5 in 5 minutes - April 04th

1. Uber is recruiting engineers through an in-app coding game

Uber is using a game called "Code on the Road" to recruit engineers from its pool of passengers in selected cities, if one successfully complete 3 coding problems within 60 seconds each, he/she will get a link to a job application. Among the passenger there is the Microsoft engineer Joshua Debner, Debner has no idea how the company knew he is an engineer. Uber insists that they are identifying geographic areas where tech jobs are concentrated to find candidates.

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2. Tesla Model 3 online preorders are now live

Tesla is now taking preorders on its website for its Model 3, which is the more affordable electric car for the general public. After Hong Kong transport officials finally approve use of Tesla autopilot functions in policy reversal, will you consider ordering one?

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3. Sorry, the MTR ticket fare is not coming down in anytime soon.

Starting from this summer, commuters will have to pay more for the MTR ticket as there will be another fare increase of 2.7 per cent based on the fare adjustment system. Shortly after the request from the government last week for an early review on the fare adjustment mechanism, the railway giant announced on Mar 28th for another fare increase. This will be the seventh consecutive year that the corporate has upped the rail fare, despite the HK$13 billion profits last year.

The fare adjustment mechanism has been widely criticized as unfair and as safeguarding the listed company’s profits rather than the interests of the community, but at least before the system has been reviewed and adjusted, commuters have to be ready for spending even more on traveling around the city.

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4. HK tram operator shares real-time information

The Hong Kong tram operator has decided to share real-time operational information via the Citymapper apps in aims to attract more passengers. However, the city is lagging behind global standards in opening up transport data for public use.

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5. Standard & Poor’s downgrades Hong Kong sovereign credit outlook to negative

The rating service company Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Hong Kong sovereign credit outlook from "stable" to "negative" shortly after the company downgraded China's outlook from stable to negative, due to the high degree of financial and economic linkage between HKSAR and China. The company also stated that they might lower the rating "if Hong Kong’s political polarization worsens to a point where it compromises policymaking and the business environment"

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