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IMF acknowledges Hong Kong’s strong economic recovery and stability of its financial system
On 8 March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a Staff Report which, substantiated by a more detailed analysis, reinforces its assessment of Hong Kong’s economic and financial positions published on 20 January. Reaffirming Hong Kong’s position as a major global financial centre with a resilient financial system, sound macroprudential policies, and robust regulatory and supervisory frameworks, the IMF recognises that Hong Kong’s financial sector has continued expanding robustly, even during the pandemic. The IMF commends Hong Kong for making significant progress in addressing climate change in the past decade and recognises the Government’s ongoing efforts to enhance the green and sustainable finance ecosystem. Welcoming the IMF’s recognition, the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said that he had announced in the 2022-23 Budget counter-cyclical measures, involving a total commitment of over HK$170 billion, with a view to providing appropriate assistance for individuals and businesses affected by the fifth wave of the pandemic outbreak. The Government would continue to closely monitor the local epidemic situation, take necessary and effective fiscal measures and further strengthen the already robust institutional frameworks with a view to fostering economic recovery after the pandemic and safeguarding financial stability.
More details here. |
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SCMP’s Redefining Hong Kong Series 2022/23 webinar
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, gave a speech at the South China Morning Post’s Redefining Hong Kong Series 2022/23 webinar on “Budget 2022-23: Prioritise a speedy economic recovery or a green one?” on 16 March. Mr Chan stressed that Hong Kong’s economic outlook would be promising over the medium term and Hong Kong could look forward to long-term progress, thanks to the sustained development of the country’s economy and the opportunities that bring it. He added that Hong Kong is one of the world’s major financial centres, blessed with the expertise and the experience to bring international capital and quality green projects together for mutual benefit. That can help Hong Kong achieve its target of carbon neutrality by 2050, while promoting the green transformation of its economy. Mr Chan also highlighted his Budget’s green initiatives, including the issuance of green bonds, the three‑year Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme, Green Tech Fund and Strategic Tech Fund, for developing an economy that extends short-term relief, enables long-term development and ensures environmental well-being at community and individual levels.
More details here. |
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SFST’s letter to forerunners of the virtual asset industry: embracing regulation, development, tradition and innovation
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, wrote a letter to the virtual asset (VA) industry via his blog on 17 March to introduce the Government’s plan on the VA area. Mr Hui explained to the industry that the Government and financial regulators had recently rolled out a host of measures to ensure the orderly development and operation of the VA sector and, at the same time, respond to challenges arising from investor protection or money laundering risks. These measures cover three areas, namely (1) establishing a licensing regime for the VA service providers through amending the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615 of the laws of Hong Kong); (2) contemplating the regulation of payment-related “stablecoins”; and (3) providing traditional financial institutions with guidelines on offering VA-related services to clients. Mr Hui invited the industry to ride on the trend of application of technology in financial services in the post-pandemic era and, by leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial centre, and the soon-to-be-established comprehensive regulatory system, develop and expand their innovative VA businesses in the market, which embraces regulation, development, tradition and innovation.
Read the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury’s Blog here. |
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Hong Kong 2022 International Urban Forestry Conference
The Hong Kong 2022 International Urban Forestry Conference, organised by the Development Bureau, was conducted online on 2 March. Under the theme “Well-being: Our Urban Forest • Our Community”, the two-day online conference aimed to provide a platform for renowned international experts, decision-makers, academics and industry professionals to share experiences, exchange best practices on urban forestry management and renew ties with one another. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mrs Carrie Lam, said in her opening address that greening and landscaping had been widely incorporated in the planning of the new development areas. Through the planning strategy “Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030”, the Government is committed to ensuring that Hong Kong remains a liveable, competitive and sustainable city – Asia’s World City. She added that with the US$26 million (HK$200 million) Urban Forestry Support Fund launched in mid-2020, the focus in Hong Kong continued to be on developing arboriculture and horticulture talent.
More details here.
See the Chief Executive’s speech here. |
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Hong Kong Legal Cloud services officially launched
The Hong Kong Legal Cloud services was launched on 1 March to provide safe, secure and affordable data storage services for the local legal and dispute resolution sectors. The Hong Kong Legal Cloud is an advanced and user-friendly online facility that will enhance the capability of the profession to harness modern technology in the provision of relevant services. All the information would be stored in the cloud servers hosted locally, with relevant services provided by the eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre, a non-profit making organisation. The Department of Justice (DoJ) also set up a fund to subsidise eligible local legal and dispute resolution professionals for free subscription to the Hong Kong Legal Cloud services for up to three years. The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, highlighted that the use of technology in the provision of legal services is an important area of development. As set out in the 2020 Policy Address, the DoJ is tasked with actively promoting the development of the Hong Kong Legal Cloud, an online facility equipped with advanced information security technology, to provide safe, secure and affordable data storage services for the local legal and dispute resolution industries, so as to promote the long-term development of Hong Kong’s overall legal and dispute resolution services.
More details here. |
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Online side event on Hong Kong-related issues during 49th session of United Nations Human Rights Council
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr John Lee, gave an online speech at the online side event on Hong Kong-related issues organised by the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva during the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on 16 March. Mr Lee mentioned that the Hong Kong electoral system must be protected from exploitation and from foreign interference. The principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” was therefore implemented to improve and protect it. The improved electoral system provides much broader and more balanced representation in society and the Legislative Council election was successfully held in December 2021 in an open, orderly and fair manner. Mr Lee added that the Government shall hold the Chief Executive Election under the improved electoral system and an Election Committee, the membership of which has been increased by a quarter, would elect the Chief Executive. Mr Lee also stressed that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Basic Law. There is no change to the 160 articles in the Basic Law since its promulgation. The Basic Law guarantees Hong Kong people’s freedoms and rights and Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity. With Hong Kong’s full integration into the country’s development plans, its opportunities are unlimited.
More details here. |
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Nine Hong Kong arts projects supported by China National Arts Fund for the first time
The Council of the China National Arts Fund announced the list of arts projects to be funded by the China National Arts Fund 2022 on 1 March. For the first time, nine Hong Kong arts projects were selected. The Acting Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Jack Chan, expressed his heartfelt thanks to the motherland for her support of arts development in the HKSAR and extended his congratulations to the nine arts projects to be funded by the China National Arts Fund. The opening up of the China National Arts Fund to accept applications from eligible arts institutions and practitioners in the HKSAR is a testimony to the nation’s care for the development of the arts and culture sector and arts talents in the HKSAR. The HKSAR Government would continue to proactively promote arts development in Hong Kong and consolidate Hong Kong’s role as an East-meets-West centre for international arts and cultural exchange as laid down in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
More details here. |
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Details of Phase I of new round of Consumption Voucher Scheme announced
Over 6.3 million Hong Kong residents who successfully registered for the Consumption Voucher Scheme launched last year would receive the first HK$5,000 vouchers through their registered stored value facility accounts in April. The vouchers would expire on 31 October. The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, announced in his 2022-23 Budget the implementation of a new round of the Consumption Voucher Scheme to disburse to each eligible person electronic consumption vouchers with a total value of HK$10,000 by instalment. The disbursement of the HK$5,000 vouchers under Phase I of the new Scheme would help relieve people’s economic burden due to the fifth wave of the epidemic. The remaining vouchers would be disbursed together with the vouchers for eligible registrants newly registered in Phase II in the middle of the year. The usage and coverage of the consumption vouchers are the same as the arrangement for the Consumption Voucher Scheme last year.
Please see Consumption Voucher Scheme website for the relevant information.
More details here. |
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Updates on Hong Kong’s anti-epidemic measures
- From 1 April, the place-specific flight suspension mechanism for Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United State of America would be lifted.
- From 1 April, all Hong Kong residents who have stayed in overseas places can board flights for Hong Kong under the following boarding, quarantine and testing arrangements:
- Fully vaccinated and hold a recognised vaccination record, a negative result proof of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid test for COVID-19 conducted with specimen collected within 48 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the aircraft, and a confirmation of room reservation in a designated quarantine hotel (DQH) for seven or 14 nights from the day of arrival at Hong Kong.
- Upon arrival and tested negative with a PCR-based nucleic acid test, they will be taken to DQHs by designated transport to undergo compulsory quarantine. The basic quarantine requirement for the relevant persons is to undergo compulsory quarantine for 14 days in a DQH, and they will be issued a 14-day quarantine order. They are subject to daily rapid antigen tests (RATs), as well as PCR-based nucleic acid tests on the fifth and 12th days of arrival at Hong Kong.
- If the results of the PCR-based nucleic acid test conducted on the fifth day and the RATs conducted on the sixth and seventh days are all negative, they can be discharged from compulsory quarantine earlier. They will be required to undergo self-monitoring for seven days, and undergo a compulsory PCR-based nucleic acid test on the 12th day of arrival at Hong Kong at a community testing centre or a mobile testing station, or arrange a self-paid test by professional swab sampling at a local medical institution recognised by the Government.
- Details on the relevant boarding and compulsory quarantine requirements can be found here.
- The Government will increase the supply of DQHs to meet the demand of Hong Kong residents returning from overseas. 13 hotels will be converted to DQHs to supplement over 4 400 rooms on top of the current supply. These DQHs would commence service progressively from 1 April onwards and would start to accept room bookings for the relevant period gradually. The Government has also asked existing DQHs to release around 500 blocked-off rooms to meet the demand. In total there will be 38 DQHs providing over 10 000 rooms for selection by Hong Kong residents returning from places other than the Mainland and Macao. Please see website for details regarding the latest list of DQHs and booking status.
- The Government announced the existing social distancing measures would be extended to 6 April.
- Catering business: from 6:00pm to 4:59am of the subsequent day, a person responsible for carrying on a catering business must continue to cease selling or supplying food or drink for consumption on the premises of the business; all catering premises must continue to implement the Vaccine Pass arrangement; the maximum number of persons per table is two, and no banquets will be allowed; bars or pubs will remain closed.
- Except for club-houses, hotels or guesthouses and barber shops or hair salons, all scheduled premises must continue to suspend operation.
- Other existing measures, such as allowing no more than two persons per group gathering in a public place, prohibition of multi-household gatherings at private premises involving more than two households, mask-wearing requirement and cessation of mass events to avoid group gatherings, will continue to be implemented.
- On the condition that the epidemic situation shows no signs of rebound and continues the downward trend, most social distancing measures could be relaxed from 21 April onwards in three phases over a period of three months:
- Phase 1:
- Reopening of amusement game centres, fitness centres, places of amusement, places of public entertainment, beauty parlours and massage establishments, sports premises, event premises and religious premises, where the number of persons per group gathering will be four generally.
- Relaxation of dine-in service hours at catering premises to 10:00pm, with the maximum number of persons allowed per table increased to four; bars/pubs to remain closed.
- Reopening of all sports premises, museums, performance venues and libraries under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- Masks-on all the time (including when doing exercise) except under necessary circumstances, e.g. eating or drinking at catering premises, receiving facial treatment at beauty parlours.
- Relaxation of the restriction on the maximum number of persons per group gathering in a public place to four; cancellation of the prohibition on multi-household gatherings at private premises involving more than two households.
- Phase 2:
- Reopening of the remaining scheduled premises, i.e. swimming pools, bathhouses, party rooms, clubs/nightclubs, karaoke establishments, mahjong/tin kau premises and cruise ships; relaxation of the restriction on the maximum number of persons per table/group gathering at scheduled premises to eight by and large.
- Reopening of beaches under Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- Masks-off allowed in outdoor areas of country parks, when engaging in strenuous physical activities in outdoor public places, at sports premises and fitness centres, etc.
- Further relaxation of dine-in service hours at catering premises to midnight, with the maximum number of persons allowed per table increased to eight; reopening of bars/pubs, with the opening hours until midnight/2:00am and maximum number of persons allowed per table at four.
- Phase 3:
- Lifting of the restrictions on the maximum number of customers in terms of capacity limit, business/dine-in hours, maximum number of persons per group gathering, etc. at all catering premises (including bars/pubs) and scheduled premises.
- The latest list of places of issuance of recognised vaccination records can be found here.
- From 21 March, outbound travellers using land boundary control points would be subject to an additional rapid nucleic acid test prior to departure from Hong Kong. For persons travelling to the Mainland or Macau by the Shenzhen Bay Port or the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, other than holding a negative result proof of a self-paid nucleic acid test as per the prevailing requirements of relevant authorities, they also need to undergo a free additional rapid PCR nucleic acid test at the control points prior to their departure. Only those who receive a negative result can continue their journeys.
- The implementation of stage three Vaccine Pass would be advanced to start on 31 May instead of the original 30 June. By that time, all applicable individuals under Vaccine Pass would need to have received the third dose. During the period of stage three (from 31 May onwards), the grace period for persons aged 12 or above to receive the third dose after the second dose would be shortened from the original nine months to six months.
Read more at the Fight Against COVID-19 website. |
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Director of HKETO Sydney attended the Lunar New Year networking dinner organised by the Queensland Chapter of the Hong Kong Australia Business Association
The Director of HKETO Sydney, Miss Trista Lim, virtually attended the Lunar New Year networking dinner organised by the Queensland Chapter of the Hong Kong Australia Business Association (HKABA) on 24 March. Citing the Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address, Miss Lim talked about the National 14th Five-Year Plan that backs Hong Kong’s plans to enhance its strengths in international finance, transportation and trading, as well as legal and dispute resolution services. It also supports Hong Kong’s development in four emerging sectors: innovation and technology, aviation, intellectual property and culture. HKETO Sydney would be taking forward different events to promote the priority areas for economic development and attract talents to Hong Kong pro-actively to enrich its talent pool. Miss Lim added that the Year of the Tiger marks an important milestone for Hong Kong as Hong Kong is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR under the theme of “A New Era - Stability • Prosperity • Opportunity”. HKETO Sydney would host a wide range of events to showcase Hong Kong’s vibrant developments and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international city. |
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Director of HKETO Sydney attended the Joint 4 universities lunch gathering and the Hong Kong Baptist University 66th anniversary
The Director of HKETO Sydney, Miss Trista Lim, attended the Joint 4 universities lunch gathering and the Hong Kong Baptist University 66th anniversary organised by Hong Kong Baptist University Alumni Association of Australia on 21 March. Miss Lim stressed that the alumni associations had been important partners of HKETO Sydney and the Office would continue to maintain close relationship with the alumni associations and connect with the Hong Kong community. Miss Lim also shared with the participants that Hong Kong is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR in 2022 under the theme of “A New Era - Stability • Prosperity • Opportunity”, which represents Hong Kong’s exemplary achievements since returning to its motherland and underscores the anticipation for and strong confidence in a bright future. Miss Lim invited the participants to join the wide range of celebration events to be organised by HKETO Sydney to share the joy and excitement with the community in Australia. |
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Director of HKETO Sydney attended the Chinese New Year lunch organised by the Victoria Chapter of the HKABA
The Director of HKETO Sydney, Miss Trista Lim, attended the Chinese New Year lunch organised by the Victoria Chapter of the HKABA on 10 March. Miss Lim said that as highlighted in the Chief Executive’s 2021 Policy Address, the National 14th Five-Year Plan backs Hong Kong’s plans to enhance its strengths in international finance, transportation and trading, as well as legal and dispute resolution services. It also supports Hong Kong’s development in four emerging sectors: innovation and technology, aviation, intellectual property and culture. Hong Kong would continue to be the prime partner in exploring benefits from the continuing development of the Mainland and its deepening integration with the Asian region. Miss Lim added that the Year of the Tiger marks an important milestone for Hong Kong as it is the year to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR with the theme of “A New Era - Stability • Prosperity • Opportunity”. HKETO Sydney would organise a wide range of celebration events to share the joy and excitement with the community in Australia. |
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Director of HKETO Sydney virtually attended the International Women’s Day Reception organised by the Western Australia Chapter of the HKABA
The Director of HKETO Sydney, Miss Trista Lim, virtually attended the International Women’s Day Reception organised by the Western Australia Chapter of the HKABA on 8 March. Miss Lim said that the HKSAR Government had made great strides in expediting women’s opportunities with various measures implemented to create a more enabling environment for women wanting to join the workforce, ranging from extending statutory maternity leave to 14 weeks, strengthening child care and elderly support services, to ensuring a breast feeding-friendly workplace and family-friendly employment practices. The Women’s Commission was also established in 2001 to advise on women’s issues and develop vision and strategy for the development of women. With the Government’s efforts over the years, female labour force participation rate had risen to some 50% and managerial positions in Hong Kong had gone from about 20% filled by women to 37% over the past two decades. Miss Lim added that 2022 marks an important milestone for Hong Kong as it celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR. HKETO Sydney would organise a wide range of celebration events to showcase Hong Kong’s vibrant developments and achievements and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international city. |
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CHAT Spring Programme 2022 - Spinning East Asia Series II: A Net (Dis)entangled (Hong Kong and online)
Spinning East Asia Series II: A Net (Dis)entangled will invite the public to experience the diverse spectrums of East Asian history and culture through collections of contemporary art. Artworks produced by 16 prominent artists and artist groups from the region will be on display. The programme uses textile as a unifying thread running through every work, highlighting its cultural significance that informed the artists’ ways of thinking and forms of presentation. A range of programmes from an online discussion forum, performances, artist talks to workshops responding to the exhibition’s thematic concerns will be conducted on-site and online.
More details here. |
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Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 (Hong Kong)
Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 will be held from 27 to 29 May and will take place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). It will feature 130 exhibitors participating in the Galleries, Insights, and Discoveries sectors. Galleries will also be able to present work online as part of “Art Basel Live: Hong Kong”, in dedicated Online Viewing Rooms. Furthermore, satellite booths have been introduced across all sectors for exhibitors whose physical attendance is not possible due to current regulations. This concept will allow each exhibitor to present its own curated exhibition within a standalone booth that will be staffed by a local representative appointed by Art Basel.
More details here. |
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