Four local and overseas jazz groups will perform in the "2018 Hong Kong International Jazz Festival – Outdoor Concert" at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza on Sunday (October 7) from 3pm to 7pm, offering an afternoon of enjoyable free performances for members of the public.
 
     The concert line-up comprises Afternoon Tree, with members from Taiwan and Japan; Funktion from Thailand; local group Tjoe Man-cheung & The NTBM (Not-to-be-missed); and Hong Kong-based group Alonso Gonzalez Latin Jazz Quintet.
 
     Afternoon Tree’s music style combines jazz, folk rhyme and classical music. The use of traditional instruments such as erhu and violin also adds new elements to the group's performances, offering jazz lovers imaginative and original music. In addition, the five energetic members of Funktion will charm the audience with jazz fusion. NTBM, led by local guitarist and composer Tjoe Man-cheung, will perform contemporary metro jazz while Alonso Gonzalez Latin Jazz Quintet will bring refreshing jazz with Latin rhythms to the stage.
 
     The outdoor concert is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in association with the Hong Kong Jazz Association. For programme enquiries, please visit the website:
www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/eo/territoryevents/hkinternationaljazz/hkijf_2018.html.

        

     The Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, visited a technology company specialising in radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies and the HealthTech Centre of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Kwai Chung) in Kwai Tsing District today (October 5). He also met with members of the Kwai Tsing District Council (K&TDC).

     Mr Yang was accompanied by the Chairman of the K&TDC, Mr Law King-shing, and the District Officer (Kwai Tsing), Mr Kenneth Cheng, on the district visit. Mr Yang first visited an RFID label and hangtag manufacturing company to gain a better understanding of its operation model with a Hong Kong-based research and development (R&D) team and Mainland production bases. The company has established an R&D team and automated production lines in Hong Kong, while factories equipped with large-sized machinery are set up in other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities and Southeast Asia. Mr Yang said that the Government is committed to promoting re-industrialisation and developing high-end manufacturing industries which leverage new technologies and smart production while requiring less land. The high value-added processes will be kept in Hong Kong.
      
     At a meeting with representatives of the Radio Frequency Identification General Chamber of Commerce, Mr Yang learned more about their collaboration with the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre and local enterprises in driving RFID technology application. For instance, the RFID technologies are deployed in enhancing construction site safety through installation of sensors and chips on site vehicles and safety helmets for detection of workers as well as tracking of building components delivery and construction waste disposal in the building process of public housing.
      
     Mr Yang then visited the HealthTech Centre of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Kwai Chung) under the Vocational Training Council, which offers training solutions for students pursing health services studies. Equipped with advanced and professional technology-centric facilities, the Centre provides vocational and professional education to students and enables them to master the latest medical and healthcare technologies, including simulation training on the operation of automated external defibrillators with the aid of mixed reality devices. The Centre also collaborates with community organisations and elderly centres to engage elderly residents to try out interactive virtual reality games. Students can conduct health assessment for the elderly, thereby promoting the adoption of health technologies.
      
     Before concluding the district visit, Mr Yang met with District Council members to exchange views on issues related to technology application and district affairs.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 5) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$426.4 billion as at the end of September 2018 (end-August 2018: US$424.8 billion) (Annex).
 
     Including unsettled foreign exchange contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of September 2018 amounted to US$418.8 billion (end-August 2018: US$417.2 billion).
 
     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$426.4 billion represent about seven times the currency in circulation or 46 per cent of Hong Kong dollar M3.
 
Release calendar
 
     The release calendar of foreign currency reserve assets for 2019 is announced below:
 

 
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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 October 2018, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

     MS Services Center Limited and its director concerned were prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for failing to pay five employees' wages within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods as required by the Employment Ordinance (EO). Both the company and director pleaded guilty at Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (October 5) and were respectively fined $110,000 and $95,000, making a total of $205,000.

     The company failed to pay five employees' wages totalling about $254,000 within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods as required by the EO. The director concerned was convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the offence.

     "The ruling helps disseminate a strong message to all employers and responsible officers of companies that they have to pay employees wages within the time limit in accordance with the EO," a spokesman for LD said.

     "The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.

     The Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene has ordered a restaurant in Yau Tong to suspend business for 14 days as the operator repeatedly breached the Food Business Regulation (FBR) by extending the business area illegally.
     
     The restaurant, located at Shop Nos. G3 and G4, G/F, Ka Kwai Arcade, Yau Tong Centre, 9-11 Ka Wing Street, Yau Tong, was ordered to suspend business from today (October 5) to October 18.
     
     "In April and July this year, two convictions for the above-mentioned breach were recorded against the licensee of the restaurant. A total fine of $6,500 was levied by the court and 30 demerit points were registered against the licensee under the department's demerit points system. The contraventions resulted in the 14-day licence suspension," a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said.
     
     The licensee of the restaurant had a record of two convictions for the same offence in October last year and January this year respectively. A total fine of $3,500 was levied and 30 demerit points were registered. The breaches led to licence suspension for seven days in March this year.
     
     The spokesman reminded licensees of food premises to comply with the FBR, or their licences could be suspended or cancelled.
     
     Licensed food premises are required to exhibit a sign, at a conspicuous place near the main entrance, indicating that the premises have been licensed. A list of licensed food premises is available on the FEHD's website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/index.html).