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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (July 25) released the consultation conclusion on the public consultation relating to rules prescribing loss-absorbing capacity (LAC) requirements for authorized institutions (Rules) proposed to be made as subsidiary legislation under section 19(1) of the Financial Institutions (Resolution) Ordinance (Cap 628) (Ordinance). 

     The core of the HKMA's LAC policy proposal is that authorized institutions whose failure could pose a risk to the financial system in Hong Kong should be required to have sufficient LAC in order to facilitate the orderly failure of such entities, should they reach the point of non-viability. To this end, requiring authorized institutions to maintain sufficient LAC is a pre-requisite to enabling the Monetary Authority, as resolution authority for the banking sector, to use the powers under the resolution regime established by the Ordinance to manage any future failure of an authorized institution in an orderly manner that avoids disruption to financial stability and minimises the risk to public funds.

     At the end of the consultation period (January 17 to March 16), a total of ten submissions had been received, including from industry associations (both domestic and international), authorized institutions and financial market infrastructures.  

     Respondents provided constructive comments on the proposals set out in the consultation paper. While some sought additional clarity on the details of the proposals in the consultation paper, no respondents challenged the basic principle of the policy proposal.

     The HKMA has carefully reviewed all comments, and the Monetary Authority's responses are set out in the consultation conclusion, with appropriate changes adopted in developing the draft Rules. The intention is to consult industry on the text of the draft Rules before introducing the Rules as subsidiary legislation under the Ordinance into the Legislative Council for negative vetting later in 2018. 

     The Ordinance was enacted by the Legislative Council on June 22, 2016. The main provisions of the Ordinance came into operation on July 7, 2017. 

     The consultation conclusion can be downloaded from the HKMA's website (www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/key-functions/banking-stability/resolution/resolution-publications).

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (July 25) announced that in consideration of the latest composite consumer price index, the service fee for the Participating Service Providers (PSPs) in the General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership (GOPC PPP) Programme will be increased by around 4.1 per cent from $3,155 to $3,283 per patient per year at the maximum with retrospective effect from July 1, 2018.
 
     According to the HA spokesperson, the calculation of the adjustment was based on the commonly used Composite Consumer Price Index (Medical Services), published in the Monthly Report on the Consumer Price Index by the Census and Statistics Department, for the period from July 2017 to June 2018.
 
     "The maximum total payment to PSPs per patient per year, covering up to 10 consultations, will be increased from $3,155 to $3,283. Participating patients, however, will continue to pay only the HA General Outpatient Clinic (GOPC) fee of $50 per attendance," the spokesperson said.
 
     The GOPC PPP Programme has been extended to cover all 18 districts in the territory since April this year. As at the end of June 2018, over 360 PSPs were providing consultation services to more than 24,000 GOPC patients who have joined the Programme. The territory-wide implementation will give patients more choices in selecting their family doctors all over Hong Kong.
 
     "All HA Public-Private Partnership Programmes work on Electronic Health Record (eHR) platforms. PSPs and patients have to register for the eHR system if they wish to join the programmes, including the GOPC PPP Programme," the spokesperson added.
 
     The HA will continue to monitor closely the implementation of the GOPC PPP Programme and keep in view closely the feedback from service providers, patients and other parties concerned.

     Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) hosted a roundtable conference in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, today (July 25) to update the local business community on Hong Kong's unique business advantages in the context of the national Belt and Road Initiative and how they could expand their business globally via Hong Kong.
      
     The roundtable conference, entitled "Hong Kong and Jiangsu Province cooperation: Seizing the advantages of Hong Kong's platform", was organised by InvestHK in partnership with the Department of Commerce of Jiangsu Province. It was also supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government.

     The Director-General of Investment Promotion, Mr Stephen Phillips, and the Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Jiangsu Province, Mr Sun Jin, spoke at the event.  

     Mr Phillips said, "Hong Kong and Jiangsu have close economic ties. 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'. Hong Kong can provide a dynamic business environment to these companies, helping Jiangsu companies to embrace new opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative.”

     He continued, "Jiangsu 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 Jiangsu enterprises and companies from Belt and Road countries forge successful partnerships."

     The Head of the Shanghai Investment Promotion Unit of InvestHK, Ms Ada Yeung, also introduced Hong Kong's business environment and latest tax policies at the conference. The Assistant Vice President, Issuer Services, Market Development of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Ms Natalie Chan, and Partner, Tax and Business Advisory of Deloitte China, Ms Paky Ding, talked about the latest developments of the listing and securities market, tax incentives and the advantages of setting up a corporate treasury centre in Hong Kong.

     The InvestHK delegation will head to Hefei, Anhui Province, tomorrow (July 26), to host a seminar entitled "Hong Kong and Anhui Province cooperation: Seizing the advantages of Hong Kong's platform", introducing Hong Kong's business advantages to Anhui companies and entrepreneurs and encouraging them to make use of Hong Kong as the best platform to "go global".

     The Hefei seminar is organised by InvestHK in partnership with the Commercial Office of the Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government (LOCPG) in the HKSAR and the Department of Commerce of Anhui Province. It is supported and co-organised by the Financial Work Office of the Anhui Provincial People's Government, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Anhui Provincial Committee, the Anhui Federation of Industry and Commerce and the SHETO of the HKSAR Government. Mr Phillips; the Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Department and Head of the Commerce Office of the LOCPG in the HKSAR, Mr Liu Yajun; and the Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Anhui Province, Ms Zhu Ning, will speak at the event.

     Other speakers at the Hefei seminar will include the Executive Director, Head of of Commercial Bank, Transaction Banking at Standard Chartered Bank (China), Mr Richard Lee; the Assistant Vice President, Issuer Services, Market Development of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Ms Sarah Zhang; and the Director (Shanghai) of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Ms Lesley Wong, as well as Ms Ding who spoke at the Nanjing seminar today. They will talk about Hong Kong's financing advantages and comprehensive professional financial services for Mainland enterprises, listing in Hong Kong and the latest developments in Hong Kong's securities market, and the diversified services that the HKTDC provides for Mainland enterprises "going global". A representative from an Anhui enterprise in Hong Kong, the Vice General Manager of Xingtai Holding Company (Hong Kong) Limited, Ms Kong Yan, will also talk about her experience in making use of Hong Kong's facilities and services to expand overseas.
      
About InvestHK

     InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to attract foreign direct investment and support 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/72157671517249898.

  

     The final registers of electors for 2018 were published today (July 25).

     A total of 3 814 318 electors are carried in the newly issued final register for the geographical constituencies.

     The distribution of electors for the five geographical constituencies is as follows:
 

     The final register for the District Council (second) functional constituency contains 3 522 881 electors.

     For the functional constituencies (other than the District Council (second) functional constituency), 230 934 electors are listed in the final register.

     The final register for the Election Committee subsectors contains 237 749 voters.

     Statistical information about these final registers is available on the voter registration website (www.voterregistration.gov.hk).

     A full set of the final registers for geographical constituencies and the District Council (second) functional constituency are available for inspection during ordinary business hours (9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 6pm) from Monday to Friday at the office of the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) on 10/F, Harbour Centre, 25 Harbour Road, Wan Chai. The relevant section of the register pertinent to a particular district is also available for public inspection at the respective Home Affairs Enquiry Centre during its office hours.

     For functional constituencies (other than the District Council (second) functional constituency) and Election Committee subsectors, full copies of the final registers are available for public inspection at the REO's office at Harbour Centre and its office on 13/F, Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre, 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, and the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres in Central, Mong Kok, Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin.

     Registered electors may log in to the REO's Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk), or call the enquiry hotline on 2891 1001, to check their own registration status and particulars.

     Notices on the inspection of the final registers are gazetted today.

     Firing practice will take place at two military sites, namely the San Wai/Tai Ling Firing Range and the Tsing Shan Firing Range, next month (August).
 
     Red flags or red lamps will be hoisted at the firing areas before and during firing practice. For their safety, people are advised not to enter the firing area.
 
     Following are the dates and times for the firing practice sessions in August 2018:
 
San Wai/Tai Ling Firing Range
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Tsing Shan Firing Range
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