The Secretary for the Environment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Wong Kam-sing, and the Director-General of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province (GDDEE), Mr Lu Xiulu, today (December 7) co-chaired the 18th meeting of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection (JWGSDEP) in Guangzhou. The meeting reviewed the 2018 progress of environmental collaboration between the two sides. Both sides agreed that the implementation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a national strategy has provided new opportunities for Hong Kong-Guangdong environmental co-operation. The JWGSDEP also agreed on a work plan for 2019.

     Reviewing the work of the past year, the JWGSDEP noted that there had been smooth progress in environmental work on various fronts including improving the air quality in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and protecting the water environment, as well as enhancing co-operation in forestry and marine resources conservation (as detailed in Annex 1).

     On improving air quality, under the PRD Regional Air Quality Management Plan, Hong Kong and Guangdong are implementing various measures and monitoring their progress and effectiveness in meeting the emission reduction targets for 2020. Both sides agreed to include the monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the PRD Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network and have started the preparatory work. Hong Kong and Guangdong also agreed to establish a joint scientific research group and launch a study on post-2020 regional air pollutant emission reduction targets and concentration levels (the Study), as well as to enhance collaboration on air quality forecasting work.

     On the management of the marine environment, Hong Kong launched a trial of the notification and alert system on marine refuse in May 2017. A computer system is employed to monitor the rainfall data for Hong Kong and 13 cities of Guangdong Province in the Pearl River catchment so as to issue alerts on potentially massive amounts of marine refuse in regional waters and notify the relevant departments to take follow-up actions accordingly. Since the start of the notification mechanism, it has been activated 15 times with notifications issued in response to heavy rainfall, flooding and other major environmental incidents. Both sides will continue to enhance communication and co-operation in tackling major cross-boundary marine environmental incidents.

     The JWGSDEP also endorsed the work plan for 2019 (as detailed in Annex 2) and agreed to prioritise ecological and environmental protection in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and will continue to further collaborate in environmental protection and environmental management.

     In addition to formulating the post-2020 regional air pollutant emission measures and targets, and predicting the air quality levels through the Study, Hong Kong and Guangdong will include VOCs in their routine monitoring to step up regional ozone control. Both sides will strengthen collaboration on air quality forecasting for improving the forecasting capability of the PRD region. Both sides will also jointly explore measures to tackle marine refuse and manage marine environmental incidents.

     Regarding the ecological environment, Hong Kong and Guangdong will foster exchanges and enhance collaboration in the development, management, conservation, staff training, publicity and education of nature reserves including forests and wetlands. The work plan also includes co-operation on aspects such as PRD water quality protection, regional environmental management of Mirs Bay and Deep Bay (Shenzhen Bay), as well as Dongjiang water quality protection.

     Officials of the HKSAR Government attending today's meeting included representatives of the Environment Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Environmental Protection Department, the Water Supplies Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. Officials of the Guangdong side included representatives of the GDDEE, the Development and Reform Commission of Guangdong Province, the Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of Guangdong Province, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province, the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province, the Forestry Bureau of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Meteorological Bureau, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, the Human Settlements and Environment Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, and the Zhuhai Environmental Protection Bureau. The JWGSDEP mainly discusses and exchanges views on matters relating to environmental quality, natural resources, ecological environment and sustainable development of the two sides. Seven special panels have been set up under the JWGSDEP to take forward the implementation of the various co-operation initiatives.

      

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 7) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$423.2 billion as at the end of November 2018 (end-October 2018: US$423.2 billion) (Annex).

     Including unsettled foreign exchange contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of November 2018 amounted to US$416.0 billion (end-October 2018: US$415.6 billion).

     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$423.2 billion represent about seven times the currency in circulation or 45% of Hong Kong dollar M3.
 
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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund's data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund's Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA's policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of December 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (December 7) that Tuen Mun Swimming Pool in Tuen Mun District has been temporarily closed for cleaning and superchlorination following the discovery of a small amount of vomit in the pool.

     It will be reopened at 6.30am tomorrow (December 8).

     The department appeals to swimmers to be considerate and to keep the swimming pools clean. They are advised not to swim after a full meal and should use the toilet facilities if necessary before swimming.

     â€‹The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced today (December 7) that Rocsky International Limited (the tenant) has been awarded a 20-year lease for EcoPark Lots P1, P5, P6 and P7 to develop a local waste paper recycling and manufacturing plant through open tender.

     According to the lease, the tenant will build and operate, on four adjacent lots (about 2 hectares in total) in the EcoPark, a local waste paper recycling and manufacturing plant capable of processing 300 000 tonnes of local waste paper a year. This capacity is sufficient to process about one third of the total waste paper recovered in Hong Kong per year (800 000 tonnes according to the 2016 statistics). 

     An EPD spokesperson said, "As waste paper makes up the largest proportion of our local recyclables, we have accorded priority to the development of a recycling plant capable of processing local waste paper. The waste paper recycling and manufacturing plant will commence design and construction in 2019 and is expected to be put into operation in 2023. The local waste paper collected by the plant will be turned into high-strength corrugated paper, semi-dry pulp and other materials. These products and raw materials will be sold locally and outside Hong Kong." 

     The EPD will continue its efforts in the promotion and education of clean recycling, and with the support of the Recycling Fund will continue to launch suitable and timely programmes to facilitate the local waste paper recycling industry to raise the quality of recovered waste paper, enhance its competitiveness in the market and open up more diverse outlets. 

     To foster the development of the local recycling industry, the Government set up the EcoPark in Tuen Mun. The lots in the EcoPark are installed with basic utilities including a road network, water and power supply, sewerage system, telecommunication, standard berthing piers, a weighbridge and a conference hall, and are leased at affordable rent to the recycling industry. This aims to encourage the recycling industry to invest in advanced technology and value-added recycling processes to help process locally recovered materials. For more information about the EcoPark, please visit the EcoPark website at www.ecopark.com.hk.

     The waste paper recycling and manufacturing plant will be the first one established in Hong Kong since the closure of the local paper mills some 10 years ago. The EPD is also actively working with other relevant government departments on multi-pronged measures to support the operation and development of the local recycling industry.

    

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, December 7, 2018 is 105.4 (down 0.1 against yesterday's index).