Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority has advised property owners under a subsidy scheme against hiring a contractor that failed to install fire safety components in lifts at hundreds of buildings, saying it had “lost confidence” in the company. The move came a day after the government suspended the performance rating for Taizoom Elevator, which was found to have failed to install required fire-resistant door frame components at 338 buildings as inspections of its work across the city are carried...

Hong Kong has taken another step towards building itself into an international gold trading hub, after confirming deals that will see gold refineries localise production in the city. The addition of the local refineries will allow Hong Kong to form a complete gold trading ecosystem, boosting belief in the city’s ability to become a trusted global gold vault, according to analysts. “Hong Kong has been substantiating the idea of a global gold hub now that it no longer needs mainland-based...

Indonesia’s warnings of curbing energy exports to countries it deems disrespectful amid regional tensions have put Singapore and other Southeast Asian buyers on notice, exposing the risks of relying on a neighbour increasingly protective of its resources. But analysts see little chance of Jakarta following through on the threat, given its own economic interests and the mutual benefits of regional energy cooperation, including the long-planned Asean Power Grid. On Thursday, Coordinating Minister...

Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s newest hotel, REM, opened this week to complete the ultra-luxury trio at the City of Dreams in Macau. Rebranded from the Countdown Hotel, which was the Hard Rock Hotel before that, the property sits alongside the Zaha Hadid-designed Morpheus and Asian-inspired Nuwa, positioning itself as the most exclusive of the three. REM stands for rapid eye movement, the phase of sleep during which “we have the most vivid dreams”, said Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, chairman and CEO of...

Hong Kong’s legislature will set up a subcommittee to examine proposed restrictions on access to land records following widespread public concern. At a Legislative Council House Committee meeting on Friday, lawmakers endorsed establishing the subcommittee to study proposed requirements and procedures under the Land Titles Regulation. The move came after some legislators and the Hong Kong Journalists Association voiced objections on Wednesday after the government tabled eight pieces of subsidiary...

France is “certain” that its push with Germany for a tougher EU China policy propelled Beijing to moderate its hybrid car exports, despite warnings from the Chinese capital that the pressure did not work. “I’m certain that it played a role, and it’s very important that the German and French engine, which is very essential to the future of Europe, starts again – and I think that’s going to be the case,” French Trade Minister Nicolas Forissier said as he arrived at a ministerial meeting in Dublin...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is pitching the concept of “sovereign AI” in Kazakhstan – part of his global crusade urging nations to build domestic computing infrastructure using the firm’s chips – as the energy-rich nation emerges as a US-China battleground for artificial intelligence. Speaking at a fireside chat in Astana on Friday with Kazakh AI and digital development minister Zhaslan Madiyev, Huang said AI was reshaping every industry in a transformation that “affects every single person and...

Ante Milicic has left his post as coach of China’s national women’s team, the football association said on Friday, eight months before the World Cup. The 52-year-old Australian had been in charge since May 2024 and led the team to the semi-finals of the Women’s Asian Cup in March. That finish earned them a spot at next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Milicic also recently took China to fourth place at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan after losing 2-0 to North Korea in the semi-finals. “After...

China and Europe should jointly introduce a system like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a levy on carbon-intensive imports designed to account for the carbon costs domestic producers face, which “applies against the rest of the world,” the co-chair of a global energy transition organisation says. “The biggest single thing which I would love China to do is to say, ‘We want to join with Europe in a climate club’,” said Adair Turner, co-chair of the Energy Transitions Commission,...

Beijing has told Brussels not to “fantasise” that pressure will extract concessions. This came after China made a goodwill gesture in the recent hybrid-car trade deal. The European Union responded by doubling down on a proposed trade “kill switch”. The instrument follows a Franco-German proposal. It would let the bloc swiftly restrict single-market access in response to economic coercion. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen says all 27 leaders back it. Chemicals and machinery are priority sectors....

China’s Communist Party convened an early monthly Politburo meeting on Friday to review a key internal inspection report, doubling down on its high-pressure anti-corruption campaign ahead of a major party conclave next week. Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the now 21-member Politburo met on Friday – earlier than its traditional end-of-month schedule – to discuss a comprehensive report on the seventh round of inspections by the 20th Central Committee. The latest inspection is a major internal...

Recent youth-led protests in New Delhi and other cities in India have fuelled allegations that they are connected to unrest in France and elsewhere in Europe, with an influential Hindu nationalist organisation warning of foreign forces seeking to destabilise societies. While analysts caution against concluding that foreign interference played a role in demonstrations in India, they say protesters in Europe and India share similar concerns, reflecting their mounting anger that education and hard...

Chinese artificial intelligence chip giant Cambricon Technologies reported a 147.7 per cent surge in third-quarter profit on Friday, as the country’s aggressive push to replace Nvidia chips continues to fuel high growth among local chipmakers. The Shanghai-listed chipmaker generated 1.4 billion yuan (US$210 million) in net profit for the three months ended September 30, up from 566.6 million yuan during the same period last year. Revenue reached 3.5 billion yuan, an increase of 104.5 per cent...

Mainland Chinese shipyards delivered more than twice as much naval tonnage as their US counterparts in 2024 and 2025, according to a new survey, exposing a growing production gap that analysts say could weigh heavily in a prolonged conflict over Taiwan. Tonnage alone is an imperfect measure of naval power, specialists cautioned, pointing to ongoing US advantages in submarine technology, aircraft carriers and operational experience. They also highlighted China’s ability to draw on commercial...

Matthew Cheung rode a wave of emotion and a little bit of luck to take a three-shot lead in the Link Hong Kong Open on Friday, leaving himself 36 holes from making history. Beginning the day two strokes back, Cheung carded a sensational eight-under-par 62 to move to 14 under overall, with Caleb Surratt alone in second on 11 under after also posting a 62. Overnight leaders Anirban Lahiri and Kevin Yuan could not match their first-round fireworks, with the former’s 68 leaving him in a tie for...

Lead cast: Yim Si-wan, Seol In-ah, Kim Jung-hyun, Yeonwoo Latest Nielsen rating: 4.7 per cent In the romantic comedy Love in Disguise, Yim Si-wan plays a vain corporate heir suspected of murder who hires a new personal bodyguard, unaware that his protector is actually a female detective in disguise (played by Seol In-ah of Business Proposal). The series marks a return to more conventional K-drama fare for Yim, following his intense roles in the action film Mantis (2025) and the second and third...

Chinese scientists have finally put a face to the Denisovans, a mysterious species of ancient humans who were previously known only through the evidence of their DNA and fossil fragments. The hominids were thought to have lived in parts of Siberia and East and Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. The work of reconstructing their face was based on fossils excavated from Xujiayao, a major archaeological site in northern China’s Nihewan Basin, between 1976 and 1979. Scientists also confirmed that...

Chinese printed circuit board maker Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co failed to excite retail investors in Hong Kong, making it one of the least popular mega initial public offerings (IPOs) in the city so far this year. Bookbuilding closed as scheduled on Friday, with preliminary figures showing the public offering has been undersubscribed with fewer than 10,000 applicants, according to people familiar with the matter. Dongshan Precision is seeking to raise as much as HK$10.7 billion...

As violent protests fuelled partly by the cost-of-living crisis shake parts of Europe, most notably France, analysts say the unrest could add to pressure on European policymakers to take a tougher trade stance towards China. “One could argue that the EU looks weaker, but then one could also argue that there is more of a need to show external strength at a time of such events,” said David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the European Centre for International Political...

China’s shipbuilding sector now leads the world by an overwhelming margin, with the country’s shipyards accounting for 81.8 per cent of global new ship orders in the first nine months of the year, according to official data. Demand was also expected to stay resilient, with elevated crude oil prices helping to support orders for new vessels, analysts said. Total outstanding orders at Chinese shipyards reached 399.13 million deadweight tonnes (dwt) at the end of September, up 64.8 per cent year on...