Bank launches world’s first $150 note in Hong Kong

September 7th, 2009 HONG KONG - Eleven people were injured when a man threw acid during an altercation Sunday in a bustling market district, the fourth such attack in Hong Kong this year. Local television reports said victims had to be carried on gurneys to ambulances, their heads covered in bandages.

August 13th, 2009 HONG KONG - A 109-year-old tea has gone on sale at Hong Kong's first international tea fair, a media report said Thursday. Just 10 grams of the pu-erh tea, which takes its name from Pu'er county in Yunnan province in south-west China, costs 8,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,025), the South China Morning Post newspaper said.

July 17th, 2009 HK names leader's aide to head central bankHONG KONG — An aide to Hong Kong's leader and former bank executive was Friday named to head the territory's central bank as the Chinese financial center emerges from the economic crisis. Norman Chan, 55, will lead the Hong Kong Monetary Authority starting in October, replacing the bank's current chief executive, Joseph Yam, who announced his resignation in May.

July 9th, 2009 HONG KONG — A top U.S. Treasury official met with Hong Kong regulators Thursday as part of an effort to keep North Korea from using the international financial system to fund its nuclear program and other illicit activities.

June 29th, 2009 China central bank chief says economy on the mendHONG KONG — The head of China's central bank said Monday the country's economy was on the mend and expressed confidence that a government target of 8 percent growth this year would be met. Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said signs the downturn in the world's third-largest economy was leveling off began to emerge in March.

May 21st, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong's leading bank, HSBC Holdings, Thursday was offering interest rates so low that customers would need to save $250,000 for a year to earn enough interest to buy a cup of coffee. A record low interest rate of 0.001 percent was being offered by HSBC, which has 4.2 million customers in the city of seven million, because of what it described as rock-bottom interbank rates.

April 29th, 2009 HONG KONG - English football premier league team Liverpool was Wednesday accused of pricing itself out of the market making 'outrageous' demands to play in Hong Kong. A Hong Kong Football Association source told the South China Morning Post the team's planned exhibition at the Hong Kong Stadium in July had been scrapped because of the financial demands.

April 23rd, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong lawmakers Thursday approved a tax on every plastic bag handed out by supermarkets in the city as of July in a move to cut the mountain of waste created by the bags. The tax of 50 Hong Kong cents (6 US cents) will be levied from July 1 in a total of 2,000 shops, including every major supermarket, in the high-rise city of seven million.

April 19th, 2009 Winners at the 28th Hong Kong Film AwardsHONG KONG — A list of winners in the top categories at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards announced Sunday at the Hong Kong Cultural Center: Best film: "Ip Man" Best director: Ann Hui, "The Way We Are" Best actor: Nick Cheung, "The Beast Stalker" Best actress: Paw Hee-ching, "The Way We Are" Best supporting actor: Liu Kai-chi, "The Beast Stalker" Best supporting actress: Chan Lai-wun, "The Way We Are" Best screenplay: Lou Shiu-wa, "The Way We Are" Best cinematography: Arthur Wong, "Painted Skin" Lifetime achievement award: Josephine Siao

March 20th, 2009 HONG KONG - Life would be meaningless and not worth living without the Internet, nearly one in seven Hong Kong youngsters said in a survey released Friday. Just under 14 percent of 1,800 respondents aged 12 to 25 insisted they could not live without the Internet while 80 percent described it as essential.

January 30th, 2009 HONG KONG - Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 percent since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said Saturday. Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year.

January 25th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong film makers are preparing to leave filmgoers goggle-eyed by releasing the world's first pornographic movie in 3D, a news report has said. Shooting on the Chinese-language film '3D Sex And Zen', budgeted at $4 million, is scheduled for April with producers promising some of the most realistic close-up sex scenes ever.

January 20th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares fell by almost three percent Wednesday as overnight losses on Wall Street and profit warnings from Chinese companies listed in the city deepened market gloom. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index ended the day down 376.14 points, or 2.9 percent, at 12,583.63.

January 12th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong Tuesday was ranked the world's freest economy for the 15th consecutive year in a survey by the US think-tank the Heritage Foundation. Singapore was again ranked second in the annual study, followed by Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

January 4th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks continued their positive start to 2009 Monday with a second day of gains, rising by almost 3.5 percent. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 520.5 points, or 3.46 percent, to close at 15,563.31.