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

     The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)’s Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) today (November 16) endorsed the average selling price and sales arrangements for Lai Tsui Court in Cheung Sha Wan, the first regularised project under the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH). The SHC also endorsed further tightening the alienation restrictions for Subsidised Sale Flats (SSFs) (including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and GSH flats) launched by HA from 2019.
 
Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) 2018
 
     Applications will be invited in December and balloting will be held in February 2019. Successful applicants will be invited to select flats from March 2019.
      
     A new sales office will be set up at Kwun Tong for handling the application and sales arrangements for sale of GSH flats starting from GSH at Lai Tsui Court this year.
      
     Located at Lai Chi Kok Road at Cheung Sha Wan, Blocks 1 to 4 of Lai Tsui Court will provide 2 545 flats, with saleable areas ranging from about 17.1 square metres to about 42 square metres (see Table 1). By applying a discount of 58 per cent from the assessed market values, the average selling price is $67,200 per square metre (or $6,243 per square foot) of saleable area. Selling prices of the flats range from $932,500 to $3,062,100.
 
     “Following the price setting mechanism for GSH as endorsed by the SHC in January, the flats will be sold at a discount of 10 per cent more than that determined for the preceding HOS sale exercise. As the discount rate for Sale of HOS Flats 2018 is 48 per cent (52 per cent of the assessed market value), the discount rate for sale of flats of Lai Tsui Court is set at 58 per cent (42 per cent of the assessed market value),” a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     In line with established practice in past HOS and the GSH sale exercises, the flat selection order of successful applicants of GSH 2018 will be determined by the application category and quota allocation (see Table 2). Absolute priority will be offered to the affected households of the Mei Tung Estate and Pak Tin Estate clearance programmes.
 
     “A quota of 750 flats will be set aside for applicants applying under the Priority Elderly Scheme. They would still have an opportunity to purchase under the ‘Other families’ category if they fail to obtain a quota under this category. On the other hand, any unused quota for this category will be allocated to the ‘Other families’ category,” the spokesman said.
      
     The SHC also agreed to set aside 250 flats for one-person applicants. This seeks to strike a balance between according priority to family applicants and addressing the keen home ownership aspirations of one-person applicants. Following the established arrangement, one-person applicants will be allowed to buy any remaining flats after all family applicants have selected flats, irrespective of the flat size.
 
     The SHC also endorsed the alienation restrictions for Sale of GSH Flats 2018, adopting the restrictions for Sale of HOS Flats 2018 (i.e. owners cannot sell in the open market within five years from first assignment) but restricting eligible buyers to Green Form (GF) applicants only should HA exercise the power to nominate a buyer during the first five years from first assignment/for sale in the Secondary Market.
 
     In addition, the SHC also endorsed piloting the streamlined application arrangements, which will be applied to HOS and GSH in 2018 for the first time; all valid unsuccessful HOS GF applications will be automatically carried over to the subsequent GSH sale exercise in the same year. Applicants need not to submit a separate application nor pay the application fee for that GSH.
 
     However, applicants who wish to change their family composition have to cancel the carried over HOS applications and submit new GSH applications upon payment of the application fee, which remains at $240. Those who do not wish to apply under the GSH may notify HA to cancel the application.
 
     “Despite the streamlined application procedures, the HOS and the subsequent GSH exercises in the same year are two separate sale exercises. The sales arrangements, including allocation of quota and order of priority for flat selection for each sale exercise will continue to require Members’ endorsement separately and balloting will also be done separately, ” the spokesman said.
 
     “As this is the first time we are applying the streamlined arrangements, we will send written notifications to those valid GF applicants of HOS 2018 informing them of the major details. The HA will review the effectiveness of the pilot measures with a view to considering whether they should continue in future HOS and GSH exercise, ” the spokesman added.
 
Alienation Restrictions for Subsidised Sale Flats
 
     The alienation restrictions for SSFs (including HOS and GSH flats) launched by HA are further tightened from 2019, details are as follows:
 

1. Owners may re-sell in the open market upon payment of premium after 10 years from first assignment; and
2. For resale in the Secondary Market without payment of premium, owners may re-sell to categories of buyers specified by the HA at no more than the original price in the first two years from first assignment; and at freely-negotiated prices from the third year from first assignment.

  
     For HOS, eligible buyers are GF and White Form (WF) applicants (i.e. successful WF applicants under the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM));for GSH, eligible buyers are GF applicants only.
      
     “In future, the HA may vary such specifications for buyers in the Secondary Market as necessary, ” the spokesman said.
      
     He stressed that the above alienation restrictions would strike a reasonable balance between deterring short-term speculation and facilitating the circulation of SSFs.
      
     The revised restrictions will be applied to SSFs launched by the HA from 2019 with a “lease approach”, i.e. by incorporating the restrictions into the Government lease and sales documents of SSFs.
      
     As regards the alienation restrictions for Sale of HOS Flats 2018, the SHC agreed to exclude Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) owners from successful WF applicants under the WSM who may be nominated by HA to purchase HOS flats offered for sale during the first five years from first assignment, given that this may unreasonably delay the whole process as TPS owners are required to dispose their TPS flats before completing the sale. read more

     Hong Kong Customs today (November 16) seized 92 suspected smuggled smartphones with an estimated market value of about $650,000 at Shenzhen Bay Control Point.      Customs officers today interce… read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 16) announced that a red crab sample, a blue crab sample and three prepackaged frozen brown crab samples were detected with cadmium, a metallic contaminant, exceeding the legal limit.
 
     Details of the brown crab samples are as follows:

Product name: Cooked Brown Crab
Product brand: Shell Fish Ireland
Place of origin: Ireland
Weight: 400 – 600 grams and 600 – 800 grams
Batch: 181830603 and 181830610
Best-before date: July 2020

     “The CFS collected the abovementioned brown crab samples respectively from three online shops, and the red crab and blue crab samples from a fresh provision shop in Tin Shui Wai and a stall in Smithfield Market, Sai Wan respectively for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test results showed that the brown crab samples contained cadmium at respective levels of 6.42 parts per million (ppm), 7.77ppm and 18.1ppm, while levels of cadmium of the red crab and blue crab samples are 2.87ppm and 3.37ppm respectively, exceeding the legal limit of 2ppm,” the spokesman said.

     “The CFS has informed the vendors concerned of the irregularities and the vendors have stopped selling and removed from shelves the affected batches of the products according to CFS’ instructions. The Centre is tracing the sources of the products in question,” the spokesman added.

     According to the Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations (Cap 132V), no one shall sell food with metallic contamination above the legal limits. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50,000 and six months’ imprisonment.

     The spokesman said that edible portion of crabs’ cephalothorax (mainly consists of internal organs like crab roes and hepatopancreas) are generally tainted with higher levels of cadmium and other contaminants. People who consume more crabs should avoid consuming crabs’ cephalothorax. The trade is also advised to ensure that all foods sold in Hong Kong comply with the legal requirements.

     The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incidents and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing. read more

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (November 16) urged the public not to consume a kind of sausage imported from Italy due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen. The trade should stop using or selling the product concerned immediately if they possess it.
      
     Details of the product are as follows:
      
Product name: Mortadella Bologna IGP con pistacchio
Brand: Casa Modena
Place of origin: Italy
Importer: Angliss Hong Kong Food Service Ltd
Use-by date: November 28, 2018
      
     “The CFS received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that the above-mentioned product might have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and is being recalled. According to the information provided by the RASFF, a local importer, Angliss Hong Kong Food Service Ltd, had imported a small quantity of the affected product into Hong Kong,” a spokesman for the CFS said.
      
     The CFS immediately contacted the importer concerned for follow-up.  Preliminary investigation showed that the importer had imported 10.96 kilograms of the affected product and all of them were sold. The importer has initiated a recall according to the CFS’ advice. Enquiries about the recall can be made to the importer’s hotline at 2494 2128 during office hours.
      
     “Listeria monocytogenes can be easily destroyed by cooking but can survive and multiply at refrigerator temperature. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected. However, severe complications such as septicemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, the elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in newborns,” the spokesman said.
      
     The CFS will alert the trade to the incident, and will continue to closely monitor the case and take appropriate follow-up action. Investigation is ongoing. read more

     Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at Belgium’s King’s Day Reception this evening (November 16):

Consul-General (Consul-General of Belgium to Hong Kong, Ms Michèle Deneffe), ladies and gentlemen,

     Good evening. It is my honour to join you all here to celebrate the Kingdom of Belgium’s King’s Day and His Majesty King Philippe, now into the sixth year of his reign.

     We are also here to celebrate the strong and longstanding ties between Hong Kong and Belgium. That is evident and reinforced by the recent visits of our Chief Executive and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to Brussels, the Belgian capital and seat of the European Union.

     Hong Kong and Belgium are close business and trading partners. Hong Kong is home to nearly 70 Belgian companies, from banking and asset management to manufacturing and logistics.

     As the Consul-General noted, we are pleased to learn that Belgian environmental technology company Keppel Seghers has won an over $31 billion contract in co-operation with a Hong Kong firm to design, build and operate our first integrated waste management facility.

     I invite more Belgian companies consider to join us in Hong Kong for many good reasons. In the coming years, our Motherland’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will create enormous opportunities for Hong Kong as well as the international companies that partner with Hong Kong. This is certainly true in financial and other professional services, in which Hong Kong is a recognised global leader. Innovation and technology will also offer unprecedented prospects, particularly in the Greater Bay Area.

     Indeed, this year’s Global Innovation Index 2018 that was published by the World Intellectual Property Organization has ranked Shenzhen-Hong Kong second among science and technology clusters worldwide, behind only Tokyo-Yokohama. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are now building the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park at the Lok Ma Chau Loop near the border between the two places to add further impetus to this regional innovation and technology development and co-operation within the Greater Bay Area.

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to promoting Hong Kong as a regional information and technology hub, investing heavily in research and development (R&D) and promoting re-industrialisation. The opportunities are here for Belgium’s information and technology companies, as Keppel Seghers has demonstrated. To encourage the private sector to invest in R&D, the Government has introduced a super tax deduction which provides companies that are based in Hong Kong a tax deduction of up to 300 per cent for qualifying R&D expenditure.

     Hong Kong’s tax system, of course, is invitingly low and simple, part of what makes Hong Kong one of the world’s most desirable business addresses. Indeed, just last month, the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2019 Report” ranked Hong Kong fourth globally in the ease of doing business.

     Business aside, Hong Kong and Belgium are establishing closer co-operation in arts and culture. Belgian films have been screened here in Hong Kong on a number of occasions this year, and the Hong Kong Arts Centre participated in the Theatre of Liège’s International Meeting in Performing Arts and Creative Technologies last month.

     I understand that the Consul-General has a background steeped in arts and culture, and I look forward to her thoughts on expanding our creative co-operation in the months and years ahead.

     On this happy note, please join me now in a toast to His Majesty King Philippe and the people of Belgium. read more