China’s makers of energy storage systems, including Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Gotion High-Tech, stand to benefit as conflict in the Middle East keeps fossil fuel prices elevated, raising demand for their products in green energy projects, according to analysts. The tailwinds are expected to outweigh a slowdown in the local market, where weaker-than-expected demand has dragged stock prices in the lithium-ion battery supply chain down by more than 46 per cent over the past six...

A matter of identity By Christopher Wood This article was first published on October 31, 1981 The passage of the British Nationality Bill through Parliament has proved an emotional issue for Hongkong, sparking off fears that the Colony is sliding into political limbo. As Hongkong-born British subjects lost their right of residence in the United Kingdom back in 1962, the strength of feeling against the legislation has surprised many, including probably the British Government. But such a view...

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. Hong Kong authorities will provide more details about reforms to tackle bid-rigging and enhance oversight of building maintenance projects, in response to the city’s deadliest fire in decades. The government will hold two press conferences on Friday to provide details about the reforms, after an independent committee that investigated the Tai Po fire pointed to inadequacies in the government’s...

The number of Malaysians detained overseas for drug-related offences increased to 1,588 as of September this year, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni. Lukanisman said the five countries with the highest numbers of Malaysians detained were Indonesia (381), China (380), Singapore (310), Thailand (102) and Japan (72). He said increasingly sophisticated drug-smuggling methods had contributed to the frequent arrests of Malaysians overseas. “A total of 1,181 Malaysians were...

The Pentagon has accused a newly ousted three-star general of leaking sensitive information to the media just hours after officials confirmed his removal from a top military planning post. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth fired US Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia as head of strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a defence official said late Wednesday. Typically, the general in the position and their staff are responsible for generating and coordinating military plans for...

A Chinese woman donated 500 yuan (US$75) to an 18-year-old stranger with a disability after seeing a social media post saying he was too poor to afford meals. Eight years later, he repaid her double the amount after learning she was going through a difficult time, which moved many people online. In 2018, Wang Shuming, from China’s eastern Shandong province, posted a video saying he had no money and could not afford food. Wang lives with the effects of a childhood fever. He has difficulty walking...

Even Asia’s first UFC world champion, Zhang Weili, cannot escape the pressure of Chinese parents pushing her to get married. A year ago, Zhang, now 37, said she was glad her family was not rushing her to marry, preferring to focus on her fighting career and leave relationships to fate. But in an interview posted on social media this week, Zhang revealed her parents grew deeply concerned about her love life during the first half of the year, saying they were “pushing really hard”. In the...

In 1933, Jeanne Toussaint was appointed creative director of Cartier, and the wildly influential designer set about cementing the noble panther’s role as the indelible emblem of the storied Parisian jeweller that it remains to this day. Two years later, in Hong Kong, legendary entrepreneur Aw Boon Haw finished the construction of Haw Par Mansion, now known as Villa Haw Par, the magnificent East-meets-West edifice in Tai Hang that is also a showcase for the allure of big cats, complete with the...

Hong Kong is still healing from the trauma of the Wang Fuk Court fire that claimed 168 lives nearly a year ago. The difficult process has been taken a step further with the release of the final report of an independent committee of inquiry led by a High Court judge, and the response of the government, revealed on Thursday by the city’s leader and his administration. The concept of accountability has hung heavily over proceedings. It is only natural after such a catastrophe for people to expect...

No protester sets out expecting a friend to be arrested, injured or caught in a confrontation with the police. Yet when that happens, the reasons for returning to the streets can change. People may return not only because of the cause that first brought them out, but because they believe a friend has been treated unjustly. That is how anger becomes personal, and how a protest can move towards a dangerous cycle of action and reaction. This is the risk confronting France. The student protests...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Global venture capital is surging in 2026, fuelled by concentrated investment in AI, digital infrastructure, robotics and other frontier technologies. At the same time, agentic AI, tokenisation, stable coins and programmable finance are accelerating the movement of capital across borders, giving rise to an emerging ‘agentic economy.’  Against this backdrop, CVCF 2026 aims to further energise and accelerate venture...

Investors are gearing up for a high-stakes financial summit in Hong Kong next week, an event that has historically coincided with gains in the city’s stock market while underscoring its standing as a global financial hub. The annual Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit enters its fifth year on Monday with a welcome dinner, followed by two days of panel discussions with senior executives. Major economic trends, shifts in financial markets and the impact of technological advances on...

China’s newly opened Pinglu Canal handled more than 1 million tonnes (1.1 million short tons) of cargo in its first month of operation, giving the country’s southwestern hinterland more direct access to international markets, particularly in Southeast Asia. The milestone was reached on October 17, when a laden cargo vessel passed through a key lock on the canal in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, heading towards Qinzhou Port on the Gulf of Tonkin, known in China as the Beibu...

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is distributing second-hand briefcases, salvaging screws and steel bars, and reusing holiday decorations to keep costs down as part of a thrift campaign emphasising growth through frugality. It forms part of a broader cost-cutting effort in the Chinese military under Beijing’s 15th five-year plan covering 2026 to 2030, which calls for building the armed forces through “diligence and thrift” and pursuing a path of “high efficiency, low cost and...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] With its upcoming flagship exhibition DesignInspire 2026, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will offer trade professionals to design enthusiasts and members of the public the opportunity to view and experience the design ideas and influences shaping our living environment.    Co-organised by the Hong Kong Design Centre and with the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) as lead sponsor,...

A raft of reforms to overhaul Hong Kong’s building maintenance sector has been hailed as a bold first step in tackling bid-rigging and other deep-rooted problems, but observers said its success would depend on the determination and persistence to implement them to restore public trust. They said the reforms signalled a departure from the government’s long-standing reliance on the self-discipline of industry professionals, but highlighted a notable absence of measures to tackle falsified...

Australian mushroom murderer Erin Patterson lost a bid to overturn her convictions and had a harsher sentence imposed on Friday, failing to prove she was wrongfully jailed for killing three people with a poisoned lunch. Patterson was found guilty last year of murdering her husband’s parents and elderly aunt, deliberately lacing their beef Wellington meal with highly toxic death cap mushrooms. The 52-year-old maintained her triple murder convictions were a “miscarriage of justice”, urging the...

A Hong Kong judge who has overseen high-profile national security trials, including the collusion case of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, has been promoted to the Court of Appeal. A Judiciary statement on Thursday said the chief executive had accepted the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission to appoint Court of First Instance judge Alex Lee Wan-tang to his new role, with his appointment taking effect on Friday. Handpicked by the city leader to adjudicate...

While many parents still question whether to give their children access to artificial intelligence, Malaysian tech worker Pravin Ganesan has embraced it to solve a very practical problem: helping his eight-year-old daughter with homework he sometimes struggles to explain. Pravin, 42, taught her a few basic prompts and checked the answers closely, finding that generative AI is particularly good at breaking down difficult concepts into child-friendly terms. “It has helped her learn and understand...

John ‘Stingray’ Ray Onifa will tackle the Barclays MoonTrekker on Friday, but he said it was “much more difficult” to talk about navigating Hong Kong’s hills and valleys than actually doing it. And that’s despite the Philippine star, who is considered one of the best trail runners in Asia, carrying a long-term back injury that still leaves him “feeling the pain”. Onifa also has a perfect record to defend, having won the 50-kilometre race on his debut in 2018 and the 40km version five years...