E&M I&T Day 2023, with the theme of smart construction, is being held today (July 31) and tomorrow (August 1) at the Hong Kong Science Park.
      
     Organised by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), with support from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and the Shenzhen Association for Science and Technology, the event provides the trade a platform for experience sharing and interactive exchanges.
           
     At today's event, the EMSD signed a memorandum of co-operation with the Association to establish strategic partnership to jointly support government departments in applying innovation and technology (I&T). It will strengthen the co-operation and exchanges between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the promotion of technology innovation.
           
     The Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Eric Pang, welcomed the Association to become the EMSD's I&T strategic partner. He said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the EMSD and it will continue to serve the community with heart and innovation, leverage its engineering expertise and collaborate with I&T strategic partners to assist government departments and the engineering sector to adopt I&T for the benefit of society.
           
     E&M I&T Day 2023 brings together about 30 Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas exhibitors to showcase their I&T achievements and solutions in smart construction. Representatives from government departments, public organisations, I&T and electrical and mechanical sectors, and tertiary institutions also share their experience in smart construction.      

     For details of the event, please visit inno.emsd.gov.hk/en/more/highlight/index_id_68.html. 
      

    

     ​The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, today (July 31) met with Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism Mr Xu Peng, and member of the party group and Inspector at Level 2 of the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism Mr Liu Yufeng, during his visit in Hangzhou. They discussed ways to deepen cultural and tourism collaboration between Zhejiang and Hong Kong. The Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu, and a delegation of the Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs, Culture and Sports also joined the meeting.
 
     Mr Yeung said, "The country attaches great importance to the high-quality development of tourism. Since its establishment, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau has been integrating into the national development based on the principle of 'shaping tourism with cultural activities and promoting culture through tourism'. Hong Kong is positioned as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. The Culture and Tourism Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area also states support for Hong Kong to develop into a more competitive global platform for cultural exchanges as well as an international tourism hub and a core demonstration zone for multi-destination tourism. With the rich cultural and tourism resources of Zhejiang Province, we look forward to joining hands in taking forward the collaboration of the cultural and tourism sectors, contributing to creating wonderful travelling experiences of Chinese culture, and telling good stories of China and Hong Kong."
 
     ​Mr Yeung started his itinerary upon his arrival in Hangzhou yesterday (July 30). He visited the Hangzhou National Archives of Publications and Culture, which is a branch of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture and a new landmark of Hangzhou's cultural tourism. Its collection features a variety of Chinese classics and Chinese cultural relics which is known as the gene bank of the seeds of Chinese culture.
 
     ​During his visit in Hangzhou, Mr Yeung also visited the Liangzhu Museum and the Hangzhou Grand Theatre to get a grasp on the results of local archaeological work, the operation of various cultural facilities and their support to exhibitions and performances.
 
     ​Mr Yeung will continue his visit in Hangzhou tomorrow (August 1).

          

     A correctional officer at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre stopped a male remand person in custody from attacking a staff member today (July 31).
      
     At 11.05am today, a 23-year-old male remand person in custody suddenly became emotional during an interview and attacked a clinical psychologist inside the Clinical Psychologist's office. An officer at the scene immediately stopped the assailant.
      
     Following an examination and treatment by the medical officer at the institution hospital, the clinical psychologist was referred to a public hospital for further treatment on her head discomfort. The assailant did not sustain any injury.
      
     The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.
      
     The assailant was remanded for the offence of possession of offensive weapon in July 2023.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today (July 31) the results of its survey on residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in negative equity at end-June 2023.
       
     The estimated number of RMLs in negative equity decreased to 3 341 cases at end-June 2023 from 6 379 cases at end-March 2023. These cases were related to bank staff housing loans or RMLs under mortgage insurance programme, which generally have a higher loan-to-value ratio.

     The aggregate value of RMLs in negative equity decreased to HK$17.4 billion at end-June 2023 compared with HK$34.4 billion at end-March 2023. 

     The unsecured portion of these loans decreased to HK$0.3 billion at end-June 2023 from HK$0.7 billion at end-March 2023.

     The three-month delinquency ratio of RMLs in negative equity increased to 0.09 per cent at end-June 2023 from 0.04 per cent at end-March 2023.

     It is important to note that the figures derived from this survey relate only to RMLs provided by authorised institutions on the basis of first mortgages and which the reporting institution knows to be in negative equity (i.e. the outstanding loan amount with the reporting institution exceeds the current market value of the mortgaged property). Not included in these figures are RMLs associated with co-financing schemes which would be in negative equity if the second mortgages were taken into account. The extent to which such RMLs are in negative equity is not known because authorised institutions do not maintain records on the outstanding balances of the second mortgages.  

     The mortgage portfolios of the surveyed authorised institutions represent about 99 per cent of the industry total. The survey results have been extrapolated to estimate the position of the banking sector as a whole.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     According to statistics published today (31 July) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 0.5 per cent in June 2023. Among the total, Hong Kong dollar deposits and foreign currency deposits increased by 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively in June. For the first half of 2023 as a whole, total deposits and Hong Kong dollar deposits grew by 0.2 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. Renminbi deposits in Hong Kong increased by 1.7 per cent in June to RMB907.3 billion at the end of June. The total remittance of renminbi for cross-border trade settlement amounted to RMB1,089.2 billion in June, compared with RMB977.3 billion in May. It should be noted that changes in deposits are affected by a wide range of factors, such as interest rate movements and fund-raising activities. It is therefore more appropriate to observe the longer-term trends, and not to over-generalise fluctuations in a single month.
      
     Total loans and advances remained virtually unchanged in June, while decreased by 0.5 per cent in the first half of 2023. Among the total, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) increased by 0.7 per cent while loans for use outside Hong Kong decreased by 2.0 per cent in June. The Hong Kong dollar loan-to-deposit ratio decreased to 88.7 per cent at the end of June from 89.1 per cent at the end of May, as Hong Kong dollar deposits increased while Hong Kong dollar loans decreased.
      
     For the second quarter of 2023 as a whole, loans for use in Hong Kong (including trade finance) declined by 0.4 per cent after rising by 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter. Analysed by economic use, the decrease in loans during the second quarter was mainly led by loans to building, construction, property development and investment, and loans to transport and transport equipment.
      
     Hong Kong dollar M2 and M3 both increased slightly by 0.2 per cent in June while they both declined slightly by 0.1 per cent when compared to a year ago. The seasonally-adjusted Hong Kong dollar M1 decreased by 3.0 per cent in June and decreased by 21.0 per cent compared to a year ago, reflecting in part investment-related activities. Total M2 and total M3 both increased by 0.4 per cent in June. Compared to a year earlier, total M2 and total M3 both rose by 1.5 per cent.
      
     As monthly monetary statistics are subject to volatilities due to a wide range of transient factors, such as seasonal and IPO-related funding demand as well as business and investment-related activities, caution is required when interpreting the statistics.