Author Archives: hksar gov

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

     Exchange Fund Bills tender results:
 

Tender date	:	August 9, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Q2232
Issue date	:	August 10, 2022
Maturity date	:	November 9, 2022
Amount applied	:	HK$108,600 MN
Amount allotted	:	HK$51,347 MN
Average yield accepted	:	1.81 PCT
Highest yield accepted	:	1.91 PCT
Pro rata ratio*	:	About 74 PCT
Average tender yield	:	1.97 PCT
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Tender date	:	August 9, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	H2261
Issue date	:	August 10, 2022
Maturity date	:	February 8, 2023
Amount applied	:	HK$35,405 MN
Amount allotted	:	HK$10,000 MN
Average yield accepted	:	2.56 PCT
Highest yield accepted	:	2.60 PCT
Pro rata ratio*	:	About 89 PCT
Average tender yield	:	2.85 PCT

 
*”Pro rata ratio” refers to the average percentage of allotment with respect to each tender participant’s tendered amount at the “highest yield accepted” level. 
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     Hong Kong Monetary Authority tenders to be held in the week beginning August 15, 2022:
 

Tender date	:	August 16, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Q2233
Issue date	:	August 17, 2022
Maturity date	:	November 16, 2022
Tenor	:	91 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$62,662 MN
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Tender date	:	August 16, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	H2262
Issue date	:	August 17, 2022
Maturity date	:	February 15, 2023
Tenor	:	182 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$14,000 MN
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Tender date	:	August 16, 2022
Paper on offer	:	EF Bills
Issue number	:	Y2293
Issue date	:	August 17, 2022
Maturity date	:	August 16, 2023
Tenor	:	364 Days
Amount on offer	:	HK$3,000 MN

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     Hong Kong Customs detected two dangerous drugs cases in Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong on July 22 and yesterday (August 8) and seized a total of about 7 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $6.4 million. A man was arrested.
 
     Customs officers on July 22 inspected an air express parcel destined for Australia, declared as carrying snack plate sets, at a logistics centre in Tsuen Wan. About 3kg of suspected cocaine, with an estimated market value of about $2.7 million, were found concealed inside the packaging boxes of the sets.
 
     After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers conducted an anti-narcotics operation in Kwun Tong yesterday afternoon and intercepted an 18-year-old man. About 4kg of suspected cocaine, with an estimated market value of about $3.7 million, was found concealed inside the false compartment of a plastic box carried by him. The man was then arrested.
 
     The arrested man has been laid a holding charge with two counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (August 10).
 
     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
 
     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

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     â€‹A Government spokesman announced today (August 9) that the supply of fresh food from the Mainland yesterday (August 8) was sufficient and stable.

     According to the latest information, the quantity of vegetables supplied from the Mainland to Hong Kong yesterday (as of midnight) by land and water transportation was about 2 800 tonnes, comparable to the average daily supply from the Mainland on a normal day. The volume of vegetables sold through the wholesale markets of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Vegetable Marketing Organization was about 811 tonnes. The average wholesale prices of choi sum and pak choi stood at $6.60 and $6.30 per catty respectively yesterday. The supply of eggs to the wholesale market remained steady, with the average daily supply standing at about 3.6 million for the past week, comparable to the average daily supply on a normal day last year.

     The total supply of chilled meat from the Mainland yesterday was over 41 tonnes. The supply of live pigs was plentiful.

     The supply of chilled poultry from the Mainland was over 160 000 head yesterday, and about 10 000 live chickens were slaughtered locally. The supply was abundant.

     Regarding the rice supply, in compliance with the requirement by the Government, stockholders of rice have to maintain the reserve stock of rice at a level sufficient for consumption by the local population for 15 days. The trade generally stocks double the required amount, which is sufficient for one month’s consumption by Hong Kong citizens. In recent years, the import and consumption of rice in Hong Kong has stood at a steady level of around 320 000 to 330 000 tonnes per year. The import quantity (including reserve stock) as of end-June 2022 was 30 400 tonnes. Suppliers also maintain a reserve for food that can be stored, such as frozen meat, for around three months’ stock generally.

     The Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the Mainland authorities and major food suppliers to ensure a stable food supply.

     The AFCD updates and publishes the fresh food supply information daily. Members of the public may visit the AFCD website for updates on daily supplies and wholesale prices of fresh food (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_fresh/agr_fresh.html). read more

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, visited the Hong Kong Genome Institute (HKGI) today (August 9), where they exchanged views with HKGI Board members and staff to get a better grasp of the latest progress of the Hong Kong Genome Project (HKGP).
 
     Professor Lo toured the HKGI’s laboratory in the company of Chairperson Mr Philip Tsai, Deputy Chairperson Professor Raymond Liang and Chief Executive Officer Dr Lo Su-vui of the HKGI. The laboratory commenced operation last December, and is equipped with advanced instruments and devices for the HKGI’s professional staff to perform sequencing services with further analysis and research. The HKGI has formulated rigorous quality indicators for each procedure to ensure that sample processing, sequencing and analysis are all performed with the highest quality in compliance with relevant international standards. During the tour, Professor Lo received a briefing by HKGI staff on their work in relation to nurturing talents, and he also interacted with the summer interns.
 
     Professor Lo said, “In the light of the technological advancements and challenges posed by an ageing population and emerging diseases, our healthcare system must keep abreast with the times and continue to transform with innovation. Genomic medicine is exactly the key area in the medical field and scientific research of the day, given its vast potential in screening, diagnosis and personalised treatment of diseases.
 
     “Genomic medicine can improve the diagnosis, prognostication and treatment of various diseases, and help patients identify the cause of diseases earlier. The Government will continue to support the work of the HKGI on driving the clinical application of genomic medicine, scientific research, nurturing talents and enhancing genomic literacy, so that citizens may benefit from the scientific advancement and thus live healthier lives.”
 
     The Government established the Steering Committee on Genomic Medicine in December 2017 to map out the strategies for developing genomic medicine in Hong Kong. The Government also set up the HKGI in 2020 upon the recommendation of the Steering Committee to promote the local clinical application and long-term development of genomic medicine, with the HKGP as the HKGI’s first key initiative.
 
     Since its full operation last year, the HKGI has been working in partnership with the Hospital Authority, the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong and the Department of Health to recruit participants and their family members to join the project on a voluntary basis. The pilot phase, which was launched in July last year, covered cases of undiagnosed disorders and hereditary cancers. The main phase, with the scope extended to cases related to genomics and precision health, is now in progress.
 
     It is estimated that whole genome sequencing would be conducted for 20 000 cases under the entire project, thereby allowing patients to benefit from more precise diagnosis and appropriate treatment, as well as promoting research and development in related areas to cater for the future needs of medical services in Hong Kong.
 
     Members of the public can browse the website of the HKGI (www.hkgp.org) for more information about the HKGP.

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     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 2022.

     The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 46.3 in June 2022 in the contractionary zone to 43.4 in July 2022, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. August 2022) outlook DI on business receipts was 48.0. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for majority of the surveyed sectors dropped by varying degrees in July 2022 as compared with previous month, particularly for the real estate (from 48.2 to 42.5) and import and export trades (from 46.3 to 41.1).

     The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 47.4 in June 2022 to 43.1 in July 2022, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. August 2022) was 46.9.

Commentary

     A Government spokesman said that overall business sentiment among SMEs eased further in July amid the deteriorating external environment and the increase in local COVID-19 infection cases. Softening was seen in most surveyed sectors, in particular the real estate and import and export trades sectors. Expectations on the business situation in the following month dipped into the contractionary zone. Overall employment sentiment also showed some softening.

     The spokesman added that worsening global economic prospects and the stepping up of monetary policy tightening by major central banks would continue to put pressure on business sentiment, especially the externally-oriented sectors. Yet, Phase II of the Consumption Voucher Scheme should render support to the consumption-related sectors, though their business situation would also be dependent on the local epidemic development and financial conditions. It remains crucial for the community to continue to work in unison with the Government to keep the local epidemic under control.

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 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