Hong Kong catching up with Dubai in ‘super-prime’ property sales amid Iran war

South China Morning Post - Sep 25, 2026

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,...

Read full article
MORE NEWS
PH businesses get boost from Globe AI, digital infra amid ASEAN integration
Sep 24, 2026
PH businesses get boost from Globe AI, digital infra amid ASEAN integration

Philippine businesses seeking growth opportunities across Southeast Asia gained new momentum as telecommunications firm Globe Telecom expands its digital and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities amid the country"s push for deeper digital integration.

China’s humanoid robot IPO slowdown no threat to firms with ‘genuine strength’: Deloitte
Sep 24, 2026
China’s humanoid robot IPO slowdown no threat to firms with ‘genuine strength’: Deloitte

Beijing’s recent tightening of approvals for humanoid robot makers seeking initial public offerings (IPOs) poses no threat to companies with clear commercialisation strategies, as funding channels remain wide open for qualified players, according to Deloitte China. “Market funds are shifting from the ‘blind rush’ of the past to ‘fine screening’,” said Dick Kay, Deloitte China’s capital market services group national leader, at a press conference on Thursday. Investors and regulators now placed...

SoftBank raises $11.1 billion in world's biggest high-yield corporate bond sale
Sep 24, 2026
SoftBank raises $11.1 billion in world's biggest high-yield corporate bond sale

SoftBank Group has raised $11.1 billion in dollar- and euro-denominated bonds in the largest high-yield corporate bond sale globally on record as it seeks to fund its mammoth bet on OpenAI.

PH IT-BPM revenues seen outpacing workforce growth amid AI adoption
Sep 24, 2026
PH IT-BPM revenues seen outpacing workforce growth amid AI adoption

The Philippine information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry expects revenues to grow faster than its workforce as companies increasingly turn to artificial intelligence (AI) to augment human workers, industry officials said Thursday.

Who has the upper hand in financial markets, the US or China?
Sep 24, 2026
Who has the upper hand in financial markets, the US or China?

As Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for his much-anticipated summit with US President Donald Trump, it is clear which country emerged stronger from the tariff shock. Last month, China’s exports rose 25 per cent in annualised terms, causing the country’s trade surplus to swell to US$119 billion and putting it on track to exceed last year’s record of US$1.2 trillion. Moreover, China’s surplus with the US rose 44 per cent to US$29 billion, the widest gap since Trump returned to...

Investors pivot to selective China bets in technology as property growth fades: DBS Bank
Sep 24, 2026
Investors pivot to selective China bets in technology as property growth fades: DBS Bank

The sentiment among investors that China is a “single bet” is giving way to picking individual winners, with technology displacing property as the engine of growth, according to DBS Bank (Hong Kong). “Instead of looking at China as one big thing, there are selective sectors that we think will benefit from this trend,” Dennis Lam, managing director and head of research at the bank, said during a media briefing on Thursday. Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and innovative drugs would...

US equities, ETFs soon available to qualified Filipino investors via DragonFi
Sep 24, 2026
US equities, ETFs soon available to qualified Filipino investors via DragonFi

DragonFi Securities Inc. has received regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to grant qualified Philippine-based investors access to pre-approved US equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Skydiving, whale watching and a burst of bookings as holidays extend for millions in China
Sep 24, 2026
Skydiving, whale watching and a burst of bookings as holidays extend for millions in China

A three-day public holiday used to be a big deal in China. Then came “golden weeks”, which would sometimes stretch to nine days, sending millions of people in search of new sights across the country and further afield. Now an alignment of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday will give many Chinese students and office workers up to a record 13-day break, potentially pushing tourist traffic to new heights. “The more interesting change this year is not simply higher volume, but the...

ChinaAMC launches 3 Hong Kong ETFs as demand for targeted strategies grows
Sep 24, 2026
ChinaAMC launches 3 Hong Kong ETFs as demand for targeted strategies grows

China Asset Management (Hong Kong), the offshore arm of one of mainland China’s largest asset managers, launched three exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the city on Thursday, expanding its product line-up as investors seek more diversified strategies amid market volatility and a broader boom in the ETF market. The three products – a Hong Kong high-dividend ETF, a Hong Kong growth ETF and a Hong Kong-US “Halo” ETF – are scheduled to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on September 30, with trading...

GCash IPO secures commitments from global, local investors
Sep 24, 2026
GCash IPO secures commitments from global, local investors

The planned initial public offering (IPO) of Mynt Inc., the parent company of GCash, has secured commitments from more than 20 global and domestic institutional investors.

High office vacancy rates spur bid to rezone Kowloon East site for residential development
Sep 24, 2026
High office vacancy rates spur bid to rezone Kowloon East site for residential development

With office vacancy rates in Kowloon East remaining high, the Planning Department has indicated it has “no objection” to a request by some developers for a commercial project in the area to be rezoned for residential development. A consortium comprising CSI Properties, Asia Standard International and Chongqing-born property tycoon Cheung Chung-kiu has submitted an application to the Town Planning Board to rezone Harbourside HQ – a grade A office building at 8 Lam Chak Street, Kowloon Bay, which...

Tencent rolls out payment app for foreign travellers ahead of Apec summit
Sep 24, 2026
Tencent rolls out payment app for foreign travellers ahead of Apec summit

Tencent Holdings on Thursday launched TenPayGo, a mobile payment app targeting foreign visitors, as the tech giant seeks to capture China’s growing inbound tourism market ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen. Developed by Tencent’s WeChat Pay team, TenPayGo allowed international travellers to make payments at tens of millions of shops, restaurants and attractions across the WeChat Pay network by linking their credit cards or their home-country digital wallets...