Hong Kong Financial News

By Jamie McGeever

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released a colorful and fact-filled Project mBridge update on Oct. 31. The publication combines technical and promotional discussions in a shift of tone as the project prepares to become a minimum viable project for commercial launch next year.

BC Technology Group Limited, a leading digital asset and fintech firm listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK), issued a clarification announcement regarding unusual share price movements and misinformation circulating about the sale of its virtual asset trading platform, OSL.

Ripple Labs is working on a pilot program with Hong Kong’s Fubon Bank to offer property equity access to residents.

Global funds are offloading emerging Asia equities outside of China in droves as broader risk appetite cools amid concerns over a stronger dollar, higher borrowing costs and geopolitical tensions.

By Twinnie Siu and Donny Kwok

By Clare Jim, Xie Yu and Scott Murdoch

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is gearing up for the second phase of the e-HKD (e-Hong Kong dollar) pilot program as it announced the successful completion of the Phase 1 trial of its in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

Bank of Japan's policy decision when it is likely to lift its inflation forecasts and ponder tweaks to its bond yield control. The yen weakened 0.19% to 149.38 per dollar but was not far from the two-week peak of 148.81 it touched on Monday after the Nikkei newspaper reported the BOJ would consider making adjustments to its yield curve control (YCC). The BOJ sets a target of around 0% for the 10-year yield under YCC. Under criticism that its heavy defence of the cap is causing market distortions and an unwelcome yen fall, it raised its de-facto ceiling for the yield to 1.0% from 0.5% in July. On Tuesday, the 10-year JGB yield jumped 6.5 basis points to 0.955%, its highest since May.

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday ahead of global central bank meetings and as tensions in the Middle East remained high. Brent crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.53%, to $87.91 a barrel by 0001 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 33 cents, or 0.4%, to $83.64 a barrel. Oil fell more than 3% on Monday as Israel's attacks on Gaza escalated although fears eased that the Israel-Hamas war would disrupt supply from the region. Israeli troops and tanks attacked Gaza's main northern city from the east and west on Monday, three days after it began ground operations in the Palestinian enclave. Traders were also keeping a close eye on global monetary policy, with rate-setting meetings of major central banks scheduled for this week. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will be the first with its meeting on Tuesday where it is likely to revise up its inflation forecasts and discuss further tweaks to its bond yield curve control (YCC). Speculation grew on Monday that the BOJ would act after Nikkei, citing sources close to the matter, reported that policymakers may further tweak YCC to allow the 10-year Japanese government bond yield to rise above 1%. The U.S.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to China, with the stated goal of working together to fight climate change, resulted in a surprise meeting with leader Xi Jinping and was filled with warm words and friendliness not seen in years in the China-U.S. re...

A Hong Kong court has adjourned a winding up hearing for property developer China Evergrande Group’s until Dec. 4

China's top electric carmaker BYD announced a record quarterly profit Monday, underscoring the firm's growing dominance in a high-tech sector that is fiercely contested by both domestic and foreign competitors. The Shenzhen-based firm posted a profit of 10.4 billion yuan ($1.42 billion) for the July-September period, its highest-ever earnings during a single quarter and up 82 percent on-year, a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed. The figure was in line with BYD's previous forecast of between 9.55 billion yuan and 11.55 billion yuan in quarterly earnings. BYD's cumulative net profit for January-September reached 21.4 billion yuan, more than doubling on-year and surpassing last year's total annual earnings of 16.6 billion yuan. Electric vehicle demand has soared in recent years in China, which is the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases in absolute terms. BYD, whose investors include US investment titan Warren Buffet, wants its sales to be dominated by electric and hybrid vehicles by 2035. Earlier this year, BYD became the first global manufacturer to pass the five million milestone in electric vehicle production, crowning itself «the world's leading manufacturer of new energy vehicles and power batteries». Originally specialising in the design and manufacture of batteries, the company diversified into the automotive sector in 2003. Many foreign automotive leaders — including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes and Audi — depend on BYD for their batteries. China's electric vehicle sector has benefited from decades of subsidies issued by Beijing in related technological fields. The growing success of Chinese electric car firms in foreign markets has also drawn scrutiny.

As financial institutions worldwide explore the adoption of digital currencies, Hong Kong’s stance on its own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), known as e-HKD, remains cautious. A recently published report by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) highlights both the opportunities and challenges surrounding the implementation of a retail CBDC in the special administrative region.

Vistara on Monday announced the launch of its daily direct flight between the national capital and Hong Kong. The inaugural flight, operated by an A321 neo aircraft, commenced from Delhi airport on Sunday evening and arrived at Hong Kong on Monday morning.

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures point higher, with investors preparing for a busy week of central bank decisions, economic data, and company earnings. Meanwhile, HSBC rolls out fresh share buybacks despite missing third-quarter profit expectations and a Hong Kong court gives embattled developer China Evergrande (HK:3333) one last opportunity to present a new restructuring plan or face liquidation.

Zodia, the institutional cryptocurrency custody platform co-owned by British banking giant Standard Chartered, Japanese SBI Holdings and the financial firm Northern Trust, is expanding its services to Hong Kong.

By Selena Li and Lawrence White

By M. Sriram

Zodia Custody, the crypto security firm owned by British banking giant Standard Chartered, is expanding its services to Hong Kong. Zodia Custody’s foray into Hong Kong marks its latest stride into the Asia-Pacific region after announcing plans to expand into Singapore last month.

HSBC's profit after tax came in at $6.26 billion in the three months ended September, a jump of about 235% compared to the $2.66 billion in the same period a year before.