The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 is 105.7 (down 0.2 against yesterday's index).

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (April 3) that open auctions for a total of 47 stalls in 11 public markets will be held in April.

     The retail commodities allowed for sale in these stalls cover chilled meat/frozen meat, chilled poultry, fresh meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, cooked food, ready-to-eat food, food-related dry goods and wet goods, non-food related dry goods, service trades (including manicures, beauty and Chinese medicine practitioners), etc. The tenancy agreement is a three-year fixed term from May 1, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on the sizes and locations of the individual stalls. Relevant information is available on the FEHD website.
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     A spokesman for the FEHD said, "Bidders for the market stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. To allow more people to bid for the stalls and increase customer choices by enhancing the diversity in terms of the variety of stalls, there will be a restriction on the number of stalls to be rented in the same market by a single tenant. Any person who is currently a stall tenant is not allowed to bid in the first round of auction for any stall in the same market, and will only be allowed to bid for one stall in the second round of auction, while no existing tenant under the new three-year fixed term tenancy scheme (i.e. those persons who became the stall tenant through the market open auctions after August 2022) shall be allowed to bid for a stall in the same market in any event. Any person who is currently a stall tenant of the Aberdeen Market is allowed to bid for a stall in the Aberdeen Market in the auction, but shall deliver vacant possession of the current stall to the FEHD before the effective date of commencement of the tenancy agreement. The terms and conditions of the auctions have been uploaded to the FEHD website, with details of qualifications of the bidders listed."

     The date of the auctions and the number of stalls are as follows:

Aberdeen Market
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Auction date: April 9 (Tuesday) (am)
Number of stalls: 14

Hong Kong Island (except Aberdeen Market)
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Auction date: April 9 (Tuesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 13

Lai Wan Market
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Auction date: April 10 (Wednesday) (am) 
Number of stalls: four

Kowloon (except Lai Wan Market)
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Auction date: April 10 (Wednesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: seven

New Territories
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Auction date: April 12 (Friday)
Number of stalls: nine
　　
     The open auctions will be held at Room 410, 4/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The admission tickets will be issued 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each auction. Persons who want to attend the auctions must wait at the waiting area of the auction venue and produce their Hong Kong identity card or passport for registration. The registered person will then be provided with an admission ticket for the auctions. Eligible bidders after verification will be issued with a bidding paddle for the auction. Moreover, restrictions on bidding at open auctions have been updated. A person who has been successful in bidding a stall in any public market at auction but has failed to sign a tenancy agreement for that stall within one year before the auction date will not be allowed to bid at an auction. In addition, a sitting tenant or former tenant of a stall in any public market, whose tenancy was terminated early by the Government (other than temporary decanting or permanent relocation arranged by the Government), will not be allowed to bid at an auction (the restriction will not be applicable after the period of one year counting from the issue date of the notice of termination of tenancy agreement). The FEHD has also invited representatives of the Police, the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Competition Commission to monitor the auctions at the auction venue in order to ensure that the open auctions are conducted in an orderly and fair manner.
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     Details of the open auctions and the public market stalls concerned have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/open_auction_coming.html). Bidders interested in the auctions may visit the department website or contact the respective District Environmental Hygiene Office.

     Police will implement special traffic arrangements to facilitate the holding of rugby matches at the Hong Kong Stadium from April 5 (Friday) to 7 (Sunday).

A. Traffic arrangements at the commencement of the event
 
     Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented from  about 7am on April 5, from about 6.30am on April 6, and from about 7.30am on April 7:
 
Road closure
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– Caroline Hill Road between its eastern junction with Leighton Road and Cotton Path;
– Part of the traffic lane of Caroline Hill Road between Eastern Hospital and Cotton Path;
– Westbound Hysan Avenue between Yun Ping Road and Hoi Ping Road;
– Keswick Street; and
– If necessary, Lee Garden Road between Lan Fong Road and Hysan Avenue, except for green minibuses (GMBs).
 
Traffic diversions
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– Caroline Hill Road between its junction with Leighton Road and Stadium Path will be re-routed one way southbound;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Stadium Path and Tung Lo Wan Road will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Caroline Hill Road between its western junction with Leighton Road and Link Road will have two lanes for traffic entering Caroline Hill Road from Hoi Ping Road;
– Hysan Avenue between Leighton Road and Hoi Ping Road will be re-routed one way eastbound;
– Eastbound Hysan Avenue will have two lanes for traffic turning right to Hoi Ping Road;
– Vehicles leaving the private driveway of Lee Garden One must turn left to eastbound Hysan Avenue;
– Traffic along Yun Ping Road cannot turn left to westbound Hysan Avenue, vehicles will be diverted to Lan Fong Road and Pak Sha Road;
– Traffic along Pennington Street cannot turn right to Keswick Street;
– If necessary, traffic along northbound Link Road downhill to northbound Caroline Hill Road must turn left to westbound Leighton Road; and
– If necessary, traffic along Lan Fong Road cannot turn left to southbound Lee Garden Road, vehicles will be diverted to northbound Lee Garden Road, Foo Ming Street and southbound Percival Street, except for GMBs.
 
Passenger alighting arrangements
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     The drop-off zone for taxis and private cars will be arranged to set down passengers at the locations specified below:

– Western kerbside of Caroline Hill Road near Disciplined Service Sports and Recreation Club;
– Northern kerbside of Cotton Path; and
– Southern kerbside (taxi drop-off zone) and northern kerbside (private car drop-off zone) of Eastern Hospital Road near the main entrance of Hong Kong Stadium.

B. Traffic arrangements on conclusion of the event
 
     Depending on the crowd and traffic conditions, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented from about 8.30pm on April 5, from about 7.30pm on April 6, and from about 7pm on April 7:
 
Road closure
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– Caroline Hill Road;
– Eastern Hospital Road between Caroline Hill Road and Cotton Path;
– Northbound Link Road (downhill), except for vehicles heading for No. 1, 3, 5 and 7 on Link Road;
– Hoi Ping Road;
– Sunning Road;
– Keswick Street;
– Cotton Path; and
– If necessary, Leighton Road.
 
Traffic diversions
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– Before the end of the event, vehicles may be permitted to leave South China Athletic Association car parks by turning right at the western exit to northbound Caroline Hill Road;
– Before the end of the event, vehicles may be permitted to exit buildings on Eastern Hospital Road by turning right to northbound Eastern Hospital Road;
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road cannot enter Caroline Hill Road for Link Road, vehicles will be diverted via Wong Nai Chung Road and Broadwood Road; and
– When Leighton Road is closed, traffic along westbound Causeway Road will be diverted via Irving Street; traffic along eastbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted via Canal Road West; traffic along southbound Percival Street must turn right to westbound Leighton Road; and traffic along southbound Canal Road East cannot turn left to Leighton Road.

C. Traffic arrangements throughout the event
 
Learner drivers prohibition
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     From 6am to 11.30pm daily between April 5 and 7, learner drivers cannot turn left to Tung Lo Wan Road from Causeway Road. The following roads will also be prohibited to all learner drivers:
 
– Westbound Leighton Road;
– Percival Street south of Hennessy Road;
– Caroline Hill Road;
– Link Road;
– Stadium Path;
– Cotton Path;
– Eastern Hospital Road; and
– Eastern Hospital Road service road.

     In addition, learner drivers cannot turn left to Tung Lo Wan Road from Causeway Road.

Suspension of parking spaces
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     All on-street parking spaces on the following roads will be suspended from 6am on April 5 to 11.30pm on April 7:

– Stadium Path;
– Northbound Caroline Hill Road between Stadium Path and Cotton Path;
– Hoi Ping Road (including disabled parking spaces);
– Eastern Hospital Road service road;
– Southbound Tung Lo Wan Road between Causeway Road and Wun Sha Street; and
– Sunning Road.

Suspension of lay-bys
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     The lay-bys on the following roads will be suspended from 6am to 11.30pm daily between April 5 and 7:

– Sunning Road;
– Moreton Terrace; and
– Keswick Street.

Restrictions on access to / exit from car parks
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     If necessary, all car parks along Caroline Hill Road, Eastern Hospital Road, Stadium Path and Cotton Path may be closed at short notice.

     Vehicles in car parks within the road closure area may not be permitted to leave during the road closure period.
 
     All vehicles parked illegally during the implementation of the above special traffic arrangements will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.  

    Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. Motorists are advised to exercise tolerance and patience and take heed of instructions of the Police on site.

     â€‹The Land Registry today (April 3) released its statistics for March 2024.

Land registration
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* The number of sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in March was 5 013 (+57.2 per cent compared with February 2024 but -41.7 per cent compared with March 2023)

* The 12-month moving average for March was 4 303 (6.5 per cent below the 12-month moving average for February 2024 and 20.4 per cent below that for March 2023)

* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements of building units in March was $37.4 billion (+65.5 per cent compared with February 2024 but -45.7 per cent compared with March 2023)

* Among the sale and purchase agreements, 3 971 were for residential units (+67.2 per cent compared with February 2024 but -40.6 per cent compared with March 2023)

* The total consideration for sale and purchase agreements in respect of residential units was $30.1 billion (+57.4 per cent compared with February 2024 but -48.1 per cent compared with March 2023)

     Statistics on sales of residential units do not include sale and purchase agreements relating to sales of units under the Home Ownership Scheme, the Private Sector Participation Scheme, the Tenants Purchase Scheme, etc, unless the premium of the unit concerned has been paid after the sale restriction period.

     Figures on sale and purchase agreements received for the past 12 months, the year-on-year rate of change and breakdown figures on residential sales have also been released.

     As deeds may not be lodged with the Land Registry until up to 30 days after the transaction, these statistics generally relate to land transactions in the previous month.

Land search
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* The number of searches of land registers made by the public in March was 367 409 (+32.7 per cent compared with February 2024 but -17.3 per cent compared with March 2023)

     The statistics cover searches made at the counter, through the self-service terminals and via the Integrated Registration Information System Online Services.

     A man who went missing in Hung Hom has been located.

     Lee Kwok-shing, aged 82, went missing after he was last seen at a shopping mall on Tak On Street on April 1 afternoon. His family made a report to Police on the same day.

     The man was located outside Tai Wai MTR Station yesterday (April 2) afternoon. He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.