〈The Standard, Feb 15, 2025〉Jimmy Au’s world shrinks to about the size of a parking space whenever she gets home.
Her cramped Hong Kong home is one of four units carved out of what was once a single apartment. Most of the space is occupied by the bunk bed she shares with her husband and son, and their sleep is often disrupted by neighbors returning late or heading out early.
Au’s son often gets bruises bumping into things. Privacy is limited, with only a curtain separating the bathroom from the kitchen.
But what troubles Au most about her home is that she might lose it. Hong Kong's government is planning to crack down on what it calls inadequate housing in subdivided apartments, mandating a minimum size and other baseline standards for homes like Au's.
〈Hong Kong Business, Feb 14, 2025〉Hong Kong logistics rents declined by 3.2% year-on-year (YoY) in 2024 and 1.9% in the second half of the year (H2 2024), according to a Knight Frank report.
Hong Kong is also amongst the markets projected to see a decline in the next 12 months, along with Beijing, and Shanghai.
On a regional basis, whilst 14 of 17 tracked cities recorded stable rents YoY in H2 2024, overall rent growth in Asia-Pacific slowed to just 0.2% in 2024, down from 7% in 2023 and 2% in the first half of 2024.
〈Asian Post, Feb 13, 2025〉Young affluent families in Hong Kong set a savings goal of $18m but most lack a comprehensive financial plan, Hang Seng Bank reported.
One-third of this demographic has established financial strategies tailored to their family's needs but over 50% lack confidence in their ability to effectively execute these strategies.
Notably, 71% of the respondents without a cohesive financial plan were young affluent families with children aged 12 or younger.
Hang Seng Bank revealed that respondents' wealth management goals include retirement planning, securing their children's future, covering parents' daily expenses, obtaining medical insurance, and planning for family legacy.
〈Hong Kong Business, Feb 12, 2025〉The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has provided banks with a guideline for a one-off special scheme to ease the supervisory requirements on the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio and debt servicing ratio (DSR) limit for property mortgage loans.
This may, however, pose potential risks for buyers due to insufficient property valuations, according to Joseph Tsang, chairman of JLL in Hong Kong.
“Whilst these measures indeed help the buyers who bought uncompleted properties over the last few years with stage payment plans to secure mortgages and reduce part of their financial burden, it also carries risks,” Tsang said.
〈RTHK News, Feb 11, 2025〉A senior Beijing official on Friday called on mainland enterprises to take part in the Northern Metropolis project as part of efforts to fully back the Hong Kong government.
Zheng Yanxiong, director of the central government's liaison office, told a reception that state-owned companies should also support the SAR in integrating into the country's development.
"I hope state-owned enterprises will make good use of Hong Kong's unique advantages of having the backing of the motherland and being connected to the rest of the world," Zheng said.
"Mainland companies should continue to boost their investment in Hong Kong, and constantly improve their business strategies. They should also proactively take part in the Northern Metropolis development, fully support Hong Kong in consolidating its status as a financial, shipping, and trade centre, and in building an international innovation and technology centre."
