Top International Teams Converge on Victoria Harbour to Race as Shoreline Programmes
Enhance the Festive Atmosphere

HONG KONG, June 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The highlight of the Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Festival — The Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), co-organised by the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association (HKCDBA) and proudly title-sponsored by Sun Life — was staged on Victoria Harbour on 27-28 June. Top dragon boat athletes from around the world gathered to paddle to the beat of drums, sending sprays of water flying as they raced intensity and excitement. The Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade was packed with locals and visitors cheering on their dragon boat teams. Beyond the exciting races, the Festival also features a vibrant array of harbourside entertainment, including a Dragon Boat Food Lane, a Beer Garden, Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshops, and a series of photo spots, immersing spectators in a rich festive atmosphere.

Elite Athletes from Around the World Paddle for Glory on Victoria Harbour

This year’s Sun Life Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races feature 21 races, drawing more than 220 teams and over 4,500 paddlers from 16 countries and regions. The first day of competition brought together top teams from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and around the world for a series of thrilling races, attracting a huge crowd of cheering spectators.

Diverse Festive Activities Keep the Harbourfront Alive Day and Night

Prior to the races, the Dragon Boat Food Lane, Beer Garden, Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshops, and a series of photo spots opened along the waterfront, filling the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade with a strong festive atmosphere that attracted both locals and visitors. As the race weekend got underway, crowds gathered at the Race Broadcast Viewing Zones to experience the thrill of the dragon boat finals.

50^th Anniversary Fishermen Invitational Cup Features Wooden Dragon Boats
Top Teams Battle for “Ultimate Dragon Boat Champion” Title in Event Climax

This year, the “50^th Anniversary Fishermen Invitational Cup” was introduced, featuring six teams of local fishermen from areas including Aberdeen and Chai Wan. Racing in traditional wooden dragon boats, they reflected the culture and spirit of Hong Kong’s fishing communities. In addition, the new “Huatai International IDBR 50^th Anniversary Championship” brought together top teams from nine major race categories to compete for the title of “Ultimate Dragon Boat Champion,” providing a thrilling climax to the weekend’s races.

Members of the media can download the press release and the photos from the following links:    
Press Release: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/hktb/newsroom/press-releases.html  
Photos: https://assetlibrary.hktb.com/assetbank-hktb/action/browseItems?categoryId=2443&categoryTypeId=2&cachedCriteria=1 

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Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd. is ramping up store openings and restoring a full dividend payout after a sharp rebound in profit, underscoring management’s confidence in the recovery of Hong Kong and Macau’s beauty retail market. The cosmetics chain’s full-year sales rose 14.2% to HK$4.383 billion, while profit increased 1.6 times from a year earlier, allowing the group to boost its final dividend and return its payout ratio to 100%. Chairman and chief executive Simon Kwok said the stronger distribution reflects a “very strong” outlook, pointing to broad-based improvement in store traffic and spending.

Kwok said all key operating indicators in Hong Kong and Macau — including revenue, same-store sales, transaction volume, average ticket size and units per transaction — recorded year-on-year gains in the last financial year. Momentum has continued into the new year: in the first quarter of the current financial year, total revenue grew 24%, with offline sales up 30.9%. Hong Kong and Macau led with a 32.5% jump in offline sales, while Southeast Asia rose 17%. Online revenue slipped 3.2% overall, weighed by an 18.1% decline in mainland China, even as Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia posted online growth.

On the back of the recovery, Sa Sa is reviving its brick‑and‑mortar expansion, particularly in tourist districts that were heavily rationalised during the downturn. The company plans to open 10 new stores in the current financial year; it has already added outlets in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, including a large upstairs shop of about 6,000 to 7,000 square feet at the Mong Kok Man Wah Centre, on top of an existing ground‑floor unit. A store at the Airside mall in Kai Tak is slated to open in August, and another at Lok Ma Chau is planned to capture cross‑border traffic. Kwok said tourist‑area stores are now about half the number they once were, leaving “substantial room” to rebuild the network, though he stressed the group will not neglect local customers.

Store format will be a key part of the strategy. Kwok said he and his wife favour large outlets and that she has advocated opening flagship stores to serve both mainland and local shoppers in a more spacious, comfortable environment. Still, decisions between large and small formats will depend on rents and operating costs; smaller shops require less staff and investment. He said that while the opening of new outlets may “slightly” dilute same‑store sales metrics, the impact should be limited as long as locations and rental terms are carefully chosen. Footfall remains the main focus: “Only when there are people will there be revenue,” he said, adding that broader product assortment and competitive pricing should help underpin demand even as more drugstore and beauty chains enter the market.

Sa Sa also aims to stabilise and eventually grow its Southeast Asian operations, where the group ended the last financial year with 75 stores — 70 in Malaysia and five in Singapore. The region’s near‑term target is to achieve break‑even. Three of the five Singapore stores are already profitable, and Kwok said the company would consider opening more outlets there if suitable opportunities arise, noting that Singaporean sales growth was particularly strong in the second half of the year. The Malaysian business is described as stable, with management planning tighter cost control. Kwok played down concerns about competition from other travel destinations and cross‑border consumption trends, saying that Hong Kong remains convenient for many mainland visitors, some of whom come once or twice a month, and that the company’s breadth of products and pricing remain competitive.