Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Home Affairs Department will continue to open 19 community halls/community centres as temporary heat shelters today (August 9).

     The temporary heat shelters will remain open for people to take refuge from the heat when the Very Hot Weather Warning is in force. From 10.30pm to 8am the next day, the temporary heat shelters will also provide bedding and a sleeping place for people in need. The shelters are manned by duty attendants.

     For further information, please call the department’s hotline before midnight on 2572 8427.

     The heat shelters are located at:

Hong Kong Island:
———————

Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun

Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay

Southern –
Wah Kwai Community Centre
Wah Kwai Estate, Kellett Bay

Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai

Kowloon Districts:
——————

Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom

Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin

Sham Shui Po –
Lai Kok Community Hall
Lai Kok Estate, Cheung Sha Wan

Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan

Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei

New Territories Districts:
————————–

Islands –
Tung Chung Community Hall
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building, 39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung

Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung

North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling

Sai Kung –
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex,
38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O

Sha Tin –
Lung Hang Estate Community Centre
Lung Hang Estate, Sha Tin

Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po
 
Tsuen Wan –
Lei Muk Shue Community Hall
G/F, Hong Shue House, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tsuen Wan
 
Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun 

Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long

Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai

     In addition to the above heat shelters, a number of community halls/community centres can also be used for taking refuge from the heat during their operating hours. For their address details, please browse the following document: www.had.gov.hk/file_manager/en/documents/public_services/emergency_services/List_CH_CC_Day_E.pdf. read more

     The Transport Department (TD) today (August 9) announced that the auction of traditional vehicle registration marks will be held on August 26 (Saturday) in Meeting Room N201, L2, New Wing, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

     “A total of 340 vehicle registration marks will be put up for public auction. The list of marks has been uploaded to the department’s website, www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_registration_mark/index.html,” a department spokesman said.

     Applicants who have paid a deposit of $1,000 to reserve a mark for auction should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price of $1,000). Otherwise, the mark concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(1) Successful bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(i) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) the identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) a crossed cheque made payable to “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” or “The Government of the HKSAR”. (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.

(2) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted.

(3) A vehicle registration mark can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(4) Special registration marks are non-transferable. Where the ownership of a motor vehicle with a special registration mark is transferred, the allocation of the special registration mark shall be cancelled.

(5) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the registration mark to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the registration mark within 12 months, allocation of the mark will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of Traditional Vehicle Registration Marks, which can be downloaded from the department’s website, www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/vehicle_registration_mark/tvrm_auction/index.html. read more

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, met the Secretary of the CPC Zhongshan Municipal Committee, Mr Guo Wenhai, today (August 9) to exchange views on further deepening Hong Kong’s co-operation with Zhongshan.
      
     Mr Lee welcomed Mr Guo’s visit to Hong Kong with his delegation. Mr Lee said that Hong Kong is the largest source of external investment in Zhongshan, and that the two places enjoy close economic and trade ties. He added that Hong Kong could contribute to the better integration of the two places in such areas as finance, logistics, trade, technology, management and professional services, in which Hong Kong enjoy an advantage, and could co-operate with Zhongshan to promote the high-quality development in manufacturing and other industries, fostering the exchange and development of young people in the two places.
      
     Mr Lee pointed out that the Dedicated Team for Attracting Businesses and Talents of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong actively appeals to local enterprises and talent to develop in Hong Kong. He expressed his gratitude to the Zhongshan Municipal Government for its long-standing support for the relevant work. He said he looks forward to the continuously close co-operation between the two places, with a view to enhancing the understanding of Zhongshan’s enterprises and talent of Hong Kong’s investment and employment environment. He said that Hong Kong will continue to make good use of its advantages as a professional services and financing platform and encourage enterprises to expand their businesses in Zhongshan and other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities.
      
     Noting that the travelling time between Hong Kong and Zhongshan has been significantly reduced since the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, Mr Lee said he believes it brings the two places closer to each other and will facilitate Hong Kong people’s pursuit of starting business, working, and living in Zhongshan. He said it will also foster the flow of people and deepen co-operation between the two places, and facilitate their joint promotion of the high-quality development of the GBA.

  

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (August 9) the results of the Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) for July 2023.
 
     The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs increased from 44.4 in June 2023 in the contractionary zone to 45.8 in July 2023, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. August 2023) outlook DI on business receipts was 49.5. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for majority of the surveyed sectors rose by varying degrees in July 2023 as compared with previous month, particularly for the business services (from 45.6 to 49.2) and restaurants (from 45.2 to 48.0).
     
     The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades increased from 46.3 in June 2023 to 46.8 in July 2023, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. August 2023) was 49.1.
 
Commentary
 
     A Government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs saw some improvement in July, with the current diffusion indices for most surveyed sectors recording increases. Expectations on the business situation in one month’s time also turned better. The overall employment situation remained broadly stable.
 
     Looking forward, the spokesman said that the local economic recovery, together with the various measures introduced by the Government to boost the momentum of the recovery should provide support to business sentiment, though the difficult external environment and tight financial conditions will continue to bring uncertainties. The Government will monitor the situation closely.
 
Further information
 
     The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to establishments with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent establishments in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled “Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey” released by the C&SD.
 
     The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own establishments rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents’ perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
 
     More detailed statistics are given in the “Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises”. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300).
 
     Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hk). read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, at a media session after inspecting the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal this morning (August 9):   Reporter: My first quest… read more