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The USD/JPY rose more than 30 points against the Japanese yen in the short term and is now reported at 152.56.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.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.

The opposition party in South Korea said that Yin Xiyue was insane. On the morning of December 12, local time, South Korean President Yin Xiyue made another televised speech, refused to step down early, and denied that martial law was a crime of civil strife. After Yin Xiyue's speech, public opinion in South Korea immediately criticized him. South Korea's largest opposition party, the Common Democratic Party, said that Yin Xiyue was mentally ill and called on the South Korean National Assembly to pass the impeachment case. After Yin Xiyue's speech, Han Dongxun, the representative of the ruling party in South Korea, also said that Yin Xiyue's speech had no introspection and was rationalizing his behavior. Some commentators pointed out that Yin Xiyue may have expected that he could not prevent the National Assembly from passing the impeachment case and was trying to influence the final ruling of the Constitutional Court. I am afraid that the chaos in Korean politics will continue.Indian Rupee's exchange rate against the US dollar fell below 84.86, a record low.The concept of Internet finance strengthened in the afternoon, with Zhaori Technology's daily limit rising, Zhaori Technology and Guolian Securities' daily limit rising, huijin technology rose more than 15%, and Harbin Investment Co., Ltd., Fortune Trend, Winning Time and Straight Flush also rose.

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.This year, the amount of M&A transactions involving listed companies in Hong Kong has reached 38 billion US dollars, which has triggered a rare bidding war. This year is expected to be the busiest year for M&A transactions involving listed companies in Hong Kong in the past decade, with industries ranging from skin care products to logistics real estate, and the bidding war has also warmed up. It is reported that China Mobile's bid for Hongkong Broadband may face competition from American private equity firm I Squared Capital. Bi Hua, chairman of Fenmei Packaging, is negotiating with Qihao Capital to jointly counter the privatization offer of Shandong Xinjufeng. The data shows that the scale of M&A transactions for listed companies in Hong Kong has reached $38 billion this year, the highest level since 2017, including the merger of Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities, a smaller competitor, to become the largest brokerage firm in China.According to the Quarterly Report of the Securities and Futures Commission, Hong Kong's capital market has benefited from the success of the interconnection mechanism with the mainland stock market since the third quarter, as well as the breakthrough in contact with the Middle East market. The net capital inflow of Hong Kong Stock Connect is strong. After the optimization of ETF Connect, the number of eligible Hong Kong ETFs has increased to 16, with a total market value of over HK$ 300 billion. Cross-border wealth management investment in the south has increased by over 60% since optimization, and the net subscription of Hong Kong funds has reached RMB 8.8 billion. The CSRC is considering the license applications of 15 virtual asset trading platforms, and it is expected that several operators will be licensed during the year. Liang Fengyi, Chief Executive Officer of China Securities Regulatory Commission, said that the ETF market in Hong Kong has achieved several new milestones this year and will devote itself to building a global hub. (Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission)