The four-day Sotheby's Hong Kong autumn 2007 sale was concluded Tuesday, with more than 940 lots sold worth of HK$1.55 billion (about US$200.23 million).

HONG KONG, China (AP) -- Hong Kong police have arrested two men accused of trying to smuggle more than 7,000 live pet turtles to mainland China, the government said Friday.

Marine police intercepted the two men Wednesday as they were loading about 300 cartons onto speedboats, a government statement said. The cartons were filled with clear plastic containers containing the tiny dark green turtles, each smaller than a human palm, a photograph published in the Ming Pao Daily News showed.

by Blood-Horse Staff
The chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club said tax rates and regulations need to be reviewed in order for the racing entity to compete at a time of great change.

During the HKJC annual meeting Aug. 30, John C.C. Chan, chairman of the club, noted achievements during the 2006-07 racing season in Hong Kong but said the business climate could be further improved by the addition of five racing days and an increase in the number of imported simulcasts. The government has declined to approve those measures.

By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
HONG KONG — No one has a bigger stake in China's rocketing economy than Hong Kong's business elite. So a blast of bad news about unsafe made-in-China products — particularly Mattel's (MAT) recall this week of hazardous toys — has rattled this former British colony.
Mattel's recall announcement on Tuesday hit one of this city's best-known tycoons: billionaire Francis Choi, Hong Kong's "Toy King," who owns the factories that manufactured thousands of die-cast toy cars that were recalled after being found to contain excessive levels of toxic lead.

Hong Kong economy expanded briskly in the second quarter of 2007, with GDP speeding up to a 6.9 percent growth over a year earlier, up from a revised 5.7 percent in the first quarter, the government said Friday.

The overall GDP growth in the first half turned out to be 6.3 percent, also better than previously expected, and the growth forecast for the whole year was revised from 4.5 - 5.5 percent to 5 - 6 percent, said government economist Kwok Kwok-chuen.

By Associated Press | July 31, 2007

BEIJING -- The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group said yesterday that it is moving toward a long-anticipated initial public offering, with plans to sell shares of its business-to-business unit in Hong Kong.

Alibaba, founded in 1999, has thrived amid China's export boom by helping to match foreign customers with Chinese suppliers of goods, ranging from toys to industrial raw materials.

Its success has made founder Jack Ma one of China's most prominent business celebrities.

MANILA (AFP) - Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore households enjoy the highest living standards in the Asia-Pacific while those in emerging powerhouses China and India remain poor, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) survey Tuesday.

The poll measured the "actual final consumption of households" of 23 Asian economies to determine their well-being and living standards. The final measure includes items purchased as well as those supplied by governments, such as education and health care.

The London-Headquartered Lion Capital and the Hongkong-based Grandford International Promotions Ltd. on July 10 signed a business contract to co-establish funds mostly for real estates development and stock exchange.

The potential funds will have a designed capital of US $100 million each and also help in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) equitisation and be in support of the private economic sector.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Cathay Pacific Airways are committed to providing halal (permissible in Islam) food for Muslim travellers to Hong Kong.

Muslim travellers could have their pick at 28 halal food outlets and vegetarian restaurants offered by the airline and HKTB including the Beijing Beef Restaurant, The Curry Pot and the Islamic Centre's canteen.