In the Media

Geopolitical risks have prompted Asian family offices to switch their investment focus. “Many billionaires have moved their family offices to Hong Kong, so they can manage their investments globally," said Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School. The number of family offices in Hong Kong has surged to more than 2,700, which is nearly 2.5 times more than Singapore.

The norm of ‘going north’ distresses local businesses. Yet, the author believes limited long-term impact on Hong Kong's economy. The development of local service industry actually is more correlated with the city's ability to grow its future economy and sustain long-term global competitiveness.

Prof. Michael Wong commented in a recent South China Morning Post SCMP article that the current situation is unsustainable unless there are system reforms to free up public resources such as raising rents for well-off tenants, tightening eligibility criteria, and refocusing on building more ownership units to help better-off tenants upgrade and vacate.

Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School, acknowledges this long-standing shift, stating, "This has been going on for at least about 8-10 years," referring to an industrial policy factoring in "war preparation."

When will rate-hiking cycle end? The US Federal Reserve has just announced that it will keep the current interest rate unchanged, which has been at a 23-year high for the sixth straight meeting. An interest rate cut is expected to occur later than originally anticipated. What determines whether interest rates are raised or lowered? The goal of the Fed’s monetary policy is commonly known as the dual mandate - pursuing maximum employment while maintaining price stability. This is mainly achieved through controlling inflation.

Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School, emphasises that the key concern is to maintain confidence in the market. While political measures to boost the economy may be well-intentioned, their effectiveness can vary depending on the specific context, economic conditions, and implementation.

Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School, commented that gold represented the only safe asset for Chinese consumers to protect their wealth against domestic inflation, asset price declines, as well as uncertainties in the global landscape.

Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of the HKU Business School and Director of the Asia Global Institute, recently shared insights on this issue with China Daily. Drawing from behavioural economics, Prof. Tang highlighted how short-term factors like childcare access, living environments, and educational costs influence couples' decisions to raise children. He remarked, "With a better living environment, the fertility rate can also be boosted...When young couples feel those short-term issues can be resolved, they may decide to raise children."

The 2nd Quarterly Forum on Chinese Economy, held on 26 April. Professor Mao said that China's economy exceeded market expectations in the first quarter of this year, achieving a growth rate of 5.3%. However, the ongoing cyclical and structural adjustments in China's economy are still in progress, and it is currently in a phase of downward cycles and bottoming out. Professor Tang said that the trend of global trade is undergoing a fundamental shift, characterised by a transition from traditional globalisation towards a more service-oriented regionalisation and digitalisation.