Willie Walsh: China’s Covid policy cost Hong Kong aviation hub status WILLIE WALSH China’s zero-Covid policy has cost Hong Kong its status as an aviation hub, according to veteran Willie Walsh. A former chief executive of BA’s owner IAG, Walsh is now at the helm of airline trade body the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The director general blamed China’s Covid policies for “devastating” the Hong Kong aviation [...]
Prudential shares continue to slide as Covid hits insurer’s profits Insurance Shares in Asia-focused insurer Prudential continued to slip over the previous day as investors maintained their scepticism towards the firm’s claims its recent losses are simply the result of Covid. The London listed firm’s shares have lost more than 30 per cent of their value since the start of 2022, as stringent Covid policies across [...]
PwC to face Hong Kong probe over Evergrande audit Evergrande Hong Kong’s audit watchdog has launched an investigation into PwC over its audit of embattled Chinese real estate developer Evergrande. The city-state’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today said it had opened an investigation into the Big Four accountancy firm’s audit of the heavily-indebted property firm’s 2020 results. The probe comes after PwC signed off [...]
MPs urge Liverpool FC to cut ties with Standard Chartered over support for Hong Kong security law July 31, 2022 MPs have urged Liverpool football club to break its sponsorship deal with Standard Chartered over the the bank’s past support for a draconian national security law in Hong Kong. In a letter to Billy Hogan, the football team’s CEO, MPs and peers from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong highlighted that following mounting authoritarianism [...]
Exclusive: Pro-democracy activist Nathan Law labels HSBC a ‘cheerleader’ for Chinese Communist Party July 27, 2022 HSBC is “cheerleading” for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) campaign to strip away Hong Kongers’ human rights, Nathan Law, a pro-democracy activist, told City A.M. today. Law, a former member of Hong Kong’s parliament, accused Britain’s largest lender of putting profits ahead of taking a stand against Beijing eroding the city’s citizens’ freedoms through the [...]
London Metal Exchange faces second lawsuit this week after Jane Street sues over nickel trading fiasco June 7, 2022 New York trading firm Jane Street Capital has followed its Wall Street rival Elliot Management in filing a lawsuit against the London Metal Exchange (LME), over its decision to halt trading of nickel and cancel trades in March. The high-frequency trading firm is suing the LME for $15.3m (£12.2m), after the Hong Kong Exchanges and [...]
Addleshaw Goddard shutters Hong Kong offices due to ‘unique’ challenges posed by city-state May 26, 2022 City law firm Addleshaw Goddard has shuttered its Hong Kong offices with a view to sending lawyers to London, Singapore, and Dubai. John Joyce, managing director of the centuries old law firm, said Addleshaw had decided to close its Hong Kong offices due to the “unique set of challenges” it has faced since first opening [...]
US lawyer pulls out of Hong Kong government forum after activists brand it a ‘propaganda event’ May 23, 2022 The head of US law firm Davis Polk’s Asia division has pulled out of speaking at a Hong Kong government forum commemorating the coming into force of the city-state’s controversial national security laws, after pro-democracy activists branded it a “propaganda event”. In a post on Linkedin, Martin Rogers, the chair of Davis Polk’s Asia business, [...]
Hong Kong stock exchange to open US and Europe offices May 23, 2022 The Hong Kong stock exchange is planning to set up two new international offices in the US and Europe, in an effort to draw overseas investors back to the City state. Speaking to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) at Davos, Nicolas Aguzin, the head of Asia’s third largest stock market, said the new offices [...]
HSBC’s biggest shareholder tells bank to spin off Asian business April 30, 2022 China’s largest insurer has told HSBC it should break itself up and separate out its Asian operations. Shenzhen headquartered insurer Ping An has told HSBC’s board it believes the London and Hong Kong listed bank should split itself up, in order to free up the its Asian business. The Chinese insurance giant, which owns a [...]