Here is a shop tip. When you raise the price by a quarter, you don't also put out more tables. Unless you think the queue will stay.

That is the deal Hong Kong's public universities are offering. From the 2027-28 academic year, undergraduate fees for non-local students on general courses go up by as much as 26 per cent. SCMP calls it the sharpest increase. The same report's headline says the quota is expanding too.

So: more seats, higher price. Fine. Plenty of places run that way. Think of the airport express, or any restaurant with a view.

Now think about who is actually writing the cheque. A student from the mainland or overseas, and behind them a family. They don't get a vote on this. They get a letter.

"Up to 26 per cent" is doing a lot of work, by the way. It means some courses go up by less. Nobody has told us which ones yet, and I wouldn't guess. If you have a kid, a cousin or a tenant thinking about applying, check the fee for their exact course before you plan anything.

The universities will say they are keeping standards up and the market can bear it. Maybe. We'll find out when the 2027 applications come in.