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Late last month, an open tender for Hotel Cozi Harbour View in Kwun Tong was announced, with interested parties given until October 15 to submit bids. The 598-room hotel, located in Hong Kong’s eastern Kowloon Peninsula, a former industrial area, was taken over by Nanyang Commercial Bank for HK$1.87 billion (US$238.4 million) in 2025, with the bank now looking to dispose of the asset to the highest bidder. Just a week after the announcement of the tender, Nina Hospitality, one of the largest...

Four Chinese companies launched initial public offerings (IPOs) in Hong Kong on Monday, aiming to raise as much as HK$14 billion (US$1.8 billion) in total, with strong backing from cornerstone investors countering apparent weakness in the market so far this month. Automated equipment manufacturer RoboTechnik has the biggest target, planning to raise as much as HK$5.18 billion. The new entrants are braving a market that shows signs of slowing. After a blistering year so far – Hong Kong listings...

Global institutional investors and wealth managers are stockpiling cash at the fastest pace on record while quietly retreating from US and UK equities as persistent inflation and mounting geopolitical risks dominate portfolio decisions, according to a report by Marsh Investments. The institutional investment consultancy polled 430 asset owners managing a combined US$5.76 trillion and found that 37.8 per cent planned to increase cash allocations over the next 12 months, up from just 9 per cent in...

MANILA, Philippines — The government should protect middle-class purchasing power through targeted aid to prevent weaker household consumption from becoming a bigger drag on economic growth, the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) said. ADBI dean and CEO Bambang Brodjonegoro said the government should direct its efforts toward the middle class because it accounts for the

China’s revenue from stamp duty on stock sales jumped more than 80 per cent in the first eight months this year as improved sentiment bolstered trading activities. China collected 216 billion yuan (US$32.3 billion) from the tax between January and August, up 82 per cent year on year, data released by the Ministry of Finance showed. Average daily trading values on mainland China’s stock markets rose 72 per cent in the first eight months of the year as the artificial intelligence boom bolstered...

The Philippines made its first commercial shipment of Carabao mangoes to Canada as the government seeks to expand market access for the country"s agricultural products, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos moved more than P22 trillion in funds through the InstaPay and PESONet systems from January to August, underscoring the rapid adoption of digital payments after regulators had pushed for lower transaction fees. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the combined value of transactions coursed through the two automated

MANILA, Philippines — Manila and Ottawa have resolved major roadblocks to a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) during the fourth round of negotiations earlier this month, putting the deal on track for conclusion before year-end. That leaves both parties with only “very few remaining issues” to resolve in the coming months through smaller meetings and online

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ dollar deficit narrowed in August despite continued volatility tied to the Middle East conflict, as resilient inflows from key sources like remittances may have helped offset the outflows. The country’s balance of payments (BOP), a broad measure of money flowing into and out of the economy, registered a deficit of $596

MANILA, Philippines — Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving so quickly that many CEOs are asking the wrong question. They ask: “Which AI tools should my people use? The better question is: “If we were building this company today, with AI available from Day One, how would we design it differently?” That is the difference between an

MANILA, Philippines — This article draws on my presentation at the 1st Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Business and Investment Summit, organized by the East Asia Business Council and the Management Association of the Philippines and held in Metro Manila on Sept. 9, 2026. Somewhere in East Asia, a buyer is choosing a supplier and

Chinese gold jewellers are seeking opportunities in the Middle East and India, leveraging their advanced crafting technologies as the industry struggles amid the precious metal’s price volatility, according to an international association for the sector. At the most recent Jewellery & Gem World Hong Kong fair, buyers from the two regions accounted for most visitors, said Wang Lixin, China CEO of the World Gold Council, in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post. The interest was...