Boracay's first hotel-casino says 40% of workers are Aklanons

Investor appetite for hotel assets increased in Hong Kong and the wider Asia-Pacific region in the first half of the year as consumers showed growing eagerness to travel and constrained supply supported property values, according to CBRE. The region netted US$8 billion of investment in the period, up 21 per cent from a year earlier, with Japan, mainland China and South Korea attracting the most activity, the property consultancy said in a report on Thursday. “Hotels have become one of the most...

PAL said the plan is still “subject to Indian Government approval.”

Mooncakes, a sweet staple for China’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival, are not just for people any more. Humans are pulling back, but dogs are digging in. So are cats. Pet mooncakes are popping up across China, from major retailers such as Sam’s Club to online stores and small bakeries. And many are quickly selling out. In the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu, a pack of pet mooncakes selling online for about 50 yuan (US$8) has racked up thousands of sales, news outlet thecover.cn reported. In the...

HSBC and its main Hong Kong subsidiary, Hang Seng Bank, are set to harmonise their frameworks for employee benefits across the Asian financial hub from January 1, according to internal memos seen by the South China Morning Post. The move aims to simplify benefit administration across both lenders, establish a common standard and facilitate internal career mobility within the city, the memos showed on Thursday. In an email to staff, HSBC Hong Kong CEO Maggie Ng said most existing benefits would...

After Morgan Stanley’s leak of internal deal information in a client email, rival investment banks in Hong Kong are aggressively moving to poach clients dissatisfied with the breach, according to several people familiar with the matter. Competitors are actively approaching companies named in the leaked document to pitch for their business, two rival bankers said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. An accidental disclosure of confidential information by a Morgan...

At least a dozen Chinese banks intend to wind down retail leveraged precious-metals trading – a practice in which everyday investors post margin deposits to speculate on gold and silver contracts without owning the physical metal. The retreat comes amid sharp swings in international gold prices. Sources at two banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – the world’s largest lender by assets – said that this round of withdrawals was mandated by the Shanghai Gold Exchange,...

Hong Kong and Singapore are advancing tokenised deposits into live commercial use, with major banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered already serving institutional clients on blockchain-based treasury platforms.

Motorists should expect a sigh of relief in the coming week as pump prices are expected to roll back big-time.

Hong Kong has significantly narrowed Dubai’s lead as the world’s top market for “super-prime” residential property in recent months, as rising conflict weighs on activity in the Middle East market, according to Knight Frank. Dubai retained first place for deals involving homes sold for US$10 million or more in the second quarter of the year, with 131 sales worth a combined US$2.17 billion, but the total value of those transactions fell 27 per cent compared with the previous quarter. Hong Kong,...

China’s electric vehicle (EV) makers and battery manufacturers are locked in negotiations over which party should pay a resumed consumption tax, according to industry sources, a conflict that underlines carmakers’ struggles amid weak home market demand. Beijing is ending an 11-year exemption on a 4 per cent consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries and related products. It returned to 2 per cent on September 1 and will be fully restored one year later. The country’s battery makers planned to pass...

The World Bank report Thailand Cities of the Future highlights that unleashing urban productivity is essential for Thailand to achieve high-income status by 2037.

US premium coffee brand Blue Bottle Coffee will open its first Beijing store in the capital’s central business district, as it seeks to tap into China’s still growing market for the drink. The California-based brand is taking a spacious unit at China World Mall. The location, currently enclosed by construction hoarding, was previously occupied by Japanese jeweller Tasaki. The brand has yet to reveal an official opening date, though industry sources said the shop was expected to open by the end...