Hong Kong property developer New World Development said on Friday that Eric Ma will step down as chief executive officer after having spent just two months on the job.The sprawling business empire, run by Hong Kong’s third-richest family, reported an annual loss of over US$2.5 billion in late September. Former Hong Kong development minister Ma took over as CEO from Adrian Cheng, a grandson of the founder, when the losses were announced. But in a Friday stock exchange filing, New World said Ma had “tendered his resignation as an Executive Director and the chief executive officer of the Company in order to pursue his other personal commitments”.Company executive director Huang Shaomei, also known as Echo Huang, has been appointed CEO effective on Friday for a term of three years, New World said.Patriarch Henry Cheng said in a statement that he was “very pleased to have found a more suitable candidate”, saying Huang had extensive experience in real estate and corporate management.Cheng said that reviewing the firm’s development direction showed that “timely phased changes need to be made, and the role of the CEO also requires to be adjusted”.New World’s share price fell by around six percent before trading was halted shortly after Friday lunchtime.The company said trading will resume on Monday.The property arm is the largest unit of New World, whose interests also span jewellery, department stores and logistics.That has left it vulnerable as Hong Kong suffers the longest property market downturn since the SARS outbreak in 2003.Once a blue-chip stock, New World will be removed from Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index starting next month, a sign of its declining value in recent years.Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang told Bloomberg News that Ma’s departure will not have a significant impact on New World’s operations.”The company will continue to promote residential sales and asset divestment in the future to accelerate deleveraging,” Zhang said.The developer on Thursday sold its stake in Hong Kong’s largest sports complex, Kai Tak sports park, to an investment vehicle owned by the family. 

Japan’s unpopular minority government approved on Friday an extra budget to help pay for a massive stimulus package after the ruling coalition’s worst election result in 15 years.The hoped-for lift to the economy is also aimed at boosting Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s popularity after a gaffe-riddled start including an embarrassing video of him eating.The extra budget approved by the cabinet is worth 13.9 trillion yen ($92 billion) and is expected to be approved in parliament by the end of the year.It will be partly funded by issuing bonds worth over 6.6 trillion yen.It includes 1.5 trillion yen to boost Japan’s chip and AI sectors, part of a 10-trillion-yen push over the coming years previously announced.Last week Ishiba’s cabinet approved a 21.9-trillion-yen stimulus drive, with the overall impact expected to be worth 39 trillion yen.It includes handouts of around 30,000 yen for low-income households, fuel and energy subsidies, and assistance to small businesses.Ishiba, 67, took office on October 1 following the resignation of unpopular predecessor Fumio Kishida, and called snap elections soon afterwards.But the move backfired, with voters angry over corruption within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) — which has governed almost non-stop for decades — and price rises.The ruling coalition of the LDP and the smaller Komeito party were deprived of a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time since 2009.Ishiba has promised to revitalise depressed rural regions and to address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population, the world’s second-oldest.A poll in the Mainichi Shimbun daily on Sunday put the cabinet’s approval rating at 31 percent, down 15 points from early October. The disapproval score was 50 percent.Ishiba drew ridicule after being snapped apparently napping in parliament this month, and for failing to stand up to greet other world leaders at a gathering in South America.Worse was a video that emerged of Ishiba eating an onigiri rice ball — a popular snack — whole and munching on it without closing his mouth.”He eats like a three-year-old,” one user said on X. “How could he have risen to the top with these manners?” asked another.