‘Super March' tourism campaign paints ‘promising' picture for Hong Kong economy
The success of mega-events under Hong Kong's 'Super March' tourism campaign paints a 'promising' picture of the city's economic future, a leading business insights provider has said, adding that Art Basel had brought in the wealthiest visitors under the drive at an average monthly income of about HK$44,000 (US$5,700).
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But a lawmaker and economist both warned that the city should avoid becoming overreliant on such fixtures to boost its struggling business sector.
MDRi, part of the UK-based Mishcon de Reya Group legal advisory firm, shared its rosy outlook in a report published on Friday.
The document included a survey that found an overwhelming majority of respondents believed Rugby Sevens was the event that had generated the highest economic impact throughout the campaign.
'The survey reveals promising optimism about Hong Kong's economic future. Notably, 72 per cent of respondents believe the Super March campaign will invigorate the city's economy,' the report said.
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'The successful execution of these events demonstrates Hong Kong's capacity to host mega-events that attract international audiences and foster economic development.'
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HKFP
2 hours ago
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Pride Month: Celebrating equal love in Hong Kong is no brainer
The clock is ticking. In just four months, the Court of Final Appeal's order requiring the Hong Kong government to implement a framework for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships will hit its deadline. The government now must make a choice: either come up with a complex new legal framework from scratch or take the straightforward, proven path that nearly 40 jurisdictions around the world have already taken. That path is the inclusion of all couples in marriage. With nearly 25 years of worldwide experience to draw from, the lesson is clear: equal marriage is the only fair, simple and equitable solution. Marriage can offer same-sex couples the clarity, dignity and full protection they deserve – and the social harmony that Hong Kong values. Only ending the denial of marriage will settle the debate. The evidence is compelling: inclusive societies attract talent, investment and tourism. Thailand's recent legislation to include same-sex couples in marriage has been hailed as a favourable advance with substantial economic implications. According to a recent study, equal marriage could bring an additional four million visitors to Thailand per year, generating roughly US$2 billion (HK$5.7 billion) in added economic value over the next two years. Tourism is a key pillar of the Hong Kong economy. As the city strives to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and reaffirm its status as a global hub, embracing equal marriage would send a powerful message: that Hong Kong is open and future-oriented. And beyond tourism, the simple inclusion of same-sex couples in marriage will make it easier for businesses to thrive. The case for marriage equality, of course, is not just about economics; it's also a matter of public health. Research from around the world has shown that equal marriage leads to better mental and physical health outcomes. It reduces the stress, anxiety and depression that arise from institutional discrimination and social exclusion. Most strikingly, jurisdictions that have ended marriage discrimination have reported significant drops in suicide attempts among LGBTQ+ youth – a powerful reminder that dignity and legal recognition can save lives. A government survey released five years after Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage in 2019 – the first in Asia – showed that the legislation had a positive impact on public attitudes. More than 69 per cent supported equal marriage in 2024, up from 60.4 per cent in 2021 and 37.4 per cent in 2018. Equal marriage also streamlines public administration. It removes the need for parallel legal structures such as civil union, which not only create administrative inefficiencies, but also reinforce stigma by treating same-sex relationships as inferior. Opponents of change often invoke 'traditional values.' In truth, what we frequently call tradition is often more fluid than we think. In Hong Kong, Chinese customary marriages weren't abolished until 1971 – a reminder that the institution of marriage has always evolved with the times. Same-sex couples share the same aspirations as everyone else: to love, commit and care for their families. These are the values the law should protect and affirm. Today, Hong Kong is ready to welcome same-sex couples in marriage. A 2023 survey found that 60 per cent of the population supported marriage equality. Likewise, a 2025 survey revealed that 70 per cent of individuals in committed same-sex relationships expressed a strong desire to marry. The popular will is clear – it's time for the law to catch up. Fortunately for the government, the right law is also the easiest one to write. It does not need to create a new non-marriage marital status that provides legal protections and responsibilities across the hundreds of legal and economic provisions at stake – a status that will perpetuate, not end, discrimination and debate. Instead, the government can enact in effect a one-sentence change to the law, affirming the right to marry regardless of the sex of the two parties seeking to marry. The legal deadline will be met, and, more importantly, the people of Hong Kong will celebrate and move forward together, to the applause of the world. With courage and leadership, Hong Kong can become the 40th jurisdiction in the world– and the fourth in Asia – to show that families are helped and no one hurt when the law respects the dignity and inclusion of all. It's time for love to win here in Hong Kong. HKFP is an impartial platform & does not necessarily share the views of opinion writers or advertisers. HKFP presents a diversity of views & regularly invites figures across the political spectrum to write for us. Press freedom is guaranteed under the Basic Law, security law, Bill of Rights and Chinese constitution. Opinion pieces aim to point out errors or defects in the government, law or policies, or aim to suggest ideas or alterations via legal means without an intention of hatred, discontent or hostility against the authorities or other communities.
Asia Times
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The woman quietly leading a BRICS bank revolution
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In May 2024, following devastating storms and floods in southern Brazil, she announced that the NDB would extend an aid package of $1.1 billion to rebuild infrastructure in Rio Grande do Sul state. The funding, coordinated in partnership with Brazilian public banks, was earmarked for everything from small business recovery to new roads, bridges and sanitation systems in the disaster-hit areas. Such a rapid mobilization of over a billion US dollars was unprecedented for the NDB in response to a member's natural disaster. Under her leadership, the NDB has aligned closely with China's priorities, reflecting the NDB's utility as a tool for China to use international institutions to achieve revisionist goals. During Rousseff's first weeks in Shanghai, Brazil and China reached an agreement to set up a clearinghouse to conduct trade in Chinese yuan and Brazilian reals, thereby reducing their dollar dependence. In May 2025, the People's Bank of China and Brazil's Central Bank signed a renewed local-currency swap agreement worth 190 billion yuan, about $27.7 billion, valid for five years and extendable. In 2024 and so far in 2025, China-Brazil trade has increased by about 10% year to year, with Rousseff being instrumental in China-Brazil dealings. Lula's government has treated the NDB as an extension of its strategic partnership with China, a venue through which Chinese capital can more safely flow into Brazilian projects under multilateral cover. By steering the bank to focus on local-currency lending and alternative payment systems, Rousseff indirectly aided Moscow's goal of a financial safety net outside of the US's reach. However, Russian entities themselves have not received new NDB loans since the Ukraine war began. India and South Africa, for their part, benefited from the continuation of multi-billion-dollar NDB funding for infrastructure, transportation and renewable energy projects but saw no obvious special boost under Rousseff compared to prior NDB leadership. If anything, some Indian analysts quietly fretted that the Rousseff-led bank became too closely aligned with China and Brazil's political understanding, potentially at India's expense, a reflection of India's wariness of overt anti-West posturing by BRICS. Perhaps the biggest new entrant on Rousseff's watch was Indonesia (also a G20 member), which, according to BRICS officials, was approved for NDB membership by early 2025. Rousseff has actively promoted this expansion, seeing it as part of her legacy of making the NDB 'a bank of the Global South' in substance. Still, Rousseff's appointment was polarizing from the start. 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But due to sanctions and geopolitical constraints, which could have potentially tanked the BRICS' prospects and more neutral image as a viable international bloc, Moscow backed her continuation. In March 2025, the NDB's Board of Governors unanimously reappointed Rousseff for a second term. Rousseff has redefined the NDB's presidency and helped elevate the bank as a key lever in China and the Global South's revisionist goals against Western financial dominance. Under her leadership, the NDB has deepened alignment with Beijing's broader strategy of building alternative global governance institutions, ones that reflect multipolarity and reduce dependence on the US-led financial institutions. Rousseff's enthusiastic support for de-dollarization, promotion of yuan- and real-denominated lending, and facilitation of Chinese-backed infrastructure in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, positioned the NDB as a complement to China's Belt and Road Initiative in a post-Pax Americana order. 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To date, and not without criticism, Rousseff has been instrumental in positioning the NDB as a challenger to Western financial hegemony, offering real competition and choice to countries in the Global South previously subjugated by an often oppressive world lending system. And with that helped to usher in a quiet but consequential revolution in the international order. Joseph Bouchard is a journalist and researcher from Québec covering security and geopolitics in Latin America. His articles have appeared in Reason, The Diplomat, The National Interest, Le Devoir and RealClearPolitics. He is an incoming PhD student in politics at the University of Virginia and SSHRC doctoral fellow on Latin American politics.
HKFP
a day ago
- HKFP
Explainer: What to know about Hong Kong taxi licences, and why their value is plummeting amid rise of Uber
The value of Hong Kong taxi licences has plummeted to a record low in recent weeks, now costing less than HK$2 million – less than a quarter of the value at their peak value. Some taxi industry bigwigs have suggested that the government could buy back the licences to offset the losses that license holders are experiencing. But what are taxi licences, who owns them, and how do they fit into the bigger picture of the industry's war against ride-hailing apps like Uber? HKFP explores the topic. What is a taxi licence? Taxi licences are synonymous with cab ownership in Hong Kong, as all taxi owners must possess a licence. They began to be issued by the government via public tender in 1964, during the British colonial era, and are now bought and sold freely on the market. There are a total of 18,163 taxi licences in the city, of which 15,250 are for urban taxis, 2,838 for New Territories taxis, and 75 for Lantau taxis. The number of licences for urban and New Territories taxis has been stagnant since 1994, the last time there was a public tender for them. In 2016, the government held a public tender for 25 Lantau taxi licences. Licences are bought like property: a buyer pays a down payment and then takes out a bank loan, repaying it in monthly instalments over years or decades. Take for example, cab driver Nigel Chan. He bought a taxi licence in August, he told HKFP, because he likes the flexibility of being able to drive whenever he wants, as opposed to renting a taxi and having to work specific hours. In addition to a down payment of HK$1 million, Chan has to pay an almost HK$10,000 monthly instalment for 25 years. The licences are permanent. Licence owners must pay an annual vehicle licence fee of HK$3,159 to the Transport Department. Who owns taxi licences in Hong Kong? Just like property and businesses, both individuals and companies can own taxi licences. As of the end of January 2024, about 59 per cent of taxi licences are held by individuals, while the rest are owned by companies. According to 2022 figures from the Transport Department, the top three companies holding the most taxi licences are Tai Wo Motors, Hung Yat Motors, and Chung Shing Taxi. They are also among Hong Kong's largest taxi companies that lease vehicles to cabbies. Tai Wo, Hung Yat, and Chung Shing have 603, 309, and 259 licences respectively. Tai Wo and Chung Shing are two of the five companies that successfully bid for the government's taxi fleet licences to launch a line of premium cabs. How are taxi licences a form of investment? Taxi licences are considered an investment tool. Cab companies that sell these licences tout the fixed number of licences, saying investors need not worry about an increase in taxis eroding investment value. Taxi licence holders can earn a monthly income by renting their vehicles to drivers. Licence owners can either find drivers themselves or pay agents or taxi firms to help lease their vehicles. How has the value of taxi licences changed over the years? The value of urban taxi licences – the most expensive of the three types – was HK$6.7 million at the start of 2015, according to a Legislative Council paper. But the value of urban taxi licences has plunged by as much as 57 per cent over the past 10 years, falling to HK$2.85 million at the end of 2024. The market price has continued plummeting this year, with an especially steep fall in May. The value reached HK$1.97 million this week. What's the reason for the nosedive? The fall in the value of taxi licences is largely attributed to the rising popularity of ride-hailing apps such as Uber, which arrived in Hong Kong in 2014. Ride-hailing apps operate in a grey area in the city, which requires vehicles offering rides to have a hire car permit. However, while drivers have been arrested, police have not conducted any major crackdowns. Drivers and customers have few issues offering or using ride-hailing services. Benson Hung, a lecturer at the Vocational Training Council who has researched the cab industry, said taxi licences were once seen as a good investment. Before Uber and other ride-hailing apps entered Hong Kong, the competition was only among cabbies, whose number was limited by the cap on taxi licences. 'There was a scarcity of resources. There was a limited supply of [point-to-point] drivers, so the value increased,' he told HKFP in Cantonese. While some taxi drivers are not opposed to ride-hailing apps, saying they provide an extra income stream as apps like Uber also allow customers to call taxis, it is taxi owners who paid millions for their licences that have the most to lose, Hung said. Increasingly, taxi licence holders might see reduced monthly returns because some taxi drivers may stop renting taxis, seeing their jobs as no longer lucrative. This would make taxi licence ownership less attractive, he explained. How has the taxi trade responded to the popularity of ride-hailing apps? The taxi trade has long urged the government to crack down on ride-hailing vehicles, calling them a threat to the industry. Chow Kwok-keung, chairperson of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, which represents taxi owners' interests, said in May that over 75 per cent of taxi owners had fallen into debt due to the impact of ride-hailing services. The government said in July that it would regulate ride-hailing platforms, for example, by introducing a new licensing system, and would announce legislative proposals within this year. However, no progress has been publicised. Amid the falling value of licences, industry bigwigs have suggested the government buy back licences. Cheng Hak-wo, chairperson of the Taxi Dealers and Owners Association and founder of Chung Shing Taxi, said in June that the government was partly responsible for the plunging value because it had turned a blind eye to ride-hailing apps. Therefore, authorities have the responsibility to protect licence holders, he argued. Lawmakers, however, have not lobbied behind the suggestion. Legislator Doreen Kong told HKFP that it depended on the 'economic environment' and whether the government had the ability to do so. 'I think the issue of taxis and ride-hailing apps needs to be looked at as a whole,' she said. 'When the government releases the framework [for regulating ride-hailing apps], then I can comment more.' In response to a reporter's question, Chief Executive John Lee said on June 10 that any decision relating to the use of public funds must be made with caution. He added that the framework the government was working on to regulate ride-hailing apps would also support the development of the taxi trade and raise the standards of taxi service.
