David Ng

David Ng

Commentator/columnist

David Ng is a veteran commentator with experience in the financial field. He taught at City University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong before working as a columnist. His areas of interest include economic growth, globalisation, and inequality.

Chinese pianist Li Yundi was arrested for hiring a prostitute. (Internet/SPH)

Li Yundi's case shows the immaturity of Chinese society?

Last month, Chinese pianist Li Yundi was arrested for hiring a prostitute, setting off a storm of controversy, including the loss of some titles and accolades, and various institutions distancing themselves from him. His arrest shows that Chinese laws are fair but does it also expose the immaturity of Chinese society?
People at Ma Tso Lung village take photos of the sunset against the New Territories in northern Hong Kong, 20 October 2021. (CNS)

Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis: Castle in the air or realistic goal?

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam recently gave her 2021 policy address, in which plans were laid out for a 20-year project to develop a Northern Metropolis. Commentator David Ng affirms the need to increase land and housing supply to resolve Hong Kong’s residential challenges such as subdivided units, while pointing out that the long timeline could mean challenges in following through on the project.
China's Quan Hongchan is congratulated by a coach after winning the women's 10m platform diving finals event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Japan on 5 August 2021. (Oli Scarff/AFP)

China's diving sensation Quan Hongchan: Is her rural family 'poor'?

Reflecting on the background of Chinese diving Olympic champion Quan Hongchan, David Ng makes some observations about the urban-rural divide in China. He notes that after years of China’s rapid development, rural folk are still playing catch up economically, but they have not ruled themselves out of achieving success. Their own motivation will get them far, sometimes even as far as achieving Olympic glory.
People wearing face masks are seen on an overpass in front of a residential building in Beijing, China, 11 August  2020. (Tingshu Wang/File Photo/Reuters)

Why China is regulating the property market

Rapid real estate and infrastructure development in China over the past two to three decades has improved people’s lives, but also led to rising housing prices and property speculation. Regional governments have started to step in with regulatory measures. Commentator David Ng thinks these are good signs, as a society’s wealth should be distributed by labour and contribution instead of through housing.
A pedestrian wearing a face mask walks over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in central London on 7 June 2021. (Tolga Akmen/AFP)

China's Greater Bay Area ready market for British education exports

While the UK imports a high volume of goods from China, it exports many sought-after services in areas including finance, law and accounting. Its latest niche is its expansion into education, targeting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.
The Chinese government has made efforts to curb the number of white elephant projects in China. In this photo, workers balance on scaffolding at a construction site in Beijing on 14 April 2021. (Photo by Noel Celis / AFP)

Why Chinese local governments indulge in wasteful infrastructure projects

Even as China embarks on various infrastructure projects, how many of these projects are actually useful, or bring real benefits to the people they are supposed to serve? Are all of these projects truly worth the money and effort invested? Commentator David Ng takes a closer look at a "white elephant" tram system in the Greater Bay Area and considers the issues involved.
A farmer picks cotton on a farm on the outskirts of Hami, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, 3 November 2010. (Stringer/Reuters)

Hong Kong commentator: Xinjiang’s cotton production figures debunk the myth of forced labour

Hong Kong commentator David Ng says that despite the accusations by the West against China of human rights violations in Xinjiang such as forced labour, the region’s economic trajectory and reliance on mechanisation seem to show a quite different truth.
Motorists travel past a screen displaying stock figures in Shanghai, China, on 18 February 2021. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Innovation and ‘new retail’ driving the Chinese economy

Commentator David Ng explores the changes that are happening in China with developments in technology that allow vast changes in business models, from traditional offline transactions to online business, and “new retail”, which combines the two. How will the Chinese economy grow under these forces?
Customers walk past a dragon made from Lego bricks at a store in Beijing, China, on 7 December 2020. (Gilles Sabrie/Bloomberg)

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan will be a game changer

In anticipation of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan kicking in next year, commentator David Ng examines how the proposals will affect the direction of China’s economic growth, as well as China-US competition, and in turn shift the global order.