Author Archives: hksar gov

     Renowned writer and veteran journalist Dr Louis Cha passed away on October 30. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum will set up a condolence point outside the Jin Yong Gallery from November 12 to 30 for members of the public to sign a condolence book and pay tribute to Dr Cha.
 
     In order to keep access to the condolence point clear, members of the public are requested not bring flowers, flower baskets or wreaths to the museum.
 
     The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is located at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin. The condolence point will be open from November 13 to 30 during the museum’s opening hours, except for the first day (November 12), when it will be open from 4pm to 6pm. The museum is open from 10am to 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays to Fridays, and from 10am to 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays. It is closed on Tuesdays.

     Attached please find the condolence statement, “Hong Kong Heritage Museum mourns Dr Louis Cha”. read more

     The self-service library station located at Island East Sports Centre Sitting-out Area will suspend services from 10.15am on November 12 (Monday) to the end of the day to facilitate periodic inspection and system testing at the… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Yung Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (November 7):
 
Question:
 
     During the onslaught of super typhoon Mangkhut in Hong Kong in September this year, the coastal areas (including Hong Kong Island East near Heng Fa Chuen, Shek O, South Horizons, Sha Tin, Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung and Sha Tau Kok) suffered severe flooding and quite a number of facilities (including roads, piers and bridges) there were damaged. Such situations have given rise to doubts over the capability of existing seawalls and breakwaters to withstand winds and waves. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has assessed the correlation between the serious damage to the facilities along the seafront of Tseung Kwan O South during the onslaught of Mangkhut and the capability of the seawall there to withstand winds and waves; if so, of the outcome and follow-up measures; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(2) of the design standards adopted for the existing seawalls and breakwaters; when such standards were formulated, and the date on which such standards were last updated; and
 
(3) whether it will conduct a comprehensive review of the design standards for the construction of seawalls and breakwaters so as to strengthen the capability of such facilities to withstand winds and waves; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The geographical position of Hong Kong makes it susceptible to weather-related threats such as tropical cyclone, rainstorm and storm surge. In particular, some low-lying coastal or windy locations are vulnerable to seawater inundation caused by extreme storm surges or huge waves, and consequential damage to facilities situated near the seaside. As climate change goes drastic, threats induced by extreme weather are expected to be more frequent and severe. Attaching great importance to climate change, the Government established in April 2016 the Steering Committee on Climate Change under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for Administration. Besides, the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) has established the Climate Change Working Group on Infrastructure to co-ordinate the work among various works departments on tackling climate change, actively conduct relevant studies, align design standards, and uplift the resilience of major public infrastructures.
 
     Having consulted relevant departments, I provide below a consolidated reply to the three parts of the Hon Yung’s question:
 
(1) During the passage of a typhoon, waves approaching shores may overtop seawalls. On September 16 this year, the maximum sustained winds near the centre of Mangkhut was 195 kilometres per hour (km/h), higher than the same of 1962’s Wanda, 1971’s Rose and last year’s Hato (which were all 185 km/h), thus intensifying the severity of overtopping waves. As a result, some low-lying coastal or windy locations were exposed to threats of seawater inundation, causing different levels of damage to seaside facilities.
 
     As far as the southern seaside of Tseung Kwan O is concerned, during the passage of Mangkhut, huge waves rolled up by strong winds overtopped the seawall, inundated the promenade and waterfront park, and caused damage to some facilities at the seaside. Nevertheless, the structural integrity of the seawalls were not severely affected by the wave attack of Mangkhut. The relevant seawall structure comply with the design standards set out in the Port Works Design Manual published between 2002 and 2004 by the Civil Engineering Department (CED) .
 
(2) The CED published the Port Works Manual in 1992 to provide general technical and application guidance for professionals engaging in the design, construction and maintenance of port structures in Hong Kong. In 2002 to 2004, the CED published the Port Works Design Manual. The manual is divided into five sections, namely General Design Considerations for Marine Works; Guide to Design of Piers and Dolphins; Guide to Design of Reclamation; Guide to Design of Seawalls and Breakwaters; and Guide to Design of Beaches. In view of the potential impact on marine works in Hong Kong due to climate change, the CEDD (note: the former Civil Engineering Department and the former Territory Development Department merged into the Civil Engineering and Development Department in 2004) updated the Port Works Design Manual in January this year, incorporating projections of rise in mean sea levels and increase in wind speed due to climate change. The CEDD will continue to make reference to the latest climate change projections, and to collect updated weather data. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Observatory in monitoring the latest situation, the CEDD will review and update design standards set out in the Port Works Design Manual in a timely manner in order to enhance the resilience of marine works against wave impacts.
 
(3) The CEDD will commission a consultancy study for a period of 18 to 24 months to conduct a comprehensive review on low-lying coastal and windy locations, and carry out relevant investigations on storm surge and wave, so as to assess the impacts of extreme weather. Based on the findings of the study, the Government will review if it is necessary to update relevant design standards set out in the Port Works Design Manual, and formulate appropriate protection measures including options of improvement works and management measures to strengthen the resilience to wave impacts at the coastal areas. The Government will carry out a multi-pronged assessment on the suggestions of flood prevention strategy to identify long-term solutions to problems caused by huge waves. read more

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (November 7) that a public auction for stalls at the 2019 Che Kung Festival Fair will be held on November 21 (Wednesday).
 
     The annual fair will be held for 18 days from February 2 to February 19, 2019, at Chui Tin Street Soccer Pitch in Sha Tin. The upset bidding prices for the 44 dry goods stalls and four wet goods stalls are $4,620 and $1,100 respectively.
 
     The auction will begin at 9.30am at Wo Che Community Hall, Wo Che Estate, Sha Tin. Dry goods stalls will be auctioned first, followed by wet goods stalls.
 
     Bidders must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.
     
     Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in person with his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.
 
     Stall licensees should not destroy, damage or abandon any unsold commodities at and in the vicinity of the stall. They shall completely remove the stall structure and all paraphernalia, together with all refuse, debris and unsold commodities (whether damaged or otherwise) from the licensed area before 10pm on February 19, 2019.
 
     For more information about the auction, please call the FEHD’s Sha Tin District Environmental Hygiene Office at 2634 0134. Details are also available on the FEHD website at www.fehd.gov.hk. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Jimmy Ng and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (November 7):

Question:

     The results of a study reveal that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been faced with the problem of labour costs rising incessantly since the implementation of the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) regime in May 2011. The profit ratio of SMEs was 2.7 percentage points lower than that of all enterprises in 2011, and such gap gradually widened to 6.7 percentage points in 2016. Regarding the support for SMEs, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the respective profit ratios, in each year from 2011 to 2017, of SMEs belonging to the following five industries: (i) import/export trade and wholesale, (ii) social and personal services, (iii) professional and business services, (iv) retail, and (v) accommodation and food services; whether it has studied the impacts of the rise in labour costs on the profitability of SMEs belonging to these industries; if so, of the outcome; 

(2) as a survey’s findings have revealed that the business support most wanted by SMEs from the Government is the introduction of one-off relief measures (such as exemption from payments of business registration fees and other levies), whether the Government will roll out measures in response to such a request; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; 

(3) given that both the number of applications received for, and the number of SME beneficiaries of, the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme and the SME Export Marketing Fund have been on the decline over the past few years, of the measures to be put in place by the Government in the coming year to enhance these initiatives, so as to encourage SMEs to make applications; and 

(4) whether it will consider afresh extending the geographical scope for the subsidy of the Enterprise Support Programme under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales from the current coverage of the Mainland and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to encompass all the countries and regions along the Belt and Road; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the Office of the Government Economist, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, and the Trade and Industry Department, my reply to the four parts of the question is provided below:

(1) Data on the profit ratio of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) (only including enterprises with employees) by selected industries from 2011 to 2016 (latest available data) are set out at Annex.

     The Government has all along paid close attention to the business situation of various industries, in particular SMEs. Generally speaking, an increase in labour costs would exert greater pressure on the operation of labour-intensive sectors. Nevertheless, profit ratio of enterprises actually depends on a host of external factors (such as external economic environment) and internal ones. Apart from compensation of employees, business situation of the relevant sectors, costs of goods and changes in other operating expenses also matter.

(2) When considering and formulating relief or concessionary measures, the Government takes into account the overall economic situation, the Government’s fiscal position, the needs of various sectors in the community and relevant policies in a holistic way. The 2018-19 Budget proposed a series of concessionary measures, including reduction of profits tax and rates concession, from which many SMEs have benefited. In addition, the Government has implemented the two-tiered profits tax rates regime with effect from the year of assessment 2018-19, lowering the rate by half to 8.25 per cent for the first $2 million of assessable profits for qualifying enterprises. This new measure can provide tax relief to SMEs.

     The Government will continue to closely monitor the global economic situation and its impact on Hong Kong’s economy.

(3) Under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme (SGS), the Government provides up to 50 per cent loan guarantee to SMEs to help them secure loans from the participating lending institutions for acquiring business installations and equipment or as general working capital. Since its launch in 2001 and up to end September 2018, 31 405 applications have been approved, involving a guarantee amount of about $25.6 billion and benefitting over 16 000 SMEs. The number of applications received in the third quarter of 2018 (221 applications) has increased by 19 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

     The SME Export Marketing Fund (EMF) aims to encourage SMEs to expand to markets outside Hong Kong by providing financial assistance to SMEs for participation in export promotion activities. Since its inception in 2001 and up to end September 2018, the EMF has granted some $3.3 billion benefitting over 47 000 enterprises. To strengthen the support to SMEs for exploring new markets and new business opportunities, the Government has advanced the launch of the enhancement measures to the EMF to August 1, 2018, including doubling the cumulative funding ceiling per SME and the maximum funding per application to $400,000 and $100,000 respectively. Upon the launch of the enhancement measures, the number of applications received by the EMF in August and September (1 609 applications) has increased by 20 per cent as compared to the same period last year.

     We will continue to closely monitor and review the operations of the SGS and the EMF from time to time, and will make adjustments where necessary to assist SMEs in obtaining financing and expanding their markets outside Hong Kong.

(4) To further assist enterprises in developing markets, the Government has advanced the launch of the enhancement measures to the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) to August 1, 2018, including the launch of the ASEAN Programme under the BUD Fund to provide funding support to non-listed Hong Kong enterprises in carrying out projects that aim to enhance their competitiveness and further business development in the ASEAN markets. We have also advanced the launch of enhancement measures to the Mainland Programme under the BUD Fund, including doubling the cumulative funding ceiling per enterprise to $1 million, and relaxing the current restriction on the maximum number of approved projects, so as to strengthen support to SMEs. The trade responded positively to the enhancement measures. As at September 30, 2018, the ASEAN Programme received 75 applications; and the enhanced Mainland Programme received 273 applications in the third quarter, representing a substantial increase of 58 per cent as compared to the last quarter.

     We will maintain liaison with the trade, learn from the operational experiences of the ASEAN Programme and review the operations of the BUD Fund from time to time, including the geographical coverage of its funding support, taking into account the changing market and economic situation as well as feedback from the trade. We will make adjustments where necessary so as to cater to the needs of enterprises.

     Besides, there is no geographical limitation under the EMF, and SMEs may make use of the funding to conduct export promotion activities that aim at countries along the Belt and Road. read more