The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: During the service demand surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate … read more
A man who went missing in Sai Kung has been located. Ma Kau-tai, aged 57, went missing after he was last seen on Hong Kin Road, Sai Kung on April 29 noon. His family made a report to Police on the next day (April 30). The man was located in… read more
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin (HKETO Berlin) and the Warsaw-based Centre for International Relations (CIR) held a business luncheon in Gdansk, Poland on May 8 (Gdansk time) to introduce Polish companies to the new business opportunities emerging in Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Greater Bay Area). Participants came from small and medium-sized Polish enterprises of various sectors including fintech and innovation and technology.
The Director of the HKETO Berlin, Mr Bill Li, said that the Greater Bay Area is a vibrant city cluster that comprises the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, as well as nine municipalities in Guangdong (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing). Collectively, they represent an economic force of nearly 70 million people with a GDP of around US$1.6 trillion.
Polish businesses in Hong Kong will continue to benefit from Hong Kong’s traditional strengths including the low and simple tax system, the rule of law, and the strategic location in the heart of Asia at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, added Mr Li. In its role as a facilitator, Hong Kong serves as the bridge linking the goods and services of Polish companies with other markets in the region. New prospects will arise from the enhanced connectivity of the cities in the Greater Bay Area, fostering economic integration in the region. Hong Kong is not only a global financial centre but also developing into the region’s innovation and technology hub. It is best place for investment in the Asia Pacific region, whether directly in Hong Kong or in the Mainland of China through Hong Kong, he said.
Mr Li also emphasised Hong Kong’s importance as an international trade, logistics and business hub. “Whereas Gdansk is a gateway to Central and Eastern Europe by sea, Hong Kong is a key hub of the Greater Bay Area, while continuing to serve as the gateway to the Mainland of China and the Southeast Asian countries,” he said.
He added that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) sees Gdansk as its major partner in this part of Europe for boosting bilateral economic ties and helping Polish companies to find partners and business opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
Following the welcome remarks, Dr Chung Wing-hin, the Head of the Investment Promotion of HKETO Berlin, presented the latest initiatives to attract innovative businesses to Hong Kong with the support of InvestHK, the HKSARG department tasked with facilitating inward investment. “Hong Kong, with its business-friendly environment, sound legal framework and the international connectivity will all help businesses and individuals to connect and excel in this exciting new global economic zone,” he said.
About HKETO Berlin
HKETO Berlin is the official HKSARG representative in commercial relations and other economic and trade matters in Poland as well as Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The Immigration Department (ImmD) announced today (May 9) that it will start to accept applications for the Next Generation Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Electronic Passport (e-Passport) and Electronic Document of Identity for Visa Purposes (e-Doc/I) from May 14 onwards. The time required for processing such applications will be shortened from 10 to five working days.
The new e-Passport and e-Doc/I will continue to be produced in compliance with the standard of the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the holder’s personal data and facial image stored in digital form in the contactless chip embedded in the back cover of the documents. Meanwhile, the security features of the new documents will be further enhanced. For example, a specially made transparent window with the holder’s portrait engraved thereon by laser engraving technology will be added to the bio-data page, of which the main theme is the Golden Bauhinia Square. In addition, full colour UV printing technology will be adopted for visa pages, on which a night view of the northern part of Hong Kong Island will appear under UV light.
To further enhance the service standards, the ImmD has provided additional means for submitting e-Passport applications. Apart from the existing application means, eligible applicants can also submit applications through the ImmD Mobile App starting from May 14. ew Travel Document Submission Kiosks will also be put into service at Immigration Headquarters and Immigration Branch Offices from the same day onwards. Apart from the photo scanning function for photos brought by applicants, the new kiosks are also equipped with a self-service photo-taking function. Eligible applicants with height of 1.25 metre or more may choose to use the photo-taking function free of charge. The kiosks also employ Octopus payment function, providing an alternative payment option for the public.
“The application fees for the e-Passport and e-Doc/I will remain unchanged,” a spokesman of the ImmD said.
“The existing versions of e-Passports and e-Doc/Is will remain valid until their expiry. To avoid any delays, the ImmD reminds Hong Kong residents who have plans to travel to check for ample validity of their existing documents beforehand and apply for new ones early if necessary,” the spokesman added. read more
The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met the Secretary of the CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee, Mr Guo Yonghang, at Government House this afternoon (May 9). The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip; the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau; and the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, were also present.
Mrs Lam welcomed Mr Guo’s visit to Hong Kong. She said that she visited cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area including Zhuhai in late March last year, during which the trips to the rapidly developing Hengqin and the Zhuhai section of the then yet-to-open Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge were the highlights. She said that the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has substantially reduced the travelling time between Hong Kong and Zhuhai, opening up more aspects for co-operation and creating extremely favourable conditions for the development of the Greater Bay Area. In particular, enhancing the synergy between Hong Kong International Airport and Zhuhai Airport which is managed by the Airport Authority Hong Kong and strengthening their strategic co-operation in passenger and cargo traffic will be conducive to the development of a world-class airport cluster in the Greater Bay Area, she said.
In addition, Mrs Lam encouraged Zhuhai to leverage Hong Kong’s advantages in innovation and technology, higher education and healthcare services and deepen co-operation with Hong Kong to add new impetus to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
