Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (December 7) met the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Mr Daren Tang. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, and the Director of Intellectual Property, Mr David Wong, also attended the meeting.

      Mr Lee welcomed the visit by Mr Tang and the high-level delegation from the WIPO to Hong Kong to attend the Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum on December 7 and 8.

     The National 14th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong to develop into a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre. Mr Lee said that under the “one country, two systems” framework, Hong Kong thrives as an international hub for trade and finance, and is the only common law jurisdiction within the country.  As announced in the Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will leverage the institutional advantages of Hong Kong’s legal and IP protection systems, and carry out a number of new measures including enhancing the IP legal regime, implementing the “patent box” tax incentive, planning for regulatory arrangements on patent agent services, and boosting the trading of local original works, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong’s status as a regional IP trading centre.

     Mr Lee paid tribute to the WIPO for playing a crucial role in promoting and facilitating global IP development. He said that the HKSAR Government will continue to maintain close communication with the WIPO and explore more co-operation to promote IP development.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (December 7) that the official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to US$424.6 billion as at the end of November 2023 (end-October 2023: US$416.0 billion) (Annex).
      
     Including unsettled foreign exchange contracts, the foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong at the end of November 2023 amounted to US$424.4 billion (end-October 2023: US$416.0 billion).
      
     The total foreign currency reserve assets of US$424.6 billion represent about six times the currency in circulation or 40 per cent of Hong Kong dollar M3.

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     At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of December 2023, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:
 

     The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, started his visit to Hangzhou today (December 7) to learn about the smart mobility development in the city.      In the morning, Mr Lam met with represent… read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt, and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on December 6 to noon today (December 7), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 95 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
 
     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 18 593 samples of food imported from Japan (including 12 353 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 5 214 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, December 7, 2023 is 104.7 (up 0.1 against yesterday’s index). read more