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Hong Kong’s fresh university graduates who hoped to begin new careers in the coming months are coming to terms with the likelihood of years of hardship because of the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Lockdown measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the Philippines have been extended to May 31, 2020, in three urban areas that have been struggling with Covid-19 outbreaks. The extension applies to the capital Manila, nearby Laguna province and the central city of Cebu. But people in Manila voiced mixed…
Japanese digital game giant Nintendo sold 21 million of its Switch consoles in the financial year ending in March 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic, which forced people around the world into home isolation, was credited for better than expected sales for the console, and its fastest-selling game title, Animal Crossing: Ne…
A water market at the famous Dal Lake in Indian-administered Kashmir has managed to stay open even as a week-long strict lockdown went in place to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Vendors at the market say they are following social-distancing measures, but otherwise are seeing business…
Hong Kong’s economy has taken its worst hit ever amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to advance estimates released on May 4, 2020. The city saw an 8.9 per cent contraction in the first quarter, worse than the 8.3 per cent low point recorded in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis. But since the city has seen …
China has seen a boom in transactions for used goods on online trading platforms, such as Idle Fish, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to hit the country’s retail sector. Also known as Xianyu, Taobao’s digital flea market said its user numbers have exceeded 200 million, with more than 20 million people using it …
The global oil industry was already volatile before the coronavirus pandemic started, but now it faces its biggest challenge in recent memory. In late April 2020, oil prices plunged to the point where it now costs producers money to store a glut of the commodity in facilities that are running out of space. While inv…
People in Bangkok are lining up for free food after losing their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Thai government introduced a cash handout scheme to mitigate the economic impact, but many in the country say they are left out of the measure.
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam introduced five newly appointed ministers on April 22, 2020 to help revive the city’s coronavirus-hit economy.
Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam introduced five newly appointed ministers on April 22, 2020 to help revive the city’s coronavirus-hit economy.
China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, the first contraction in decades as the Covid-19 pandemic forced factories and businesses to close. Chinese farmers have also been hit hard by the pandemic, with the agriculture sector seeing a similar 6.8 per cent first quarter contraction. The So…
China’s economy shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on April 17, 2020. The contraction is the first in the world’s second-largest economy since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, as well as since official quarterly gross domest…
A wet market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan struggling to rebuild business despite the lifting of a months-long lockdown to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. But there are lingering fears about the deadly coronavirus that causes the disease. And amid reports that Covid-19 originated from one of Wuhan’s wet markets,…
The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 was first detected in Wuhan, China in late 2019, and took only a few months to spread into a global pandemic. Health experts say modern advanced transport including air travel has greatly increased the pace of the pandemic. Though governments around the world imposed lockdo…
Many people in Thailand are selling their gold jewellery as the economy plunges amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses affected by the country’s lockdown are also forced to sell their gold valuables.
Hong Kong’s government has unveiled its most expensive coronavirus financial relief package so far, earmarking HK$137.5 billion (US$18 billion) to save failing businesses in the city. The financial secretary of Hong Kong Paul Chan Mo-po told the South China Morning Post in an interview on April 15, 2020 that he is “…
Construction is under way on a part bridge, part tunnel transport link that will stretch for 24km (15 miles) connecting the Chinese mainland cities of Shenzhen and Zhongshan in the Pearl River Delta. On April 12, 2020, workers submerged the first section of what is expected to be one of the world’s widest undersea t…
Thermal infrared images from China’s Ministry of Natural Resources offer a look at how economic activities are getting back on track in several of the nation’s economic development zones, as the country slowly opens for business following lockdowns to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
A bakery in Finland is providing a bit of comic relief in spite of the pandemic by offering homebound customers some cakes that resemble toilet rolls. Inspired by a round of panic buying of toilet paper in March 2020, the novelty items have been enough of a hit to save the shop from financial ruin after business dri…
An 11-week lockdown for the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the initial coronavirus outbreak, was lifted on April 8, 2020. But the lives of many people in the city are still far from back to normal, as measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 severely harmed the economy. Among those picking up the pie…
Hong Kong’s government has announced its biggest coronavirus financial relief package so far, earmarking HK$137.5 billion (US$18 billion) to save failing businesses in the city. Chief Executive Carrie Lam unveiled the relief package on April 8, 2020, saying it also aims to ensure that some 1.5 million workers contin…
As the global Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world, China is reportedly getting its own outbreak under control. But as lockdowns are lifted and daily life resumes in the country's financial hub Shanghai, business is still far from usual in the city.
Millions of people around the world face joblessness and major companies are being forced to take major financial assistance from governments. Many small and medium-sized businesses have already closed their doors forever, as many others are forced to contemplate their immediate futures amid the continuing Covid-19 …
The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the survival of one of Taiwan's best-known cultural scenes, the night market. To avoid spreading the deadly virus that causes Covid-19, tourists and locals alike are staying home and away from crowded places. Some hawker stalls at the Ningxia Night Market in the capital Taipei…
Covid-19 is now a rapidly evolving global pandemic that has forced countries around the world to order lockdowns and travel restrictions in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes the disease. The measures and anticipated steep falls in production have created major uncertainty for the global economy…
Authorities in Surakarta, Indonesia, have culled hundreds of bats found at a local animal market, in what they call a bid to curb the pandemic.
Combined data for January and February 2020 showed that industrial production, retail sales and asset investment all declined far more than analysts expected. As many economic experts expected, lockdowns ordered to control the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 proved to be a constraint to economic growth. As John Car…
The Chinese economy has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with most companies and factories suspending operations and asking workers to stay home since late January 2020 in a bid to contain the coronavirus that causes the disease. As China gradually gets the spread of the disease under control, business has sl…
Hong Kong stocks will remain volatile as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, according to analyst Kenny Wen. The wealth management strategist at Everbright Sun Hung Kai also said mum and pop investors should be wary about rushing in to buy on dips. Wen said the current market is especially…
US President Donald Trump announced on March 11, 2020, that all travel from 26 European countries to the United States will be suspended for the next 30 days to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension does not apply to travellers from the UK. Trump also promised to provide financial help for Covid-19 patien…
The United States had confirmed 728 coronavirus infections and 29 deaths as of March 10, 2020, with the worst-hit states being Washington, California and New York. As the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise across the nation, events were being cancelled and schools were closed. The federal government has been…
Months of anti-extradition protests, capped by the Covid-19 epidemic, have caused many in Hong Kong to reconsider whether they should continue to make the city their home. Christine Smith-Mann was born and raised in Hong Kong, but now plans to sell her flat in the city and split her time between Hong Kong and the UK…
Stock markets fell sharply on March 9, 2020, as Russia and Saudi Arabia disagreement on curbing oil production sparked fears of a price war and the worst one-day crash in crude prices in nearly 30 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 2,000 points, its biggest single-day percentage decline since …
Hong Kong’s economy has suffered its worst deficit in 15 years, and the city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan has predicted further deficits for the next five years. The grim economic outlook underscored the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on businesses and institutions already suffering the effects of months of a…
Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled the 2020-21 budget on February 26, 2020. He announced a HK$120 billion (US$15 billion) relief package to ease the burden on individuals and businesses amid the impact of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic and 2019’s Hong Kong protests with a cash handout of HK$10,000 …
A Chinese research team has suggested that the deadly new coronavirus may not have originated from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in the central city of Wuhan that was the epicentre of the Covid-19 outbreak. The research team reportedly analysed 93 samples of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR…
Financial experts are predicting the Chinese economy will grow at a slower pace in the first quarter of 2020, and it is inevitable that it will see a negative impact from the coronavirus epidemic. But which sectors will be affected most and what does this mean for the global economy? The South China Morning Post spo…
Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay Pacific Airways is scrambling to ride out a financial storm caused by the coronavirus outbreak, coming right on the heels of months of anti-government protests in its home city as well as the US-China trade war. As the region tries to prevent the spread of the virus that causes th…
Banking giant HSBC is cutting 35,000 jobs, primarily in the United States and Europe, and eyeing expansion in growth markets in Asia. The South China Morning Post’s Finance Editor Alison Tudor-Ackroyd and Senior Business Reporter Chad Bray discuss the bank’s latest reshaping under interim Chief Executive Noel Quinn.
After an extended Lunar New Year holiday, China is trying to get employees back to work as the nation tries to handle the deadly coronavirus outbreak. Economists say resumption of work is crucial since most small and medium enterprises in China were expected to be able to only hold out for a month in the current sit…
The South Korean government disinfected grocery stores selling meat and food ingredients imported from China at Seoul’s Daerim Market on February 5. Amid the coronavirus outbreak, workers sprayed disinfectant in the food market near the village where many Chinese nationals live.
Casinos will close for 15 days in Macau to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus after a hotel worker was locally infected. The city’s leader said on February 4, 2020, that the shutdown order would begin at midnight and will apply to 18 types of premises including bars, cinemas and massage parlours, as well a…
New World expands its land bank in China’s Greater Bay AreaIn a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, New World said it has entered an agreement with Guangzhou Metro Corporation to buy a 65 per cent stake in a key site above a rail station
International corporations including Starbucks, Shanghai Disneyland, Google, several airlines and car companies have been shutting down their operations across China due to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. The World Health Organisation declared it a global health emergency on January 30, 2020.
The weeks leading up to the 2020 Lunar New Year are busy for Hong Kong’s Wah King Garden Arts Company. Sean Man is a second-generation manager of the large family-owned nursery in Sheung Shui that also owns seven flower shops in the city’s Prince Edward flower market. Flowers and plants play a huge role in the annua…
Officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan have imposed a complete travel ban on people entering or leaving amid a coronavirus outbreak linked to a seafood and meat market there. The ban took effect on the morning of January 23, 2020, and there was a rush of people trying to leave the city of over 11 million bef…
Extradition hearings involving Huawei’s chief financial officer got underway in Vancouver, Canada on January 20, 2020. The proceedings are being held to determine whether Meng Wanzhou will be extradited to the United States on fraud charges.
A Rwanda-based smartphone manufacturing company is hoping to win over customers with its Mara Phone, the first device made entirely in Africa. The company is marketing its phone as a higher-quality alternative to Chinese models which have a strong grip on the continent’s mobile phone market. Mara’s main competitor i…
