Tag Archives: China

     The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and various government bureaux and departments (B/Ds) have set up booths at the Education & Careers Expo 2024 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from today (January 25) for four consecutive days to publicise the work and related information of different civil service grades to enhance public understanding of the work of government departments and encourage people with aspirations to serve the community to join the civil service.
 
     Addressing the opening ceremony, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said that the Government, as the largest employer in Hong Kong, offers a wide range of job opportunities for those who are willing and ready to work hard and keep learning to achieve success. In recent years, the Government has implemented a series of measures to attract people with aspirations to serve the community through joining the civil service, including conducting year-round recruitment for more departments and grades, expanding civil service recruitment to undergraduate students in the penultimate year of study, and organising career fairs and talks in local universities. These measures aimed to attract individuals of different backgrounds, including Hong Kong students studying on the Mainland or overseas, as well as working people, to join the civil service.
 
     While there might exist a general perception that civil service work was rigid and conservative, Mrs Yeung assured that a career in the civil service is profoundly meaningful and brimming with exciting challenges. Visitors could encounter firsthand inspiring tales of dedicated civil servants and their unwavering commitment to serving the community, and hear real-life examples of how civil servants overcome difficulties to create a caring community and a vibrant economy, while visiting the booths of different government departments.
 
     Mrs Yeung then visited booths in the Expo and chatted with visitors to learn more about their career aspirations. She said she was pleased to see that a number of B/Ds have participated positively in the sharing sessions under the Careers in the Government Talk Series held by the CSB for the first time this year at its booth and arranged serving civil servants to introduce information of individual grades, job application and interview skills and career prospects and share with visitors the stories from their day-to-day work.
 
     There are a total of 19 sharing sessions (please refer to the Annex for details) which introduce not only general grades, but also professional grades in the Government. Persons who are interested in learning more about the grades concerned, students or graduates of the relevant disciplines are welcome to attend to gain a better understanding of the entry requirements and job responsibilities. Mrs Yeung also encouraged those who are committed to serving the people of Hong Kong, building Hong Kong and contributing to the country to join the civil service and bring in new blood to the civil service.
 
     The CSB distributes stamp cards to visitors in its booth (1D-A02 in Hall 1D). After attempting sample Basic Law and National Security Law Test questions at the game kiosk in the CSB’s booth or attending any of the sharing sessions, visitors can get a stamp to redeem a souvenir. They can also collect stamps by completing tasks at the other 16 government departments’ booths at the expo, and redeem a souvenir with designated numbers of stamps at the CSB’s booth while stock lasts.
 
     The Department of Justice, the Government Flying Service and the Civil Aviation Department will hold three thematic seminars on employment information of their departmental grades tomorrow (January 26) and on Sunday (January 28) at the Careers Forum in Hall 1D. Persons who are interested in knowing more about or applying for the posts can refer to the Annex for details.
 
      The Education & Careers Expo 2024 is being held at Hall 1D&E of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and opens from 10am to 7pm from January 25 to 27, and from 10am to 6pm on January 28. Admission is free. For information on matters related to civil service recruitment, please visit the website of the CSB: www.csb.gov.hk/tc_chi/recruit/7.html. read more

     The Education Bureau (EDB) has set up two booths at the Education & Careers Expo 2024 (the Expo) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from today (January 25) for four consecutive days to introduce different professional grades of the EDB and promote Applied Learning (ApL). The booths are aimed at enhancing the public’s understanding, especially that of young people, on the career opportunities of the EDB and ApL. 

     The Permanent Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li, visited the Expo and attended the opening ceremony. During her visit to EDB booths, she said that the EDB strives to provide quality school education for students, develop their potential to the full, and prepare them for challenges in life. The work of different grades of the EDB is challenging. Colleagues not only can enrich professional knowledge, but also gain a sense of satisfaction. She welcomes all those who are wishing to develop their career in the education sector to join the EDB in pushing forward with quality school education for students.

     As for further studies, she said that ApL is a valued senior secondary elective subject. The courses are linked to broad professional and vocational fields with dual emphasis on theory and practice. Through ApL, students can enhance their understanding of vocational and professional education and training to get prepared for further studies and work.   

     Featuring interactive games, themed videos and a career talk, one of the booths introduces the different professional grades of the EDB, including Inspector (Graduate), Education Officer (Administration), Education Officer (Secondary School Teacher), Primary School Master/Mistress and Specialist (Education Services). The EDB welcomes job seekers to visit the booth.   

     Another booth promoting ApL has also arranged for ApL scholarship awardees to serve as student ambassadors. They introduced ApL to visitors and shared their personal stories on how ApL had helped them explore their career aspirations and the path of lifelong learning.

     The EDB will hold a Careers Forum themed “Cultivating Values, Nurturing People, Fulfilling Potential” today to introduce the scope of work of and prospects for the education grades. Officers of the professional grades and teaching grades in government schools will share their specialised and all-round roles in pursuing the mission and vision of the EDB.  

     The Education & Careers Expo 2024 is held at Hall 1D and 1E of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Admission is free. The EDB’s booths, namely EDB recruitment (Booth 1E-A10) and ApL (Booth 1E-B14), are both located at Hall 1E. Opening hours are from 10am to 7pm from today to January 27, and from 10am to 6pm on January 28. Souvenirs are distributed at the booths while stocks last.

     For recruitment information of the EDB, please visit its website: www.edb.gov.hk/en/about-edb/info/recruitment/index.html. For details of ApL, please visit www.edb.gov.hk/apl/en. read more

     Following are the opening remarks by the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, at the Asian Financial Forum Breakfast Panel themed “Unleashing the Dragon’s Currency: Navigating Renminbi Internationalisation on the Global Stage” today (January 25):
 
Laurence (Chairman of the Financial Services Development Council, Mr Laurence Li), King (Executive Director of the Financial Services Development Council, Dr Au King-lun), Mary (Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, Cluster CEO of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, Standard Chartered, Ms Mary Huen), ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good morning. First and foremost, welcome you all to the Asian Financial Forum and express my gratitude for your support and participation here. To kick off today’s breakfast panel themed “Navigating Renminbi Internationalisation”, let me set the scene by sharing with you the special role of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the latest developments of our offshore Renminbi business.
 
     With China being the second-largest economy in the world, plus the increasing economic and trade connectivity between the Mainland and the Belt and Road regions, the use of and demand for Renminbi (RMB) in bilateral trade, investment and reserves continues to grow. Indeed, we have observed a notable trend of the accelerated use of RMB in trade and investment globally. According to a report released last October, in the first three quarters of 2023, cross-border RMB payments reached RMB38.9 trillion, up 24 per cent year on year. Of that, almost a quarter was used for trade settlements, the highest level in recent years. The total amount of outstanding international RMB-denominated debt securities was US$173.3 billion as at the end of 2022, rising two places to the rank of seventh globally, building the RMB’s function as a financing currency.
 
     Hong Kong is Asia’s leading international financial centre, as we lead various league tables in the region. According to an industry report released last year, Hong Kong is the top cross-border wealth booking centre in Asia by assets under management, and is on track to take over the world’s number one position by next year. In capital markets, Hong Kong secured the top spot as the arranging location for Asian international bond issuance in 2022 for the seventh consecutive year. In the realm of risk management, Hong Kong stood first in Asia and second globally in insurance density according to a report released last year.
 
     As China’s international financial centre, Hong Kong can provide support for RMB-related economic activities and at the same time promote the sustainable development of our own offshore RMB business.
 
     In fact, with the support of the Central Government, Hong Kong has already developed into a global offshore RMB business hub. Today we possess the largest offshore RMB liquidity pool in the world, and we handle about 75 per cent of the world’s offshore RMB payments.
 
     Throughout the years, we have expanded our RMB-denominated investment and risk-management products to meet global investors’ needs. Various mutual market access schemes including Stock Connect, Bond Connect, Wealth Management Connect, etc, have been successfully rolled out over the past years. In the last couple of years, we officially commenced the inclusion of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under Stock Connect in 2022, and we launched the HKD (Hong Kong Dollar)-RMB Dual Counter Model in our stock market in 2023, among other measures.
 
     Of course, we keep making progress. As recent as yesterday, we welcomed the announcement by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) on six new measures which deepen the financial co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong. These measures are (1) promoting use of Mainland bonds as eligible collaterals; (2) allowing foreign investors to participate in the Mainland bond repurchase business; (3) promulgating the implementation arrangements of the enhanced Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect Scheme, (4) introducing facilitative payment arrangements for Hong Kong and Macao residents purchasing properties in the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; (5) expanding the scope of Shenzhen-Hong Kong co-operation on cross-boundary credit referencing pilots; and (6) further expanding the cross-boundary e-CNY pilots in Hong Kong. These new measures enhance the existing Bond Connect and Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect mechanisms and enrich their content, increasing the attractiveness of these schemes for investors, deepening the mutual access between the financial markets of the Mainland and Hong Kong, as well as further consolidating Hong Kong’s role as an offshore RMB business hub.
 
     Looking ahead, we will continue to strengthen the interaction of the two capital markets. We will continue to press ahead with the inclusion of RMB counters under the Southbound Trading of Stock Connect to facilitate the trading of Hong Kong stocks in RMB. We will take forward the introduction of offshore Mainland government bond futures, and enrich the variety of RMB investment products.
 
     Ladies and gentlemen, we will continue to strengthen Hong Kong’s unique role and function in connecting the Mainland with the international markets and contribute to the internationalisation of the RMB. Leveraging on Hong Kong’s role as a “super-connector” between the Mainland and the world, we eagerly anticipate collaborating with all of you, our local and global stakeholders, to create more mutually beneficial opportunities as the Mainland market continues to open up in an orderly way to the rest of the world.
 
     Before we proceed to the insightful panel by our speaker line-up of industry leaders and markets experts, I would like to remind our visiting guests from overseas that, in addition to enjoying all the fruitful discussions at the Asian Financial Forum, please do take your time to explore and enjoy Hong Kong, an international metropolis full of contrasts, diversity and dynamism where East meets West. We have no lack of hiking trails with great scenery, top-quality beaches, museums of contemporary visual culture and priceless treasures, starred restaurants and more – please discover and enjoy all the hidden gems during your stay in Hong Kong.
 
     I wish you all a rewarding forum today, and a thriving and sustainable future. Thank you.

  

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (January 25) that, as advised by the postal administration of Thailand, due to the restructuring of Mail Centre, mail delivery services to Thailand are subject to delay. read more

Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:      Here is an item of interest to swimmers.      The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced toda… read more