Hong Kong

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in January fell 10.5 percent to 630 from December and were down 22.6 percent compared with a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The number of bankruptcy orders totalled 613 in January, down 33.4 percent from a year earlier. Hong Kong's economy has bounced back strongly from the global financial crisis. Last November, the Hong Kong government revised upwards its full-year 2010 GDP growth forecast to 6.5 percent from a previous forecast of 5-6 percent.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions totalled 704 in December, up 3.4 percent from November but down 22.4 percent compared with the same month last year, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The number of bankruptcy petitions totalled 9,102 for the whole of 2010, down 42.3 percent from a year earlier. Bankruptcy orders stood at 9,163 for the year 2010, down 43.3 percent from a year ago. Hong Kong's economy has bounced back strongly from the global financial crisis.

Hong Kong audit firm JBPB & Co., formerly called Grant Thornton, is suing six former partners for a minimum HK$640 million ($82.3 million) alleging that they failed to "act honestly and in good faith" to advance the plaintiff's business interests, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The suit, filed on Dec.

The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday it sees increasing risks of a property bubble in Hong Kong due to continued liquidity inflows and rock-bottom interest rates coupled with tight housing supply, and it urged the city's government to take further measures to rein in the booming real-estate market if asset-price inflation continues, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Allied Farmers, which took on the Hanover and United loan books in a failed bid to become a major lender, faces losing another $7 million after HSBC pulled the credit line on one of the firm's subsidiaries, ShareChat.co.nz reported. The Hong Kong-based lender called its $19 million loan facility to Matarangi Beach Estates after Allied refused to put up the same guarantee as the previous owners, Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin, who had poured the vehicle into Hanover to try to keep it afloat.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in July fell 1.07 percent to 833 from June and were down 43.5 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The number of bankruptcy petitions totalled 5,664 for the first seven months of 2010, down 46.8 percent from a year earlier. Bankruptcy orders stood at 5,629 for January-July, down 46.6 percent from a year earlier. Last week, the government raised its full-year economic growth forecast for 2010 to 5-6 percent from the previous forecast of 4-5 percent.

Hong Kong risks a property bubble if home prices keep rising, said Peter Wong, HSBC Holdings Plc’s chief executive officer for the Asia-Pacific region, Bloomberg reported. The Hong Kong government is trying to curb 42 percent surge in home prices since the beginning of 2009 amid concern housing is out of reach of ordinary residents. Prices may rise 10 percent in the second half of this year if interest rates remain at two-decade lows and the local economy keeps growing, according to property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in April fell about 18 percent from March, but were down 48 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. Petitions totalled 770 in April, down from a high of 1,872 recorded in March 2009 when the economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Hong Kong pulled out of recession in the second quarter of last year. Hong Kong's economy expanded 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the year-earlier period. The government has forecast GDP growth for Hong Kong of between 4 and 5 percent for 2010.

China’s biggest developers are borrowing record amounts in Hong Kong, taking advantage of lower interest rates to circumvent a lending crackdown at home, Bloomberg reported. While banks demand at least 5.2 percent in annual interest for three-to-five year money in mainland China, the cost of credit in Hong Kong dollars has fallen to the least since November 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. agreed to an HK$8 billion ($1.03 billion) loan in February that pays 1.45 percent at current market levels, the data show.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in March rose 38.1 percent from February, but were down 50.1 percent from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. Petitions totalled 935 in March, down from a high of 1,872 a year earlier when the economy was hit hard by the global financial crisis. Hong Kong pulled out of recession in the second quarter of last year. The notice gave no explanation for the month-on-month increase. Read more.