Hong Kong International Airport expects revenue to grow by 9 to 10 percent year-on-year in 2026 despite disruptions caused by the Iran conflict. Airport Authority Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer Vivian Cheung told the South China Morning Post that Hong Kong airport was expected to welcome about 70 million passengers this year, up from around 61 million last year, despite flight cancellations.
HK$1 billion
The amount the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said PwC’s Hong Kong business would set aside to compensate China Evergrande Group’s independent minority shareholders. It marks the first time an auditor of a defunct company is compensating independent minority shareholders, who were harmed by the false and misleading financial statements, said SFC Chief Executive Officer Julia Leung in a statement. In a separate announcement, the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council said it has prohibited PwC from accepting, performing or issuing auditing reports for new public interest entity clients for six months, and has also fined the firm HK$300 million.
1,000+
The number of accounting firms worldwide that have experienced private equity (PE) investment over the past 10 years, with activity accelerating significantly since 2022, according to the International Federation of Accountants’ new global research analyzing the rapid growth of PE investment in firms. “Regardless of ownership structure, the integrity, quality, and independence that underpin our work as professional accountants must remain non-negotiable,” said Lee White, Chief Executive Officer at IFAC.
T+1
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing launched a consultation proposing to halve the cash settlement cycle for share trading. It aims to implement a T+1 system, under which trades settle one business day after the transaction, in the fourth quarter of 2027, replacing the existing T+2 cycle. The reform would align Hong Kong’s US$7.5 trillion market with international peers, including the United States and Canada, which shifted to T+1 in May 2024.
HK$140 billion
The approximate amount raised by Hong Kong’s IPO market this year as of April, maintaining the city’s lead in global IPO fundraising, wrote Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, in his blog. “The developments prove that despite external volatility, with the tireless efforts of the government and the industry, the momentum of Hong Kong’s financial market is unstoppable,” Chan said.
“At a time of rising climate instability and accelerating decarbonization in key industries, a failure to account for probable losses or liabilities could put investor capital at risk.”
– Institutional investors’ letter to the Financial Reporting Council in the United Kingdom. A coalition of investors has urged the U.K.’s audit watchdog to scrutinize HSBC’s 2025 financial statements and PwC audit over climate risk disclosures. According to Reuters, the group said HSBC’s conclusion that climate change poses no material short-to-medium-term impact was “excessively optimistic,” given the bank’s exposure to physical risks such as floods and wildfires, and transition risks such as changing regulations.
¥1.69 trillion
China’s consumption tax revenue in 2025, accounting for 9.6 percent of total national tax revenue, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. In April, the State Taxation Administration exposed eight consumption tax-violation cases involving sectors such as gold jewellery, alcoholic beverages and refined oil, signalling tighter enforcement against tax evasion, and Beijing extending its reach into consumption taxes to stabilize local government finances.
