💡1. Standard Chartered, one of three note-issuing banks in Hong Kong, plans to open a “green branch” this year in the latest move by a local lender to promote banking services that can help cut pollution. The branch, whose location is not yet confirmed, will be fully paperless and will offer a wide range of bank products with a green concept, including deposits, loans and bonds that are tailor-made for environmentally friendly projects. It will also open up its green deposits to retail investors this year, having already made them available to companies.

💡2. China’s most severe coronavirus outbreak since last year has added to concerns over an economic slowdown in the country, as Beijing rushes to contain a rise in cases linked to the highly transmissible Delta variant. The National Health Commission on Monday reported 94 locally transmitted symptomatic infections. The spread of the Delta variant has prompted a dramatic response from authorities, including mass testing and travel restrictions. The outbreak is another challenge for Beijing after a series of recently published data and policy measures indicated that China’s roaring economic recovery from the pandemic was under pressure.

💡3. The Urban Renewal Authority’s (URA) record-high acquisition price for units in ageing residential buildings in Ma Tau Wai, Kowloon, has led to a slight increase in home prices in the area. Market observers, however, said that any rise would be limited as the boost will be tempered after the gains in June following the opening of a new MTR line. The URA last week offered 154 flat owners of a Civil Servants’ Cooperative Building Society Scheme (CBS) development project in Shing Tak Street, Ma Tau Wai, HK$19,848 (US$2,550) per square foot of saleable area, the highest such offer in Kowloon.

💡4. Hong Kong stocks rose for a second day on the back of a rally in technology stocks while traders weighed the impact of rising Covid-19 infections to China’s economy. Tencent-backed game developer Krafton slumped in South Korea. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.2 per cent to 26,605.62 at the close of trading, the most since July 29. The Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 2.5 per cent, as Meituan rallied 8.4 per cent to HK$239 and Tencent gained 5.3 per cent to HK$486.20. The Shanghai Composite surged 1 per cent. 

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One of the must-ask interview questions for banking and finance is: “Have you read any news recently?”, with the follow-up questions: “How would you link this news to the market and what investment suggestions would you give to your clients based on this news?” 

Showing your market sense and ability to provide feasible investment ideas would help to differentiate you from other candidates. Therefore, apart from the weekly news update / investment insights, we have also generated this Weekly Market Summary for you to have a quick understanding of the market development and tips to answer some hot discussion topics. Take a look of the summary and WhatsApp us in the group if you have questions.