Thursday, April 18, 2024
The weather in Hong Kong is generally cloudy with a few showers and isolated thunderstorms. It is hot during the day, with highs of about 31 degrees. Later there were more showers. Moderate south-to-southeasterly winds. There will be a few showers in the next day or two, and it will be hot during the day. Showers and thunderstorms will gradually increase on Sunday and early next week.
Hong Kong news
■Commissioner Cui Jianchun and his wife Liang Huili of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region arrived in Hong Kong on the 16th to take up their new duties. Chief Executive John Lee met with Cui Jianchun at the Government House on the 17th, and Li Jiachao said that he welcomed Commissioner Cui Jianchun to take up his new post in Hong Kong, and thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Commissioner for their long-term support to the SAR government, as well as the support and care provided to Hong Kong people outside Hong Kong in seeking help.
■Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po began his visit to Hangzhou on the 17th. In Hangzhou, Mr Chan attended a seminar on "Hong Kong-Mainland Enterprises Cross-border Supply Chain Management Centre" jointly organised by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Shanghai, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation (HKECIC), where he briefed about 150 senior business representatives from Zhejiang Province on Hong Kong's economic and social situation and how to help Mainland enterprises expand internationally, especially as their offshore trade and transnational supply chain management centre.
■In Hong Kong, there are many livelihood problems that need to be solved urgently, among which the "difficulty in seeing the sick" is a "long-standing problem"! At present, 18 public hospitals under the Hospital Authority have emergency services, but the problem of long waiting times has always been criticized. To alleviate the pressure on public healthcare services, the HKSAR Government and the Hospital Authority have been encouraging patients with mild illnesses to use community primary care and family doctor services, and have launched a number of public-private partnership schemes. Some Members of the Legislative Council have pointed out that although these measures have achieved certain results, the waiting time is still not satisfactory.
■With the five-day Golden Week approaching, the Executive Director of the Travel Industry Council, Ms Yeung Suk-fan, expects about 800,000 visitors to Hong Kong, an increase of about 30% over the same period last year, and the number of tour groups is estimated to be about 800, involving 26,000 to 28,000 people. She said that more visitors will choose to travel for short distances, and she believes that Hong Kong will be one of the destinations, and the first two days of the holiday are expected to be the peak period for arrivals.
■The Hong Kong TTPS and the Red Cross jointly organised the first Blood Donation Day on the 17th, with about 50 new arrivals under the Top Talent Pass Scheme participating, and the response was very enthusiastic. The Director of Health, Mr Lam Man-kin, the Member of the Legislative Council for the Medical and Health Sector, Mr Lam Chi-hin, the Chairman of the Governing Committee of the Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service, Mr Chan Chi-ching, the Chief Executive Officer/Secretary General of the Hong Kong Red Cross, Mr So Yuen-han, and the Deputy Consultant of the Blood Transfusion Service, Dr Leung Nga-sze, attended the event to cheer up.
■The special meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council continued on the 17th, in which the environment and ecology were discussed, and garbage levy was one of the highlights of the meeting. In response to a Member's question, the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, said that the authorities would pay close attention to the problems or situations encountered in the implementation of the refuse levy from the current pilot arrangement, so that the Government could fully grasp it and make the next arrangements, and then return to the Legislative Council for a report.
■On the morning of April 18, Zhou Haimei's studio issued a document announcing Zhou Haimei's cemetery, which is located in the Ruyi District (Celebrity Avenue) of Tianshou Cemetery, Changping District, Beijing. It is reported that Zhou Haimei's family has found a lot of places in Hong Kong and Beijing, and feels that this new home is very suitable now, which is her mother's favorite, and it is also convenient for many people to worship. In addition, all of Zhou Haimei's social platform accounts, including pet accounts, will be retained for everyone to browse and miss. According to previous reports, on December 11, 2023, the famous actor Zhou Haimei passed away due to illness.
■ Tuen Mun Highway caused a fatal car accident that caused 2 deaths and 1 injury, at about 3 o'clock in the morning of the 18th, a private car along the Tuen Mun Highway towards Kowloon, when driving to the near Siu Lam to the slope, the private car was suspected to be out of control, and shook the large street sign commonly known as the "gantry" on the side of the road, the private car was seriously damaged, the parts were scattered, the body was disconnected in two, and the whole car was like scrap metal. Affected by the incident, traffic on Tuen Mun Highway bound for Tsuen Wan was temporarily blocked for nearly 3 hours.
■Customs detected a case of suspected smuggling of goods to Malaysia by ocean-going vessels at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal on April 4, seizing a large quantity of suspected smuggled electronic parts, electronic products and electronic scrap with an estimated market value of about HK$100 million. Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, Customs found that the criminals intended to use the ocean-going vessel to smuggle cargo, and deployed a strategy to combat the relevant activities and targeted an ocean-going vessel preparing to travel from Hong Kong to Malaysia.
■According to Sing Tao Daily, the Education Bureau's recent submission to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council disclosed the financial reserves of eight local aided universities for the 2022/23 academic year, totalling about HK$126 billion. Among them, the financial reserves of HKU and CUHK both exceeded HK$30 billion, with HKU leading with HK$37.1 billion, CUHK with HK$32.2 billion, HKUST and PolyU with HK$17.9 billion and HK$13.4 billion respectively.
【Hong Kong Finance】
■The Indonesian Employers' Association (APINDO), which has a history of 72 years and is one of the major industrial and commercial organizations in Indonesia, recently organized a delegation to visit Hong Kong for the first time, and met with Chief Executive John Lee at the Chief Executive's Office on the morning of the 17th to learn about Hong Kong's investment environment. Shinta W. Kamdani, Chairman of APINDO, said after the meeting that the Indonesian business community is generally optimistic about the investment environment in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and hopes to strengthen the economic and trade relations between Hong Kong and Indonesia.
■A new wave of layoffs broke out in Hong Kong's financial industry. According to Bloomberg, citing news reports, investment bank Morgan Stanley plans to reduce its business in the Asia-Pacific region, cutting 50 investment banking positions in the short term, of which at least 80% of the layoffs will be carried out in the mainland and Hong Kong. If the news is true, it will be the largest layoff in China in many years, and according to people familiar with the matter, the size and timing of the final layoffs may still change, but Damo declined to comment.
■Regarding the market pointing out that large banks have further reduced mortgage cash rebates, Wang Meifeng, managing director of Centaline Mortgage, pointed out that the situation of "interbank interest rates higher than mortgage rates" has lasted for nearly a year since May last year, reflecting the continued pressure on banks' funding costs.
■Jin Chaoyang (878), which holds more than 80% of the ownership of Xiyun Building in Causeway Bay, was auctioned on the 17th, with a reserve price of HK $2.425 billion. According to media reports, Chaoyang Group did not send a representative to the auction, and with no other bidders bidding, the property ended in an unsuccessful auction, which was the third unsuccessful auction case since the implementation of the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance in 1999.
synthesis
■According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics a few days ago, China's economy achieved more than expected growth in the first quarter. On the 17th, Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the press conference of the State Council Information Office that the economic operation in the first quarter continued to pick up and improve, the economic growth rate exceeded expectations, the economic structure continued to be optimized, the quality and efficiency improved, the employment price was basically stable, the overall market expectation improved, the overall social situation remained stable, and the economic and social development achieved a good start.
■A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said that on the 17th, U.S. time, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the launch of a Section 301 investigation against China's maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries. China strongly deplores this and resolutely opposes it. The previous US administration launched a Section 301 investigation on China and imposed tariffs on China, which was ruled by the WTO to be in violation of WTO rules and opposed by many WTO members. The US has made repeated mistakes in launching a new Section 301 investigation out of domestic political needs. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce said that the United States is urged to respect facts and multilateral rules, immediately stop its wrong practices, and return to the rules-based multilateral trading system. China will closely follow the progress of the investigation and will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend its rights and interests.
■On the eve of Sun Yat-sen University's 100th anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Lin Bin, co-founder and vice chairman of Xiaomi Group, donated 100 million yuan to Sun Yat-sen University! According to the official Weibo information of Sun Yat-sen University, on April 17, Mr. and Mrs. Lin Bin, the 1986 alumni of Sun Yat-sen University, and Ms. Liu Xiangdong, chairman of the Lin Bin Liu Xiangdong Foundation, donated 100 million yuan in cash to Sun Yat-sen University. At the same time, Academician Gao Song, President of Sun Yat-sen University and President of the Alumni Association, awarded Lin Bin the title of the first honorary trustee on behalf of the university.
■ China is the world's largest producer of mobile phones and one of the largest mobile phone markets. According to the data, in the first two months of this year, mainland mobile phone shipments achieved double-digit year-on-year growth, and the overall market showed an upward trend. According to the data, from January to February 2024, China's smartphone production was 172 million units, a year-on-year increase of 31.3%, and the cumulative shipment of mobile phones in the Chinese market was 46.035 million units, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%; There were 50 new models of mobile phones on the mainland, a year-on-year increase of 22.0%.
■According to a report by the Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) on the 18th, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki held talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Sang-mu on the 17th Eastern time. The three countries exchanged views on current financial market trends and economic security guarantees. According to the joint statement issued after the talks, the three countries will communicate closely on the movement of the foreign exchange market.
■On the 17th local time, the British Office for National Statistics released data showing that the consumer price index (CPI) in the United Kingdom rose by 3.2% year-on-year in March, down from 3.4% in February. According to the Office for National Statistics, the data was the lowest in nearly two and a half years, with the slowdown in rising food prices being the main reason.
■On the 17th Eastern time, the three major U.S. stock indexes collectively closed down, among them, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 index fell for the fourth consecutive trading day. At the close, the Dow fell 45.66 points, or 0.12%, to 37,753.31, the Nasdaq fell 181.88 points, or 1.15%, to 15,683.37, and the S&P 500 lost 29.20 points, or 0.58%, to 5,022.21. Most of the big tech stocks fell, with Apple down 0.81%, Amazon down 1.11%, Netflix down 0.62%, Google up 0.67%, Facebook down 1.14%, and Microsoft down 0.66%.
■International oil prices fell significantly on the 17th. By the end of the day, light crude futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $2.67, or 3.13 percent, to settle at $82.69 a barrel, and London Brent crude futures for June delivery fell $2.73, or 3.03 percent, to close at $87.29 a barrel.
■The U.S. dollar index fell on the 17th. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.29% on the day to settle at 105.952 at the end of the session. At the end of the New York session, the euro was worth $1.0670, up from $1.0631 in the previous session, and the pound was worth $1.2453, up from $1.2439 in the previous session.
■On the 17th, Morgan Stanley said that based on the latest forecast of crude oil prices amid recent geopolitical tensions, it raised the profit forecast and target price of PetroChina and CNOOC. Morgan Stanley raised PetroChina's 2024-2026 net profit forecast by 2%-10%, raising its target price for A-shares to RMB7.3 from RMB6.5 previously, and raising its target price for H-shares to HK$7.9 from HK$7 previously.
■On the 17th Eastern time, the U.S. stock price of lithography giant ASML (ASML) fell 7.09% to close at $907.61. On the 17th, ASML released its first quarter report for 2024. In the first quarter of 2024, ASML achieved net sales of 5.290 billion euros, compared to 7.237 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of 26.90% from the previous quarter, and a net profit of 1.224 billion euros in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 40.23% from the previous quarter.
■On the 17th Eastern time, the Federal Reserve released the survey report on the economic situation prepared by 12 local Feds - Beige Book. The Beige Book showed that the U.S. economy grew modestly, wage pressures eased, and companies reported difficulty in passing on higher input costs. The Beige Book shows that overall economic activity in the United States has expanded slightly since late February. Ten of the 12 regional Fed jurisdictions reported a slight increase in economic growth, while the other two reported no significant change in economic conditions.
■On the 17th, Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company announced that the fifth round of discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, that is, the first round of discharge into the sea in fiscal year 2024 (April 2024 to March 2025), will start on the morning of the 19th local time and is expected to last until May 7. According to the report, TEPCO has discharged a total of about 31,200 tons of nuclear-contaminated water in a four-wheeled discharge into the sea.
■According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, a 6.6-magnitude earthquake occurred in the sea near Ehime Prefecture in Japan late at night on the 17th, causing many minor injuries. According to reports, the Japan Meteorological Agency held a press conference in the early morning of the 18th to announce that the magnitude of the earthquake was raised from the previous 6.4 to 6.6, and the depth of the epicenter was corrected from 50 kilometers to 39 kilometers.
■According to the Associated Press, on the 17th local time, the U.S. Senate voted to reject all articles of impeachment against U.S. Minister of Homeland Security Mayorkas, ending the impeachment trial. Earlier in the day, the U.S. Senate reportedly voted to reject two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. Senate Majority Leader Schumer, a Democrat, said the charges against Mayorkas fall short of the constitutional criteria for impeachment and would "set a dangerous precedent."
■The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 17th, announcing that it would ban 235 Australian citizens from entering Russia indefinitely. According to a statement published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the same day, the Australian government has imposed politically motivated sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities as part of the Russophobic campaign of the "collective West". To this end, the Russian side has decided to ban 235 current and former Australian local councillors from entering Russia indefinitely. These are the people who have long pushed an anti-Russian agenda within Australia.
According to the Palestinian News Agency, on the evening of the 17th local time, Israeli warplanes bombed a house in Rafah City in the southern Gaza Strip, and the attack killed seven people, including one woman and three children. So far, the Israeli side has not responded to this.
According to CCTV News, on the 17th local time, according to the latest news, the United Nations Security Council, at the strong request of Arab countries, is expected to vote on Palestine's application to become a full member of the United Nations on the afternoon of the 18th. It is understood that the draft resolution was drafted by Algeria. Earlier on the 17th, various sources indicated that the Security Council was expected to vote on Palestine's accession to the United Nations on the 19th. However, the voting time of the resolution has been changed several times due to the wrestling of all parties. According to a source, Arab countries want to vote on the 18th, while a certain country wants the vote not to attract too much attention, so it wants to be held on the 19th.
■According to CCTV News, citing CNN on the 17th local time, citing senior government officials, the United States will re-impose sanctions on Venezuela in the oil and gas industry due to Venezuela's failure to take measures as required by the United States. On the 15th of this month, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned the US government for failing to fulfill its commitments in the agreement signed with Venezuela within the framework of the political dialogue process between the two countries. Senior U.S. administration officials said the U.S. "completed a very careful review" and determined that the Maduro government had "failed to meet targets" in several key areas of the deal. As a result, the United States will not renew the mandate to lift sanctions, and those that have been lifted will be reinstated within 45 days.
Editor: Jianming
Proofreader: Zhuo Ling
审核:Oriole
Executive Producer: Yushan