Tag Archives: China

Provisional statistics on index of industrial production and producer price index for industrial sector for first quarter of 2024

According to the provisional results of a survey released today (June 14) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the index of industrial production for manufacturing industries as a whole increased by 1.8% in the first … read more

June 14, 2024 hksar govEast AsiaChina

Analytical Accounts of Exchange Fund

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released today (June 14) the key analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund at the end of May 2024.

     Foreign assets, representing the external assets of the Exchange Fund, increased during the month by HK$7.8 billion to HK$3,468.0 billion.

     The Monetary Base, comprising Certificates of Indebtedness, Government-issued currency notes and coins in circulation, the balance of the banking system and Exchange Fund Bills and Notes issued, amounted to HK$1,919.0 billion.

     Claims on the private sector in Hong Kong amounted to HK$294.2 billion.

     Foreign liabilities amounted to HK$22.4 billion.

     The analytical accounts of the Exchange Fund are released in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) and are referred to as the Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank under SDDS (Annex).

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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 the International Monetary Fund’s 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 June 2024, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows:

June 7 (Issued)	SDDS International Reserves (Hong Kong’s Latest Foreign Currency Reserve Assets Figures)
June 14	SDDS Analytical Accounts of the Central Bank (Analytical Accounts of the Exchange Fund)
June 28	SDDS Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity
June 28	Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

June 14, 2024 hksar govEast AsiaChina

HKSAR Government sets up Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks in Shenzhen (with photos)

In his Policy Address last year, the Chief Executive proposed to advance the development of a digital government and collaborate with Guangdong Province to promote the Cross-boundary Public Services initiative. The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) announced today (June 14) the setting up of Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks at two locations in Shenzhen. The self-service kiosks will help residents and enterprises in Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) access public services of Hong Kong without the need to travel to Hong Kong in person.

Starting today, the public can use the Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks located in the following two Shenzhen service centres to access various public services of Hong Kong:

Qianhai e-Station Government Service Center of Shenzhen Municipality (opening hours: 9am to noon and 2pm to 6pm, Monday to Friday except public holidays on the Mainland)
e-Station Comprehensive Service Center of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (opening hours: 9am to noon and 1pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday except public holidays on the Mainland)

For details, please visit the Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services thematic website at www.crossboundaryservices.gov.hk/en/home/index.html.

Following the first Hong Kong Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosk which commenced operation in Guangzhou in February this year, the Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks currently provide over 60 public services from 11 government bureaux and departments as well as related organisations, encompassing areas commonly used by enterprises and the public including taxation, company registration, property and vehicle enquiry and registration, personal identification documents and applications for entry of talent, welfare and education, healthcare, immigration clearance, urgent assistance as well as culture and tourism. Members of the public can use the self-service kiosks to perform data entry, document scanning and result printing to enjoy one-stop access when applying for various public services.

The Cross-boundary Public Services self-service kiosks will introduce the use of Intrusion Detected Continuous Re-authentication technology in the next phase to further enhance privacy protection for kiosk users. This technology is developed by the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, and was awarded a bronze medal at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in April this year.

In addition, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has set up “iAM Smart” self-registration kiosks at the two locations mentioned above to enable Hong Kong residents working and living on the Mainland to register for, or upgrade to, “iAM Smart+” to enjoy convenient online services. For details and registration requirements, please visit the “iAM Smart” thematic website at www.iamsmart.gov.hk/en/reg.html.

A spokesman for the ITIB expressed sincere gratitude to the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data for its strong support and the two Shenzhen service centres above for their full co-operation. The ITIB will continue to discuss with the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Government Service and Data to set up self-service kiosks in more Mainland cities of the GBA to cope with the demands of residents and enterprises in the GBA for Hong Kong Government services.

To implement the State Council’s Guiding Opinions to all provincial governments on Cross-provincial Public Services and their comprehensive deployment, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government accepted the invitation of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province in 2021 to jointly launch the GBA Cross-boundary Public Services, and worked with Guangdong Province in November last year to introduce a dedicated service area/thematic website for Cross-boundary Public Services. The initiative enables enterprises and the public in both regions to enjoy simple and convenient cross-boundary services, with a view to facilitating the provision of public services and investment in the GBA, and enhancing the satisfaction and sense of contentment of enterprises and the public in accessing services across the boundary.

June 14, 2024 hksar govEast AsiaChina

Hong Kong Customs raids large-scale “cheap whites” storage centre (with photo)

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 13) raided a large-scale storage centre in San Tin, Yuen Long, for suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes (commonly known as “cheap whites”) and seized about 10.6 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $48 million and a duty potential of about $35 million. About 7.3 million suspected illicit cigarettes seized were “cheap whites”, accounting for about 70 per cent of the total seizure. It was the largest case of “cheap whites” detected by Customs this year.

     Upon searching a metal shed of about 2 000 square feet in Wing Ping Village, San Tin, yesterday afternoon, Customs seized the batch of suspected illicit cigarettes from three containers there and arrested two men, aged 44 and 66, suspected to be connected with the case.

     The case is still under investigation. The two arrested men have been released on bail pending further investigation.

     Customs will continue to trace the source and whereabouts of the illicit cigarettes, and believes that some of the seized “cheap whites” would have been exported to other countries.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis for interception at source as well as through its multipronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to spare no effort in combating illicit cigarette activities.

     Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).