Latest news with #HKG
Vancouver Sun
22-05-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Flying 12 hours in business class — an honest review of the $6000 experience
I recently flew 12 hours from Hong Kong to Vancouver on Cathay Pacific in Business Class . Let me preface this review by saying: any time you get to lie flat on a long-haul flight, it's a luxury. The lounges, service and in-air food are what truly set apart a memorable experience, especially for a frequent flyer. With a steep $6,000 price tag to go from HKG to YVR (or vice-versa), you're probably wondering: is it worth it ? I was, too, as it had been a few years since I'd been on a Cathay flight. I memorably flew with them for the first time in 2006, and was so blown away, I still have a paper dinner menu from that flight. Interest around international travel is up this year, as more and more Canadians opt to skip the U.S. The Hong Kong Tourism Board shared that Canadians' intent to travel to Hong Kong this year has increased by a whopping 30 per cent. The Asian metropolis has always been one of my favourite cities around the globe: a unique history, fabulous food and shopping, and a vibrant nightlife have kept me returning over the years. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Read on for everything you need to know about Cathay Pacific's Business Class experience. My 2025 experience kicked off with a visit to the Cathay Pacific lounges – yes, there are multiple — at HKG. As their hometown airport, expectations are high – and certainly didn't disappoint compared to what we might be used to at YVR (our limited offerings include the rather un-premium Plaza Premium lounge, the fairly decent Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, as well as a smaller Cathay Pacific one, to name a few). My favourite HKG Cathay option was The Pier Business Class Lounge, which includes the airline's first-ever tea room with blends by Jing , as well as the iconic noodle bar. Both were excellent options, and a special shoutout goes to the baristas working the coffee cart: after several excursions to HKG over the years, I'm convinced this is the only quality latte at the entire airport (avoid this airport's Blue Bottle at all costs, which I typically love). Relaxation rooms, shower suites and work stations are also available here. Upon boarding, the lead flight attendant came over to introduce herself, give me a tour of the pod and offer a beverage: the non-alcoholic Cathay Delight, made of coconut milk, kiwi juice and fresh mint is always a win – but the Laurent-Perrier brut is also nice for some bubbly. Initially, I was a bit disappointed I didn't have one of the new Aria suites – currently only available on the London to Hong Kong route and expected to roll out on the Vancouver planes later this year – but the overall experience quickly made up for that. Despite the pod appearing a bit dated, I appreciated the amount of storage space. If you like to keep several items handy – for me, it's a laptop , AirPods , chargers , vitamins and skincare – you won't be fussed. As a frequent flier, I always look forward to a long-haul flight amenity kit. Cathay partnered with British-based Bamford, offering mini-sized versions of the brand's cooling gel , multi-purpose balm and pillow mist , leaning into a wellness theme. Initially, I wanted to see products from a more well-known luxury brand – but the products were quality and completely elevated the overnight experience. The leather case was a nice touch, too, and easy to reuse as a makeup bag or for smaller toiletries. In-flight service began with an always-appreciated hot towel, warm nuts and a pretty swanky meal service for being 30,000 feet above the ground. Among the many options, I opted for an appetizer and main that are tied to two well-known Hong Kong Michelin star restaurants: the chilled abalone and cucumber with black vinegar from Duddell's and the pan-seared Chilean sea bass with saffron sauce from Louise , which is my all-time favourite restaurant in Hong Kong. The Duddell's abalone certainly lived up to the hype, and is arguably one of the best items I've enjoyed in the sky on any flight. Louise's sea bass was decent, however, a tad bland, and not quite to par with what I've come to know and love from the restaurant itself (which I highly recommend on a visit to Hong Kong). Regardless, it was still an elevated choice considering – and I would get it again, but maybe add a little salt. Cheese, Häagen-Dazs ice cream or fresh fruit followed, for some simple but solid dessert options (although the ice cream was very frozen – beware!). Dining has a leisurely vibe in-air on Cathay Pacific, which is ideal for someone who wants to immerse themselves in the entire multi-course experience. For those looking to get in a full night's sleep or get some work done, however, be mindful of the time to get dishes cleared. I'm a fast eater, so I opted to use the call button to speed up the process. Where the menu truly stood out was on the all-day options, which could be requested at any time during the flight. Noodles (a popular choice) and a burger with fries are on the docket, both of which were excellent. Key detail: the fries were delicious and not soggy. For those looking to indulge in a drink, the cocktail and wine lists were extensive, edging out Canadian competitors. The Chateau Lynch-Bages from Pauillac is a tried and true choice, but for those feeling experimental, Chinese wine – not readily available in North America – is available. On the non-alcoholic front, the Hong Kong-style milk tea appeared to be a popular choice with those on my flight. Wi-Fi on the flight was solid, at least for the time I was using it. For the movie watchers, Cathay's entertainment system offered a comprehensive cross-section of choice; however, the screen was a bit slow to react to my selection, something I assume will be updated in the new Aria suites. I opted to go with some relaxing music, which was a nice alternative. Following dinner and some work, it was time to get some shut-eye. Cathay provides a hotel-style pillow, 400-thread count cotton duvet and perhaps the most important details for a high-quality snooze — a mattress pad and eye mask. Combined with the Bamford pillow spray , I got in a full eight hours with zero interruption. The sleep was so solid, in fact, I nearly dozed through breakfast. I'm glad I didn't, though, as the pre-landing meal was also impressive. In-flight breakfasts are usually nothing to write home about, however, there were a few nice touches here, like warmed cherry tomatoes, a shockingly decent croissant with butter and jam and – small detail – a tea bag dish (oversteeped tea is a no-no). Congee, a traditional rice porridge found in South and East Asia, was also available and looked delicious. Guests were invited to make a chocolate selection from a box, a nice touch before landing. After 12 hours in the air, it was time to land in my hometown of Vancouver. Overall, I was rested and relaxed, which is the top marker of success on any long-haul business class flight. Despite some marginal room for improvement — which I believe will be corrected with the new Aria suites — Cathay proved they offer a solid and competitive product in the aviation space. The experience is worth it — but not at full price. My suggestion is to keep a flexible travel schedule and use Google flights to set alerts about price drops or leverage the points and miles within the Oneworld alliance system to fly free. Beyond that, stay tuned for the Aria suites to launch on the Vancouver route later this year to get the most value out of your flight. Hoping to score a great deal on your next hotel? Check out for exclusive savings on over one million hotels worldwide. Sign up for free here . Shopping Essentials , a category written by research-obsessed shopping fanatics, is now on Canoe . Explore in-depth product reviews, expert recommendations and exciting collaborations — plus get behind-the-scenes info on your favourite brands and trending products — learn more here or sign up for our newsletter .
Business Mayor
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Returns At ICO Group (HKG:1460) Appear To Be Weighed Down
If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Amongst other things, we'll want to see two things; firstly, a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and secondly, an expansion in the company's amount of capital employed. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. Although, when we looked at ICO Group (HKG:1460), it didn't seem to tick all of these boxes. Trump has pledged to 'unleash' American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. To calculate this metric for ICO Group, this is the formula: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets – Current Liabilities) 0.062 = HK$39m ÷ (HK$961m – HK$339m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2024) . Thus, ICO Group has an ROCE of 6.2%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 6.1%, it's still a low return by itself. View our latest analysis for ICO Group SEHK:1460 Return on Capital Employed May 13th 2025 While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you want to delve into the historical earnings , check out these free graphs detailing revenue and cash flow performance of ICO Group. The Trend Of ROCE The returns on capital haven't changed much for ICO Group in recent years. The company has employed 47% more capital in the last five years, and the returns on that capital have remained stable at 6.2%. This poor ROCE doesn't inspire confidence right now, and with the increase in capital employed, it's evident that the business isn't deploying the funds into high return investments. Another point to note, we noticed the company has increased current liabilities over the last five years. This is intriguing because if current liabilities hadn't increased to 35% of total assets, this reported ROCE would probably be less than6.2% because total capital employed would be 6.2% ROCE could be even lower if current liabilities weren't 35% of total assets, because the the formula would show a larger base of total capital employed. With that in mind, just be wary if this ratio increases in the future, because if it gets particularly high, this brings with it some new elements of risk. In Conclusion… In conclusion, ICO Group has been investing more capital into the business, but returns on that capital haven't increased. And in the last five years, the stock has given away 37% so the market doesn't look too hopeful on these trends strengthening any time soon. Therefore based on the analysis done in this article, we don't think ICO Group has the makings of a multi-bagger. ICO Group does have some risks, we noticed 3 warning signs (and 1 which is concerning) we think you should know about. While ICO Group may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here.
What's On
14-04-2025
- Business
- What's On
Dubai airport deemed world's busiest airport for another year
Dubai airport is the busiest for international traffic… Dubai International Airport (DXB) has maintained its position as the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic in 2024, according to a report released today by Airports Council International (ACI) World, Emirates News Agency has reported. Preliminary figures indicate that the 2024 global total passengers are close to 9.5 billion, representing an increase of 9 per cent from 2023, and in 2025 are predicted to reach 9.9 billion. The busiest airports for international passengers in the world are as follows: Dubai Airport (DXB) London Heathrow (LHR) Incheon, Korea (ICN) Singapore, Singapore (SIN) Amsterdam, NL (AMS) Paris, France (CDG) Istanbul, Turkey (IST) Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR (HKG) Doha, Qatar (DOH) For total passengers, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport defends its top position since 2023, followed by Dubai International Airport and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The busiest airport for cargo is Hong Kong (HKG). According to global travel data company OAG, Dubai International Airport (DXB) was deemed the world's busiest international airport for 2024 back in January. 60.2 million seats were sold last year, gaining the airport the top spot in the world for the second year running. DXB was also ranked first in 2019, then 2023 and now 2024 in this report too. During just Eid, Dubai airport had one of their busiest times and saw 3.6 million people travelling through the terminals. Daily total traffic was set to average at around 276,000 guests, with the first week of April as the busiest time. > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
Globe and Mail
01-04-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Sinopec Publishes 2024 Operating Results, Hits 75 Percent Profit Distribution Rate
BEIJING , April 1, 2025 /CNW/ -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (HKG: 0386, "Sinopec") officially disclosed the Company's operating revenue in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on March 23 , hitting 3.07 trillion yuan ( USD 422.739 billion ) with profit attributable to shareholders amounting to 48.94 billion yuan ( USD 6.74 billion ) and earnings per share reaching 0.404 yuan . Sinopec stresses shareholder returns and has implemented a return-oriented action plan with enhanced quality and efficiency, a dividend return plan for shareholders in the next three years, and its first-ever market value management strategy. It is expected that a cash dividend of 0.286 yuan per share (including tax) will be paid for the whole year of 2024, which, when combined with the repurchase amount, will result in an annual payout ratio of 75 percent. In 2024, Sinopec reported record highs in terms of oil and gas equivalent production, crude oil processing volume, kerosene production, and domestic oil and gas reserve replacement rate: Produced 515.35 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent, 1,400.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, and hit record high of natural gas industry chain profit; Produced 254 million barrels of crude oil, up 0.9 percent year-on-year with domestic oil and gas reserve replacement rate reaching 144 percent; Processed 252 million tonnes of crude oil, a year-on-year increase in kerosene production of 8.6 percent; PX production hit record high; the annual ethylene output was 13.47 million tonnes, and the total sales volume of chemical products was 83.45 million tonnes, of which the export volume increased by 13.1 percent year-on-year; The total sales volume of refined oil products reached 239 million tonnes. As a service provider of fuel, natural gas, hydrogen, electricity and non-fuel business, Sinopec responds to market changes and gives full play to its integration and network advantages, building over 1,000 LNG/CNG refueling stations and over 10,000 battery charging and swapping stations. Pushing forward the steady development of hydrogen mobility, Sinopec is also exploring the domestic and international low-sulfur marine fuel market and has the second highest marketing volume of marine fuel in the world. Sinopec is also vigorously promoting the integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation. It has put into operation the world's first cyclohexene esterification hydrogenation unit for producing cyclohexanone and digital twin-based smart ethylene factory, also completed China's first factory-scale seawater to hydrogen production demonstration project. Throughout 2024, Sinopec applied for 9,666 domestic and foreign patents, and 5,550 were authorized. In addition, Sinopec is responding to climate challenges with concrete actions; it's carrying out the second phase of the green enterprise action program and launched the 10,000 PV Sites initiative. The annual carbon capture volume has increased 20.1 percent year-on-year, and methane recovery increased by 9.4 percent. It has lowered comprehensive energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of production output by 4.9 percent year-on-year. With the rapid development of emerging industries such as hydrogen energy, biofuels, CCUS and more, Sinopec has established 11 hydrogen fuel cell supply centers in China and successfully developed the "Beijing-Shanghai Hydrogen Transportation Corridor." "In 2025, as China's economy rebounds, Sinopec will have a broader space for transformation and upgrading. We will anchor on high-end, high-quality, intelligent and green development, while steadily carrying out green and low-carbon transformation, fulfilling corporate social responsibilities, and joining hands with global stakeholders to promote the sustainable development of the Company, creating greater values for the shareholders and society," said Ma Yongsheng, President of Sinopec. SOURCE SINOPEC
South China Morning Post
30-01-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Ice swimmer will keep attending international meets to show ‘Hong Kong is here'
Competitive ice swimmer Mak Chun-kong might not be as fast as he was when he first started seven years ago, but he has vowed to keep showing up at international competitions to show the world 'that Hong Kong is here'. Mak, who is Hong Kong's only competitive ice swimmer, competed in six events in Molveno at the IISA 6th World Championships, which attracted more than 700 swimmers. The 38-year-old travelled from his home in the Czech Republic to northern Italy, leaving behind his eight-month-old son because representing Hong Kong was deeply 'sentimental' to him. 'It's important for me that people still see the 'HKG' … I want them to see that Hong Kong is here, and I feel happy when there are swimmers from different countries coming over to me and telling me stories about Hong Kong,' Mak said. Mak Chun-kong said he was disappointed with his time in the 1000m freestyle race in Molveno. Photo: Mak Chun-kong Mak, who is a part-time Cantonese teacher at the Masaryk University in Brno and a freelance English tutor, competed in the 100-, 250- and 500-metres freestyle as well as the 50m and 100m butterfly, and 200m individual medley in water that was 1 degrees Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit). 'I was a bit disappointed when I got out of the water and looked at the time – I haven't been that slow for years,' he said of the 1,000m freestyle, which he completed in 18 minutes, 31.61 seconds.
