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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO) took part in the third Belt and Road Summit today (June 28) by hosting a panel discussion on "Risk Mitigation in Infrastructure Financing". The panel discussion attracted over 1 000 Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas participants.

     Given the vast infrastructure financing needs, attracting private sector capital is crucial. However, participation of private sector capital in infrastructure financing in these economies have been limited due to concerns over different types of risks, such as political and legal risks at country level as well as construction, operation and financial risks at project level. Therefore, properly mitigating these risks is most critical to improving the bankability of infrastructure projects. The panel looked into these risk factors hindering private sector capital's participation and discussed the corresponding mitigation solutions.

     The Panel Discussion was moderated by Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Director of the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office Mr Eddie Yue and attended by the following guests (in alphabetical order of organisation name) as speakers: the PRC Leader and Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, AECOM, Mr Ian Chung; the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer of CLP Holdings Limited, Mr Geert Peeters; the Chief Representative, Hong Kong Representative Office, the Export-Import Bank of China, Ms Wen Hong; the Chief Operating Officer of Global Infrastructure Hub, Mr Mark Moseley; Co-Head of the Infrastructure and Real Estate Group, Asia-Pacific, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Mr James Cameron; and the Head of Credit Lines, Asia Pacific, Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, Mr Tim Warren.

     IFFO also announced three new organisations joining as partners, bringing the total number of IFFO partners to 90. The inclusion of the new partners further strengthened IFFO's mission in facilitating infrastructure investments and financing through working with a cluster of key stakeholders. The new partners are (in alphabetical order):

1. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited
2. Global Infrastructure Facility
3. State Development & Investment Corp., Ltd.

About IFFO

     As part of the HKMA, IFFO's mission is to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing by working with a cluster of key stakeholders. The functions of IFFO are:

• providing a platform for information exchange and experience sharing;
• building capacity and knowledge on infrastructure investments and financing;
• promoting market and product development; and
• facilitating infrastructure investment and financing flows.

     By establishing IFFO, the HKMA can play a valuable role as a catalyst in the facilitation of infrastructure investments and their financings with its mandate to promote Hong Kong as an international financial centre.

     For more information about IFFO, please visit www.iffo.org.hk.

  

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, chaired the first meeting of the Commission on Children (Commission) today (June 28).
 
     At the meeting, members were briefed on the structure and operation mode of the Commission, and they also considered the future work priorities. Members had an initial discussion on the possible topics which the Commission might consider in future, and offered recommendations in relation to the Government's work in promoting children's growth and development in Hong Kong. The Chairman, Mr Cheung, agreed that members' views would enable the Commission to have more in-depth and thorough considerations when formulating its work plan.
 
     "The Commission will be an ongoing, action-oriented, responsive and high-level body that will drive the work for the benefits of children and perform the co-ordinating role to enhance cross-bureau and cross-department collaboration. The Commission will also strive to listen to children's views and address children’s issues to promote children's growth and development in Hong Kong," Mr Cheung stressed.
 
     "Non-official members of the Commission are highly representative, including experts and stakeholders involved in matters concerning children's growth and development. At the meeting, they provided valuable opinions to the Commission on various aspects by drawing heavily on their professional knowledge and experience, which enabled the Commission to understand better the views and needs of children."  
 
     As discussed and agreed at the meeting, the Commission will include the following issues in its initial work plan: children with special education needs, ethnic minority children, children's health, children at risk, a mechanism for dealing with absentee students, and other systematic issues such as exploring the possibility of developing a central databank on children.
 
     At the meeting, members also discussed the regularisation and possible enhancement of the Pilot Scheme on On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services. Members noted the progress of the Pilot Scheme and the preliminary observations of the evaluative study on the Pilot Scheme, and agreed that the pre-school rehabilitation services could be further enhanced through possible measures, such as provision of transitional support for identified children from kindergartens to primary schools and consideration of interface with existing pre-school rehabilitation services. 
 
     In addition, members were updated on the progress of the Consultancy Study on the Long-term Development of Child Care Services and provided views on the direction of the Study's recommendations, including the philosophy and positioning of child care services, planning parameters for child care centre places, manning ratios for qualified child care workers serving in child care centres, enhancement of the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project and re-engineering of the Mutual Help Child Care Centres, as well as the Government's subsidy for child care centre service.
 
     The meeting also noted the work to be undertaken by the two Working Groups set up under the Commission. In the light of the policy directions endorsed by the Commission, the Working Group on Research will initiate research studies on children-related issues and help review children-related policies and services as appropriate. As for the Working Group on Public Engagement, Education and Publicity, it will promote the importance of children's rights and interests, manage funding schemes for organising publicity or community projects, and keep in touch with children through different channels and means to enable the Government and the Commission to listen to their voices, understand their views and take into account their suggestions. The two Working Groups will convene their first meetings soon.

  

     The Department of Health (DH) today (June 28) announced the analysis results on the mould and yeast content of Enzyplex tablet (Hong Kong Registration Number: HK-06544).
 
​     During the DH's investigation into a case of suspected mould contamination of the above product, samples of the product were collected from various sources for analysis on June 21 to ascertain whether the product exceeds the pharmacopoeial standards on mould and yeast content.

​     According to the analysis results available today, the mould and yeast content of all samples comply with both the pharmacopoeial requirements and the in-house specifications set by the Indonesian manufacturer of the product. 

​     However, the DH has announced earlier results of another test which revealed that the bacterial contents of the samples exceeded the in-house specifications even though they passed the pharmacopoeial standards. The local supplier of the product, Unam Corporation Ltd, has recalled all batches of Enzyplex tablet from the market on June 26. The DH has also instructed Unam to ask the manufacturer to conduct an investigation and submit an investigation report as soon as possible.
 
​     Unam has set up a hotline (3665 2000) to answer related enquires. So far, the DH has not received any adverse drug reaction reports in connection with the product.
 
​     People who have purchased the product should stop taking it. They should also seek advice from healthcare professionals if in doubt or feeling unwell after consumption.

     The Department of Health (DH) today (June 28) announced the analysis results on the mould and yeast content of Enzyplex tablet (Hong Kong Registration Number: HK-06544).
 
​     During the DH's investigation into a case of suspected mould contamination of the above product, samples of the product were collected from various sources for analysis on June 21 to ascertain whether the product exceeds the pharmacopoeial standards on mould and yeast content.

​     According to the analysis results available today, the mould and yeast content of all samples comply with both the pharmacopoeial requirements and the in-house specifications set by the Indonesian manufacturer of the product. 

​     However, the DH has announced earlier results of another test which revealed that the bacterial contents of the samples exceeded the in-house specifications even though they passed the pharmacopoeial standards. The local supplier of the product, Unam Corporation Ltd, has recalled all batches of Enzyplex tablet from the market on June 26. The DH has also instructed Unam to ask the manufacturer to conduct an investigation and submit an investigation report as soon as possible.
 
​     Unam has set up a hotline (3665 2000) to answer related enquires. So far, the DH has not received any adverse drug reaction reports in connection with the product.
 
​     People who have purchased the product should stop taking it. They should also seek advice from healthcare professionals if in doubt or feeling unwell after consumption.

     The opening ceremony of the 12th Hong Kong Literature Festival, organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, was held at Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL) today (June 28), launching this important biennial event in support of Hong Kong literature.
 
     Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Dr Louis Ng, said that since its launch in 1997, the Hong Kong Literature Festival has carried the mission of promoting literary writing and reading through a variety of literary activities, with a view to enhancing public interest in literary arts and offering literature lovers an opportunity to exchange their thoughts.
 
     At the ceremony, the winners of two pre-festival activities, namely the Literary Performance Competition and "The Bloom of Youth" Chinese Writing Competition, were awarded prizes. Students participating in the Literary Performance Competition selected and impressively role-played their favourite stories on the ceremonial stage. The winning entries of the two activities will be on display at the HKCL Exhibition Gallery throughout the festival period. Moreover, students participating in the creation exhibition zone were presented with appreciation certificates and also shared their views on the project.
 
     Under the theme "Where Literature Meets Life", the festival runs from today to July 15. Over 30 interactive literary activities including a thematic exhibition, symposiums, guided reading sessions, an Interflow programme and Little Avid Readers' Storytelling Sessions, will be held.
 
     The festival's highlight, a thematic exhibition entitled "I Write, Therefore I Am", will be held at the HKCL Exhibition Gallery from tomorrow (June 29) to July 15. With the theme of life, the "I Write, Therefore I Am" section is divided into four parts, namely "The Path to Growth", which records memories of growing up and the excitement of youth; "Working Life", which depicts hardship in career life; "Discourse of Illness", which reflects the dark side of society metaphorically; and "Reflections on Life", which reveals the meaning of life.
 
     Another section is "Centenary Writings – Liu Yichang", which introduces the literary life of the renowned local writer Professor Liu Yichang and pays tribute to his contributions to Hong Kong's literary scene. The tie-in activity "Reading Liu's Works in Virtual Reality" will let the participants experience a new mode to appreciate the urban scenes that can be found in Professor Liu's literary works through the application of virtual reality. The other section is the creation exhibition zone, with panels created by secondary students to showcase their thoughts on literary works from their own perspective.
 
     Other highlights include three symposiums entitled "Literature and Life". In the light of illness narratives, travel literature, diaspora literature and growing-up narratives, the speakers will explore the infusion of life experiences, emotions and reflections on the significance of life and society in literary creation.
 
     In the guided reading sessions, two winning authors of the 14th Hong Kong Biennial Awards for Chinese Literature will share their creative concepts. Tutors will analyse the underlying emotions and meanings of these outstanding literary pieces, thereby improving readers' appreciation of literary works in all their diversity. The two winning entries are "Glistening Rapids" and "One Day of Ibrahim".
 
     Organised by local cultural groups, the new Interflow will be conducted in an interactive and innovative way to explore the fun in literature appreciation and creation of different themes. The programme is divided into three sessions, starting with "When Poetry Meets Sand Arts" to have a crossover presentation of both poetry and sand painting by combining music, stories and images. In "From Literary Work to the Musical: The Writing Adventure of Bui Bui", literary work will be transformed into a musical with dance and music for an audience of all ages to appreciate the story's messages on writing in a different form. Finally, in "Outdoor Fun with Literature", members of the public are invited to play a game and participate in a music and poetry recital. Literary appreciation will be converted into a rich audio-visual presentation.
 
    In addition, six Little Avid Readers' Storytelling Sessions will tell different stories with adults and kids. Participants can experience the imagination of literary works through beautiful words and illustrations.
 
     The Fans of Literature Festival will continue this year. Literature lovers are encouraged to become fans and to receive festival souvenirs and updates on future literary activities organised by public libraries.
 
     All activities are free. Festival booklets are available at all public libraries. For more details, please visit www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/extension-activities/hklf/hklf12/event-cat.html. For enquiries, call 2928 4551.