In the Media

Could cryptocurrency mining have become a driving force for carbon reduction in China? As the global cryptocurrency market rapidly expanded, mining evolved into a billion-dollar industry. However, its high energy consumption attracted criticism and was a key reason for the Chinese government’s ban on mining in 2021. Despite this, Prof. Guojun He highlighted that appropriate electricity pricing policies could have enabled mining activities to promote renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions.

AI image generation is rapidly evolving, driving innovation in marketing, advertising design, and art creation. HKU Business School’s Professor of Innovation and Information Management, Prof. Zhenhui Jack Jiang, along with his research team, recently assessed 22 AI models. They reviewed the performance and potential risks of AI models in image generation.

Since its launch of ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI, the US-based company, has maintained dominant leadership in the generative artificial intelligence (Generative AI) market. The field of AI innovation has long become a fiercely contested battleground, with the United States restricting China's development in this area by banning exports of high-end chips and blocking Chinese users from accessing ChatGPT—prompting Hong Kong users to rely on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for access. In 2024, however, a Chinese startup introduced the DeepSeek generative AI model, dramatically shifting the landscape and directly challenging ChatGPT's throne as the industry leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced a significant increase in tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, with tariffs on automobiles and auto parts reaching as high as 25%. This move is said to be aimed at promoting the return of manufacturing to the U.S. while reducing the trade deficit. However, in reality, it may trigger a series of profound negative consequences.

Quantamental investing—a strategy that melds traditional fundamental analysis with data-intensive quantitative methods—has surged in popularity over the past decade. Today, it stands on the cusp of a transformative era: advanced AI models, once prohibitively expensive, are becoming more capable, affordable, and widespread. This technological leap is poised to redefine how we identify and exploit market inefficiencies. Imagine a team of tireless, ever-alert junior analysts who can analyze millions of corporate filings, news articles, and social media chatter in seconds—that's essentially what these next-generation AI systems offer.

Hong Kong’s trams have been a city icon for over a century, but ridership remains 15% below pre-pandemic levels due to slow speeds from traffic congestion. Dr. Vera Wing-han Yuen, an economics lecturer at the HKU Business School, highlights a unique advantage of trams—their ability to access Happy Valley, an area not easily reached by the MTR. To improve efficiency, dedicated tram lanes could help reduce delays. She also sees AI-powered scheduling as a solution: “AI can adjust schedules based on real-time traffic conditions, ensuring smoother and more evenly distributed services throughout the entire route.”

Lecturer in Economics at HKU Business School Dr. Chi Pui Ho worked with one of Hong Kong’s property platforms, 28Hse, to develop the "Eva Property Index," which aims to reflect trends in second-hand property prices. The Index will use data from the Land Registry and other relevant real estate information covering 147 constituent estates, and use transaction volume as the main selection criterion. Dr. Ho predicts that this year, Hong Kong’s property prices will experience a moderate rebound. He believes the modest growth of the Hong Kong economy, along with interest rates not experiencing a steep increase, will help support an increase in property prices.

In today's world where big data and artificial intelligence are deeply integrated, data has become the core asset of corporate development. With continuous breakthroughs and widespread applications in AI technology, the value of data has risen to unprecedented heights. Nearly all enterprises are now committed to leveraging data analytics to extract valuable business insights.

As a coastal city with low-lying terrain, Hong Kong is frequently affected by extreme weather events and has experienced multiple climate disasters in the past decades. Prof. Guojun He, Professor in Economics, Management and Strategy, HKU Business School & Director of the HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, Ms. Qidan Wang, Ms. Vivi Hu, and Mr. Cheng BI explain that two climate risks are particularly concerning: the occurrence of severe typhoons and rising sea levels. In this regard, the authors have studied how typhoons and sea level rises would affect public housing and conduct scenario analysis on the potential economic losses under different climate pathways. Their analysis shows that the potential damages caused by sea level rise can be more severe, especially in the long run. Under the high carbon-emissions pathway, it is also projected that the asset loss due to sea level rise for the three selected public housing estates would be significantly higher than that caused by typhoons. If climate risks are tackled appropriately, they can be transformed into development opportunities.