One profession I would never fancy taking up in my next life is this: Chinese medicine doctor. Well, the prescriptions they dole out can be quite perplexing for patients at times, while on some occasions the...

A good business concept does not always work in Hong Kong, no matter how powerful the owner is. Spare a thought for Bernard Chan, convenor of the Executive Council and president of Asia Financial Holdings, which...

A nano-flat project being undertaken by a not-too-active developer and which carries an unorthodox name has emerged as the hottest new residential development in Hong Kong. Edition 178, a redeveloped single building in Kwai Chung, has...

Think it’s unbearably hot in Hong Kong these days? Well, if it would make you feel a bit better, it’s arguably hotter in Shanghai, one of the most populous cities in the world with 24 million...

Perhaps no one except Hong Kong people understands better this famous line from the American TV series Prison Break: “We are captives of our own identities, living in prisons of our own creations.” Why? Because many...

Small means more expensive in Hong Kong. We are not talking about housing; we’re talking about food – dim sum, in particular. Like residential flats, there are different ways of pricing Chinese delicacies. Prices are mainly determined...

There’s no hard and fast rule about how much a company director or top executive should be receiving by way of remuneration. Some, like CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. (00001.HK) group managing director Canning Fok Kin-ning, take home nine-digit...

Every square foot of land in Hong Kong is pricey. In what could be the city’s single largest transaction on bicycle parking space, a group of property investors is said to have paid HK$7.69 million to...

Something is awry this summer. Ice-cream doesn’t cool us down anymore, and cold drinks don’t help, either. A dip in the swimming pool is like a session in a hot tub.  If you’d rather stay home,...

Think you can never afford a home in the prestigious Island South? Think again. There we have Woodland Villa, located at 53 Shouson Hill Road, which is putting up homes for a monthly rental as low...

As debate rages over the proposed “co-location arrangement” at the West Kowloon Terminus, the fears and apprehensions of Hong Kong people can perhaps be summed up in this one simple question: Can we use still use...

What is the formidable CNN afraid of in Hong Kong? Well, it just seems to be this: the ever-rising property rental costs. For 18 years, the global news network has operated out of Taikoo Place, settling down...

Fancy having a badminton court beside your home? Well, you might want to consider a new residential development in Shum Shui Po, a district known for having some of the smallest flats ever built in the...

All told, heading a university is an honorable dream for an educator. But the road to becoming a vice chancellor can be rough. How rough? Think about the tough time Robert De Niro gave Ben Stiller...

It is disheartening to see the list of Grand Bauhinia winners this year who supposedly contributed the most to the well-being of this city. Many observers cried foul upon seeing the 12 recipients of the Grand...

As I leave Toronto on a flight back to Hong Kong, I cannot help but feel odd – bothered and bewildered, if you will.  Canada, as you know, is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and...

Do not blame only mainlanders for creating the biggest housing bubble in Hong Kong in 20 years. It’s time to look more closely at the problems within our own society and how we locals may have...

Late is better than never. More than ten years after the government implemented a five-day work week in the civil service, we are finally seeing our property firms waking up to the merits of giving employees...

Twenty years after its handover to China, Hong Kong has become one of the most expensive and least affordable places on the planet. With a more than 20 percent surge in home prices in the past...

When it comes to Cathay Pacific and its Marco Polo Club, many people have a lot to say. There are roughly two groups – the die-hard fans and the complainers. There’s third group: I want to...