EJ Insight

Business

Why we shouldn’t worry about the RMB’s recent tumble

Jan 28, 2015 6:43pm

The renminbi has fallen sharply against the US dollar over the past few days. While some investors have been expressing concern, Bank of China argues that the slide will be temporary and that we can expect...
Sectors that we should bet on in the Stock Connect era

Yim Fung - Jan 28, 2015 6:11pm

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect has a huge impact on the market despite limited amount of actual capital movement. The scheme has opened the door for mutual access for investors, which will pave the way for...
Why investors should shift to utilities from property sector

Hao Chenglin - Jan 28, 2015 6:00pm

The residential project in Tung Chung developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties (00016.HK) is selling out quickly. SHKP rolled out 300 units in the first batch, with an entry price of HK$4 million. The firm received 14,000 applications....
Tencent’s new WeChat-based ad service shows promise

Doug Young - Jan 28, 2015 5:22pm

A couple of media reports are shining a spotlight on Tencent’s (00700.HK) WeChat, and some of the new steps it is taking to monetize the hugely popular service that is rapidly expanding beyond its roots as...
How companies can guard against costly blind spots

Estelle Metayer - Jan 28, 2015 3:16pm

In a car, blind spots are the areas of the road that the rearview and side-view mirrors do not show. A driver must constantly be aware of them – and of the potentially deadly perils they can...
Renminbi slide: What are the reasons?

Jan 28, 2015 3:15pm

Following sharp declines last Friday and this Monday, the renminbi has hit the lowest level since June 2014. There are four short-term factors that caused the slide of the currency, according to Liu Hong, an economist...
Chinese growth: How much will it drop?

Joseph Lian Yizheng - Jan 28, 2015 2:11pm

Premier Li Keqiang had sought to shore up confidence over the Chinese economy when he addressed global business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. But what are the actual prospects for the...
Taobao refutes fake goods claim by China watchdog

Vey Wong - Jan 28, 2015 11:32am

Taobao.com, the e-commerce platform of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is denying its online store is flooded with fake goods. It used a social media post by a vendor to question the sampling size used by China’s industry...
Clearer guidelines urged for Qianhai to attract Hong Kong firms

Vey Wong - Jan 28, 2015 11:10am

Federation of Hong Kong Industries chairman Stanley Lau Chin-ho has urged the management authority of Shenzhen’s Qianhai special economic zone to specify the types of industries that it is seeking. The vague definition of the high-end service industries...
Big investors plow US$350 mln into Shanghai food delivery firm

Jan 28, 2015 9:21am

Ele.me, a food delivery service based in Shanghai, said it has raised US$350 million in Series E funding from Chinese firms CITIC, Tencent, JD.com, Dianping.com and legendary US venture capital firm Sequoia Capital (an early backer...

World

Watch gaffe leaves Taipei mayor, UK official red-faced

Jan 28, 2015 2:55pm

Taipei’s mayor is going back to etiquette school and Britain’s transport chief is keen to learn more about Taiwanese culture. These are the unintended consequences of a diplomatic gaffe that left both officials red-faced and Taiwanese...
Scores of foreign fighters among Kobani dead

Jan 28, 2015 8:31am

A high number of foreign jihadists were among those killed in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobani, French news agency AFP reported Wednesday, citing a senior United States official. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units...
China to hold military parade to ‘frighten Japan’

Jan 28, 2015 8:23am

China will hold its first large military parade since 2009 this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, AFP reported. One of its key goals is to “frighten Japan”, the...
Kaisa failed to unblock sales during talks with Shenzhen govt

Jan 28, 2015 8:15am

Chinese property developer Kaisa Group failed to convince Shenzhen officials to unblock sales of its projects during talks on Monday. Top executives of the troubled company held a meeting with Shenzhen officials in Longgang district in...
Japan Inc shifting to merit-based pay

Jan 28, 2015 7:48am

Top Japanese companies are moving away from seniority-based pay into a merit system. Companies such as Toyota, Hitachi and Panasonic are joining others in shaking up the country’s labor market in response to reform calls by Prime...
iPhone sales soar, driving Apple profit to record

Jan 28, 2015 7:35am

Apple posted the largest quarterly net income of any public company in history as record iPhone sales beat forecasts, the Financial Times reported. “Demand for iPhone has been staggering, shattering our high expectations,” Apple chief executive Tim...
China closes door on western values

Ray Kwong - Jan 27, 2015 4:07pm

If you think life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is a good thing, then shame on you. That’s the gist of new directives from Beijing, which in no uncertain terms seek to put the kibosh...
Mexico shuts Chinese trade center project near Cancun

Jan 27, 2015 3:16pm

Mexican authorities have shut down a huge trade center development project that had been planned as a showcase for Chinese products, Associated Press reported. The Dragon Mart project, near the resort city of Cancun, was shut...
Hoax call to Cameron prompts UK security review

Jan 27, 2015 1:27pm

Security officials are reviewing procedures after a hoax caller pretending to be the head of a British intelligence unit managed to speak to Prime Minister David Cameron. The caller pretended to be the head of the...
Shenzhen police official in hot water over journalist beatings

Jan 27, 2015 12:00pm

A senior police official is under investigation over an incident in which Shenzhen policemen allegedly attacked three journalists who found them having an expensive restaurant dinner on public money. Wang Yuanping, chief of Dongshen police bureau,...

Commentary

Tencent’s new WeChat-based ad service shows promise

Doug Young - Jan 28, 2015 5:22pm

A couple of media reports are shining a spotlight on Tencent’s (00700.HK) WeChat, and some of the new steps it is taking to monetize the hugely popular service that is rapidly expanding beyond its roots as...
How companies can guard against costly blind spots

Estelle Metayer - Jan 28, 2015 3:16pm

In a car, blind spots are the areas of the road that the rearview and side-view mirrors do not show. A driver must constantly be aware of them – and of the potentially deadly perils they can...
Why Leung lambasted Undergrad

Aih Ching-tin - Jan 28, 2015 1:51pm

This year’s policy address is a box office failure: it was delivered two weeks ago, and public response remains lukewarm. Even the housing strategy that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying called the “heart and soul” of his...

Hong Kong

Cancer-stricken North Korean forger handed suspended sentence

A North Korean defector, who was fined by a Hong Kong court HK$16,000 (US$2,063) and given a two-year suspended jail sentence for forgery and fraud, told of her harrowing experience with her sister while...
HKU head ‘surprised’ by Leung criticism of Undergrad

Peter Mathieson, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, said he felt a little surprised at Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s criticism of Undergrad, a magazine published by HKU’s students’ union, am730 reported...
Banker jumps to death over suspected girlfriend problems

A 31-year-old banker jumped to his death from an office tower in Hong Kong’s Central financial district Tuesday apparently due to unhappiness over his relationship with his girlfriend, Apple Daily reported. Tim Lui, an assistant...
Why pan-democrats should not be distracted by concessions

It seems the government is willing to make some minor concessions to win pan-democrats over to the proposed electoral reform package. Sources say the government is open to discussions on a road map for...
Chinese must be made sole official HK language: Chang Chak-yan

Chinese must be named the sole official language in Hong Kong, with English serving only as a supplementary language, a pro-Beijing activist says. Chang Chak-yan, co-convenor of Silent Majority for Hong Kong, a group that...
Why Leung lambasted Undergrad

This year’s policy address is a box office failure: it was delivered two weeks ago, and public response remains lukewarm. Even the housing strategy that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying called the “heart and soul”...