Tag Archives: China

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, today (December 13) started his visit to Vietnam. Apart from meeting with the top management of major financial institutions, he elaborated on Hong Kong’s strengths at gatherings with leading business chambers in Ho Chi Minh City.
 
     Addressing a business luncheon co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore and the largest local chamber of commerce in Vietnam, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Hui summarised what Hong Kong could offer in financial services to realise more co-operation opportunities with Vietnam in the “3Cs”, namely connections, currency and commitment.  
 
     Hong Kong is best positioned to connect Vietnam with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), a world-class city cluster featuring a strong and diversified industrial base, said Mr Hui.
 
     “The GBA offers immense opportunities for Hong Kong to leverage its strengths and complementarity with other cities in the region, and offer the opportunities of a sizable and integrated market to international market players like Vietnamese financial institutions and corporates,” he noted.
 
     Mr Hui added that Hong Kong is also well positioned to capture the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). “Hong Kong can play a pivotal role in connecting Vietnamese financial institutions and corporates in fulfilling the financing and investment needs of BRI projects and its participants,” he said.
 
     On currency, referring to Renminbi (RMB), Mr Hui said that Hong Kong has a wide range of RMB-denominated products and services, such as bonds, stocks, funds, and loans.
 
     “We have seen an increased issuance of RMB bonds in Hong Kong. During the first 10 months of this year, issuance amounted to US$54 billion, already exceeding the amount of US$36 billion for the whole of last year,” Mr Hui noted.   
 
     Riding on this market trend, Mr Hui looks forward to more Vietnamese corporates and financial institutions exploring issuances of RMB-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.
 
     Regarding Hong Kong’s commitment to cope with climate change, the third “C”, Mr Hui said that Hong Kong and Vietnam can work together for common good. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will devote about HK$240 billion to climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in the next 15 to 20 years. On the financing front, the green and sustainable finance market in Hong Kong has seen impressive growth, for example, in issuance of green and sustainable debt comprising bonds and loans.
 
     At a Christmas dinner of the Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam tonight, Mr Hui told the participants that Hong Kong’s deep and sophisticated stock and bond markets, as well as a vibrant ecosystem of venture capital, private equity and asset management firms, could surely assist Vietnamese companies in expanding their businesses in the region. Also reinforcing confidence are the implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle and the upholding of the rule of law in Hong Kong.
 
     Mr Hui made use of today’s opportunity to inform the business community of Hong Kong’s recent relaxation of its visa policy in respect of employment opportunities for Vietnamese talent and the criteria for Vietnamese applying for multiple-entry visas for business and travel. 
 
     Today, Mr Hui also met with the Secretary General of the Vietnam Banks’ Association (VNBA), Dr Nguyen Quoc Hung, to exchange views on maintaining financial resilience amid global economic uncertainties and explore areas of co-operation such as fintech and green finance. The VNBA is a professional organisation representing credit institutions and other related organisations operating in Vietnam’s banking sector.
 
     Moreover, the Acting Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Mrs Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, had a meeting with Mr Hui today to discuss issues of mutual interests.

     And, to gather first-hand information on tech business operations in Vietnam, Mr Hui had a gathering with the top management of three Vietnamese enterprises which care about sustainable development and run diverse businesses, from healthy food offerings to clean energy, and covering retail, finance and real estate. Mr Hui encouraged them to make use of Hong Kong’s capital market to raise fund. 
 
     Tomorrow (December 14), Mr Hui will depart for Hanoi to continue to his visit to Vietnam.

            

     The Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Ms Louise Ho, began a Yangtze River Delta (YRD) visit to Hangzhou and Shanghai on December 10. The itinerary includes visits to the Hangzhou Customs District and the Shanghai Customs District, as well as exchanges with Shanghai-based Hong Kong students and enterprises.
      
     During the visit, Ms Ho met with the Director General of the Hangzhou Customs District, Mr Wang Wei, and the Director General of the Shanghai Customs District, Mr Gao Rongkun. In the meetings, Ms Ho stressed that Hong Kong Customs will, based on the Co-operative Arrangement on Smart Customs Development signed recently with the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, take forward the new mode of co-operation with smart construction as the core, strengthen mutual co-operation with the Customs administrations in the YRD and accelerate the development of Smart Customs.
      
     Ms Ho also visited the Smart Customs facilities of Hangzhou and Shanghai Customs respectively to study the latest developments of various technologies, including the Smart Customs Cyber System for the Asian Games and the mini programme for racehorses’ AI chips recognition developed for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou, the Yangshan Automated Terminal and the Lingang New Area big data platform.
      
     Ms Ho yesterday (December 12) attended the experience day of Hong Kong Customs Recruitment Scheme for Hong Kong students on the Mainland, which was co-organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO), where she interacted with the participating Shanghai-based Hong Kong students.
      
     Speaking at the experience day seminar, Ms Ho stated that Hong Kong Customs looks forward to attracting and nurturing a new generation of Customs specialists with a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong, a global outlook, as well as social responsibility. Through meeting peers from various provinces, Hong Kong students on the Mainland are exposed to different ideas, ways of thinking and cultures, and therefore are able develop a diversified mindset. Having such a broad horizon is conducive for coping with the various work of Customs and meeting the needs of different groups in society.
      
     Through the co-ordination efforts of the SHETO, Ms Ho yesterday also met with representatives of Shanghai-based Hong Kong enterprises to learn about their business development situation in the YRD region and introduce to them various trade facilitation measures launched by Hong Kong Customs, including the Hong Kong Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme and Single E-lock Scheme, which aim to strengthen Hong Kong Customs’ role as an economic development promoter and its functions of facilitating business and logistics. Quoting the recently organised AEO Expert Mission and Symposium for ASEAN and Hong Kong, China, Ms Ho said Hong Kong Customs is committed to further enhancing co-operation with other Customs administrations and enterprises in order to safeguard the international supply chain security, facilitate movement of legitimate goods and achieve a win-win situation.
      
     Ms Ho will conclude her visit and return to Hong Kong tomorrow (December 14).

                

     The Court of First Instance of the High Court today (December 13) handed down a decision, pointing out that on whether the concrete batching plant (CBP) at 22 Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong is required to have a Specified Process Licence (SPL) to operate, China Concrete Co. Limited (China Concrete) had disclosed no reasonable causes of action and abused the legal process on filing a civil claim against the Environmental Protection Department (EPD). Therefore, the Court allowed the Department of Justice (DoJ)’s application on striking out China Concrete’s claims and ordered the costs of the proceedings be paid by China Concrete. The spokesperson of the EPD welcomes the decision of the Court of First Instance.
 
     China Concrete filed in their claims to the High Court on August 8, 2022, stating that according to the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, its CBP at 22 Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong does not require to obtain a SPL to operate. China Concrete believes that the EPD has misinterpreted the definition on silo capacity set out in the Ordinance, and requested the Court to declare that the plant does not require to obtain a SPL to operate, and requested the EPD to compensate for the losses caused by the alleged illegal operation of the plant without a license.
 
     The DoJ applied to the High Court on October 28, 2022 on behalf of the EPD to strike out the relevant claims. The High Court conducted a hearing on the striking-out application on June 6, 2023, and handed down the judgment on December 13, 2023, striking out China Concrete’s relevant claims.
 
     The spokesman of the EPD said that the department will continue to closely monitor the CBPs at Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong. If violations and/or operations are found to cause air pollution nuisance, enforcement actions will be taken and the evidence collected will be passed onto the DoJ for consideration and appropriate follow-up.
 
     In addition, the department is working on the legislative amendments of the Air Pollution Control Ordinance to enhance enforcement power for closing illegal premises, so as to allow the department to handle similar cases more efficiently and effectively in the future. The amendments of the Ordinance are set to be introduced into the Legislative Council in the first quarter of next year. read more

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (December 13) investigating a suspected food poisoning cluster affecting 10 persons, and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent foodborne diseases.

     The cluster involved four males and six females, aged from 25 to 44, who developed symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and fever about 33 to 50 hours after having dinner at a restaurant in Sheung Wan on December 9.
   
     Five of the affected persons sought medical advice and none required hospitalisation. All affected persons are in stable condition.

     Initial investigations of the CHP revealed that the affected persons had consumed common food and the food concerned was oyster. The poisoning might have been caused by norovirus and the CHP is arranging the collection of stool specimen of patients for testing in order to ascertain the source of infection.
 
     The personnel from the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have conducted an inspection at the restaurant. Initial investigations revealed that the reasons causing food poisoning include contaminated raw food. The CHP’s investigation is ongoing.
     
     To prevent foodborne diseases, members of the public are reminded to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:
 

• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Pre-cooked or leftover foods should be stored and reheated properly before consumption;
• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked before eating during a hotpot or barbecue meal;
• Handle raw and cooked foods carefully and separate them completely during the cooking process;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and utensils to handle raw and cooked foods;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine or wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective; and
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet. 

     â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 13) that a sample of prepackaged fresh bean curd sticks was found to contain sulphur dioxide, a preservative which is allowed to be used in certain foods, but the functional class and the name of the additive were not declared on the food label. Members of the public should not consume the affected batch of the product. The trade should also stop using or selling the affected batch of the product immediately if they possess it.

     Product details are as follows: 

Product name: FRESH BEAN CURD STICKS
Brand: NEW MOON BRAND
Place of origin: China
Net weight: 200 grams
Use By: April 25, 2024
Sole agent: NGAR YAT IND CO LTD

     “The CFS collected the above-mentioned sample from a supermarket in Kwun Tong for testing under its routine Food Surveillance Programme. The test result showed that the sample contained sulphur dioxide.The functional class and the name of the additive were not declared on the food label of the sample,” a spokesman for the CFS said.

     “The CFS has informed the sole agent concerned of the irregularities and instructed them to stop sales and remove from shelves the affected batch of the product. The sole agent concerned has initiated a recall according to the CFS’s instructions. Members of the public may call its hotline at 2692 8961 during office hours for enquiries about the recall,” the spokesman added.

     Sulphur dioxide is a preservative which can be used in a variety of foods including dried vegetables, dried fruits, pickled vegetables and salted fish products. Sulphur dioxide is water soluble, and most of it can be removed through washing and cooking. However, susceptible individuals who are allergic to this preservative may experience breathing difficulties, headaches and nausea after consumption.

     The spokesman reminded the food trade that the use of preservatives in food must comply with the Preservatives in Food Regulation (Cap. 132BD). Furthermore, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132W) require that for all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong containing sulphite in a concentration of 10 parts per million or more, the functional class of the sulphite and its name shall be specified in the list of ingredients. Offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and six months’ imprisonment upon conviction.

     The CFS will alert the trade, continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action. The investigation is ongoing. read more