In the Media

Can money make the world go around? Do economic gains always drive people to make rational decisions? We have too little time for too much information and people usually rely on their intuition to make choices.

In the past, Hong Kong and Western countries followed neoliberal economic policies. However, due to changes in the geopolitical and economic landscape, as well as frequent disruptions to supply chains, many governments have shifted their focus to economic security and have implemented industrial policies in recent years.

Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute, shared about the Hong Kong economic policies in an interview with EDigest. He pointed out that Hong Kong's economic "upstream" faces numerous issues, such as loans, rent, and raw material supply. These factors have kept the operating costs high for "downstream" businesses. Resolving these problems in a society that upholds small-government free-market principles is undoubtedly a tremendous challenge.

“The November election pressure may force Biden to be more aggressive on the US-China trade front, as this is one issue that American politicians can win easy points,” said Chen Zhiwu, the chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, after Yellen and her Chinese counterparts failed to address some major issues.

Hong Kong has the highest retail fuel prices globally. When oil companies adjust their retail prices, they tend to raise prices simultaneously. Some might argue that the persistently high fuel prices in Hong Kong are due to the high land costs for gas stations. However, when examining the revenue record of oil companies, this argument seems invalid.

Carolyn Wright speaks with Professor Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean at HKU Business School in part one of a two part discussion about their recent Green Paper on accelerating Hong Kong’s economic growth.

The Bank of Japan recently ended its eight-year negative interest rate monetary policy, sparking interest among international investors in the future trends of the yen exchange rate and the performance of the Japanese economy.

本港稅基狹窄，較易受經濟周期性影響，有意見指港府應全面檢視稅務制度，擴闊稅基。港大經管學院副院長（對外事務）、馮國經馮國綸基金經濟學教授鄧希煒認為，當本港經濟環境改善，便應研究開徵消費稅，可考慮以1%至2%起步，相信市民有能力負擔，並探討是否針對部分消費項目及徵收的對象。