媒体报导

The shrinking salaries of China’s financial professionals have made the jobs in this sector losing lustre. Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School, commented that such pay cuts may drive away skilled financial professionals, and depress supply of risk capital and other financial services. He said, “[Over time], tech start-ups and the real economy will also suffer if there is fewer risk capital and financial products to support them.” China’s financial industry used to be providing generous salaries to bankers and financial brokers in a push to incentivise performance and internationalise operations. Prof. Chen said that a market-oriented way is better than top-down directives to decide compensation for financial professionals. “China needs to loosen regulations, increase competition to drive down the price of financial services [to benefit people and businesses],” he said.

Hong Kong is winning back wealthy people thanks to the city’s policy initiatives including tax concessions, top talent visa and residency programs, and the establishment of Family Office Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s assets under management grew 2.1% to HK$31 trillion (US$4 trillion) in 2023. Driven by a strong performance of private banking and wealth management, net fund inflows jumped more than 3 times to nearly HK$390 billion last year. While Singapore stepped up efforts to combat money laundering, it has seen a major shift from the pandemic years since Hong Kong relaxed the quarantine rules and reopened the border with efficient transportation to mainland China cities. Prof. Zhiwu Chen, Chair Professor of Finance at HKU Business School, said the mainland billionaires’ enthusiasm for setting up family office business in Singapore has waned, as they prefer less government checks to their personal wealth. “If Singapore would do as many checks and tighter regulations as the mainland, then why would they want to go there?” Prof. Chen said.

Investment bankers at China International Capital Corp. are pledging their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party amid reshaped the business and cultural landscape in China. Prof. Zhiwu Chen, a chair professor in finance at HKU Business School, said, “There has been a political redefinition of finance.” He added, “The future of CICC is that there’s no more CICC in a few years’ time”.

A股上市公司逐渐形成现金分红的氛围，相关监管和税务政策亦成为投资者关注的议题。近年，中国证监会发布了多项措施，强化对上市公司现金分红的监管，并推动上市公司提高分红比率，这体现了监管者致力保障个人投资者利益。

过去45年，中国经济年均增长率超过8%，拥有庞大的国内市场,但其消费仅占GDP的39%，为全球最低之一。中国能否维持6%或7%的增长率呢？港大经管学院副院长及亚洲环球研究所总监邓希炜教授认为,中国仍然有经济增长潜力，但由于人口老龄化及民众追求长寿导致高储蓄率，因此目前已变得非常困难。邓教授建议三项关键措施以重整中国经济:改善公共医疗质素及减低医疗开支、促进更多以内需主导的增长，以及为低收入群创造更多就业机会，以解决城乡收入差距问题。

Physical bank branches and ATMs have seen their numbers dwindling as the public embraces e-payment platforms and financial institutions cut costs. Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, said, “The banks have found it unnecessary to add branches as they reduce costs.” A refocus on mobile payments among other online transactions, he said, “has in effect served to reduce face-to-face services at banks”.

内地出入境管理局公布，由7月10日起，港澳外籍居民可获签发「港澳居民来往内地通行证（非中国籍）」,港大经管学院副院长（对外事务）邓希炜说，其在港外籍同伴每次到内地工作或演讲，过关手续需时，例如在深圳湾或皇岗口岸，他自己只需一分钟就可入境，外籍同伴却需花约半小时。新措施只适用于香港永久居民，即需住满7年，对于门坎会否太高，邓希炜指今次属第一步，期待日后会有更多放宽政策。

有言社企制定人力资源的政策，可能比一般中小企困难，惟面对疫后经济格局及职场文化所掀起的变革，社企又应如何制定行之有效的策略，吸引并留住人才？有重点研究工作动机及人力资源管理的港大学者指出，社企应专注于发挥其独特的竞争优势，例如让员工从事有意义的工作。

在成熟的股票市场，不少上市公司进行现金分红，为投资者带来经常性收益并增强其信心。去年拟进行分红的A股上市公司共有3859家，较前两年增加565家，现金分红总额达2.24万亿元人民币，较前年增加5.16%。这趋势与中国证监会长期以来通过政策引领的努力密不可分。