〈The Standard, July 22, 2023〉The commercial property market is not as exuberant as it used to be, and transaction numbers and prices are no longer staying high due to various challenges. However, there is no lack of short-term speculation in the market.

A street-level shop on Electric Road in North Point was sold for HK$18.8 million at an average price of HK$37,600 per square foot.

The vendor is investor So Siu-yung, who has overseen a 57-percent appreciation in price of the property in just six months.

The shop is being occupied by Luck Store at HK$40,000 per month, an expected return of 2.3 percent.

〈The Standard, July 21, 2023〉The government is stepping up the pace of development at Northern Metropolis, Kwu Tung North and new areas in Fan Ling North.

To speed things up, it proposed last year lower premiums for land-use conversions in the latter two areas at standardized rates.

However, complicating matters is the continued softening of property and land prices.

That complication might not have been taken into account by the Development Bureau when it announced on June 30 that standard land-use conversion premiums would go down by up to 33 percent.

〈Hong Kong Business, July 20, 2023〉The Companies Registry of Hong Kong said 72,588 local companies were newly registered during the first half of 2023.

This brings the total number of local companies registered under the Companies Ordinance to 1.42 million year-to-date.

The Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, which allows flexibility for companies to hold general meetings in various ways, came into effect on April 28, 2023.

It specifically permits fully virtual or hybrid general meetings, enabling companies to conduct their corporate affairs smoothly and effectively based on their specific circumstances and requirements.

〈Hong Kong Business, July 19, 2023〉The Hong Kong Housing Authority will open the application for subsidised flats under the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2023 and the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2023 for two weeks from 31 July unit 14 August.

Under the HOS, a total of 9,154 flats are for sale in six new developments namely Kai Yuet Court in Kai Tak, On Ying Court, On Lai Court and On Wah Court in Kwun Tong, Siu Tsui Court in Tuen Mun and Long Tin Court in Yuen Long, the government said in a statement.

Around 50 rescinded flats from Kam Chun Court (in Ma On Shan) and Kai Cheung Court (in Diamond Hill), Yu Nga Court (in Tung Chung), and Yu Tak Court (in Sha Tin) are for resale.

〈BBC news, July 18, 2023〉The firm, which defaulted on its debts in late-2021, reported its long overdue earnings to investors in Hong Kong.

Evergrande has been struggling with an estimated $300bn (£229bn) of debts.

The huge losses highlight how much the developer was rocked in recent years by the property market crisis in the world's second largest economy.