February 2023
09Feb

UK MPs and peers find HSBC complicit in Hong Kong human rights abuses

HSBC is complicit in human rights abuses against Hong Kong residents by siding with Chinese authorities and denying pension payouts to those who fled the authoritarian crackdown, an inquiry by peers and MPs has concluded. The report by the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Hong Kong took issue with the fact that banks including HSBC – which help to manage the compulsory pension fund that all residents pay into – have bowed to local authorities and refused to recognise the...

February 9, 2023
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December 2022
15Dec

Departing Hong Kong residents took $378 million from pensions in Q3

Residents leaving Hong Kong for good withdrew a total of HK$2.177 billion (S$378 million) from their pension accounts in the third quarter of 2022, down 16.4 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday. A total of 8,600 claims to withdraw from the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) were made in the July-September quarter, compared with the 9,300 claims taking out HK$2.604 billion during the same period in 2021. The figure also compared with 8,600 claims in the April-June...

December 15, 2022
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November 2022
29Nov

70% of Hong Kong banking customers not satisfied with their online experience

Consumer confidence in digital banking has risen strongly in past two years – but large majority would trust 'Big Tech' with their finances at least as much as a bank. Hong Kong consumer confidence in digital banking is rising but trust is no longer a bank monopoly, according to a new Asia-Pacific focused Bank of the Future survey from Capco, the global technology and management consultancy. Capco surveyed 707 Hong Kong consumers to gauge their attitudes to banking services at a...

November 29, 2022
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October 2022
31Oct

Hong Kong pension fund arrears hit 3-year high as coronavirus impact continues to devastate businesses

Pension fund contribution arrears among Hong Kong employers have hit a three-year high amid the Covid-19 slump and an average of 28,500 default notices a month have been issued to non-compliant businesses since April, the city’s pensions supervisor has revealed. Ayesha Macpherson Lau, the chairwoman of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, wrote on her official blog on Sunday she was concerned the increase in defaulting companies could weaken retirement protection for employees and promised to take steps to help...

October 31, 2022
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06Oct

Hong Kong Pensions See Record Plunge of 22% – SCMP

The territory’s Mandatory Provision Fund lost $32.98 billion, equating to $7,197.63 per person, the South China Morning Post reported Hong Kong’s pension fund lost 21.5% on average in the first nine months of the year, its worst performance in 22 years, The South China Morning Post reported. The country’s Mandatory Provision Fund (MPF) lost $32.98 billion, equating to $7,197.63 per person, said the report. Analysts attributed the loss to the plunge in stock markets in Hong Kong and on mainland China,...

October 6, 2022
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September 2022
08Sep

South Africa’s Eskom Recovers $1.7 Million From Ex-CEO’s Pension

South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has recovered 30 million rand ($1.7 million) that it paid six years ago to boost the pension of former Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe. The nation’s High Court in July reaffirmed a 2018 ruling that the payout to increase Molefe’s early-retirement benefit was unlawful, Eskom said in a statement on Twitter on Wednesday. Read also Ghana. Pensions industry loses US$800 million in 2 years to weakening cedi While the amount is unlikely to...

September 8, 2022
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08Sep

Departing Hong Kong residents took $269 mln from pensions in Q2

Residents leaving Hong Kong for good withdrew a total of HK$2.114 billion ($269.31 million) from their pension accounts in the second quarter of 2022, up 0.9% from a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, a sign that more people were moving put of the financial hub. Curbs to control the spread of COVID-19 are partly blamed for a net outflow of 113,200 people from Hong Kong between mid-2021 and mid-2022, according The city had a population of around 7.29 million...

September 8, 2022
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June 2022
15Jun

Hong Kong Pension Pot Shrinks 11% on China Market Turmoil

It’s been a bad year for Hong Kong residents counting on Greater China for their retirement savings. The mandatory provident fund -- Hong Kong’s pension system -- has lost about 11% since the start of 2021, walloped by China’s industry crackdowns and Covid Zero policy, which overshadowed gains in US assets. That erased HK$130 billion ($17 billion) in total, or about HK$28,300 for each account at the end of May, according to researcher MPF Ratings Ltd. The retirement losses add to...

June 15, 2022
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09Jun

Hong Kong passes long-awaited labour bill to scrap MPF offsetting mechanism, protecting workers’ pensions

Move ends decade-long debate between bosses and unions, preventing employers from dipping into staff pensions to cover severance and long-service payments Three legislators from pro-business Liberal Party were among those who opposed bill Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a long-awaited labour bill that will stop bosses from dipping into staff pensions to cover severance and long-service payments, ensuring the city’s workers have better retirement protection. The Legislative Council on Thursday voted 72-5 to approve the Employment and Retirement Schemes Legislation...

June 9, 2022
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May 2022
12May

Impact of financial investment on the individual’s confidence of happy retirement life

By Yan-Leung Cheung, Billy S C Mak, Hao Shu & Weiqiang Tan The study examines the impact of financial investment on the individual’s confidence in happy retirement life using data from 735 respondents in the Bank Consortium Holding Limited (BCT) Public Opinion Survey on Retirement Happiness in 2017. The result shows that holding the investment portfolio with savings and risky assets is positively and significantly correlated with the individual’s confidence of happy retirement life, and this relationship is more pronounced...

May 12, 2022
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