Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2018 (Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 2018 (Commencement Notice), the Banking (Exposure Limits) Rules, the Banking (Capital) (Amendment) Rules 2018 (BCAR) and the Banking (Disclosure) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2018 were gazetted today (November 16) to implement some recent international standards on banking regulation in Hong Kong.

     The three sets of banking rules seek mainly to implement in Hong Kong certain standards promulgated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision:

(a) the “internal assessment approach” of the 2014 revised securitisation framework (further revised in 2016), which is a methodology for calculating capital requirements of certain securitisation exposures in asset-backed commercial paper programmes;

(b) the 2016 TLAC holdings standard, which generally sets out the regulatory capital treatment of banks’ holdings of certain subordinated instruments capable of absorbing losses should the issuing entities become non-viable; and

(c) the 2014 standards Supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures, together with certain local capital and disclosure requirements on concentration risk in sovereign exposures to complement the implementation of the standards.

     The Commencement Notice seeks to appoint July 1, 2019 as the commencement date for repeal of the relevant provisions of the Banking Ordinance, which will be replaced by the Banking (Exposure Limits) Rules to be effected on the same day.

     A government spokesman said, “The continued implementation of Basel III standards will ensure the resilience of our banking system and reinforce Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre.”

     A Hong Kong Monetary Authority spokesman said, “We have carefully considered the banking industry’s comments in the course of formulating the rules to ensure that they are appropriate in strengthening the regulatory regime for authorized institutions under the local circumstances.”

     The four pieces of subsidiary legislation will be tabled before the Legislative Council on November 21, 2018 for negative vetting and will come into operation respectively on January 11, 2019 for item (a), April 1, 2019 for item (b) and July 1, 2019 for item (c) above. read more

     The Government Property Agency is inviting tenders for a two-year tenancy of (i) Shop No. 1 and Shop No. 4 and a space for a promotion trolley on the departure level of China Hong Kong City, China Ferry Terminal, No. 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; and (ii) Shop A on level 4, Arrival Hall of China Hong Kong City, China Ferry Terminal, No. 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.

     The premises should only be used for general retail purposes including storage, sale and display of duty-free liquor, cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products but excluding any goods or commodities that are prohibited under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60), any regulations made thereunder and any amending legislations.

     The tender notices were uploaded today (November 16) to the Agency’s website: www.gpa.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 31/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, during office hours (8.30am to 5.45pm from Mondays to Fridays). The documents can also be downloaded from the Agency’s website.
      
     Interested tenderers who wish to inspect the sites should make prior appointment with the Government Property Agency by calling 2594 7697 on or before November 27 this year.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Secretariat Tender Box situated on the Lobby of the Public Entrance on the Ground Floor, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, before noon on December 7 this year. Late tenders will not be accepted. read more

     The Government Property Agency is inviting tenders for a two-year tenancy of (i) Shop No. 4 on the departure level, Deck 2, Inner Pier of Hong Kong – Macau Ferry Terminal, Sheung Wan; and (ii) Shops B1 and B2 on the Pier Deck, Inner Pier of Hong Kong – Macau Ferry Terminal, Sheung Wan.

     The premises should only be used for general retail purposes including storage, sale and display of duty-free liquor, cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products but excluding any goods or commodities that are prohibited under the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap 60), any regulations made thereunder and any amending legislations.

     The tender notices were uploaded today (November 16) to the Agency’s website: www.gpa.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 31/F, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, during office hours (8.30am to 5.45pm from Mondays to Fridays). The documents can also be downloaded from the Agency’s website.
      
     Interested tenderers who wish to inspect the sites should make prior appointment with the Government Property Agency by calling 2594 7697 on or before December 17 this year.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Logistics Department Tender Box situated on the Ground Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, before noon on December 28 this year. Late tenders will not be accepted. read more

     The Government today (November 16) announced that the Antiquities Authority (i.e. the Secretary for Development) has declared the exteriors of Fung Ping Shan Building, Eliot Hall and May Hall at the University of Hong Kong as monuments under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. The notice of the declaration was gazetted today.
      
     Fung Ping Shan Building, originally named Fung Ping Shan Library, was opened on December 14, 1932, as a library for Chinese books of the University thanks to the generous donation by the late Mr Fung Ping-shan. During World War II, the building was also used as a repository for books of private individuals, schools and government organisations. In 1953, the Museum of Chinese Art and Archaeology was established with exhibitions held in a room of the Fung Ping Shan Library. In 1962, the collection of the Fung Ping Shan Library was transferred to the newly constructed Main Library of the University, and the original library building was then converted into the Fung Ping Shan Museum. It was renamed the University Museum and Art Gallery in 1994, before its new wing in the TT Tsui Building opened to the public in 1996.
      
     Designed by Leigh & Orange, Fung Ping Shan Building is a three-storey building with a red-brick facade, carved granite ornaments and a prominent glass dome on the roof and a symmetrical elevation. The overall design also reflects distinctive architectural features, including the fan-shaped floor plan and the rounded central section of the front. The facade is elegantly decorated with giant pilasters, window architraves, pediments and moulded cornices and parapets. Most of the old finely carved hardwood doors and windows with original brass fittings are still in place.
      
     Eliot Hall was opened in 1914 as the second student residential hall under the direct management of the University. It was named after the first Vice-Chancellor of the University, Sir Charles Eliot. May Hall was opened in 1915 to become the third student residential hall under the direct management of the University. It was named after the second Chancellor of the University and the 15th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Francis Henry May.
      
     The design of Eliot Hall and May Hall was modelled from Lugard Hall, which was the first student residential hall under the direct management of the University, with students’ rooms located on the first and second floors. The refectory, common rooms, servants’ quarters and bathrooms were on the ground floor. During World War II, Eliot Hall became the relief hospital to provide additional support to Queen Mary Hospital while May Hall served as the main residence for staff and students. On New Year’s Day of 1942, a congregation was held in May Hall and wartime degrees were granted to 14 medical students who took their final examinations at the time of the Japanese attack. Eliot Hall was turned into a gymnasium in 1956, and subsequently renovated as a student residential hall in 1963.
      
     The landslide at the slope adjacent to Eliot Hall and May Hall in June 1966 caused by torrential rain led to an immediate evacuation of these two halls for extensive repairs and the demolition of the two wardens’ quarters at the east end of Eliot Hall and May Hall. The University took this opportunity to combine Lugard Hall, Eliot Hall and May Hall into one large residential unit and renamed them as the Old Halls. The Old Halls opened in 1969 and consisted of three wings, namely Lugard Wing (originally Lugard Hall), Eliot Wing (originally Eliot Hall) and May Wing (originally May Hall). Since then, female students were accepted in the Old Halls and some of them were accommodated at the east wing on the first and second floors of May Wing. Eliot Wing and May Wing reverted to their old names, Eliot Hall and May Hall, when Lugard Wing was demolished in 1992.
      
     Eliot Hall and May Hall were designed by Denison, Ram and Gibbs. These three-storey red-brick buildings have elegant facades featuring a rich variety of architectural elements, including curved pediments over the entrance doorways, rusticated columns, doric capitals, window cills, cornices and balustrades. Chinese-style ceramic grilles are found on the facade to contrast with the red brick wall. The pitched and double-tiled Chinese roofs are a local adaption.
      
     Information on the three monuments is available on the heritage conservation website of the Development Bureau (www.heritage.gov.hk).

              

     The Government announced today (November 16) the reappointment of four serving members and the appointment of four new members to the Hospital Authority (HA), for a term of two years with effect from December 1, 2018.   … read more