Coronavirus: Hong Kong stocks plunge at reopen even as Asia markets bounce

Among the worst-hit sectors on global trading floors are firms linked to travel and tourism, as big-spending Chinese tourists stay at home with Beijing clamping down on people's movement.

Hong Kong stocks plunged Wednesday as investors in the city returned from their Lunar New Year break to a global panic over the deadly coronavirus, though most other Asian markets were lifted by bargain-buying after recent losses.

Healthy US data reinforced hopes for the global economic outlook and supported a rally across US and European markets, which provided a strong lead for Asia, while a record earnings report from Apple also helped the mood.

Still, the focus remains on developments in the virus outbreak -- which has now killed at least 132 people and infected more people in China than SARS did 17 years ago -- and concerns about the impact on the world economy.

Among the worst-hit sectors on global trading floors are firms linked to travel and tourism, as big-spending Chinese tourists stay at home with Beijing clamping down on people's movement.

The outbreak carries echoes of the SARS crisis, which paralysed regional travel and battered local economies. Chinese tourist numbers then fell by around a third.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: 132 dead, 6,000 infected in China; US weighs flight ban

The latest outbreak is expected to deal a massive blow to China's already-fragile economy, coming during the Lunar New Year holidays when millions criss-cross the country and spend billions of dollars. It also comes just as data indicated some sort of stability in the economy after a long-running slowdown.

"We expected to see strong economic momentum in China before, but now the pace of growth may slow," Banny Lam, at CEB International Investment, said.

"Markets will remain very volatile due to the uncertainty, and the swings won't subside until we have clear evidence that the virus is fading. That may happen when the weather gets warmer in the summer."

Hong Kong street protesters say 'Thank you' to Trump, wave American flags

Another banner read "President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong."

Hundreds of people in Hong Kong, including many elderly residents, marched to the US consulate on Sunday to show "gratitude" for US support of anti-government protests that have roiled the financial hub for nearly six months.

Waving American flags, with some donning Donald Trump logo hats and t-shirts, protesters unfurled a banner depicting the US president standing astride a tank with a US flag behind him.

Another banner read "President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong."

Trump this week signed into law congressional legislation that supported protesters in the China-ruled city, despite angry objections from Beijing.

"Thank you President Donald Trump for your big gift to Hong Kong and God bless America," shouted a speaker holding a microphone as he addressed a crowd at the start of the march.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds of protesters, including many families with children, marched in protest against police use of tear gas.

Carrying yellow balloons and waving banners that read "No tear gas, save our children", the protesters streamed through the city's central business district towards government headquarters on the main Hong Kong island.

There has been relative calm in Hong Kong for the past week but activists have pledged to maintain the momentum of the movement with three marches planned for Sunday. All have been approved by authorities.

Anti-government protests have rocked the former British colony since June, at times forcing government offices, businesses, schools and even the international airport to shut.

"We want the police to stop using tear gas," said a woman surnamed Wong, who marched with her husband and five year old son.

"It's not a good way to solve the problem. The government needs to listen to the people. It is ridiculous." Police have fired around 10,000 rounds of tear gas since June, the city's Secretary for Security, John Lee, said this week.

Business Standard

Connaught Place 9th most expensive office location; Hong Kong tops chart

In its annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CBRE tracks the cost of leasing prime office space globally.

New Delhi's Connaught Place (CP) is the ninth most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly $144 per sq ft, according to property consultant CBRE.

CP, located in the heart of the national capital, was at the ninth position even last year.

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In its annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CBRE tracks the cost of leasing prime office space globally.

For the second year, Hong Kong's Central district retained the top spot as the world's most expensive market for prime office rents, with the prime occupancy costs valued at $322 per sq.ft.

"New Delhi's Connaught Place - central business district (CBD) retains its ninth position in the list as last year and the office occupancy cost is valued at $143.97 per sq ft," the report said.

Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and Nariman Point CBD slipped to 27th and 40th positions, respectively.

Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) was ranked 26th and Nariman Point at 37th in 2018 ranking.

The current annual prime rent of BKC is valued at $90.67 per sq. ft and the Nariman Point CBD is valued at $68.38 per sq ft.

Indian markets continued to have greater investment grade space in the CBDs of the different cities as prominent domestic and global corporates continued to favour investment grade space for setting up front their front offices in these cities," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE.

The commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for the real estate sector, he added.

"Delhi, being a prime market, continues to witness sustained activity and retains its position amongst the top 10 most expensive markets in the world," Magazine said.

CBRE highlighted that six of the world's 10 most expensive office markets are found in Asia.

Which country is best to live in? It's Hong Kong, not Norway, says a report

The UN puts Canada and the U.S. as tied at 10th place, but Canada is ranked 17th in the world using our system, says the report.

Every year, the United Nations releases the Human Development Index.

The HDI is like a country’s report card. In a single number, it tells policymakers and citizens how well a country is doing. This year, Norway was at the top of the class, while Niger finished last.

The index first appeared in 1990. Before then, a country’s level of development was measured solely by its economic growth. By taking non-economic dimensions of human well-being into account, the HDI revolutionized the idea of what was meant by countries becoming “more developed.”

The HDI has been wildly successful in changing the way people think about the development process. However, it still suffers from real flaws. There have been numerous attempts to do its job better, including one that we published on Nov. 6.

Eliminating the flaws in the HDI make a substantial difference. For example, Denmark was ranked fifth in the world according to this year’s UN rankings, but our new index knocks it down to only 27th, switching places with Spain.

Problems with the HDI

Human development can be devilishly hard to measure. The HDI considers changes in three domains: economics, education and health. (One alternative to the HDI, the Social Progress Index, combines data on 54 domains.)

In our view, the HDI has three main problems. First, it implicitly assumes trade-offs between its components. For example, the HDI measures health using life expectancy at birth and measures economic conditions using GDP per capita. So the same HDI score can be achieved with different combinations of the two.

As a result, the HDI implies a value of an additional year of life in terms of economic output. This value differs according to a country’s level of GDP per capita. Dig into the HDI and you will find whether it assumes an additional year of life is worth more in the U. S. or Canada, more in Germany or France, and more in Norway or Niger.

The HDI also struggles with the accuracy and meaningfulness of the underlying data. Average income could be high in a country, but what if most of it goes to a small elite? The HDI does not distinguish between countries with the same GDP per capita, but different levels of income inequality or between countries based on the quality of education. By focusing on averages, the HDI can obscure important differences in human development.

Incorporating inaccurate or incomplete data in an index reduces its usefulness.

Finally, data on different domains may be highly correlated. For example, the GDP per capita and the average level of education in countries are strongly related. Including two highly correlated indicators may provide little additional information compared to just using one.... Read More

Business Standard

World's longest sea bridge between Hong Kong, China to open Wednesday'

The 55 km bridge was originally due to open in 2016, but repeated delays pushed that to this year.

A $20-billion bridge connecting Hong Kong and Macau to the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai is set to finally open this week, marking the completion of the world's longest sea-crossing bridge ever built, nine years after construction began.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend a ceremony in Zhuhai on Tuesday, along with top officials from Hong Kong and Macau, with the bridge opening to public traffic Wednesday, CNN reported on Monday.

The 55 km bridge was originally due to open in 2016, but repeated delays pushed that to this year.

It is a key element of China's plan for a Greater Bay Area covering 56,500 square km across southern China, and encompassing 11 cities, including Hong Kong and Macau, that are home to a combined 68 million people.

Proponents of the idea say the bridge will cut journey times between the cities from three hours to 30 minutes, which they say will enable commuters and tourists to easily move around the region.

Despite the focus on drive time, private car owners in Hong Kong will not be able to cross the bridge without a special permit.

Most drivers will have to park at the Hong Kong port, switching to shuttle bus or special hire cars once they are through immigration.

Shuttle buses cost $8-$10 for a single trip depending on the time of day.

The bridge project has come in for fierce criticism in Hong Kong, where there was little public demand or appetite for greater links to either Macau or Zhuhai, and fears the city will be swamped by tourists from mainland China, CNN said.

In 2016, Hong Kong saw 56.7 million tourist arrivals, compared to 37.6 million for the UK, a much larger country.

Business Standard

Typhoon Mangkhut: 54 dead, over 250,000 people affected in Philippines

With winds reaching a speed of up to 165 mph, the typhoon, dubbed as the world's strongest storm of the year, had made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday.

At least 54 people were killed in the Philippines on Sunday after Typhoon Mangkhut wreaked havoc in the island nation as the storm continued its devastating path and made landfall in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The typhoon, dubbed as the world's strongest storm of the year, had made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday. With winds reaching a speed of up to 165 mph, the storm sent debris flying, toppling roofs of houses, crashing down trees and flattening huts, CNN reported.

According to government officials on Sunday, 42 people were missing and rescue operations to trace those missing will resume on Monday. Over 250,000 people were affected by the storm across the island nation, forcing them to seek shelter in evacuation centres in the northern Philippines, a region which has seen 51 incidents of landslides.

Harry Rogue, the spokesperson for Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, told CNN that most of the casualties occurred due to landslides in Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Luzon. Duterte also undertook a visit to the affected areas to take stock of the situation and oversee the rescue operations.

Meanwhile, the governor of Benguet province Crescencio Carino Pacalso said that those missing were believed to be miners working in small villages in Itogon municipality.

As Typhoon Mangkhut made landfall in Hong Kong on Sunday, gusty winds sent debris flying, smashing trees, blowing roofs off and led to massive flooding, triggered by storm surge, inundating parts of the city. As of now, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

The storm is expected to dump torrential downpour in Hong Kong and flood warnings have been issued for low-lying areas in the city. Other cities such as Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai were also put on high alert.

Flights were cancelled in Shenzhen and Hainan in anticipation of the storm. According to Chinese media, over 2.45 million people have been evacuated in Guangdong province as the typhoon made landfall at 5 pm (local time) on Sunday.

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