Following is a question by the Hon Tang Ka-piu and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (May 8):
 
Question:
 
     The 2011-2012 Policy Address put forward the Energizing Kowloon East initiative, which aims to transform Kowloon East (KE) into the second core business district (CBD2) through the development of the office belt and tourism and leisure facilities at Kai Tak as well as the revitalisation of industrial buildings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the numbers and gross floor areas (GFAs) of (i) industrial buildings, (ii) commercial buildings (broken down into (a) Grade A offices, (b) Grade B offices and (c) other office sub-sectors), and (iii)‍ business buildings providing accommodation for a mix of industrial and commercial uses in CBD2, and set out in Table 1 a breakdown by age of the building (i.e. (I) 0 to 10 years, (II) 11 to 20 ‍years, (III)‍ 21 to 30 years, (IV) 31 to 40 years, (V) 41 to 50 years and (VI) 51 years or above);
 
Table 1

 
(2) among the applications received by the Government for the new round of the revitalisation scheme for industrial buildings launched in 2018, of the respective numbers of applications involving industrial buildings in CBD2 that were approved and rejected, and the reasons for the rejection of the applications;
 
(3) whether it has compiled statistics on the numbers and areas of sites in CBD2 which are currently (i) idle sites for which no development plan has been finalised and (ii) sites for temporary use only with no long-term development plan, and set out in Table 2 a breakdown by landowner (i.e. (a) the Government and (b) the private sector);
 
Table 2

 
(4) of the respective numbers and floor areas of the properties (i) owned and (ii) rented by the Government in CBD2, and set out in Table 3 a breakdown by use of the property (i.e. (a) district service centres of government departments, (b) headquarters of government departments, and (c) others);
 
Table 3

 
(5) whether it has compiled statistics on the numbers of companies in (i) ‍innovation and technology (I&T), (ii) culture, (iii) sports, (iv) ‍tourism and (v) other industries (a) operating business and (b) ‍headquartered in CBD2, and the numbers of jobs provided by such companies and their gross output, with a breakdown as set out in Table 4; and
 
Table 4

 
(6) given that in reply to my question on July 5 last year, the Government indicated that KE has the potential to promote I&T and arts, culture and creative industries given its historical background in industrial development and the ambience of cultural workers moving in one after another in recent years, whether the authorities have plans to further promote the development of the industries of I&T, culture, sports and tourism in KE, and to develop KE into a "city of entrepreneurship" for the aforesaid industries; if so, of the specific measures; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Government promulgated the Energizing Kowloon East initiatives in 2011, with the objectives to transform Kowloon East comprising the Kai Tak Development Area, the Kwun Tong Business Area and the Kowloon Bay Business Area into Hong Kong's second core business district (CBD2) and to ensure a steady supply of quality office space in support of the economic growth of Hong Kong and strengthening Hong Kong's global competitiveness. In 2017, relevant initiatives including enhancing connectivity and improving the environment, etc, have been extended to the San Po Kong Business Area. Since 2011, the commercial gross floor area (GFA) in Kowloon East has increased by a double to currently about 3.4 million square metre. 
 
     After consultation with the relevant policy bureaux and departments, the replies to the various parts of the question raised by the Member are as follows:
 
(1) The statistics on the commercial, industrial and industrial/office developments in Kowloon East (i.e. the Kai Tak Development Area, Kwun Tong Business Area and Kowloon Bay Business Area) by building age are as follows:
 

* as at December 2023.
# including new developments, redevelopments and converted commercial buildings in Kowloon East (i.e. Kai Tak Development Area, Kwun Tong Business Area and Kowloon Bay Business Area), but excluding the commercial portions of residential/commercial developments in the Kai Tak Development. We do not have relevant information by grading of commercial developments.
 
(2) Another round of revitalisation scheme for industrial buildings was promulgated in 2018. It includes to allow relaxation of the maximum permissible plot ratio by up to 20 per cent for industrial redevelopment sites located outside "Residential" zones in main urban areas and new towns, for which the modified lease should be executed after the town planning approval to put the relaxed plot ratio into effect (redevelopment of industrial buildings); and to exempt the waiver fees incurred for wholesale conversion of industrial buildings aged 15 years or above in "Commercial", "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Business" and "Industrial" zones into permissible planning uses on the condition that the applicants should designate 10 per cent of the floor area for specific uses prescribed by the Government upon completion of such conversion works (wholesale conversion of industrial buildings).
 
     As at the end of March 2024, the Town Planning Board has received and approved 23 applications for redevelopment of industrial buildings within the CBD2 with relaxation of the maximum permissible plot ratio (excluding applications withdrawn by the applicant and applications involving the same site). For those industrial redevelopment projects requiring lease modification, the Lands Department has received eight applications for lease modification (excluding applications withdrawn by the applicant), of which seven cases have been approved with the lease modifications completed while the remaining one case is still under processing. Regarding wholesale conversion of industrial buildings, as at the end of March 2024, the Lands Department has received one application (excluding applications withdrawn by the applicant) for special waiver for industrial buildings within CBD2 and the application has been approved.
 
(3) Relevant details of government sites which have been formed and pending the implementation of planned commercial uses in Kowloon East are as follows:
 

 
All the above mentioned sites are being put to temporary use at present. We do not have information on the construction timetable of the private lands.
 
(4) According to the information provided by the Government Property Agency (Agency), the number and the floor area of government-owned properties located within private developments under the management of the Agency and private properties leased via the Agency in Kowloon East (Kai Tak Development Area, Kwun Tong Business Area and Kowloon Bay Business Area) are as follows.
 

(Note: The Agency has no statistics on the usage of the properties for district service centre or headquarters by government departments.)
 
     Apart from the above properties within private developments, the Government possesses various kinds of facilities and specialised buildings, some of which are used as Government offices, such as Electrical and Mechanical Services Department Headquarters Building, Inland Revenue Centre and Trade and Industry Tower in Kai Tak; Water Supplies Department Kowloon East Regional Building and Central Mail Centre in Kowloon Bay; and Kowloon East Government Offices and Energizing Kowloon East Office in Kwun Tong etc.
 
(5) According to the Survey on Business Establishments in Kowloon East 2018, the distribution of the establishments by industry within the scope of survey (i.e. the Kwun Tong Business Area and the Kowloon Bay Business Area) is shown in the following table:
 

(Note: The above categorisation of industries is in accordance with the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification promulgated by the Census and Statistics Department. The survey does not cover the number of jobs created by the respective companies and their gross output. The Energizing Kowloon East Office is conducting another round of survey on business establishments in Kowloon East.)
 
(6) The Government has been introducing related policies in Kowloon East in a timely manner to meet the need of Hong Kong in the time of economic transition. Kowloon East used to be an important industrial base in the heyday of manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. In view of the relocation of Hong Kong's manufacturing industry to the mainland, industrial land in Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong have been rezoned to "Business" use which allowed conversion of industrial buildings to office use and redevelopment into commercial/office buildings under the planning regime. Subsequently, the Government introduced two rounds of revitalisation scheme for industrial buildings to facilitate the redevelopment and wholesale conversion of industrial buildings, followed by the introduction of the scheme to charge land premium at standard rates for lease modifications of redevelopment of industrial buildings to encourage revitalisation of industrial building. A number of industrial buildings in Kowloon East have been or will be redeveloped or converted into office, shop and services and hotel uses. Besides, to ensure a steady and adequate supply of quality office space in Kowloon East, the Government has disposed eight pieces of government land in Kowloon East for commercial development since the promulgation of the Energizing Kowloon East initiatives. Flexibility has been allowed in the planning of these commercial sites for the establishment of innovation and technology uses.
 
     Against this context and driven by a series of policy measures, Kowloon East has been transformed into CBD2 with a diversity of industries. In terms of the supply of commercial properties, apart from Grade A office, there are different types of affordable properties of good quality which provide space for developing business by different types of companies. Notwithstanding that the Government has no plan to designate particular site in Kowloon East for innovation and technology use, or to deploy specific measures to promote innovation and technology in Kowloon East, with the unique history of the area, diversified supply of properties especially that manufacturing activities are still active in the area, innovation and technology companies would be convenient in pairing up with the research, academic and industry sectors or other businesses supporting services, while the converted industrial buildings in the area with relatively lower rent would be attractive to startups. These would attract innovation and technology companies to move into Kowloon East. In fact, a number of innovation and technology startups have gradually been stationed in Kowloon East in recent years.
 
     Besides, the Energizing Kowloon East Office (the Office) has been collaborating with private and public sectors to utilise Kowloon East as a Smart City Lab. For example, an indoor-outdoor navigation with voice guidance for the visually impaired/people in needs at MTR stations and some large shopping malls in Kowloon East has recently been introduced under the facilitation of the Office. Others include a proof of-concept trial at the Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter on Real-time Water Quality Monitoring System completed earlier on and an ongoing trial of Smart Recycling Systems. At the same time, the Office would assist and facilitate different groups in organising promotional activities on smart city development and STEM as means to facilitate the development of innovation and technology.
 
     Regarding culture, sports and tourism development aspects, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau will fully utilise the opportunities brought by the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP), East Kowloon Cultural Centre and Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, and their collaboration with other facilities in the district, to develop culture, sports and tourism as well as bring new experiences to visiting tourists. As an incubator for the development of arts and technology, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre which is adjacent to Kowloon East CBD2 will bring new cultural experience to the community. Whereas for KTSP, it will provide venues for hosting mega sports and entertainment events, thereby giving impetus to the development of relevant sectors.

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), announced today (May 8) that a tender of one-year HONIA-indexed Floating Rate Notes (Notes) under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, for settlement on Thursday, May 16, 2024.

     A total of HK$1.5 billion one-year Notes will be tendered. The Notes will mature on May 16, 2025 and will carry interest indexed to the Hong Kong Dollar Overnight Index Average (HONIA), payable quarterly in arrears.

     Under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme, tender is open only to Recognized Dealers which are appointed as Primary Dealers. Anyone wishing to apply for the Notes on offer can do so through any of the Primary Dealers on the current published list, which can be obtained from the Hong Kong Government Bonds website at www.hkgb.gov.hk. Each tender must be for an amount of HK$50,000 or integral multiples thereof.

     Tender results will be published on the HKMA's website, the Hong Kong Government Bonds website, the Refinitiv screen (HKGBINDEX), and Bloomberg (GBHK <GO>) not later than 3pm on the tender day.

HKSAR Government Institutional Bond Issuance Programme tender information
—————————————————————————————–
     Tender information of one-year HONIA-indexed Floating Rate Notes under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme:
 

     The Second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) High-quality Talent Development Conference jointly organised by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao was held in Hong Kong today (May 8), with an aim to promote the building of a talent hub in the GBA, and strengthen talent development and tripartite co-operation.

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, officiated at the conference and delivered welcome remarks. He said, "Hong Kong is a highly open international city and is also one of the core cities in the GBA. Under the 'one country, two systems' principle, Hong Kong gives full play to the advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world, serving as a talent hub and gateway of both the GBA and the country."

     In addition, Mr Chan shared Hong Kong's underlying roles to play. Hong Kong has relaunched the recruitment of talent from around the world with innovative breakthroughs, and consolidated and further developed the quality higher education system to nurture local talent. As an important bridge linking the Mainland and the rest of the world, Hong Kong is steadfastly promoting a "southbound and northbound" two-way flow of talent. Hong Kong is also promoting co-operation on the nurturing, recruitment and exchange of talent in the GBA.

     Mr Chan concluded that he had full confidence in Hong Kong jointly with the sister cities of the GBA going from strength to strength to enhance the GBA's strategic planning on the admission, nurturing and mobility of talent, with a view to expediting the development of a talent hub in the GBA and making new contributions to the country's high-quality development.

     Mr Chan; the Director General of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Ms Chen Liwen; the Director-General of the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province, Mr Du Minqi; the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), Ms Ao Ieong U, jointly witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on promoting talent services co-operation in the GBA by the Directors of the Human Resources and Social Security Bureaux of the nine municipalities in Guangdong Province; the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), Mr Anthony Lau; and the Secretary-General of the Talent Development Committee of the Macao SAR Government, Mr Chao Chong Hang.

     The MOU aimed to implement the national strategic policy of building a talent hub in the GBA through enhancing talent exchanges and co-operation, joint promotions, talent recruitment and campaigns as well as developing a GBA talent services platform together, thereby creating an optimal environment for talent development and bringing mutual benefits by talent co-operation in the GBA.

     Mr Du, Mr Sun and Ms Ao Ieong then delivered their remarks. Mr Sun said that as Hong Kong is facing a manpower shortage in various sectors, it is necessary to implement a more proactive, open and effective talent admission policy to make good use of global innovative resources and bring in talent urgently needed amid the shortage in a targeted approach. This will form an attractive and internationally competitive talent recruitment system, providing solid talent backing for the prosperity of society.

     Since end-2002, the Hong Kong SAR Government has implemented a series of bold and innovative measures, including launching the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) which targets talent with high income and graduates of high academic qualifications, updating the Talent List to reflect the latest shortage of professional and technical talent spanning different fields, and enhancing various prevailing talent admission schemes. The list of universities under the TTPS was also expanded in 2023. HKTE has also been established to provide services for incoming talent to proactively create a community that respects and is determined to attract more talent, Mr Sun added.

     Mr Sun pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR Government will leverage on the advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world with its foothold in the GBA to reinforce Hong Kong's position as an international talent hub. Hong Kong will continue to unite and lead talent with achievements, and bring together talent in the GBA for exchanges, with a view to injecting new impetus into the country's high-quality development.

     Following was a panel discussion jointly hosted by the Head of Talents and Human Resources of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Ms Fanny Wong; the University of Macau Development Foundation Chair Professor of Smart Tourism and Deputy Director of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Economics and Management of the University of Macau, Professor Rob Law; and the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tongdao Liepin Group, Mr Dai Kebin. They delved into ways to converge and nurture a more in-depth and sustainable talent pool to unleash the strengths of human resources in the GBA to develop into a talent hub.

     In the afternoon, one seminar was held by three emerging entrepreneurs, namely the Founder and CEO of MatrixSense Technology Group Limited, Mr Wiva Wei; the Co-Founder of GOGOX, Mr Reeve Kwan; and the Founder and CEO of NakedLab, Ms Joyce Lau, on exploring opportunities in the GBA and expanding their businesses to the world. The other seminar was hosted by the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, Mr Lawrence Hung, and the CEO of TechJobAsia, Mr Terrance Lok, looking into how artificial intelligence changes the workforce development and response strategies of enterprises.

     Concluding the achievements of the two-day Global Talent Summit · Hong Kong, a spokesman for HKTE said that initial statistics showed that some 4 900 attendees in total participated in the International Talent Forum yesterday (May 7) and the Second Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA High-quality Talent Development Conference today, together with over 130 000 views on the live webcast. The CareerConnect Expo held on both days concurrently attracted over 8 600 attendees, which were beyond expectations.

     "The Summit brought together international and Mainland leaders from political, business and academic sectors to participate and share their insights, coupled with the strong support from our partners in the Expo, and concluded smoothly. We are delighted to note that participants bring the necessary information home and find the Summit rewarding and fruitful," the spokesman added.

     HKTE will continue to step up promotion around the world on Hong Kong’s dual role and advantages as an international talent hub and the country's gateway for talent after the Summit, striving to highlight Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world as well as robust talent policies and comprehensive support to international markets, including those in Southeast Asia and Europe to attract more international talent to Hong Kong.

                

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by the Commissioner of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), Mr Li Li, today (May 8) to exchange views on fostering development of policy subjects such as approval of drugs and medical devices, clinical trials, and Chinese medicine (CM) on the Mainland and Hong Kong.

     Professor Lo said, "The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been ushering in immense opportunities for medical and biotechnological developments in recent years. The National 14th Five-Year Plan has expressed clear support to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub. The Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone promulgated by the State Council in August last year also put forward 30 measures on ways to work towards synergistic collaboration between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Shenzhen in promoting international I&T.

     "The Chief Executive subsequently announced in the 2023 Policy Address that the HKSAR Government will enhance the prevailing evaluation, approval and registration mechanism for drugs as well as establish an internationally recognised regulatory authority for drugs and medical devices with the long-term objective of setting up an authority which registers drugs and medical devices under the 'primary evaluation' approach. All these aim at accelerating the clinical use of new drugs and medical devices, and spurring the development of industries relating to the research, development and clinical testing of drugs and medical devices.

     "Following the announcement of the Policy Address, the HKSAR Government has been making proactive moves on all fronts and has scored certain achievements in just six months, including the formal acceptance by the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use as its observer and the implementation of the new drug approval mechanism, known as the '1+' mechanism, respectively on October 31 and November 1 last year. The HKSAR Government will set up the preparatory office for the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) in the first half of this year to study the restructuring and strengthening of the regulatory and approval regime for drugs, medical devices and technologies, and put forward proposals and steps for establishing the CMPR which will be a step towards the transition to the 'primary evaluation' approach."

     Moreover, the HKSAR Government will establish the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI) in the Hetao area by the end of this year. The GBAICTI will provide one-stop clinical trial support services, with a view to further ramping up the capacity and efficiency of clinical trials in Hong Kong and transforming the city into a leading clinical trial hub in Asia.

     Regarding CM, Professor Lo said, "To promote the innovative application of CM data and resources, the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute officially launched a world-class dedicated website, the Digital Herbarium for Chinese Medicines, in March this year. The Digital Herbarium showcases scientific information and data on over 220 types of commonly used Chinese materia medica and enables users to immerse themselves in a virtual tour for viewing the precious Chinese materia medica specimens donated by the NMPA to the HKSAR Government through the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control."

     After the meeting, the two parties renewed the Co-operation Agreement on Regulation of Drugs and the Co-operation Agreement on Construction, Research and Management of Chinese Medicines Herbarium. At the renewal ceremony, Professor Lo said, "The Health Bureau has long been closely collaborating with the NMPA on the safety and regulation of medical products. The renewal of the Co-operation Agreement on Regulation of Drugs underpinned the liaison and co-ordination arrangements among the NMPA, the Department of Health, and the CMPR to be set up, enabling the HKSAR Government to keep leveraging the city's healthcare strengths to establish a 'primary evaluation' mechanism for the registration of drugs and medical devices, and foster collaboration between the GBAICTI and relevant Mainland organisations in staging a collaborative regional platform for clinical trials. In addition, the renewal of the Co-operation Agreement on Construction, Research and Management of Chinese Medicines Herbarium is conducive to deepening the two parties' collaboration in the field of CM regulation. Through perfecting the collection of the Chinese Medicines Herbarium, its five-pronged functions, namely science popularisation, research, testing, regulation and inheritance, will be further strengthened, assisting in the national drive for CM to go global."

     The Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; and the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority, Dr Tony Ko, also attended the meeting and the renewal ceremony of the Co-operation Agreements today.

      

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), published today (May 8) a tentative issuance schedule for Government Bonds (GBs) offered under the Institutional Bond Issuance Programme for the next six-month period from April to September 2024 (Annex). The tentative issuance schedule contains information on, among others, the tentative tenors, tender dates, issuance sizes, issue dates and methods of issuance of individual GB issues. Further details on the methods of issuance are set out in the Information Memorandum available on the Hong Kong Government Bonds website, www.hkgb.gov.hk.
      
     The tentative issuance schedule is normally published by the HKMA on a half-yearly basis, and the information contained therein, such as the tenors, tender dates, issue dates, issuance sizes, issue codes and methods of issuance are tentative. The HKMA may make adjustments having regard to market conditions. A revised issuance schedule may be issued where appropriate. Other details of individual issues are to be confirmed and announced at least four business days prior to the scheduled tender dates.
      
     It was announced in the 2024-25 Budget that the Government Green Bond Programme (GGBP) and Infrastructure Bond Programme (IBP) would gradually replace the existing Government Bond Programme (GBP). Relevant details will be announced in due course.
      
     The HKMA will continue to service all existing outstanding GBs under the GBP. The Primary Dealers will also continue to undertake market-making activities by providing two-way bid and offer quotations of the outstanding institutional GBs to Recognized Dealers in the secondary market.