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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), announces today (July 30) the relevant per annum interest rate for the fourth interest payment of Silver Bond Series due 2019 (Issue Number 03GB1908R) (the Bonds) issued under the Retail Bond Issuance Programme of the Government Bond Programme.
      
     According to the Issue Circular dated July 15, 2016 for the Bonds, the fourth interest payment of the Bonds is scheduled to be made on August 13, 2018, and the relevant interest rate is scheduled to be determined and announced on July 30, 2018 as the higher of the prevailing Floating Rate and Fixed Rate. 
      
     On July 30, 2018, the Floating Rate and Fixed Rate are as follows:
 
                    Floating Rate: +2.30%(Annex)
                    Fixed Rate: +2.00%
      
     Based on the Floating Rate and Fixed Rate set out above, the relevant interest rate for the fourth interest payment is determined and announced as 2.30% per annum.

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

     Ballots were drawn openly today (July 30) for the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)'s White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) 2018 under a newly launched electronic balloting system. The Chairman of the HA Subsidised Housing Committee, Mr Stanley Wong, officiated at the ballot drawing.
 
     "Over 60 000 applications were received, with about 26 200 from family applicants and about 34 300 from one-person applicants under the WSM 2018. The quota set under the WSM 2018 is 2 500, with 2 250 allocated to family applicants and 250 to one-person applicants. The open ballot conducted today will determine the priority sequence of the last two digits of the application numbers held by applicants of the scheme. Based on the ballot results, the HA will randomly generate the order of all applicants under the family and one-person applicant categories by computer," a spokesman for the HA said.
 
     According to the random order, the HA will conduct detailed vetting to determine whether individual applicants meet the eligibility criteria. Approval letters will be sent to eligible family and one-person applicants in October 2018 for them to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility to Purchase, which will have a validity period of 12 months from the issue date, within two weeks from the issue date of the approval letters to purchase a flat with premium not yet paid in the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Secondary Market from the HA or in the Flat-for-Sale-Scheme Secondary Market from the Hong Kong Housing Society.
 
     The WSM 2018 will provide a quota of 2 500 for applicants to purchase their flats with premium not yet paid and the quota for family and one-person applicants is set at the ratio of 9:1. According to the alienation restrictions under the WSM, a buyer is not allowed to sell the flat in the secondary market within the first two years from the first assignment after purchase. He or she can sell the flat with premium not yet paid to a nominee from the HOS Secondary Market by the HA starting from the third year onwards upon the first assignment. In addition, he or she may sell the flat in the open market at any time upon payment of the premium.
 
     WSM buyers who purchase flats sold under the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme Flats 2018 will be subject to new alienation restrictions, i.e. they are not allowed to sell their flats in the open market with the premium paid for the first five years from the first assignment.
 
     The ballot results for the WSM 2018 have been uploaded to the dedicated webpage on the HA/Housing Department website (www.housingauthority.gov.hk/mini-site/sms-white-form-2018/en/index.html). The random order of all applications under the family and one-person applicant categories generated from the ballot results by computer will be uploaded to the webpage tomorrow (July 31) and displayed at the HA Customer Service Centre in Lok Fu, estate offices and District Tenancy Management Offices of the HA, estate offices of the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department and the Sham Shui Po Housing Information Centre. Applicants may also call the HA hotline 2712 2712 for enquiries.

  

     The Transport Department (TD) today (July 30) reminded the public that to facilitate tram track maintenance work at Des Voeux Road West, parts of the fast lane of Des Voeux Road West westbound near Kwan Yick Building Phase I will be temporarily closed during the period from about 10am next Monday (August 6) to 6pm on August 13 (Monday).

     Appropriate traffic signs will be erected on-site to guide motorists.

     The TD anticipates that the traffic in the vicinity of the above road section will be relatively busy. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience in case of traffic congestion. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news or the department's website (www.td.gov.hk).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, July 30, 2018 is 104 (up 0.1 against last Saturday's index).

     Police today (July 30) appealed to the public to use the 999 hotline service only for emergencies.

     In the first six months of 2018, the Police Regional Command and Control Centres received 1,073,892 calls, of which about 66.2 per cent, or 710,605 calls, were genuine. The remaining 363,287 calls were nuisance calls or misdialled.

     A Police spokesman said that misuse of the emergency hotline would delay the handling of genuine emergencies. It would endanger the lives of people in urgent need of Police assistance.

     The spokesman added that police stations could also promptly handle most crime reports and requests of a non-emergency nature. Members of the public are advised to seek assistance from police stations.

     Police contact cards listing the telephone and fax numbers of all police stations as well as police hotlines are available for collection at police stations and Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department. The list of contact numbers can also be found on the Police website (www.police.gov.hk) and the Hong Kong Police Mobile Application.