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South China Morning Post

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Firms spent heavily on AI. Now rising costs are outpacing its value

AI is getting expensive – and companies are starting to rethink their embrace of the disruptive technology. Playing by a well-worn Silicon Valley playbook, artificial intelligence companies charged rock-bottom prices to hook customers after ChatGPT burst onto the scene. Kevin Simback of start-up incubator Delphi Labs calls it the era of “subsidised intelligence” – meaning investors were basically footing the bill so companies could offer AI on the cheap. “But the tides are beginning to turn,”...

South China Morning Post

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2 footballers, bookie jailed up to 17 months in Hong Kong match-fixing scandal

A Hong Kong court has jailed two footballers and a betting agent for up to 17 months in the city’s largest match-fixing scandal in recent years, ruling that they deliberately undermined the integrity of the sport. Former Hong Kong Under-23 player Brian Fok, Brazilian player Luciano Silva da Silva and betting agent Waheed Mohammad returned to West Kowloon Court on Friday to be sentenced on five charges arising from a high-profile crackdown that saw 23 people arrested on suspicion of illegal...

South China Morning Post

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IT/기술

Asia faces ‘costly paradox’ over divergent AI rules in US and EU

Asian technology firms are facing a “costly paradox” as they try to navigate an increasingly uneven global AI rule book, with divergent compliance requirements in the European Union and the United States threatening to blunt their competitive edge. Analysts say the challenge is acute for Asian companies. While the EU has a single, comprehensive and legally binding artificial intelligence framework based on the landmark EU AI Act, US technology-related laws are decentralised at the state...

South China Morning Post

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For a yuan in deeper markets, ex-Fed’s Evans cites dollar playbook amid risks, criticism

China has a unique window to internationalise its currency by deepening domestic financial markets, according to a former senior US central bank official who pointed to the evolution of the US dollar and the euro for lessons to be gleaned. The comments from Charles Evans, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, provide a fresh perspective in the growing discussion over whether and how the world’s second-largest economy can transform the yuan into a global currency. Speaking on...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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HK tops world in cross-border wealth management

Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world's largest cross-border wealth hub for the first time, fuelled by capital inflows from the mainland as well as a fundraising boom in the city, according to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In its 2026 Global Wealth Report, the group noted that wealth managers booked US$2.95 trillion worth of international assets in the SAR last year, up almost 11 percent year on year. That narrowly surpassed Switzerland's US$2.94 trillion in cross-border wealth during the same period, which rose by 7.6 percent year on year. Both Hong Kong and Singapore are projected to continue growing as cross-border booking centres at around nine percent annually through 2030, compared with an expected six percent average for Switzerland over the same period. This, BCG projects, would widen the gap between the SAR and Switzerland to almost US$600 billion by 2030, supported by the mainland's strong manufacturing capacity, a revival in the SAR's initial public offering (IPO) market, as well as Asia's rapidly growing wealth. “Hong Kong is cementing its role as China’s gateway to global markets, though that same concentration ties its trajectory tightly to economic and regulatory developments on the mainland,” the authors said. “[Meanwhile], geopolitical uncertainty reaffirms Switzerland’s role as a core global booking centre, attracting flight-to-safety flows from more volatile regions such as the Middle East,” BCG said, adding that Switzerland would continue to draw clients from all regions. Commenting on the report, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the country's national 15th Five-Year plan clearly indicated support for Hong Kong to strengthen its role as an international asset and wealth management centre, which also is the backbone of the city's "finance plus" strategy. He added the rapid development in industries including innovative technologies and artificial intelligence has led to an increase in wealth and he believes the demand for wealth management services on the mainland and throughout Asia would continue to grow, which would benefit relevant industries in the city. He said the SAR government would continue to seize opportunities to consolidate the city's status as a global financial centre and attract more wealthy individuals and family offices to set up shop here. According to the report by BCG, cross-border wealth globally rose 8.4 percent to US$15.7 trillion last year, driven by increasing demand for geographical diversification.(Additional reporting by Reuters) Edited by Tony Sabine

South China Morning Post

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Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as world’s largest cross-border wealth hub, BCG finds

Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub, driven by an initial public offering (IPO) bonanza and capital inflows from mainland China, according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Cross-border wealth booked in Hong Kong climbed 10.7 per cent in 2025 to US$2.95 trillion, narrowly beating Switzerland’s US$2.94 trillion after rising 7.6 per cent last year, the international consultancy said in its latest global wealth report released on Wednesday. “These...

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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Calls for greater transparency in permit-quota review

A think tank said on Wednesday that the government should provide more details on how often it plans to adjust a quota system for ride-hailing permits to offer the market greater transparency. Authorities have proposed rolling out up to 10,000 permits in the first phase. Assistant research director Jason Leung from the Our Hong Kong Foundation described it as "a prudent quota, but a tight one", given the city's 18,000 licensed taxis. Leung also said the government should offer the public more information about the quota review system. "To make that review clause credible, it should pre-commit to specific and measurable figures," he said. "For instance, if citywide peak-hour booking success rates drop below a defined threshold, or if average waiting times exceed a set benchmark, at which point the quota is automatically, or there's a mechanism for it to be raised. "So a regular, perhaps quarterly review, guided by objective metrics, would give passengers and platforms the confidence that the 10,000 number is not a completely unchangeable one, that it can be adjusted in the future based on real-life metrics." The government has proposed a HK$1.2 million annual licence fee for platform operators, which Leung said is not a significant amount for larger operators offering hundreds of thousands of trips each month. "It can be easily absorbed into operational costs, so it's not a barrier to a major operator. "But if you are talking about smaller operators or new entrants to the market, it could be potentially burdensome, especially for emerging platforms with limited revenues." He said the government could set up a tiered or revenue-linked fee structure to allow smaller platforms to operate. On top of monitoring operational data to be shared by platforms, Leung said authorities should track the metrics of taxi in evaluating how they perform, so as to better assess whether ride-hailing services and cabbies co-exist. Edited by Edmond Fong

RTHK News (Hong Kong)

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LPG subsidy to start on Sunday

The government announced on Wednesday said a two-month fuel subsidy for taxis, minibuses and school vans running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will start on Sunday. It said that oil companies will offer a HK$0.50 discount for each litre of LPG at all 66 filling stations, and there's no need to apply or register. “The temporary measure aims to alleviate the operating costs of local passenger transport commercial vehicles which primarily use LPG as fuel, and reduce the pressure for fare increases,” a government spokesman said in a statement. About 16,900 cabs, 3,440 minibuses and 170 school buses stand to benefit. Oil companies must submit weekly reports to the government as well as auditing arrangements upon the end of the subsidy period. They are also required to keep complete and accurate books and records. "The Transport Department has steered the oil companies in completing the necessary system enhancements and testing to ensure smooth implementation," the spokesman added. Edited by Edmond Fong

South China Morning Post

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IT/기술

Meet He Tingbo: Huawei’s ‘chip queen’ trying to rewrite China’s semiconductor playbook

When He Tingbo took the stage in Shanghai this week to unveil Huawei Technologies’ Tau (τ) Scaling Law, the message was about more than a new chip development framework. It was also a statement, showing how the most prominent Chinese technology company to have been subjected to US sanctions wants to compete in semiconductors when access to the world’s most advanced chipmaking tools remains restricted, and when the industry’s decades-old reliance on shrinking transistors is becoming more...

South China Morning Post

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문화/연예

Louvre heist to be turned into film by French director Romain Gavras

Last year’s brazen robbery of the Louvre – when thieves made off with jewellery worth some US$100 million – is set to become a film, a publisher said on Tuesday. French director Romain Gavras – whose work includes 2025 Hollywood film Sacrifice starring Anya Taylor-Joy and music videos including most recently a hypnotic schoolboy choreography for GENER8ION – will draw inspiration from the investigative book Main basse sur le Louvre (literally A Grab at the Louvre). Film rights to the book about...

South China Morning Post

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문화/연예

Eating idol’s poems: inside the wild, ancient history of Chinese fan culture

China’s fandom culture predates today’s pop idols and live-streaming celebrities by millennia. In ancient times, fame was cultivated in the streets, restaurants, and poetry circles, where beauty and talent transformed poets and performers into objects of public fascination. One of China’s earliest heartthrobs was Pan Yue, a writer from the Western Jin dynasty (266–316), better known by his nickname, Pan An. Celebrated in the book, A New Account of the Tales of the World, for his striking good...

Hong Kong Free Press

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Hong Kong slams wanted activist’s ‘unfounded’ allegations about top gov’t prosecutor

Hong Kong authorities have slammed viral claims by an overseas activist, saying her allegations that a top government prosecutor used public funds to pursue a romance with a colleague amounted to “malicious smearing.” The Department of Justice (DoJ) said they have referred the matter to police. US-based activist Frances Hui alleged in a Facebook post […]

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Firms spent heavily on AI. Now rising costs are outpacing its value

2 footballers, bookie jailed up to 17 months in Hong Kong match-fixing scandal

Asia faces ‘costly paradox’ over divergent AI rules in US and EU

For a yuan in deeper markets, ex-Fed’s Evans cites dollar playbook amid risks, criticism

HK tops world in cross-border wealth management

Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as world’s largest cross-border wealth hub, BCG finds

Calls for greater transparency in permit-quota review

LPG subsidy to start on Sunday

Meet He Tingbo: Huawei’s ‘chip queen’ trying to rewrite China’s semiconductor playbook

Louvre heist to be turned into film by French director Romain Gavras

Eating idol’s poems: inside the wild, ancient history of Chinese fan culture

Hong Kong slams wanted activist’s ‘unfounded’ allegations about top gov’t prosecutor