The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (August 31) that the Insect House in Tai Po Waterfront Park will be temporarily closed from September 1 to 14 for repair works.

     Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) today (August 31) hosted a seminar at the sixth China-Eurasia Expo in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to update the local business community on Hong Kong's unique business advantages in the context of the national Belt and Road Initiative and Hong Kong's ability to expand their business globally.
      
     The seminar, entitled "Belt and Road, Together We Grow", was the first such organised by InvestHK in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and was supported by the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China in Beijing (Beijing Office).
      
     The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Stephen Phillips, and the Vice-Governor of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Mr Hadeerbieke Hamuzha, delivered welcome remarks at the event. 
      
     Mr Phillips said, "Hong Kong has long played an active role in facilitating trade and investment between Mainland China and the rest of the world and in recent years, Mainland enterprises' ambition to 'go global'. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is strategically located at the heartland of Eurasia and has been designated as a core area of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is a key transport and logistics hub, centre of commerce and regional financial centre for servicing trading with central Asia and beyond. I see many opportunities for collaboration. Xinjiang companies can leverage the dynamic business environment provided by Hong Kong, which will help Xinjiang companies better embrace new opportunities aligned with the Belt and Road Initiative.
      
     "Xinjiang enterprises can leverage Hong Kong's world-class financial and professional services to structure and finance projects and merger and acquisition deals, and access the very best accounting and tax, legal, construction engineering design, management and project planning services, as well as manpower training and much more. All these are underpinned by Hong Kong’s world-class common law system, which also makes Hong Kong a very suitable location for dispute resolution. What is more, the international outlook of Hong Kong, as the melting pot of the region, can also help Xinjiang enterprises and business communities from Belt and Road countries forge successful partnerships. In the meantime, The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will also serve as a powerful connection point for the Belt and Road. Mainland companies should utilise the strong research and development capacity of Hong Kong and the Bay Area's advanced manufacturing. I believe this powerful combination would definitely help any Xinjiang company to upgrade its innovation capability, and in the long perspective, the result would enhance the overall development of industries in Xinjiang.”
      
     The Head of the Beijing Investment Promotion Unit of InvestHK, Mr Matt Hu, further elaborated on Hong Kong's business advantages and ways to assist Mainland enterprises to expand overseas at the seminar. Other speakers included the Vice Chairman of Professional Committee on Cultural Industries, Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce, Mr Chan King-Cheung; the Senior Manager, M&A Tax, KPMG Advisory (China) Limited, Ms Lily Zhang; the Managing Director and Head of Northern China, Global Coverage Centre, BOCI Asia Limited, Mr Wang Yaohui; and the Manager of Issuer Services, Market Development, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Mr Raymond Yang. They spoke on how to tap into Belt and Road opportunities via Hong Kong, the city's tax incentives and financing advantages, comprehensive professional financial services for Mainland enterprises to "go global", and the latest developments of Hong Kong's listing and securities market.
      
About InvestHK

     InvestHK is the department of the HKSAR Government responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services for overseas and Mainland companies enrolled as its clients. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

     For an event photo, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157700772679665.

  

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited on phishing email, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the email concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the email should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

     The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and senior government officials will attend an official ceremony on Monday (September 3) at City Hall Memorial Garden to commemorate the victory of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

     The official ceremony will be held at 8am. The ceremony will include a performance by the Police Band, singing of the national anthem by a choir from St. Joseph's College and Holy Family Canossian College, flag raising, a gun salute by the Police Rifle Squad, silence in mourning and wreath laying.

     About 900 people including judicial officers, members of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council, representatives of war veteran groups, members of the community, uniformed groups and students will attend the ceremony. In view of the limited capacity at the venue, there will be no public viewing area for the ceremony. Radio Television Hong Kong will provide a live broadcast of the ceremony on the day.

     The Police will implement temporary traffic arrangements at the northern section of Edinburgh Place outside Hong Kong City Hall on the day from 5.30am onwards until the end of the ceremony. Vehicular access to the northern section of Edinburgh Place outside Hong Kong City Hall will be closed and entry will be restricted to vehicles with the appropriate Closed Road Permit.

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (August 31) reminded students who are interested in applying for subsidy under the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme (MUSSS) for the 2018/19 academic year and who will enter designated Mainland institutions in the 2018/19 academic year for the first year of their studies to submit their completed application forms, together with supporting documents, to the EDB by post on or before September 21.

     The MUSSS was launched by the Government in July 2014 to provide subsidy to Hong Kong students who have passed a means test ("means-tested subsidy") to pursue undergraduate studies in designated Mainland institutions. Eligible students will receive either a full-rate subsidy or a half-rate subsidy per academic year, depending on their needs. Starting from the 2017/18 academic year, a "non-means-tested subsidy" is introduced under the MUSSS. Eligible students will receive a flat rate subsidy for an academic year. The subsidy under MUSSS is granted on a yearly basis. The subsidised period will be the normal duration of the undergraduate programme pursued by the student concerned in the designated Mainland institution. Eligible applicants can only receive either "means-tested subsidy" or "non-means-tested subsidy" in an academic year.

     For the 2018/19 academic year, the amounts of adjusted full-rate subsidy and half-rate subsidy under the "means-tested subsidy" are HK$16,800 and HK$8,400 respectively. The amount of "non-means-tested subsidy" is HK$5,600.  

     Detailed information of the MUSSS, including the 176 designated Mainland institutions, application forms and guidance notes, are available at the EDB website (www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/postsecondary/policy-doc/musss/2018.html). The EDB will inform individual applicants of the application result by the first quarter of 2019.