The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has expressed interest in financing projects in the Northern Metropolis mega development, Hong Kong’s finance chief has said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also told the media on Sunday that global finance leaders had set aside their political differences during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) finance ministers’ meeting held in Hong Kong last week and reached a consensus on promoting digital infrastructure, employment...

Israel said on Sunday all land crossings with the West Bank will be closed on the day of next week’s election, as it pledged a harder line on militancy after Palestinian gunmen killed two soldiers in the territory. The announcement came a day after Israeli forces pushed into the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and displaced around 2,000 residents, with Defence Minister Israel Katz saying, “they will not be allowed to return … until we’ve finished dealing with all the Hamas issues in...

About 1 million employees in Hong Kong will be allowed to move their entire Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) balance to a different provider once a year under the “full portability” arrangement, effective from December 21 for the first phase of implementation. The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the city’s mandatory pension plans, said on Sunday that the “full portability” arrangement would be carried out in two phases to ensure a smooth and orderly implementation. In a...

Hong Kong’s major property developers are shifting investment in mainland China from residential projects to commercial assets, including hospitality, as weak home sales and fewer attractive investment opportunities prompt them to focus on existing properties, recurring income and debt reduction. “In recent years, after we recycled the capital from our projects, we haven’t really found many good opportunities on the mainland,” Stephen Ng, chairman and managing director of Wharf Holdings, said at...

The tanker detained by Indonesian authorities that was used in an attempt to smuggle 1.16 tonnes of ketamine is owned by a Malaysian-registered company. Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department director Hussein Omar Khan said the two directors of the company that owns the MT Global 168 are Malaysians. He said the company’s office is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s Johor state. According to Hussein, the tanker had previously applied for registration under the Malaysian flag but had...

Tran Dai Thang spotted two young people who had picked up their drinks at a pop-up cafe beside his travelling bookstore and were about to leave, so he called them over. One of them said they did not read books, Thang recalled. But he kept the conversation going and eventually persuaded the visitor to buy a book for 10,000 dong (US$0.40) – heavily discounted from its original price of 45,000 dong. For Thang, an artist and publisher, the small sale mattered far less than the fact that someone who...

Hong Kong’s regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has referred a case to law enforcement agencies after a mainland Chinese influencer was suspected of offering to bring non-local surrogate mothers of LGBTQ parents to give birth in the city. Tan Zubiao, also known as berlinsun, had set up a company in the city and advertised on social media commercial surrogacy services for LGBTQ couples, according to Hong Kong media. Tan and his foreign husband, who have two children through surrogacy, were...