Hong Kong Financial News

HONG KONG—For many people in China these days, getting a job isn’t the problem. Finding a good one that pays enough is. With the economy in a funk and deflation settling in, many people are having to settle for jobs beneath their skill levels, often with reduced pay.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of blockchain and crypto news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s news.

On Friday, Hong Kong’s securities regulator cautioned investors against “suspicious” staking schemes tied to Floki and TokenFi.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks retreated on Friday as a stimulus-driven rebound in Chinese shares stalled, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid further away from 34-year highs as growing bets on a Bank of Japan pivot spurred more profit-taking.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan held broadly steady and was on track for a weekly gain of 2%. Trading was thinned with Australia out on a holiday. Chinese stocks looked set to end the week on a strong footing as a wave of policy support from Beijing restored fragile investor confidence and put a floor under its sliding stock market. The blue-chip index rose 0.03% and was eyeing a 2% weekly gain, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% higher, putting it on track for a 3% weekly rise, its largest since July 2023. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.41%, but was still more than 5% higher for the week, also its best performance since last July. In an attempt to shore up its fragile economic recovery, China's central bank announced a deep cut to bank reserves on Wednesday, in a move that will inject about $140 billion of cash into the banking system. Those came a day after Bloomberg News reported Chinese authorities are seeking to mobilise about 2 trillion yuan ($278.98 billion), mainly from the offshore accounts of Chinese state-owned enterprises, as part of a stabilisation fund to buy shares. «We remain cautious on China, in line with our view for several years,» said John Pinkel, a partner and portfolio manager at Indus Capital. «We see evidence of selling induced by structured 'snowball' products, especially from onshore China sources.

The central People’s Bank of China says it plans to expand its “cross-border” digital yuan pilot in Hong Kong.

China's central bank has announced new rules meant to expand access to commercial bank loans for property developers

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of crypto and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s news.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with Chinese markets extending a rebound after the government announced more monetary stimulus measures, while Japanese shares lagged as mixed cues from the Bank of Japan spurred more profit-taking.

In the face of China’s economic downturn and a sluggish stock market, Chinese investors are turning to the crypto market as a safer alternative to traditional investments, despite the government’s crypto ban.

Emerging-market stocks gained Tuesday as shares in Hong Kong rebounded from a 14-month low on speculation of a new stimulus package in China, while currencies pared earlier losses.

Virtual asset trading platform Bixin has applied for a virtual asset trading platform license with Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission. So far, 13 crypto firms have applied for the similar license with the Hong Kong regulator.

Bakkt Holdings, crypto trading and custody platform, announced the expansion of its crypto operations in several crypto-friendly international jurisdictions.

In a market teeming with activity, Bitcoin’s latest surge to $40,000, marking a nearly 1% increase on Thursday, has investors and analysts revisiting their Bitcoin price predictions. This uptick comes amidst a flurry of significant developments: Chinese investors, spurred by stock market dynamics, are increasingly engaging with Bitcoin despite its prohibited status in the country.

Wall Street firms in Asia dropped to the lowest level in almost two decades, according to people familiar with the matter, as a dearth of deals in China and Hong Kong hammered the industry. Total compensation for many senior bankers in Asia ex-Japan fell to $700,000 to $800,000, well below the $1 million or more they have typically earned since the turn of the millennium, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters. At least 20 percent of managing directors at banks including Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG, received no bonuses last year, the people said.

cryptocurrencies in early 2023, when he realized that the Chinese economy and its stock markets were going downhill.

Wall Street ended mixed after strong gains for Netflix and some influential technology stocks helped offset losses across much of the U.S. stock market

China's central bank plans to reduce the ratio of reserves banks must keep on hold as part of a slew of measures to support its slowing economy

By Jamie McGeever

Quiver Quantitative — In response to economic challenges and a significant stock market decline, China has announced a strategic reduction in its reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks. Set for implementation on February 5, this move aims to inject 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) of long-term liquidity into the market. This proactive step, unusually announced in advance by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), is part of broader measures to stabilize the economy and financial markets. These efforts include enhanced support for the property sector and deepening financial collaboration with Hong Kong.

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