Finance
20 major companies to open or expand in Hong Kong this week: finance chief
“These key companies will help attract upstream, midstream and downstream companies in related sectors to cluster in Hong Kong, promoting the vibrant development of the entire innovation and technology ecosystem,” Chan said.
The news came as Chan promised Hong Kong would continue to develop as an international innovation and technology centre, on top of being a multinational supply chain management giant and trade finance hub.
“While traditional markets in Europe and the United States remain important for Hong Kong’s exports of goods, their share has significantly decreased,” he wrote.
Chan said the proportion of exports to the United States fell from 18.6 per cent of the total in 2003 to 6.5 per cent last year and exports to the European Union went down to 6.6 per cent from 10.5 per cent over the same period.
But exports to Asean countries over the time frame went up from 6.1 per cent to 7.9 per cent, which made the bloc Hong Kong’s second-largest export market after mainland China. The proportion of exports destined for the Middle East went up to 3.3 per cent.
Chan said geopolitical developments, global manufacturing adjustments, supply chain restructurings, and the emergence of nearby ports with excellent facilities had reshaped production and export patterns of businesses and affected Hong Kong’s export performance.
Hong Kong plans e-commerce festival ‘to boost city’s brands in mainland’
Hong Kong plans e-commerce festival ‘to boost city’s brands in mainland’
He explained that large manufacturers had adjusted their supply chains, but many medium-sized ones had yet to do so.
Chan added environmental, social and corporate governance, as well as high interest rates, had led to difficulties in trade finance, which had affected some businesses.
“Hong Kong has a solid foundation in trade and various related professional services, providing favourable conditions to capture the opportunities arising from these changes,” he said.
“The key lies in assisting companies in strengthening supply chain and value chain management, and creating higher value for their cross-border businesses through a focus on more efficient commercial and professional services.”
He said the city’s goal, laid out in February’s budget, was to establish itself as a one-stop shop able to offer services that included supply chain management, trade financing, consulting, talent development, and corporate training.
Chan added the city wanted to tap into the estimated 50,000-plus medium-sized manufacturers in the Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta, many of which would need to engage with overseas businesses as they expanded internationally.
Hong Kong finance chief says Beijing’s growth target ‘not easy, but achievable’
Hong Kong finance chief says Beijing’s growth target ‘not easy, but achievable’
Chan said Hong Kong’s advanced financial infrastructure could provide companies with a variety of funding options and highlighted that more than 70 of the world’s top 100 banks had operations in the city.
“Mainland enterprises settling in Hong Kong will have access to more efficient and lower-cost trade financing services,” he added.
Chan said the city would launch the first phase of the mBridge this year, which will allow cross-border transactions using central bank digital currencies and boost payment speed as well as reduce costs.
The multi-central bank digital currency platform is a cross-border payment and foreign exchange transaction scheme being developed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in collaboration with the central banks of the mainland, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
Gary Ng Cheuk-yan, a senior economist at corporate and investment bank Natixis, agreed Hong Kong had to adapt to new demands because of a “global supply chain reshuffle”.
“The city will not only need to connect mainland and Hong Kong firms to new markets, but will also have to attract trade and capital flows that could have bypassed the city,” he said.
“The core advantages of Hong Kong remain in free capital flows and low taxes, meaning it is easy for firms to manage trade and investment here.”
But Ng added the city should be prepared for geopolitical problems and stiff competition from other jurisdictions such as Singapore, which held a natural advantage in the Asean bloc of countries as a fellow member.
“Hong Kong will have a role to play, but it will not be as easy as in the past,” he said.
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The start of a new year can bring a surge of motivation around setting new goals, including financial resolutions.
One way to help those goals become reality, financial experts say, is to make them as specific as possible. Then, track your progress, while allowing flexibility for unexpected challenges.
“It’s easier to track progress when we know where we are going,” says Sylvie Scowcroft, a certified financial planner and founder of The Financial Grove in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
That’s why she encourages her clients to set clearly defined goals, often related to paying off a specific debt, saving a certain amount per month or improving their credit score.
Here are more tips from financial experts about crafting 2025 financial goals:
Pick your top priorities
Trying to accomplish too much can feel overwhelming. Instead, pick your priorities, says Cathleen Tobin, CFP and owner of Moonbridge Financial Design in Rhinebeck, New York.
She suggests focusing on those big, often emotionally-driven goals to find motivation.
“It’s more compelling than just a number,” she says. For example, do you want to make sure you’re on track for retirement or save money for a house? “Start there.”
Be as specific as possible
Scowcroft says she sees clients get tripped up by selecting overly broad goals, such as “get better with money.” Instead, she encourages people to select specific action items, such as “sign up for a budgeting tool and set aside time each month to learn where my money is going.”
That level of specificity provides direction so you know what steps to take next, she adds. For example, if your top priority is to become debt-free, then your specific goal might be to pay off an extra $200 of your debt balance each month.
Tobin says labeling savings accounts so they correspond with goals can also help. An emergency fund could be named something like “Peace of mind in 2025,” so you remember why you’re saving every time you make a transfer.
“It’s more motivating than just ‘emergency fund,’” Tobin says.
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
Track your progress
Measuring your progress as the year unfolds is also a critical component of successful goal setting, Tobin says.
She compares it to weight loss. If you want to lose 20 pounds by June, then you need to lose about a pound a week for the first six months of the year. Similarly, she says it helps to break savings goals into microsteps that specify what you need to do each week.
Schedule a weekly or monthly check-in with yourself to make sure you are meeting those smaller goals along the way. You might want to review your debt payoff progress or check your credit score, for example.
“Being able to break it down into steps that can be done each week or twice a month really helps,” Tobin says.
Automate where you can
If your goal is to save more money, then setting up an automatic transfer each month can help turn that goal into reality, as long as you know you have the money in your checking account to spare.
“It reduces the mental load,” says Mike Hunsberger, CFP and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, where he primarily supports veterans and current members of the military.
He recommends starting small to ease into the change.
“I wouldn’t jump to double what you’re currently saving,” he says. For example, when it comes to saving in a retirement account, if you’re starting with a 3% contribution, you might want to bump it up to 4%, then slowly increase it from there.
“My number one piece of advice is to start small, but make sure you scale over time,” Hunsberger adds. “Because it’s gradual, you probably won’t notice it impacting your lifestyle.”
Adjust as needed
“Stay flexible,” Scowcroft says. “Part of it is just being kind to yourself and not being too rigid.”
When unexpected challenges come up, such as a big unplanned expense, you might have to pause making progress on your goal and reset.
You might even need to change your goal. Scowcroft says that doesn’t mean you “failed,” just that life changed your plans. Dwelling on any negativity won’t help your forward progress.
Team up with a friend
Sharing your goals with a friend can also make it easier to reach them, Scowcroft says.
“It really helps to have an accountability buddy,” she says.
She suggests putting a regular “money date” with your friend on the calendar so you can ask each other how you’re doing, brainstorm any challenges or even budget together side-by-side.
“It’s a fun excuse to meet up with a friend.”
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
If you asked me what the process for setting up a Roth IRA looked like, I doubt I could offer you a thorough response. The same goes for mortgages and loans and interest. When I had to fill out my first W-9 form, I was admittedly more than a bit confused.
In short, financial literacy isn’t my forte. And that’s because, like many Massachusetts public school students, I’ve never had to take any sort of personal finance class.
Indeed, throughout the debates over eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement for high schoolers, we heard quite a bit about the state’s educational gold standard. So is it not the least bit shameful, or at least embarrassing, that our state does not require high school students to take a financial literacy class when a majority of states do?
Absolutely. And it needs to change.
Twenty-six states, including Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, have passed legislation making a personal finance course mandatory for high school students. Meanwhile, Massachusetts received an “F” from the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy, which released a report card in 2023 evaluating how each “state delivers personal finance education in its public high schools.” In addition, a 2023 report card(link?) from the American Public Education Foundation gave the state a “C” for its financial literacy requirements — a score worse than or equal to all but six states.
Meanwhile, across the state, credit card and student loan debt have spiked to eye-popping levels. As of the second quarter of this year, the average Massachusetts resident had a credit card balance of $8,556 and $33,710.38 in student loan debt. The latter is particularly troubling for young people like myself. For the next four years, countless high school seniors throughout the Commonwealth will be attending college, paying tens of thousands of dollars on top of day-to-day expenses.
The need for personal finance courses in Massachusetts is tremendous — a need that, as per a 2021 report from the state’s Office of Economic Empowerment, is recognized almost universally among teachers and, importantly, students.
Yet, as a result of being taught next to nothing about personal finances, many of us are left ill-prepared for these new circumstances. Our understanding of credit cards is limited to, as State Treasurer Deb Goldberg so eloquently articulated to GBH, “The parent puts a plastic card into the wallet and boom: out comes money.” And so the cycle of taking out loans, accumulating massive debt, and working for years before being able to pay it off persists.
Why perpetuate the cycle when it is so clear that these classes work? According to a 2021 Ramsey Solutions survey, among the teenagers who have completed a personal finance class, nearly 80 percent said that they’ve created a monthly budget for themselves, 94 percent felt confident about saving money, and 87 percent understood how to pay income taxes. And, as noted in the OEE’s report, personal finance courses are tools that “increase social mobility for low-income or immigrant students.” Requiring such classes really couldn’t make much more sense.
At my own high school, Brookline High School, financial literacy is offered in the form of a popular elective, “The World of Money: Practical Studies in Finance and Investment,” which “integrates the basic principles of economics, money management, investing, and technology,” according to the course catalog. Every spring, as course selection rolls around, hundreds of students eye this semester-long course, but with only so many spots, most cannot take it — and, consequently, miss out on an opportunity to learn about financial literacy.
Recognizing the imminent need to educate ourselves on matters of taxes, loans, investments, and more, several members of Brookline High School’s Student Council, including myself, have proposed amendments to our student handbook that would incorporate a financial literacy component in our graduation requirements and incorporate personal finance lessons into our weekly advisory classes. Our work would ensure that such important life skills are accessible to all students, not merely for those lucky enough to find a place in the class.
But while such efforts are certainly a step in the right direction on this issue, they are not enough. Financial literacy should not be a privilege for schools with a proactive student body; it is a fundamental aspect of our lives, and our state’s education system must begin reflecting that. The state must require personal finance courses for graduation — it’s the smartest investment we can make.
Ravin Bhatia is a senior at Brookline High School.
DALLAS, Dec. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE: NREF) (the “Company”) today announced a dividend for its 8.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (NYSE: NREF PRA) of $0.53125 per share. The dividend will be payable on January 27, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 15, 2025.
About NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc.
NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc., is a publicly traded REIT, with its common stock and Series A Preferred Stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NREF” and “NREF PRA,” respectively, primarily focused on originating, structuring and investing in first-lien mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, convertible notes, multifamily properties and common equity investments, as well as multifamily and single-family rental commercial mortgage-backed securities securitizations, promissory notes and mortgage-backed securities. More information about the Company is available at nref.nexpoint.com.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations
Kristen Griffith
IR@nexpoint.com
Media Relations
Prosek Partners for NexPoint
pro-nexpoint@prosek.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexpoint-real-estate-finance-inc-announces-series-a-preferred-stock-dividend-302339003.html
SOURCE NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc.
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