In the Media

The history of global commerce over the past half-century features two indelible spectacles. The first is the global sweep of American titans like General Motors, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Starbucks, Nike, Apple, and Tesla. The second is the aggressive overseas expansion of Japanese giants such as Toyota, Sony, and Fast Retailing.

In recent years, the landscape of two-way investment between China and the rest of the world has undergone significant changes, leading to an expansion in the scope of Hong Kong’s role as a bridge. To analyze this evolution and the development opportunities it brings, one must examine the data trends of China's realized foreign direct investment (FDI) and outward foreign direct investment (ODI).

Developing captives allows the market to elevate Hong Kong’s value chain in the insurance business. Nurturing talent, refining regulatory regimes and bolstering demand will help the city’s nascent industry ecosystem grow. Oswald Chan reports.

Standard Chartered announced mid-last month its plan to reduce over 15% of its back-office and support roles by 2030, a move affecting nearly 8,000 employees. During an investor briefing, Chief Executive Bill Winters stated that the bank’s strategy is "not simply about cutting costs," but rather about replacing "low-value human capital" with financial and investment capital under specific circumstances.

Dr. Tingting Fan of HKU Business School told CNA that young consumers spend differently from older generations, willingly paying for merchandise and celebrity encounters—consumption that greatly benefits the local economy.

Prof. Echo Wan, Associate Dean (MBA) and Director of the Institute of Behavioural and Decision Science at HKU Business School, shared her perspective on the Beyblade craze sweeping Hong Kong in 2026. Against a backdrop of widespread digital fatigue, Prof. Wan noted that Gen Z digital natives — having grown up immersed in touchscreens and online games — are drawn to physical objects not out of nostalgia, but out of an innate human curiosity that tactile, "low-tech" experiences uniquely satisfy. She pointed out that the social and physical are deeply intertwined, and that meaningful tangible objects help people establish a sense of "self-continuity" — a connection to the past that is central to identity.

Returning to Hong Kong from abroad recently, I experienced Libpet’s APS (Autonomous Passenger Service) robot at the Hong Kong International Airport. This wasn't a conceptual product sitting in a showroom; it was operating in a real-world airport environment. After inputting the destination, the robot navigated the route and carried the passenger directly to the designated area.