Tag Archives: China

     The Director-General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta, Miss Libera Cheng, attended a dinner organised by the Hongkong Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines Inc in Manila, the Philippines today (July 5) to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Around 200 guests from the local government and business sectors attended the event.

     Addressing the event, Miss Cheng said that Hong Kong has the distinctive advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” arrangement. Hong Kong will continue to maintain a high level of internationalisation and strengthen regional collaboration, including seeking early accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, to further reinforce its connection with the Philippines and other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

     “The Central Government has introduced a series of measures in support of Hong Kong over the past few days, injecting new impetus to our economic development. Among others, the Exit and Entry Administration of the country will start to issue a card-type document to non-Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents next Wednesday (July 10) to enhance their clearance convenience at Mainland control points, greatly facilitating their business travels to the Mainland. I encourage the Philippine business community to leverage this new measure to explore the vast potential in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the entire Mainland market, with Hong Kong as their base,” she added.

     She also gave an account of the HKSAR Government’s work in attracting businesses and capital, including measures to attract family offices to Hong Kong and the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme launched in March this year.

     “The HKSAR Government has continued to roll out business-friendly measures recently. We have introduced an arrangement to extend expiring land leases without having to execute a new contract, providing greater convenience and confidence to investors. Meanwhile, the ‘patent box’ tax incentive encourages enterprises to forge ahead with more research and development activities, and promotes intellectual properties trading. Both relevant legislations have taken effect today.”

     The dinner featured a lucky draw session to give out round-trip air tickets between Manila and Hong Kong, thereby incentivising Philippine businessmen to visit Hong Kong to attend mega events and explore business opportunities.

     Also attending the dinner were the Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, Ms Wang Yulei, and the Director of Singapore of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Ms Vivienne Chee.

      

    Government spokesman announced today (July 5) that another new drug submitted for registration under the new drug approval mechanism (“1+” mechanism) announced in the “Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address” has been approved for registration in Hong Kong. This new oral drug is used to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, bringing more treatment options for patients.

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government implemented “1+” mechanism since November 1, 2023. Under the “1+” mechanism, new drugs used for treatment of life-threatening or severely debilitating diseases that are supported with local clinical data are only required to submit approval from drug regulatory authority in one of the reference places (instead of two originally) and recognised by local experts can be registered in Hong Kong.

     The above product for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria has been approved by the drug regulatory authority in the United States and submitted for registration application in Hong Kong under the “1+” mechanism. Having considered the clinical data submitted by the applicant and advices given by local expert, the Registration Committee under the Pharmacy and Poisons Board of Hong Kong considered that the new drug satisfied with the criteria of safety, efficacy and quality, and approved the registration of the new drug at a meeting held yesterday (July 4). The Department of Health (DH) has already notified the applicant the result of the application. The HKSAR Government will also complete the relevant registration processes in accordance with established procedures.

     At present, under the “Subsidy for Eligible Patients to Purchase Ultra-expensive Drugs (Including Those for Treating Uncommon Disorders)” (CCF Ultra-expensive Drugs Programme) launched by the HKSAR Government and the Hospital Authority (HA), there is already a drug that can treat the same clinical indication. The above new drug approved for registration under the “1+” mechanism will provide patients and healthcare professionals with more choices, increase market competition and may reduce procurement costs.

     “The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address” announced that the Government will leverage the medical strengths of the HKSAR with the long-term objective of establishing an authority that registers drugs and medical devices (medical products) under the “primary evaluation” approach, i.e. to directly approve applications for registration of medical products in Hong Kong based on clinical trial data, without relying on registration approval from other drug regulatory authorities. This will help accelerate the clinical use of new drugs and medical devices, and foster the development of industries relating to the research and development and clinical trials of medical products, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovative hub.

     On December 7, 2023, two new drug applications for treating cancer were approved under the “1+” mechanism for the first time. The two new cancer drugs are oral targeted drugs in different dosages for treating metastatic colorectal cancer in patients for whom conventional chemotherapeutic drugs are ineffective or unsuitable. As at July 3 this year, about 30 patients in the HA have already used the two new cancer drugs concerned. The HA will encourage drug manufacturers or suppliers to apply for local registration of unregistered drugs with ongoing needs and continue to liaise closely with the DH regarding the “1+” mechanism. Under the “1+” mechanism, the number of drugs successfully registered would increase, thus enabling clinicians to enjoy a wider choice of drugs to support service needs. In addition, when a new drug could be registered in Hong Kong under the “1+” mechanism, listed on the HA Drug Formulary and is proven to have significant clinical benefits, it may be considered to be covered by the Samaritan Fund or the Community Care Fund. At the same time, the DH has been promoting the “1+” mechanism by seizing various opportunities and through different channels, and has received over 210 enquiries involving around 70 pharmaceutical companies. At present, several companies have expressed interest in applying for registration under the “1+” mechanism.

     Whilst the “1+” mechanism brings good drugs for use in Hong Kong, the requirements of local clinical data and recognition by relevant expert for application for registration (the “+” under the “1+” mechanism) will ensure all the pharmaceutical products approved for registration have fulfilled the stringent requirements of safety, efficacy and quality. It will also strengthen the local capacity of drug evaluation and enhance the development of relevant software, hardware and expertise.

     Besides, the HKSAR Government has set up the Preparatory Office for the Hong Kong Centre for the Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) under the DH on June 5 this year to comprehensively study and plan a regulatory and approval regime for drugs and medical devices suitable for Hong Kong, and to put forward proposals and steps for the establishment of the CMPR.

     â€‹The HKSAR Government will continue to attract more pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises, both locally and from around the world, to conduct research and development and clinical trials in Hong Kong as well as build up the capacity, recognition and status to ensure that the eventual approval mechanism of medical products in Hong Kong would be widely recognised internationally and by the Mainland, and develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. read more

     â€‹The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and his wife, Mrs Janet Lee, at the invitation of the Sichuan Province, will depart for Sichuan Sunday (July 7) to deliberate on and understand the arrival arrangements of the pair of g… read more

     â€‹Regarding Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay Group)’s announcement today (July 5) that it plans to buy back the remaining 50 per cent of its preference shares from the Government on July 31 this year at a cost of $9.75 billion, a Government spokesman said:

     In June 2020, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government invested $27.3 billion in Cathay Group through the Land Fund, comprising preference shares with detachable warrant of $19.5 billion and a bridging loan of $7.8 billion, with a view to safeguarding Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub in the face of the unexpected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuant to the relevant investment agreement, in July 2020, the Government designated Fellow Certified Public Accountant Mr Carlson Tong and Senior Counsel Mr Rimsky Yuen as the observers of Cathay Group’s Board of Directors, until the Cathay Group repays the Government in full the drawn bridge loan and interest and redeems all preference shares from the Government.

     The HKSAR Government is pleased to note Cathay Group’s decision to buy back all of its remaining preference shares and would like to express its gratitude to the two observers designated by the Government to sit on Cathay Group’s Board of Directors, Mr Carlson Tong and Mr Rimsky Yuen, for their valuable contributions over the past few years.

     Major air service providers based in Hong Kong are an important component of Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub. The HKSAR Government’s investment in the airline played an important role at a critical time, and the airline’s operational and financial situation have improved with the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and other places. We expect the airline to fully restore its capacity to the pre-pandemic level at full speed, actively expand its passenger and cargo flight network, and continuously enhance its service quality, so as to further support the reinforcement and enhancement of Hong Kong’s status as an international aviation hub.

     Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) recorded significant growth in air traffic last year with the full resumption of travel, and demand for flights to and from Hong Kong from all over the world continued to rise. Between April 2023 and March this year, passenger traffic at HKIA rose by more than 260 per cent to 45.2 million, while the number of flight movements rose by more than 90 per cent to 310 000. In the first five months of this year, over 18 million visitors travelled to Hong Kong. Both passenger traffic and flight movements during the peak travel season have returned to 80 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels, and are expected to fully recover by the end of this year. On the cargo side, benefiting from the strong demand for e-commerce, the airport handled 4.5 million tonnes of cargo last year, and HKIA has been the world’s busiest cargo airport for 13 out of the past 14 years.

     Looking ahead, the HKSAR Government will continue to enhance our strengths as an international aviation hub and strengthen communication with local airlines, with a view to planning our route network in such a way that it fully meets the needs of Hong Kong’s overall economic and social development. In particular, Cathay Group has increased the number of flights between Hong Kong and Xi’an and Qingdao since the end of March this year, in response to the country’s further opening up of the Individual Visit Scheme to cover the two cities. Direct passenger flights to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, will also be launched in October this year, to further strengthen Hong Kong’s ties with Belt and Road countries.

     To better complement our country’s development of the “Air Silk Road” and leverage the opportunities brought about by the Three-Runway System, the HKSAR Government will continue to strengthen aviation services on existing major routes and routes along the Belt and Road with potential, including destinations in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia. The Airport Authority of Hong Kong will also continue to support and encourage airlines to launch and increase flights to and from Hong Kong, as well as work with relevant parties to step up publicity efforts so as to boost the demand for travel to Hong Kong for leisure and business purposes. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:      Regarding an earlier announcement on a cluster of patients infected with COVID-19 in a geriatric infirmary ward, the spokesperson for Ruttonjee Hospital made … read more