In the Media

As distributing cash dividends has been a growing trend in A-share market, related regulations and taxation have also become issues of concern for investors. In recent years, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has implemented a series of measures to enhance the regulation of distributing cash dividends by listed companies, and encourage the increase of dividend pay-out ratios, which reflects the regulator's commitment to protecting the interests of individual investors.

China has achieved an annual GDP growth rate of over 8% for the past 45 years. It boasts an enormous domestic market, yet consumption accounts for only 39% of its GDP, one of the lowest ratios in the world nowadays. Can China maintain a growth rate of 6% or 7%? Prof. Heiwai Tang, Associate Dean of HKU Business School and Director of Asia Global Institute, believes China has the potential for economic growth, but it has now become very difficult due to concerns about aging populations and the desire to live to an advanced age, leading to high saving rates.

Physical bank branches and ATMs have seen their numbers dwindling as the public embraces e-payment platforms and financial institutions cut costs. Chen Zhiwu, chair professor of finance at the University of Hong Kong, said, “The banks have found it unnecessary to add branches as they reduce costs.” A refocus on mobile payments among other online transactions, he said, “has in effect served to reduce face-to-face services at banks”.

內地出入境管理局公布，由7月10日起，港澳外籍居民可獲簽發「港澳居民來往內地通行證（非中國籍）」,港大經管學院副院長（對外事務）鄧希煒說，其在港外籍同伴每次到內地工作或演講，過關手續需時，例如在深圳灣或皇崗口岸，他自己只需一分鐘就可入境，外籍同伴卻需花約半小時。新措施只適用於香港永久居民，即需住滿7年，對於門檻會否太高，鄧希煒指今次屬第一步，期待日後會有更多放寬政策。

有言社企制定人力資源的政策，可能比一般中小企困難，惟面對疫後經濟格局及職場文化所掀起的變革，社企又應如何制定行之有效的策略，吸引並留住人才？有重點研究工作動機及人力資源管理的港大學者指出，社企應專注於發揮其獨特的競爭優勢，例如讓員工從事有意義的工作。

In mature stock markets, many listed companies distribute cash dividends to provide investors with recurrent income and boost their confidence in the companies. Last year, a total of 3,859 A-share listed companies proposed to pay out cash dividends, increased by 565 companies compared to two years before. The total cash dividends amounted to 2.24 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.16% from the previous year. This trend can be attributed to the policy guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

在中國這片充滿活力的土地上，創新與創業一直是推動經濟發展的重要引擎。然而，隨著時代的變遷，創業環境也在發生著深刻的變化。6月21日至22日，深圳南山區迎來了“亞布力中國企業家論壇第十屆創新年會”，在這裡，香港大學經管學院經濟學教授、中誠信集團創始人及董事長毛振華，以其獨到的見解，深入剖析了當前創業環境的挑戰與困惑。

瑞士洛桑國際管理發展學院（IMD）發布《2024年世界競爭力年報》，香港排名回升至第5位，比去年升2位，當中本港經濟表現、營商效率、基礎建設均有所改善，政府效率則稍降。至於去年排第三位的新加坡則登上榜首，疫情以來已漸拋離香港，距離更逐年拉闊。有學者認為，香港各行各業在疫情時發展停頓，影響競爭力，未來需增加年輕就業人口及發展具競爭力產業。

The HKSAR government is committed to developing the city into a multinational supply chain management centre to become a “super-connector”, bridging the Mainland enterprises and international market. Compared to other port cities in Asia, Hong Kong has significant competitive edges in the following three aspects: