Friday, April 19, 2024
The weather in Hong Kong is generally cloudy with brief sunny spells and a few showers. At first, there were localized thunderstorms. The maximum temperature is about 30 degrees. Moderate to clear south to southeast winds.
■The first batch of about 60 enterprises and institutions signed up as partners, and the operation of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park is imminent. Mr Lee said that the signing ceremony on the 18th was a milestone in the I&T cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, with the participation of many international enterprises, universities and research institutes, covering life and health technology, new energy, microelectronics and other fields, and believed that the joining of these enterprises and partners would be conducive to attracting talent and investment to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. He stressed that Hong Kong would continue to leverage its advantages to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.
■Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po continued his visit to Hangzhou on the 18th, and then transferred to Suzhou for a visit. Mr Chan met with Liu Jie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Hangzhou Municipal CPC Committee, and exchanged views on deepening cooperation between the two places in areas such as scientific and technological innovation, financial services, airport construction, cultural exchanges, and higher education, as well as jointly developing new quality productivity to promote high-quality development.
■The Association of Banks, the Hong Kong Association of Restricted Licence Banks and Deposit-taking Companies, and the Hong Kong Licensed Money Lenders Association jointly announced that "Credit Information Connect" will start providing services next Friday (26th). At that time, members of the public will be able to obtain a free credit report from each consumer credit reference agency every 12 months to understand their consumer credit status.
■The Census and Statistics Department announced on the 18th that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 2.9% in December 2023 to February 2024 to 3.0% in January to March 2024, and the underemployment rate also increased from 1.0% in December 2023 to February 2024 to 1.1% in January and March 2024.
■The Census and Statistics Department announced that Hong Kong's overall merchandise exports and imports fell by 6.2% and 6.8% respectively in February this year. During the period, the overall export prices and import prices of commodities increased by 5.8% and 5.5% respectively. In the first two months of this year, Hong Kong's overall merchandise exports and imports increased by 11.3% and 4.7% respectively. The overall export prices and import prices of commodities both increased by 4.7%.
■Alphaliner, a research institute in the international shipping industry, released the latest statistics of global port throughput in 2023 on the 18th, Hong Kong fell out of the world's top ten container ports for the first time, ranking 11th, Dubai was promoted to the top ten, and Shanghai, Singapore and Ningbo ports ranked among the top three in the world.
■The latest release of the DHL Hong Kong Air Freight Trade Leading Index (DTI) shows that the overall air freight index is expected to record a moderate improvement in the second quarter of this year, ending the continuous decline since the third quarter of last year.
■ Mainland social media "Little Red Book" has repeatedly leaked DSE exam answer books in recent days, including mathematics, English and Chinese subjects, and a 23-year-old woman surnamed Liu was arrested on the 17th on suspicion of violating the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance. The HKEAA issued a statement on the 18th, pointing out that the preliminary evidence shows that the cases involving online reproduction of examination questions have occurred only after the completion of the relevant subject examinations, so there is no impact on the confidentiality of the HKDSE examination.
■The expert group of the Chief Executive's Policy Group has been established for nearly a year, and its term of office will expire at the end of May this year. Recently, he said that he hoped to play the role of "reporting the situation" to enhance Hong Kong's long-term competitiveness.
■The Office for the Promotion of Chinese Culture under the LCSD will launch the first "Chinese Cultural Festival" from June to September, which will include various forms of performing arts projects, with about 2,000 people participating in performances and productions, and is expected to attract nearly 100,000 participants.
■The Housing Bureau estimates that the net expenditure on operating about 30,000 LPH flats is about $4.39 billion, and the monthly cost of daily management and maintenance of each unit is about $1,000, which is said to be nearly twice as high as that of PRH flats. The Secretary for Housing, Ho Wing-yin, said at a special meeting of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on the 18th that "simple public housing" is different from public housing, describing the operating contract as a "three-in-one", in addition to the cleaning, security and maintenance work of public housing, there are also elements of service provision, which involve facilities, transportation facilities, etc.
■On the occasion of the MTR's celebration of the company's 45th anniversary of service to Hong Kong, the MTR Corporation will launch a new railway experience hall at Hung Hom Station, titled "See You at the Station" Railway Expo, which will showcase a variety of retired trains and components, including the first generation of electrified trains on the East Rail Line, the "Yellow Head", as well as a series of railway treasures, taking visitors on a journey through the past and present of Hong Kong's railways.
■ Hong Kong Stock Exchange (388) Chief Executive Officer Chan Yiting announced the launch of the first major project after more than a month in office. HKEX plans to launch a new derivatives platform, the Orion Derivatives Platform (ODP), which will enable the exchange to support close to 24-hour trading, launch new products and improve trading and settlement efficiency. HKEX expects the new platform to be launched in 2028, with future system migration to be carried out in phases.
■Two new projects with two main rooms announced their sales plans on the 18th. SHKP (016) The YOHO Hub II in Yuen Long will be launched soon, providing 939 units, with standard units ranging from one to three bedrooms, and the main two-bedroom. The company's Tsim Sha Tsui project will open its show flats early next week, and the developer has prepared a clear water building and a renovated two-bedroom unit, a total of two show flats. The price list is also scheduled to be announced next week.
■Futu Securities announced that it will officially launch Japanese stock trading in Hong Kong from the 18th, covering more than 4,000 stocks and ETFs listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with real-time quotations of Japanese stocks, all-round Japanese stock quotes, and highly competitive Japanese stock trading commissions as low as 0.08%, to enhance the global investment experience.
■ Shi Lisheng, director of Yuanku Financial Group, believes that gold's "spacewalk" journey is not yet over, and it is estimated that it will rise again after adjustment, and it is estimated that the mainland stock market will meet the upward trend of the "slow bull" stock market with an "independent and unique" trend in the future. The worst-case scenario of the mainland stock market may have been completed in February this year, and a new big bull market has been born and is in operation, and the medium-term investment strategy of the mainland stock market is to "buy on dips", and the chart pattern is conducive to the rebound momentum of Hong Kong stocks, and the short-term level of 16,200 points can be maintained.
■Dubai's Sheikh Ali Al Maktoum originally planned to open a family office in Hong Kong to manage about US$500 million (about HK$3.9 billion), but at the end of last month, he suddenly postponed setting up a family office in Hong Kong, causing a series of turmoil. Prince Ali's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mak Yirui, said that the plan to postpone the launch ceremony to the end of May has not changed, and Prince Ali has confirmed that he will attend Hong Kong again.
■According to a report released by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) on the 18th, in March 2024, the RMB maintained its position as the fourth most active currency in the world in the ranking of global payment currencies based on amount statistics, accounting for 4.7%, up from 4% in February.
On the 18th, Zhu Hexin, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that the central bank's goal and determination to maintain the basic stability of the RMB exchange rate will not change.
■ U.S. stocks closed on the 18th, the three major indexes were mixed, the Dow rose 0.06%, the Nasdaq fell 0.52%, the S&P 500 fell 0.22%, most of the popular technology stocks fell, Tesla fell more than 3%, hitting a new low since January 2023, Microsoft, Amazon fell more than 1%, and Meta rose more than 1%. Chinese concept stocks rose strongly. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have fallen for five consecutive sessions.
■According to the Shanghai Securities News, under the background of the strong US dollar, the "currency defense war" of many countries is about to start. The currencies of Japan and South Korea are facing significant depreciation pressure, while currencies such as the Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah, Vietnamese dong and Philippine peso are facing a wave of sell-offs.
■The National Immigration Administration of China announced that in the first quarter of this year, the number of foreigners coming to China increased by more than three times compared with the same period in 2023.
■The U.S. announced plans to impose new restrictive measures on Chinese steel and aluminum products, including raising Section 301 tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products to three times the current level, and working with neighboring countries to prevent indirect exports of Chinese steel and aluminum products to the United States. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China responded on the 18th that the US accusations against China have no factual basis, and the relevant measures are typical unilateralist and protectionist practices, which China firmly opposes.
■The 2024 Shenzhen Design Week will open on April 27. With the theme of "Design for a Better Life", the Design Week will consist of four themed activities: 1 Opening Ceremony, 1 Global "City of Design" City Roundtable Dialogue & Global Designers Conference, 1 Global Design Awards "Kunpeng Award" Award Ceremony, Exhibition of Winning Works, and Guest of Honor activities. In addition, there will be 23 series of brand activities, N sub-venues DBS Venues and creative design activities throughout the year.
In the early morning of the 19th, the UN Security Council voted to adopt a draft resolution entitled "Recommending to the UN General Assembly to admit Palestine as a full member of the UN" due to a one-vote veto by the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The result of the vote was 12 in favour, with 2 abstentions, and the United States voted 1 against. China criticizes the United States for confusing the logic of right and wrong.
■The United Kingdom and the United States government issued statements on the 18th local time, announcing the imposition of sanctions on a number of Iranian individuals and entities in response to Iran's retaliatory strike against Israel a few days ago.
Editor: Xiang Ming
Proofreader: Zhuo Ling
审核:Oriole
Executive Producer: Yushan