Hong Kong exchange marks progress in luring more listings from abroad

National rail operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy filed for a Hong Kong listing in June 30. Photo: Handout

The Hong Kong stock exchange is drawing a growing number of foreign companies from across Asia and North America that are seeking international capital, as the bourse marks progress in its ambition to be a global magnet for fundraising.
The latest firm seeking to join the cohort is Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the Central Asian nation’s railway operator and owner of the country’s largest fleet of locomotives and rolling stock, which filed for a Hong Kong listing

In Malaysia’s Johor, Chinese voters prize affordability over politics

Workers repair a rooftop next to the Strait of Johor separating Singapore and Malaysia, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Koo can see Johor changing around him, even if the promised wealth has not reached his bank account.

The 30-year-old service worker has lived for 25 years in Skudai, a busy Johor Bahru suburb anchored by universities, older housing estates and the kind of Chinese shoplot economy that helped make the Democratic Action Party (DAP) a force in Malaysia ’s southern state.
He sees cranes, rail works and projects built
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Northern Metropolis’ science and education focus key to Hong Kong’s future

Illustration: Craig Stephens

Francis Neoton Cheung is the chairman of Doctoral Exchange, a public policy research collective, and a former member of the Land and Building Advisory Committee.

China’s new development narrative places science and education at the centre of long-term competitiveness. This is a systemic project powered by technology, grounded in education and driven by talent as the country’s foremost resource.
Hong Kong’s traditional identity as an international financial centre is no longer

Chinese clinic extracts 12 teeth from man after he complains of ache in one tooth

A Chinese clinic has been punished by authorities after it extracted the 12 remaining teeth from a 63-year-old man with high blood pressure and heart disease, and withdrew all the money from his accounts.

The man, surnamed Li, from Baoji, northwestern China’s Shaanxi province, went to the Datuanyuan Dental Clinic to have an aching tooth checked last September.

Li recently told Chinese media outlets that he believed the clinic’s ads, such as “Get a dental implant in the morning and eat


Low prices fail to deter thieves from stealing Malaysia’s premium durians

Falling durian prices have done little to deter thieves in Malaysia , with a Penang trader losing baskets of prized Black Thorn variety in two break-ins just days apart.

Wenny Ooi, 27, said thieves targeted her family’s stall twice on June 25 and June 29, marking the first break-ins since they started the business six years ago.

In the first incident, two baskets of Black Thorn, also known as Or Chi, were stolen but footage from the surveillance camera shows only one thief


Uniqlo defies sluggish China market with double-digit profit growth

The logo of the Fast Retailing clothing brand Uniqlo outside a branch in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo posted higher revenue and double-digit profit growth in mainland China over the three-month period ending in May, defying sluggish domestic consumption and lingering bilateral tensions.

Same-store sales rose, driven by enhanced marketing and “buoyant demand” for summer products in May, when temperatures started to rise. Easy pants, UV-protection items, T-shirts and other summer products all saw strong sales, according to the


The radar system that Taiwan says tracked the PLA’s ballistic missile launch

Beijing has not confirmed the type of missile used in the test but a senior Taiwanese security official says it was a JL-2. Photo: Kyodo

Taiwan gained critical information about Beijing’s ballistic missile launch this week thanks to the island’s long-range early-warning radar system and intelligence sharing with Washington.
The island’s AN/FPS-115 Pave Paws long-range early-warning radar detected the missile soon after it was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine in the South China Sea, the Liberty Times reported on Wednesday, quoting a senior Taiwanese official

Why did only 2 Hong Kong developers put up their hands for Northern Metropolis project?

Illustration: Mario Cameira
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Philippines looks to space for bird’s-eye view of South China Sea threats

A Philippine coastguard personnel monitors Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on June 15. Photo: AFP

The Philippines is preparing to create a military space centre by 2028, a move that could help Manila strengthen surveillance, communications and command across its archipelago and in contested areas of the South China Sea .

But analysts said the ambition would be constrained by the technical, financial and manpower hurdles of turning space assets into military capability.

The proposal, he said
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How the RMB Business Facility will help consolidate Hong Kong’s financial role

Hong Kong’s updated yuan financing tool for banks, featuring a quota 150 per cent larger than before, was launched on Friday, giving a significant boost to the use of the Chinese currency in daily global business.

What is the RMB Business Facility?

The RMB Business Facility is a funding window run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) that allows participating banks to borrow yuan at the relatively cheap Shanghai three-month interbank offered rate, which is about 2 percentage points lower than the US Federal Reserve