Latest news with #SunYeung
South China Morning Post
18-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pharmacy joins Russell Street retail scene to capitalise on rent slump
A local pharmacy has emerged as the newest tenant on Russell Street in Causeway Bay, filling the space previously leased by Italian luxury lingerie brand La Perla to take advantage of a 46 per cent slump in rents in one of Hong Kong's costliest retail strips. Advertisement Yu Shing, the pharmacy owner, is expected to pay about HK$1 million (US$129,000) a month for the premises at 22-24 Russell Street, according to property agents, who declined to be named because the information is private. No other tenancy terms were immediately available. La Perla, which signed a long-term lease for HK$7.5 million a month in 2015, vacated the four-storey building in September 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since its exit, the landlord Emperor International has rented out the space on a weekly or monthly basis, including to pop-up stores The Yu Shing leasing deal marks the latest change of tenant mix in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong's four core shopping districts, as the city's retail industry continues to grapple and evolve with economic conditions and changing spending habits among local consumers and tourists. Retail space along Russell Street in Causeway Bay once commanded the highest rates among global shopping strips. Photo: Sun Yeung Tenants along Russell Street, a 250-metre-long thoroughfare, paid as much as US$2,671 per square foot on average in annual rent at the peak of the market in 2018, topping global shopping strips including the Champs Elysees boulevard in Paris, Omotesando in Tokyo and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Tesla halts US-made models in China, Xpeng eyes Europe sales for MPV: 7 EV reads
We have put together stories from our coverage on electric and new energy vehicles from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Tesla has stopped accepting orders to ship Model S and Model X electric vehicles (EVs) to China, as the former bellwether of the country's vehicle market has borne the brunt of the tit-for-tat tariff war between the US and China. Xpeng aims to start selling the new X9 in Europe from the second half of this year. Photo: Sun Yeung Chinese premium electric vehicle maker Xpeng introduced the latest version of its X9 multipurpose vehicle for the local market and aimed to launch it in Europe from July as part of its drive to quadruple its sales in export markets. Alibaba Group Holding is stepping up the commercialisation of its artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the automotive industry, with new deals and reported cooperation with several major players in the industry.
South China Morning Post
16-04-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Xpeng's X9 electric van eyes Europe sales in July after outselling Toyota Alphard in China
Chinese premium electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng introduced the latest version of its X9 multipurpose vehicle for the local market and aimed to launch it in Europe from July as part of its drive to quadruple its sales in export markets. Advertisement The all-electric seven-seater vehicle will enter the mainland market with a starting price of 359,800 yuan (US$49,200), equipped with autonomous driving capabilities powered by its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip . Xpeng plans to take orders in Europe from the second half of this year, without disclosing the price. 'I believe more Chinese brands will enter the global market in the future,' founder and CEO He Xiaopeng said at its Global Brand Night event in Hong Kong on Tuesday. 'This is a responsibility and a belief.' The X9 is aimed at Toyota Motor's Alphard, an oil-guzzling multipurpose vehicle that starts from about HK$800,000. Xpeng delivered 21,141 units of X9 last year on the mainland, while Toyota sold 16,701 Alphards, according to market data. Xpeng aims to start selling the new X9 in Europe from the second half of this year. Photo: Sun Yeung Xpeng has a presence in more than 30 countries and regions and derived 13 per cent of its sales volume last year from overseas markets, according to its latest financial report. Despite the latest tariff turmoil, He said he remained focused on growing the ratio to 50 per cent from 60 countries and regions over the next decade.
South China Morning Post
15-04-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
Xpeng unveils new X9, aims to sell MPV in Europe from July, CEO says
Chinese premium electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng introduced the latest version of its X9 multipurpose vehicle for the local market and aimed to launch it in Europe from July as part of its drive to quadruple its sales in export markets. Advertisement The all-electric seven-seater vehicle will enter the mainland market with a starting price of 359,800 yuan (US$49,200), equipped with autonomous driving capabilities powered by its own artificial intelligence (AI) chip . Xpeng plans to take orders in Europe from the second half of this year, without disclosing the price. 'I believe more Chinese brands will enter the global market in the future,' founder and CEO He Xiaopeng said at its Global Brand Night event in Hong Kong on Tuesday. 'This is a responsibility and a belief.' The X9 is aimed at Toyota Motor's Alphard, an oil-guzzling multipurpose vehicle that starts from about HK$800,000. Xpeng delivered 21,141 units of X9 last year on the mainland, while Toyota sold 16,701 Alphards, according to market data. Xpeng aims to start selling the new X9 in Europe from the second half of this year. Photo: Sun Yeung Xpeng has a presence in more than 30 countries and regions and derived 13 per cent of its sales volume last year from overseas markets, according to its latest financial report. Despite the latest tariff turmoil, He said he remained focused on growing the ratio to 50 per cent from 60 countries and regions over the next decade.
South China Morning Post
07-04-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
DSE: 61% of eligible candidates get into Hong Kong public universities, down from 70%
Government statistics show that the success rate of eligible candidates who sat for Hong Kong's university entrance exam has fallen from 70 per cent in 2023 to 61 per cent. This number is despite changing the liberal studies core subject, which allowed more students to meet the minimum entrance requirements for the city's publicly funded universities. According to figures recently submitted by the Education Bureau to the Legislative Council, 19,262 candidates who took the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) last year met the minimum requirement to get into the eight local universities. But only 61 per cent – or 11,837 candidates – received offers from varsities via the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas), a centralised system for those hoping to pursue full-time undergraduate programmes. The success rate for those eligible students dropped by 9 percentage points compared with 2023 – when 70 per cent of DSE candidates were offered places in the city's government-funded universities. 75% of non-local students at Hong Kong universities are from mainland China About 50,000 candidates sat the DSE in both 2023 and 2024. Last year, 1,356 more students met the minimum entrance requirement than during the previous year. There was a drop in the number of places available at the eight universities through Jupas, from 12,592 in 2023 to 11,837 last year. Liberal studies became one of four core subjects of the senior secondary school curriculum in 2009. It was replaced by citizenship and social development in 2021 – two years after the 2019 anti-government protests – following accusations that the curriculum was radicalising youngsters. Last year's DSE exams saw the first batch of students taking the new core subject, which only has two classifications in terms of grades – either 'attained' or 'unattained'. The new syllabus focuses on national security, identity, lawfulness and patriotism. Under the revamp, schools allocated more lessons for other core subjects, and students chose an additional elective. Non-Chinese students photographed after receiving high marks in the 2024 Diploma of Secondary Education exams. Photo: Sun Yeung Last year, the new core subject had a high attainment rate of 93.7 per cent among all candidates, a requirement by all public universities. In contrast, only 89.6 per cent achieved level 2 in the previous liberal studies subject, a minimum requirement to get into universities under the exam's seven-level grading scale. Ng Po-shing, a student guidance consultant of Hok Yau Club, said the new subject was generally considered easier than liberal studies. He said the lower success rate for eligible students to enter universities was mainly due to the scrapping of liberal studies, which freed up time for students to study other core subjects such as Chinese, English and mathematics. Ng said statistics from authorities showed more students achieved level 3 or above in Chinese and English, and level 2 or above in mathematics, which are requirements by the eight universities, resulting in more students becoming eligible to compete for places. 'It means students have to get better grades than before to secure places in the universities that they wanted, as more students now attained the benchmark,' he said. 'Only getting the minimum requirement did not help students to enter university [amid greater competition].' DSE 2025: English reading and writing exam surprised students with celebrity topic Ng added that universities would be 'definitely happier' as the academic performance of those seeking admission was better than before. Meanwhile, 146 non-Chinese students were admitted to the eight publicly funded universities via Jupas in the 2023-24 school year, a slight decrease from 149 the previous year. Starting from the 2024-25 academic year, the enrolment ceiling of non-local students at the eight universities for undergraduate programmes doubles, equivalent to 40 per cent of the number of places for local students. Under the new policy, the universities received roughly 82,000 applications for the current school year, a 15 per cent jump from the last one. Only 7 per cent of applicants were admitted. Of all applicants, 85 per cent were from mainland China, 12 per cent were from other parts of Asia, and 3 per cent were from other regions – figures similar to previous years.
