Adrian’s Insights

Worker Safety in Hong Kong: Are We Missing Part of the Equation? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law In Hong Kong, worker safety demands a multi-directional approach and nothing has brought this home more than recent accidents. We are all aware that companies may be held responsible for accidents and that systems or processes have

Imagine if Hong Kong could capture the magic of London’s Clerkenwell back-in-the-day—could this be the start? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Of course, we’re a bit short of quirky old semi-industrial buildings or vibrant areas bustling with reinvigoration like London has enjoyed; however, let’s see what happens at 181 Restaurant, K11 Musea as HK Fortnum &

Hong Kong is back! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law When it comes to boosting of Hong Kong this seems all too rare these days in the media, and it should not that way, issue number 2, 2024 of MONOCLE certainly will help re-set things. It was great to see an internationally distributed magazine showcase

It’s time to think about the future of these Hong Kong streets creatively By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Hong Kong’s heritage has been fading and one of the clearest signs is the disappearance of iconic small street stalls. Once bustling hubs of entrepreneurial energy, many of these micro-stalls are now shuttered, sitting in limbo,

Reimagining Hong Kong’s Streets By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Let’s have more fixed-pitch and itinerant hawker licenses — surely, we can do better moving forward. What if we embraced a bold, dynamic policy to revive our streets, making them more textured, lively and more entrepreneurial : like they used to be? Hong Kong has

It was never a good idea—so why not kill it? The HK Taxi app by Uber is officially dead. By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law The headlines about Uber shutting down the HKTaxi app are long overdue. I never quite understood how Uber planned to maximize the acquisition of a taxi-related app in 2021. It

My first collection of 3D Hong Kong anaglyphs (stereo photos) from the 80s! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I’m truly excited to share my first collection of 3D Hong Kong anaglyphs (stereo photos) from the 80s! 📷 After more than a year of reimagining and digitally crafting this fine art window into my Hong

Full steam ahead for Hong Kong’s music and entertainment scene with Clockenflap and much more! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Despite the loss of the HITEC venue, the city is set to thrive. Clockenflap this weekend is expected to welcome 30,000 people to enjoy amazing performances, and Coldplay sold out all nights : so

A graphic echo of the snake in my Chinese New Year bike ride – Greetings to you all! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I hope the Chinese New Year brings significant improvements for everyone – from reducing tension to building a more stable, vibrant, and viable home and life, wherever we are. Maybe I’m

Hong Kong may soon lift import duties on spirits! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Recent reports suggest Hong Kong may soon lift import duties on spirits, just as it did for wine in 2008, a small shot in the arm for struggling F&B and retail hopefully. In the UK “drink up fast and go

HK$22.8M “only”—and you’re in the Hong Kong F&B property market, right in the heart of Central on Old Bailey Street. By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law I’m a big fan of Dr. Edwin Lee and his YouTube insights into Hong Kong’s shop, retail and real estate market. His almost real-time analysis of transactions is always

Is Commercial Real Estate in Hong Kong Truly Unaffordable? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law People in Hong Kong consistently claim you can’t buy a decent business premises so they are held hostage by greedy landlords; yet perhaps they are slightly out of touch. Monitoring the market and understanding trends can be tough, especially for

Hong Kong may soon lift import duties on spirits! By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law “my girl” – AJ Halkes 1977 With Christie’s high-profile expansion at The Henderson in Central, joining the ranks of Sotheby’s Asia Flagship (Sotheby’s Maison in core central) and Phillips (West Kowloon Cultural District), it’s clear the global art powerhouses see

Is it worth moving to live near to a members club in Hong Kong to enjoy community and amenities without the hefty management fees of a luxury residential block? By HK Lawyer AJ Halkes Barrister-at-Law Reading a piece in the FT Weekend got me thinking about this idea. Many years ago, while living on Shu