw on the same budget. This shift follows a structural adjustment in property. Income from land sales once a pillar of local government finance has ...

The sudden death of a top fund manager in Shanghai the latest in a string of similar cases has raised alarm in Chinas financial sector, as worries grow over the health risks posed by the industrys intense work culture. Shen Xianbing, a founding partner of the private fund Qilin Investment, died on Monday at the age of 40, the company announced the same ...

A social media warning to transnational scam networks by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ignited backlash from Cambodians accusing him of tarnishing their countrys image, prompting the posts deletion amid diplomatic clarifications. On Friday, Lee shared a report by Korean outlet OhMyNews stating that Chinese organised crime groups in Cambodia were ...

Data leakage cases recorded by Hong Kongs privacy watchdog increased 21 per cent last year, with hacking being the primary cause. But the number of doxxing cases has dropped significantly since legislation criminalising the act was passed in 2021, Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung Lai-ling said on Tuesday. Chungs office received 246 data ...

The US defence secretary during President Donald Trumps first term, Jim Mattis, repeatedly warned that China would revert to a Ming dynasty-style model, projecting its strong military, technological and economic influence globally. At the time, his views were widely questioned by mainstream academics as too aggressive. A decade ago, China still lagged far ...

Uber Technologies is rolling out its ride-hailing service in the Chinese gambling hub of Macau, expanding into a new Asian market for the first time in years. Riders from Tuesday would be able to book and pay for taxis in the city using multiple languages, the US-based company said in a statement. It would also offer a limousine service between Macau and ...

The sultan of Pahang in Malaysia has urged the public to view royal pardons with calmness of emotion and not as a political gift, in what analysts describe as a pointed reminder that clemency is a constitutional process, amid a furore over a decree supposedly extended to ex-prime minister Najib Razak. According to Najib, the supplementary royal decree, or ...

In a move to bolster the stability of the property market, Shanghai unveiled a plan to buy second-hand homes for use as public rental housing, with the move timed to coincide with the opening of the citys annual two sessions meetings. With the official launch of a pilot programme on Monday, the city aims to meet rental demand from young residents including ...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMPs coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Singapore begins ban on undesirable visitors, airlines to comply or face fine Singapores move to bar undesirable visitors from ...

Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp defended the firms surveillance technology as it reported a big jump in sales on Monday, saying it has safeguards to prevent government overreach, without mentioning US immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota that have drawn widespread protests. The data analytics company said revenue derived from the US government ...

Any decision by Australia to regain control of Darwin Port is likely to differ from Panamas move to nullify a contract on its geostrategically vital canal, as fears of Chinese retaliation and a limited security consensus limit Canberras options, analysts said though they warned the issue could still reopen strains in the bilateral relationship. Panamas ...

Some parents in China are embracing a new way to motivate their children by printing giant homework papers, sparking laughter across the internet. In January, a mother from Hubei province, central China, said that she printed oversized test papers for her son, saying: This way, he will not miss any questions. Photographs showed her young son lying on the ...

Pakistan says it has fielded requests for its JF-17 fighter jet from five countries in recent months a surge of interest that could overwhelm its capacity to jointly produce the jet with China. In the past month, Iraq, Bangladesh and Indonesia have expressed interest in acquiring the JF-17 Thunder, according to Pakistans Armed Forces. Saudi Arabia and ...

Hong Kong authorities will allow up to 1,000 restaurants to welcome pet dogs, with the first group of eateries expected to receive approval by the middle of this year. The Environment and Ecology Bureau said on Tuesday that it aimed to table the proposed amendments to the Food Business Regulation, which currently prohibits dogs on food premises, within the ...

Japans exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products rose 12.8 per cent to an all-time high in 2025, lifted by stronger shipments to the United States despite new tariffs, and by a rebound in exports to China from the previous years slump. Exports totalled 1.701 trillion yen (US$10.9 billion) last year, up from 1.507 trillion yen in 2024, marking a ...

Leading brain development and gene regulation researcher Gao Zhonghua has joined a newly established university in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen after more than two decades working in the United States. Gao became a full-time research professor at the Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology (SUAT) last month, according to the university website. ...

Japan is reeling from a Russian espionage scandal that has laid bare how easily industrial secrets can slip through the countrys grasp, just as Tokyo is pushing to strengthen its laws against spying. Police in the Japanese capital referred a case to prosecutors on January 20 involving a former Russian trade official suspected of violating Japans laws on ...

A Hong Kong resident has lost more than HK$4 million (US$512,148) to scammers after trying to sell a rug for HK$100 on online marketplace Carousell, according to police. The force also said on Monday that more than 110 cases of online shopping scams linked to the trading platform took place between January 24 and 30, with the total amount of money involved ...

A sudden and catastrophic collapse at a major bridge construction site in Chinas eastern Jiangsu province has left two workers dead, three others missing and a critical regional infrastructure project in disarray. At 5.46pm on Monday, a significant section of the under-construction Yuegang Bridge collapsed in Yancheng Citys Xiangshui County when the main ...

In the town of OSmach, along Cambodias northern border with Thailand, stands a compound of abandoned buildings that were battered by shelling during recent weeks of armed clashes. The site, now occupied by Thai troops, had served as one of Cambodias notorious scam centres, according to Thai officials. A six-storey building, shown to journalists and ...