In the Media

The pressure on Hong Kong’s catering industry is unprecedented: rising rents, wages, and ingredient costs are squeezing profit margins, while increasing labor costs make it difficult to recruit and retain staff. Consumer spending is shifting northwards, and tourist spending has yet to fully recover. The entry of mainland brands has intensified competition. The macroeconomic outlook is uncertain, and consumer preferences are changing, with people becoming more frugal. In an effort to turn things around, some groups have launched promotions at several of their upscale restaurants.

When institutional investors cast their votes against company directors, they increasingly do something that was once rare: they explain why. These "voting rationales" — brief written explanations accompanying dissenting votes — are emerging as a surprisingly effective tool for driving corporate governance reform, according to new research analyzing nearly 800,000 such disclosures.