The Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS) of the Trade and Industry Department will hold a seminar entitled "Utilising Government Funding: Riding Trends and Seizing Market Opportunities" on September 14 (Friday).

     The Government has implemented a series of enhancement measures for funding schemes since August 1 to assist enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), in riding trends and seizing market opportunities in light of the signing of a Free Trade Agreement between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the planning of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the current international trading environment. The enhancement measures include extending the geographical scope of the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) from the Mainland to ASEAN countries; and increasing the cumulative funding ceiling for enterprises under the BUD Fund and the SME Export Marketing Fund. This seminar will introduce the details of the enhancement measures and invite representatives from the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation to introduce their support measures and services for SMEs.

     The seminar will be held at 2.30pm in the Lecture Theatre, G/F, Hong Kong Central Library, 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay (MTR Tin Hau Station, Exit B). The seminar will be conducted in Cantonese. Admission is free.

     Those interested are invited to register with SUCCESS by September 13 (Thursday). Please visit the SUCCESS website (www.success.tid.gov.hk/tid/eng/activity/activity.jsp) for details of the seminar and online registration. The registration form can also be downloaded from the SUCCESS website. Please send the completed registration form to SUCCESS by fax (2391 7375). Due to limited seating capacity, seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

     For enquiries, please call 3403 6111.

     The New Vision Arts Festival will be held from October 19 to November 18, featuring pioneering shows by overseas and local performing groups. An early bird discount of 30 per cent off all full-price tickets for selected programmes will end on September 5. Members of the public should act fast to enjoy the best discount.
 
     The selected programmes are:
 
* Opening programme "Tree of Codes"
* Underwater concert "AquaSonic"
* Tan Dun's new work "Buddha Passion"
* Dance theatre show "Swan Lake/Loch na hEala"
* Composer Du Yun's Pulitzer Prize for Music-winning "Angel's Bone"
* Director Thomas Richards' immersive theatre work "The Living Room"
* Thomas Richards' "The Underground: A Response to Dostoevsky"
* Cross-cultural dialogue between Thai royal Khon dance and street hip-pop in "Negotiation"
* Local artist Daniel Yeung's experimental multimedia lion dance theatre work "Guan Yu's Ride of 1,000 Miles"
* Internationally renowned British lighting designer Michael Hulls' "LightSpace"
 
     Tickets are available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     The New Vision Arts Festival is organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. For programme enquiries, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.

        

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Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (August 28) that the Environmental Protection Department has classified the water quality at Anglers' Beach in Tsuen Wan District as Grade 4, which means the beach is not suitable for swimming. The red flag has been hoisted. Beach-goers are advised not to swim at the beach until further notice.

     The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will make a one-off grant to students who are receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) starting from this Thursday (August 30).

     A spokesman for the SWD said today (August 28) that the arrangement is one of the measures announced in the 2018-19 Budget to share the fruits of economic success with the community. Students from child care centres, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools who are eligible for flat-rate grant for selected items of school-related expenses under the CSSA Scheme in the 2018/19 school year will each be provided a one-off grant of $2,000. 

     The grant will be paid through the existing CSSA payment method, i.e. through autopay to the designated bank accounts in general. Recipients are not required to make an application. 

     For enquiries, recipients may call the SWD hotline at 2343 2255 or contact the respective Social Security Field Unit.

     Local sheng artist Loo Sze-wang will show his superb skills by playing a variety of compositions in a recital in October.
 
     "Sheng Recital by Loo Sze-wang" is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) as part of its City Hall Virtuosi Series.
 
     The programme will include "Festival on Tianshan", "Fishermen's Song of the South Sea", "Daybreak on a Snowy Mountain in Spring", "Zen", "The Love Valley", "Recollection", "Only Sheng", "MM (Tango)", "Sonata for ShÅ� and 17 strings Koto" (2nd movement), "Three Lai", "Keyed Sheng Rhapsody, Op. 1" and "Dazzle", the new work by Loo.
 
     Renowned sheng virtuoso Loo Sze-wang has many awards under his belt, and has been active both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He has collaborated with different performing groups including the Song Company of Australia, St Lawrence String Quartet of the United States, POING of Norway, the Fulcrum Point New Music Project of Chicago, Het Collectif of Brussels and the Macao Orchestra, covering Europe, the US, Asia and South America.
 
     Loo has also premiered several sheng concertos, the notable pieces being "Miroir de Macao" by Lam Bun-ching, and "Hark the Phoenix Soaring High" and "'Twas the Thawing Wind" by Chan Hing-yan. In 2009, he was Artist-in-Residence of Cornell University in New York, the United States. As Artist Associate of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta in 2012, he went on tour with the orchestra to North America. His recent performances have included the operas "The Heart of Coral" and "Ghost Love" by Chan Hing-yan; the atmospheric music theatre shows "When Petals Fall in Serenity" and "Beyond the Senses" by composer Law Wing-fai; "The Anatomy of the Musician" by Samson Young in Paris, France; and the new concerto "Hark the Phoenix Solitaire Cry" by Chan Hing-yan with the UniMi Orchestra in Milan, Italy, under the baton of Yip Wing-sie in 2016. Loo is a founding member of the group Chinese Music Virtuosi, which was Ensemble-in-Residence of the Department of Music of the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011-12.
 
     "City Hall Virtuosi Series ─ Sheng Recital by Loo Sze-wang" will be staged at 8pm on October 28 (Sunday) at the Theatre of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets priced at $150 and $200 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7321 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/music/programs_556.html.