Category: 3. Business

South Korean cafe owners are grappling with a unique problem, students who refuse to leave.

Talking to BBC, Hyun Sung-Joo, who owns a cafe in the affluent Seoul neighborhood of Daechi, said, “Rents are very high and if a person occupies a seat for all day, it becomes difficult to run a cafe.”

Hyun’s cafe often gets visited by young South Korean students who prefer to study or work at cafes.

He revealed, “A customer once set up the whole workspace in his cafe including two laptops and a six-port power strip to charge all his devices,” adding that he had to cut the power to get the student going.

The issue of Cagongjok, a term used for young students in South Korea, is most prevalent in areas with a large number of students and office workers.

Starbucks Korea, a prominent coffee chain has also expressed concerns as it revealed that some of the customers are going further than laptops bringing in monitors, printers, partitioning off desks and leaving tables unattended.

The American coffee chain issued a new set of guidelines aimed at curbing prolonged setups that disrupt other customers.

BCC reports that some theft cases have also been reported as people leave their belongings unattended.

According to a survey from Jinhaksa Catch of more than 2000 Gen Z job seekers, revealed that 70 per cent of them study in cafes at least once a week. 

When vintage shop owner Chandler Lesesne West got married in April, her husband, Connor Webb, didn’t wear a tuxedo.

Instead, he donned a corduroy jacket covered with hand-painted images that meaningfully nodded to their relationship.

It wasn’t a DIY project, though. The couple spent $2,100 on the custom piece from Bode, a luxury clothing brand.

“All wedding attire is going to be pricey,” West, 31, said. “Buying the jacket almost seemed smarter than buying a regular tuxedo.”

They might have been onto something. Bode’s bespoke Senior Cord pieces have become fashion symbols of originality, status, and style.

Corduroy, artistry, and Harry Styles

Emily Adams Bode Aujla founded Bode in 2016. The brand is known for its modern pieces incorporating classic styles and techniques, like quilting and mending.

Vogue reported that the brand launched its Senior Cord collection in 2018. It was inspired by the now 121-year-old Purdue University senior tradition of illustrating corduroy trousers.

The label’s take on the latter took off in 2020 with the help of Harry Styles. He wore custom pants from the line for his Vogue cover feature, leading shoppers like West to discover the brand.

Bode has only continued to grow since then. The brand told Business of Fashion in 2022 that it went from having 18 wholesale accounts in 2018 to having 105 accounts in 2021. Made-to-order pieces were also up 120% at the time, the publication reported.

Bode then launched a collaboration with Nike in 2024, opened its first international store in Paris this year, and hosted a runway show during the Super Bowl to showcase its athletic sister brand, Bode Rec.

And that’s not to mention how Bode’s Senior Cord designs are all over platforms like TikTok.

Bode adds a survey to the typical online shopping experience

Luxury fashion brands are known for making rare pieces that are hard to find and even tougher to buy. Think about Hermès and its range of limited-edition Birkin bags.

Bode runs its business differently. While its custom jackets are all specialized, the price tag and overall design process remain the same for every shopper.

Mac Bass, a 32-year-old copywriter and content creator, decided at the start of 2025 to “pull the trigger” on his dream fashion piece: a custom Senior Cord Side Tab jacket for $2,100.

In April, he went to Bode’s website, added the garment in his size to his shopping cart, and purchased it. Within hours, the brand emailed him an extensive questionnaire about his hobbies, favorite movies, lucky numbers, family, and more.

“You can do a 30-minute interview [with Bode] to go over everything if you want,” Bass said. “But I thought that having the time to process it myself would be better. It took me two hours.”

He aimed to be “as honest as possible” and not overthink any answer. Bode said the jacket would be complete within 10 to 12 weeks, and Bass received the finished product in early July.

West also shared her shopping experience with Business Insider, and it was the same.

A fashion trifecta: luxe, accessible, and made to order

Webb’s wedding jacket is illustrated with images of the five cats he shares with West, the purple wisteria flowers that decorated their wedding venue, two fairies that resemble the couple, and more.

Bass’ jacket, on the other hand, depicts the logo of his favorite hockey team, his wife’s name, and an image of the first car he ever owned, among other designs.

“I think my favorite one is a little more subtle,” Bass said. “On the bottom of the jacket, there’s the Empire State Building in the fashion of a black-and-white cookie. Based on the answers I wrote, I think it combines how I’m half Jewish and how both sides of my family have roots in New York.”

He said Bode used “roughly half” of the things he listed on his questionnaire, so not everything made the cut. Still, he loves how perfectly the jacket represents his life.

“Every time I wear it, I’m shocked by how many people come up to me,” he said. “Even people who don’t know Bode ask me, ‘Did you do that yourself?’ And I’m like, ‘I wish.”

Bass said Bode has achieved something that few other luxury brands have. It’s created a line of conversation-starting garments that are truly unique, and also easy to purchase (if you have $2,100 to spare, that is).

West and her husband see their custom Bode piece similarly. They plan to keep their jacket in their family for generations.

“We’re both going to wear this on a regular fall or winter day as our jacket,” she told Business Insider. “It’s going to be such a cool statement piece in both of our wardrobes, and it’s going to become a family heirloom.”

Now, they just have to decide who will wear it first.

In the first of a two-part series about Hong Kong’s market for initial public offerings, Zhang Shidong and Ao Yulu report that more Chinese companies opted to list in Hong Kong in the first eight months of 2025 than in New York.

Hong Kong has overtaken the US as the new listing venue for mainland Chinese companies, marking a major milestone for the world’s fourth-largest capital market after a decade of betting on its growth in its much larger and stronger hinterland.

As many as 46 China-domiciled companies raised a combined HK$118.2 billion (US$16.5 billion) via initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Hong Kong stock exchange so far this year, compared with 16 listings by Chinese companies in the US over the same period, which raked in a mere US$740.9 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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There is a good reason for flocking to Hong Kong. New shares have jumped by 19.4 per cent on average in their trading debuts in the city this year, with some particularly hot stocks like the metabolic medicine producer Innogen Pharmaceutical Group jumping almost fourfold last week.

By comparison, new listings in the US have risen by an average of 3.6 per cent over the same period, according to calculations by the Post. After the typical excitement of the first days of trading, those shares have since returned an average of 5.5 per cent.

Guangzhou Innogen Pharmaceutical Group’s founder and chairman Wang Qinghua (left) and chief financial officer Jiang Fan during the company’s trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on August 15, 2025. Photo: InvestHK alt=Guangzhou Innogen Pharmaceutical Group’s founder and chairman Wang Qinghua (left) and chief financial officer Jiang Fan during the company’s trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on August 15, 2025. Photo: InvestHK>

“Hong Kong’s capital market has been more active this year and shows signs of continued recovery”, said Kenny Ng, a strategist at China Everbright Securities International. “The growing rivalry between China and the US has added uncertainty to capital markets, which is why more companies are choosing to list in Hong Kong. There is still the lingering risk of delisting for Chinese stocks in the US, [so] mainland firms tend to prefer the Hong Kong market in the face of such unclear regulatory prospects.”

The diverging trends underscore the persistent simmering tensions between China and the US, with the strife widening beyond trade to other areas including technology, military and finance. The Trump administration’s heightened regulatory scrutiny has spoiled the IPO appetite of many Chinese companies, among them some of the world’s largest offers like Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Shein.

Robin Zeng Yuqun (fifth from right), the founder and chairman of CATL, struck the ceremonial gong to mark the start of trading at the HKEX Connect Hall in Central on May 20, 2025. Photo: Sun Yeung alt=Robin Zeng Yuqun (fifth from right), the founder and chairman of CATL, struck the ceremonial gong to mark the start of trading at the HKEX Connect Hall in Central on May 20, 2025. Photo: Sun Yeung>

Many US investors, from institutional funds to retail investors, are also steering clear of Chinese stocks listed in New York due to pressure from conservative lawmakers who harangue against providing funds for China. An executive order signed by US President Donald Trump during his first term to “address the threat from securities investments that finance Communist Chinese military companies” was absorbed by his successor into a broader order that included surveillance companies. Those orders remain in effect.

The spat over auditing oversight several years ago, which almost triggered a wholesale delisting of about 300 Chinese companies valued at US$1 trillion, also gave many IPO applicants cause for pause.

How things have changed in 10 short years. Before Trump’s first term starting in 2016, New York was the citadel of fundraising, the preferred listing destination for every Chinese company that could.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of this newspaper, raised US$25 billion on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014, making it the second-largest worldwide IPO in financial history after Saudi Aramco’s US$29.4 billion sale in 2019.

Global IPO rankings as of August 2025 alt=Global IPO rankings as of August 2025>

After Trump took office, US-China relations deteriorated with a slew of tariffs against Chinese exports, many of which are still in place.

As the trade war spilled over into the Biden administration, relations slumped to the worst level in decades. Amid the tension, a spat broke out over the auditing oversight of US-listed Chinese companies, prompting Gary Gensler, then chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, to threaten in 2022 to expel all the Chinese companies from New York.

The crisis was averted in late 2022 after the US and China agreed to use Hong Kong as the “neutral ground” for the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to examine the audit working papers of these US-listed Chinese companies.

Still, the damage to confidence was already done. While the spat was going on, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) was tweaking its listing rules, laying the groundwork to lure US-listed Chinese companies to raise additional funds in Hong Kong.

In November 2019, Alibaba raised US$12.9 billion in a secondary listing in Hong Kong, in the city’s largest IPO to date. That blazed the path for a slew of Chinese tech companies to call Hong Kong their new corporate home: NetEase raised US$2.7 billion in June 2020, Baidu raised US$3.05 billion in March 2021, while Weibo raised US$193 million in December 2021.

“US listings face a lot of hurdles such as restrictions on investments or financing,” said Dai Ming, a fund manager at Huichen Asset Management in Shanghai. “Chinese companies may have to list at discounts, instead of premiums. [That is why] they are more willing to sell shares in Hong Kong. Both the primary and the secondary market are doing very well and valuations can come with premiums.”

A store of the Chinese tea chain Chagee at a shopping centre in Beijing on July 31, 2025. Chagee’s American Depository Receipts were listed in the US in April. Photo: Reuters alt=A store of the Chinese tea chain Chagee at a shopping centre in Beijing on July 31, 2025. Chagee’s American Depository Receipts were listed in the US in April. Photo: Reuters>

Improved investor sentiment and the Hong Kong exchange’s move to fast track approvals of stock sales by well-established mainland companies have fuelled a boom in Chinese IPOs. Under a new framework, mainland-listed companies with a minimum market capitalization of HK$10 billion are eligible for a faster IPO application process, which would slash the review period to 30 days, according to the HKEX and Hong Kong’s securities regulator.

CATL, the Chinese maker of lithium batteries for electric vehicles, has led IPO sales with a US$5.26 billion flotation this year in Hong Kong. The lithium-battery manufacturer and other mega deals from Chinese companies such as Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals and Foshan Haitian Flavouring and Food catapulted Hong Kong to the world’s busiest IPO market in the first half. IPOs surged 695 per cent from a year ago to US$14.1 billion in the first half, according to a report released by HKEX in late July.

There are more to come, said HKEX’s CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting. There were between 150 and 200 companies “in the pipeline”, including many US$1-billion-plus jumbo deals, she said in May. This week, the exchange operator reported its best quarter yet, as its interim net profit soared 39 per cent to HK$8.52 billion.

A lion dance to mark the commencement of trading after the Lunar New Year holiday at the Hong Kong stock exchange on February 3, 2025. Photo: Edmond So alt=A lion dance to mark the commencement of trading after the Lunar New Year holiday at the Hong Kong stock exchange on February 3, 2025. Photo: Edmond So>

Three “formidable” clusters of companies are tapping Hong Kong’s IPO market, Chan said. The first was a group of Chinese A-share companies that are listed in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen seeking to raise additional funds offshore, in the so-called A-H listings.

The second group was the US-listed Chinese companies that needed a listing sanctuary closer to home and Asia’s trading hours to minimise geopolitical risks. The HKEX updated its listing rules in 2017 to allow these companies to seek secondary offerings in Hong Kong.

The third group was specialist technology companies, often start-ups engaged in artificial intelligence, biomedicine and pharmaceutical producers, robotics and a range of “innovative” industries covered by Chapter 18C of the HKEX’s listing rules from March 2023.

In this regard, the HKEX has plenty of room for upgrades and growth. Hong Kong has catapulted to become the world’s second-largest IPO destination after New York for biotech companies since the introduction of Chapter 18A for the pharmaceutical industry in 2018. Chapter 18B for special purpose acquisition companies, or so-called blank cheque acquirers, was rolled out in January 2022. The chapters can grow with more alphabets as new industries and funding needs arise, Chan said during an interview in June.

Still, Hong Kong’s market, currently the world’s fourth largest at US$7 trillion, “lacks sufficient liquidity” and the capacity to accommodate a large number of IPOs, particularly large companies from the mainland, said Shen Meng, a director at the Beijing-based investment firm Chanson. “Regulators are intentionally slowing the [approvals of the] listing process [of companies coming to] Hong Kong.”

“Beijing wants to support Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre, but it cannot allow an excessive number of mainland companies to rush [into] the city’s fundraising pool as too many listings would be risky with the city’s limited liquidity”, Shen said.

Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices in Shanghai on April 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters alt=Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indices in Shanghai on April 16, 2025. Photo: Reuters>

Investor familiarity, market structure, and a series of reforms – including a revamp of the pricing and public offering rules earlier this month – have helped revive the IPO pipeline of the HKEX, according to analysts. The involvement of cornerstone investors, broader retail participation, and unique market mechanisms have pushed up demand as well.

Still, there are structural differences between the Hong Kong and US markets, said Louis Wong, director at Phillip Capital Management in Hong Kong. Local IPOs often receive massive oversubscription from public investors, which boosts demand in the secondary market, he said.

Everbright’s Ng echoed the view, saying the recent changes to lower the allocation ratio have contributed to the strong aftermarket performance.

“It means retail investors tend to receive fewer shares, prompting them to chase the stock after it starts trading,” Ng said.

Mixue Group’s mascot Snow King struck the ceremonial gong during the company’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong stock exchange on March 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters alt=Mixue Group’s mascot Snow King struck the ceremonial gong during the company’s listing ceremony at the Hong Kong stock exchange on March 3, 2025. Photo: Reuters>

One in two of the 44 new listings of Chinese companies in Hong Kong in the first half attracted over 100 times oversubscription, according to the HKEX’s data. Five of these IPOs were overbought by as much as 1,000 times, according to a report released by Futu Holdings last month. More than 71 per cent of the new listings closed higher on their debut day, according to the report.

The first trading days of Mixue Group and Chagee Holdings showed the divergence in sentiments for Chinese companies in New York and Hong Kong.

The shares of Mixue, which operates a chain of food and drink stores, soared 47 per cent during their July debut in Hong Kong. Chagee Holdings, which runs a chain of bubble tea stores around Asia, rose 16 per cent when its shares began trading on Nasdaq in April.

For Dai, the choice is clear.

“Companies will go for listings where they can raise more money,” he said. “Chinese companies’ preference for Hong Kong over the US may become a major pattern going forward.”

With additional reporting by Julie Zhang

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

The company – based in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province – is offering shareholders HK$6.68 (US$0.85) per share, valuing the listed unit at HK$55.1 billion, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Friday.

The offer represents an 11.9 per cent premium over the closing price of HK$5.97 on August 8, before trading of the stock was suspended.

The asset restructuring follows a similar move by another major Chinese automaker less than a month earlier, highlighting the challenges faced by state-owned giants amid increasing competition from privately owned companies like BYD and Xiaomi.