Hong Kong’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent for May to July, 0.4 percent lower than the previous three-month period of April to June, according to figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on 17 August. The drop is attributed to the rise in local economic activity and the Hong Kong government’s wage subsidy scheme, according to Chris Sun, Secretary for Labour and Welfare.
1 August
The date the IFRS Foundation completed its consolidation with the Value Reporting Foundation. The consolidation follows a commitment made at 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference to merge staff and resources of leading global sustainability disclosure initiatives. It will support the IFRS Foundation’s new International Sustainability Standards Board’s work to develop a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital markets.
HK$4.99 billion
The loss Cathay Pacific Airways reported for the first half of the year. The figure, announced on 10 August, is 33.9 percent down from the same period in 2021 amid a rebound in passenger flights. Hong Kong’s strict travel measures for airline crew members remain the “single biggest impediment” to the company’s plans to operate more flights, according to its Chairman, Patrick Healy.
27%
The drop in net profit the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) recorded for the first half of the year. The figure, which sees the city’s bourse netting a profit of HK$4.84 billion, is lower than the HK$5.15 billion forecast by Bloomberg analysts, and its lowest interim profit in five years. The fall is the result of investment losses and lower fees from securities trading and initial public offerings, the HKEX unveiled in a post-results briefing on 17 August.
5
The number of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that plan to delist from the New York Stock Exchange this month. The voluntary delisting of the five SOEs, one of which is Mainland China’s leading energy and chemical company Sinopec, comes after all five were flagged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in May for failing to meet U.S. auditing standards.
Norman Chan
The former chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and majority shareholder of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that listed on the main board of the HKEX on 15 August. More than half of the SPAC, HK Acquisition Corp, will be owned by Chan, while the other 49 percent will be owned by Katherine Tsang, the sister of former Hong Kong chief executive Donald Tsang, and her nephew, Thomas Tsang. It is the third SPAC to complete an initial public offering under HKEX’s new listing regime for SPACs, which rolled out in January.
14,000%
The percentage gain in stock price AMTD Digital saw on 3 August, three weeks after listing on the New York Stock Exchange. This valued the Hong Kong-based company, which develops digital businesses, including financial services, at more than US$407 billion by the end of trading day, before losing value a week later. Though the cause of the surge in value is unclear, it meant the three-year-old company was briefly worth more than Wells Fargo & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., despite reporting just US$25 million in revenue for the year ended April 2021.
Third Agenda Consultation Feedback Statement
The title of the statement published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The statement outlines the IASB’s priorities for the next five years and three main strategic priorities. More information can be found in Technical news.
“Make no mistake, though: The proof will be in the pudding.”
– Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said in a statement after regulators in the U.S. and Mainland China reached a landmark deal this month. The agreement will allow the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the U.S. auditor watchdog, to access audits of Chinese companies listed on American exchanges. The agreement breaks a longstanding deadlock between the two countries. Mainland China has not allowed foreign regulators to scrutinize the audits of Chinese companies, citing state secrets, while the U.S. has said it will delist Chinese companies that fail to comply.
