The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has decided to focus development of the e-HKD on wholesale applications because the central bank digital currency (CBDC) has stronger potential value in large transactions than in daily retail use. The citys de facto central bank announced the decision on Tuesday after a second phase of e-HKD trials that tested its ...

Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley on Tuesday condemned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for wearing a Joy Division T-shirt despite the origin of the UK post-punk bands name. Ley said Australians expect their prime minister to show judgment, respect and leadership but have got the opposite from Albanese. Arriving back in Australia from his overseas ...

The Chinese planning season is in full swing. Ahead of the formal release of the 15th five-year plan (running from 2026 to 2030) next March, early signs coming out of the just-completed fourth plenum of the Communist Party suggest that it will be more of the same: a focus on continuing Chinas extraordinary industrial and technological ascendancy, driven by ...

A Hong Kong court has sentenced a former teacher to 2 years in jail for engaging in obscene acts with her son and producing suggestive videos involving her children, with the presiding judge slamming her for breaching the trust placed in her as a mother. The District Court on Tuesday sentenced the mother of three on two counts of gross indecency towards a ...

Hong Kongs construction quality will remain world-class, even as authorities introduce more materials and standards from mainland China, the development minister has said in response to public concerns over building safety. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said the government was considering pre-approving construction materials regarded by ...

In the 1987 American action film RoboCop, protagonist Alex Murphy is a police officer in a dystopian 21st-century Detroit when he is mortally wounded and rebuilt by cybernetic enhancements so that he can keep fighting crime. Nearly 40 years on, a Chinese policeman and a team of doctors at Jilin University have turned what once seemed a highly futuristic ...

Hong Kong customs has uncovered two major sea smuggling cases, seizing suspected illicit goods worth about HK$200 million (US$25 million), including 150 tonnes of donkey skin. The massive haul was discovered aboard a river trade vessel and an ocean-going ship on October 3 and 7, respectively. Customs officers inspected on October 7 five containers declared ...

Hong Kongs task force to support mainland enterprises going global will hold its first major event in Shanghai next week, the citys leader has said, while pledging to push for stronger regional trade at this weeks Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in South Korea. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu also revealed on Tuesday that a record 350 Hong ...

Zohran Mamdani may not solve all of the beleaguered US Democrats problems, but the surprise front-runner in the race for New York mayor does offer hints on how to win back voters and power. The Democrats shut out of power in the White House and both chambers of Congress were seen negatively by 63 per cent of US voters, according to a July poll in The Wall ...

Shenzhen-based robotics company Dobot has unveiled a lifelike robotic recreation of Sinosauropteryx a small, feathered dinosaur that lived around 130 million years ago in its latest push to broaden commercial applications of robotics beyond humanoid forms. The company said in a statement on Monday that the machine, powered by multimodal interaction, ...

The former mother-in-law of slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung has been jailed for 1 years for obstructing a police investigation into her son after the models murder came to light two years ago. The District Court on Tuesday ruled that Jenny Li Sui-heung, 66, deserved a deterrent sentence for attempting to prevent police from locating Alex Kwong ...

Chinas institutional strength will help the country tackle major tests over the course of the next five-year plan, analysts and state media have said. The countrys latest development plan, which is due to start next year and run until 2030, comes at a time when Beijing is facing increasing obstacles to its long-term ambitions both at home and abroad ...

Hong Kongs leader has pledged to hold accountable those responsible for a cargo plane crash that killed two airport workers, saying the government will provide all necessary resources and support for the investigation. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday that he had instructed the Air Accident Investigation Authority to ascertain the cause of ...

Hong Kongs lived-in home prices rose 1.3 per cent in September, logging their biggest gains so far this year and reaching their highest in more than a year, amid optimism that the residential market has bottomed out. The citys rental prices, meanwhile, inched within a hair of their historical peak, data from the Rating and Valuation Department showed on ...

Hong Kong authorities will take a hard line towards any disruptions to the coming Legislative Council election, the citys leader has warned, while noting he will send out a letter urging civil servants to vote in the December poll. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday also stressed that there was no hard target for the election turnout rate, but ...

A woman in northwestern China, battling uremia, married a cancer patient, agreeing to care for him during his treatment in exchange for his kidney after his death. As they spent time together, their shared humour and optimism blossomed into an unexpected love story. Amid a wave of inspiring cancer survival stories recently reported by mainland media ...

Hong Kongs financial sector has seen strong growth in the number of women taking up senior positions and board directorships in recent years, driven by regulatory changes and corporate initiatives promoting gender diversity, according to a survey released on Tuesday. Women held 45 per cent of senior leadership roles namely CEO, managing director and ...

The Panama Canal Authority has met key industry players ahead of tendering its US$2.6 billion plan to build two new port terminals, a move that a veteran Hong Kong political analyst says could ease an intense US-China rivalry over the waterway by diversifying the ownership of its strategic assets. The consultation, announced by the authority on Monday, came ...

China has denounced the United Kingdom for sanctioning 11 Chinese companies over alleged connections with Russia despite Beijings diplomatic objections, warning the move could damage the UK-China relationship. The UKs actions constitute unilateral sanctions that lack both a basis in international law and authorisation from the United Nations, Chinas ...

Hong Kong veteran actor Benz Hung Hui Shiu-hung has died at the age of 76 from complications arising from cancer, with a close friend announcing the news on Tuesday morning. TV host Luisa Maria Leitao revealed Hui had died at Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital at 2.30am due to multiple organ failure caused by cancer. Hui was surrounded by his many family and ...

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. Is the Big One coming? Earthquake mania grips Philippines as fears mount A spate of powerful earthquakes across the Philippines has ...

HSBC Holdings, the largest banking group in Europe and Hong Kong by assets, reported a 25 per cent decline in third-quarter profits on Tuesday as a result of lower interest rates and provisions made for commercial property and lawsuits related to the Bernard Madoff fraud case. Net profit for the July to September quarter stood at US$4.58 billion, or 28 US ...

Hong Kongs section of the National Games torch relay will emphasise the citys financial and cultural characteristics while boosting local tourism, according to a sports official and a lawmaker. Yeung Tak-keung, head of the National Games Coordination Office in Hong Kong, said Sundays local relay route would showcase the skyline and Victoria Harbour, ...

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara secured a fourth term with a commanding re-election win, according to provisional results announced on Monday, an outcome that was largely expected after his strongest opponents were deemed ineligible. The 83-year-old former international banker won 89.77 per cent of the vote, his third consecutive decisive victory ...