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As part of a public trial held by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, China Evergrande Group founder and former chairman Hui Ka-yan admitted guilt and expressed remorse over a set of charges including embezzlement of corporate assets and corporate bribery, according to a statement issued by the court. The trial was held on Monday and Tuesday, and the court will issue its judgement at a later date. More to follow ......

Artificial intelligence, the expansion of the middle class and continued trade growth are set to underpin global economic expansion despite prolonged conflict involving Iran, according to the chairman of HSBC Holdings. Hong Kong was expected to play a central role in that trajectory, given its status as a wealth management hub, trading centre and key connector between mainland China and global markets, Brendan Nelson said at the bank's Global Investment Summit on Tuesday. The lender's flagship......

Asia's technology industry is bracing for longer and deeper disruptions from the Middle East turmoil as analysts warn that prolonged hostilities could throttle semiconductor production and the buildout of artificial intelligence data centres. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a quarter of global seaborne crude oil trade and 20 per cent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, remained effectively closed after US President Donald Trump said he would block the channel following the......

Hungary's prime minister-elect Peter Magyar has said his goal is to provide a level playing field to all foreign companies, instead of outgoing leader Viktor Orban's system which favours South Korean and Chinese firms. At a press conference on Monday, Magyar also urged a “short transition period” and vowed to review “opaque” deals and contracts signed during Orban's 16-year rule, signalling scrutiny of international partnerships, including those with China. Magyar, commenting on the general......

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) – unsung core components in all electronic devices – are emerging as the latest source of excitement in China's chip supply chain, as domestic companies capitalise on surging global demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure to pursue share listings. Victory Giant Technology, a PCB supplier to US chip champion Nvidia, kicked off bookbuilding in Hong Kong on Monday for an initial public offering (IPO) that aims to raise up to HK$17.49 billion (US$2.2......

Governments, industry and the public are in “common ignorance” about the present and future of artificial intelligence, making both international collaboration and coordination between industry and policymakers necessary, experts have said. In a panel discussion at the inaugural Hong Kong Global AI Conference at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on Saturday, Alibaba Group Holding policy lead Fu Hongyu said that China was now at the front lines of global efforts to introduce guardrails......

China's internet regulator has introduced new rules for live stream tipping, banning children under eight from the practice and introducing a tiered system for older minors, as part of a broader effort to curb manipulative inducements and irrational spending behaviour. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced the live-streaming regulations on Monday after unveiling them on April 4, banning platforms from allowing children under eight to tip content creators. Under a new tiered......

HSBC Holdings, the biggest lender in Hong Kong and Europe by assets, is committed to the Middle East and plans to plough ahead with investments despite uncertainty in the region, according to a senior executive. Surendra Rosha, co-CEO for Asia and the Middle East, said HSBC would continue to invest in the wealth business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the coming years. Rosha is heading to Saudi Arabia, where HSBC is the biggest overseas investment bank, next week to meet clients and staff......

Shanghai's secondary housing market surged over the weekend, with 1,632 transactions on Saturday – the highest daily total in five years – as activity in higher-value properties picked up. Analysts, however, remained cautious about how long the rebound could last, warning that performance was likely to diverge across cities, regions and individual projects. The latest tally surpassed earlier peaks this year, including 1,585 transactions on March 28 and 1,472 on March 14, according to the......

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) stocks rallied against a falling broader market in Hong Kong on Monday, as strong export data and rising oil prices bolstered the appeal of battery-powered and hybrid cars while a coming wave of model launches sparked hopes of a domestic demand recovery. Nio surged 6.6 per cent to HK$52 as of the noon trading break, while BYD climbed 5.6 per cent to HK$111, the highest since October 2. Chery Automobile rose 1.3 per cent to HK$32.72, while Xpeng advanced 0.5 per cent......

China's tea-drink market, with estimated annual sales of 370 billion yuan (US$54.2 billion), has become yet another example of involution as brutal price competition threatens to expel thousands of unprofitable small players. The dire scenario represents a rude reminder to those who hope to strike it rich by investing in a fast-growing business in mainland China's vast consumer market, which abounds with boom-to-bust cycles. “Bubble tea is a dynamic market, and it is never easy to make money......

A pivotal year for self-driving cars has begun in China, with the first “hands off” models approved to ply public roads, carmakers gearing up to mass-produce them and the first mandatory safety standards for autonomous vehicles out for public comment. The first carmakers were given the go-ahead in mid-December to build electric vehicle (EV) models with Level 3 (L3) autonomous driving capability. On an international scale from L0 to L5, an L3 autonomous vehicle can operate independently under......

China has launched a national action plan to embed AI across its education system, in a strategic push to future-proof its workforce amid intensifying global competition in advanced technologies. The “AI+ Education” action plan, unveiled by the Ministry of Education and four other ministerial-level bodies, mandates the integration of artificial intelligence at every stage of learning – from primary schools to lifelong education. The initiative builds on China's long-term education plan to the......

Stocks fell and oil surged on Monday as investors flocked to a haven trade after US President Donald Trump said American forces would block the Strait of Hormuz, escalating the month-long war in the Middle East after Washington and Tehran failed to reach a ceasefire. Key equity benchmarks in Asia all fell after crude oil futures soared back above US$100 a barrel, with Brent futures contracts surging 7 per cent and the West Texas Intermediate ones jumping 8 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index......

Hong Kong's reputation as a safe haven could be reinforced by the geopolitical shock waves from the US-Israel conflict with Iran, potentially supporting demand for premium office space in its core business districts, according to analysts. While the city was not insulated from global uncertainty, it could benefit over the medium term as Gulf investors reassessed geographic diversification and sought stable financial hubs, said Jack Tong, director of research and consultancy at Savills Hong......

Investors betting on a China reflation trade may be in for a reality check, as rising government bond prices and lacklustre equities point to lingering doubts about whether inflation in the world's second-largest economy can be sustained. Yields on China's one-year sovereign bonds have fallen by 5.5 basis points over the past three weeks, while 10-year yields are down 1.6 basis points. Over the same period, the benchmark CSI 300 Index has slipped about 1 per cent. Bond yields move inversely to......

While China's electric vehicle (EV) makers are struggling amid fierce competition, battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is consolidating its dominance, building its profits while erecting technological barriers to increase its pricing power. The world's bestselling power battery maker for nine years in a row, CATL in March reported a net profit of 72.2 billion yuan (US$10.6 billion) for last year, up 42 per cent from a year earlier. The figure is only 8 per cent lower than......

Chinese carmakers are rapidly gaining ground in Europe, squeezing out Asian rivals such as Japan and South Korea as exports to the region surge past 1 million units for the first time, according to an industry report. Imports of Chinese-made cars into the European Union in 2025 jumped 30.7 per cent from a year earlier to 1.006 million vehicles, according to the report published by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, known as the ACEA, on April 2. The value of those imports,......

Artificial intelligence is reshaping Southeast Asia's economic architecture — influencing how businesses scale, how small enterprises access capital and how essential services are delivered. At the South China Morning Post's China Conference: Southeast Asia 2026, leaders across technology, finance, healthcare and insurance explored what it will take to turn digital momentum into inclusive growth. Held on February 10-11 at The St  Regis Jakarta, the conference brought together policymakers and......

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] For Asia's wealthy families, alternatives are becoming an essential part of their broader wealth planning strategies. As high-net-worth investors (HNWIs) look beyond traditional asset classes, art is increasingly being viewed as more than a passion purchase or speculative sideline. Speaking at Art Basel Hong Kong 2026, Ben Rudd, General Manager of Chubb Wealth, said this shift requires a long-term, holistic approach,......