Hong Kong's retailers are battling against shifting consumer habits, as visitors spend less and locals head across the border to China for cheaper dining and shopping, leading to a wave of store closures, Reuters reported. A 36-year-old Chinese seafood restaurant chain and a popular high-end food court in the bustling Causeway Bay district closed this week. Other recent closures in the financial hub include cinema chains, a major catering group, a 41-year-old bakery and a three-decade-old congee chain.
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Hong Kong recorded 949 bankruptcy petitions in May, up 17 percent from the previous month, marking the first time since 2022 that monthly filings exceeded 900, data from the Official Receiver's Office shows, The Standard reported. The figure is also 9 percent from a year ago. However, the number of bankruptcy or receiving orders issued by the court dropped to 712 last month, down over 24 percent from April, though still up around 14 percent year-on-year.

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A subsidiary of a Hong Kong conglomerate that is embroiled in U.S.-China tensions over its Panama Canal port assets denied allegations Wednesday that it had failed to pay about $1.2 billion to the Central American country, the Associated Press reported. Panama’s comptroller authority announced on Monday that an audit of Panama Ports Company found irregularities in the renewal of a 25-year port concession in the interoceanic canal. The authority's accusations came the same day as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's arrival in the country to participate in a security conference.
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First Digital Trust (FDT) has redeemed almost $26 million in stablecoin withdrawals after its FDUSD token briefly lost its US dollar peg following allegations of insolvency by Tron founder Justin Sun, CoinTelegraph.com reported. First Digital USD briefly depegged on April 2, falling as low as $0.87 after Sun claimed that First Digital was insolvent. On April 4, Sun doubled down on his allegations, claiming the firm had transferred over $450 million of customer funds to a Dubai-based entity and that it violated Hong Kong securities regulations.
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