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Afternoon comments on Hong Kong stocks: Hang Seng Index rose by 1.72%, Hang Seng Technology Index rose by 2.55%, Hong Kong stocks closed at noon, Hang Seng Index rose by 1.72% and Hang Seng Technology Index rose by 2.55%. Chinese brokerage stocks and consumer stocks were among the top gainers, with China Merchants Securities, Mengniu Dairy and Tongcheng Travel up over 7% and over 5% respectively.Sources: The Bank of Japan tends to keep interest rates unchanged next week. Five sources familiar with the Bank of Japan's thinking said that the Bank of Japan tends to keep interest rates unchanged next week because policymakers tend to spend more time examining overseas risks and clues about salary increase next year. Any similar decision will increase the possibility that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at its meeting in January or March next year, when there will be more information about the wage increase next year. The source also said that there was no consensus within the Bank of Japan on the final decision, and some people in the Committee still believed that Japan had met the conditions for raising interest rates in December. This decision will depend on each member's belief in the possibility of achieving wage-driven sustained price increases in Japan. If upcoming events, such as next week's meeting of the Federal Reserve, trigger another sharp fall in the yen, thus intensifying inflationary pressure, the Bank of Japan may also agree to raise interest rates. But overall, many BoJ policymakers seem to be in no hurry to pull the trigger.Nanchang land port "Changsha-Xiamen-Hong Kong Link" rail-sea intermodal train was opened. On the morning of December 12th, two trains loaded with "Made in Jiangxi" drove out of Nanchang land port in turn under the supervision of Ganjiang New District Customs, marking the official opening of the "Changsha-Xiamen-Hong Kong Link" rail-sea intermodal train from Nanchang land port to Xiamen Port, which greatly boosted the construction of modern logistics system in Jiangxi to a new level. Compared with the past, under the new mode of "Changsha-Xiamen-Hong Kong Link", the transportation efficiency of goods destined for Southeast Asia is shortened by 5-7 days, and the transportation cost is reduced by 20%. (CCTV News)

Market news: Britain is considering the largest auction of renewable energy subsidies in history.South Korea will gradually reduce the rice planting area to cope with the decline in demand. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of South Korea said on Thursday that South Korea will strive to gradually reduce the rice field area to solve the problem of declining demand and adopt environmentally-friendly planting methods. Due to the change of diet structure, the annual rice consumption of Koreans has decreased, and the per capita rice consumption has dropped significantly from 61 kg in 2018 to 56.4 kg in 2023. At present, the total area of rice fields in South Korea is about 698,000 hectares, and the government says it plans to reduce the area of rice fields by 80,000 hectares next year. In addition, by 2029, the planting area of environmentally friendly rice will be expanded from 35,000 hectares this year to 68,000 hectares. The government will also allocate 244 billion won (about 170 million US dollars) to subsidize farms that grow strategic crops other than rice, such as wheat, beans and barley, which is an increase from 186.5 billion won this year.Lan Foan, Minister of Finance, met with Nott, Chairman of the Financial Stability Board. On the afternoon of December 9, 2024, Lan Foan, Minister of Finance, met with Nott, Chairman of the Financial Stability Board, and his party by appointment. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the work of the Financial Stability Board, the financial stability situation in China and the economic and financial policies of major economies. (Ministry of Finance website)

The passenger throughput of airports in Shanxi Province exceeded 20 million passengers. The reporter learned from Shanxi Aviation Industry Group Co., Ltd. on the 12th that as of December 10th, the passenger throughput of airports in Shanxi Province exceeded 20 million passengers, 14 days earlier than that in 2019, realizing a new leap-forward development. (China News Network)Employees demand to pay social security. Xia Yiping: The problems are all being solved. If you escape, you won't come. Some netizens posted a video showing that Xia Yiping, CEO of Ji Yue, was surrounded by employees in the company, and some employees shouted at Xia Yiping: "Take out your savings and pay social security to employees." Some employees at the scene said that if social security is broken, how many people will be affected, don't talk empty talk. Xia Yiping responded that knowing that everyone is very angry, everyone has followed us for so long, and I am very grateful. "These problems are being solved. Now I am communicating with you. If I escape, I will not come." Xia Yiping, CEO of Extreme Vietnam, issued an internal letter on the afternoon of the 11th, acknowledging that the company was encountering difficulties and needed immediate adjustment. (Sina Technology)Citigroup slightly lowered South Korea's GDP growth forecast to 1.5% next year. It is expected that the Bank of Korea will cut interest rates next month. Citigroup released a report saying that considering the worse economic sentiment in South Korea this month, it slightly lowered its GDP forecast for this year and next year by 0.1 percentage point to 2.1% and 1.5% respectively. The bank slightly lowered Korea's GDP growth forecast for the last quarter of this year by 0.1 percentage point to rise by 0.3% quarterly, and raised its GDP growth forecast for the first quarter of next year by 0.1 percentage point to rise by 0.6% quarterly. Looking forward to the first quarter of next year, the bank expects South Korea to adopt a combination of expansionary policies, including the Bank of Korea's expected interest rate cut to 2.75% in mid-January, and the government's expected additional budget of 30 trillion won (equivalent to about 1.1% of GDP next year). It is expected that the Bank of Korea will cut interest rates by 25BP each in January, April, July and October next year, and the final interest rate is expected to be 2%.