The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok (Bangkok ETO) jointly organised the Thailand-Hong Kong Business Forum with Invest Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Bangkok, Thailand, today (March 18) to promote business opportunities in Hong Kong.

     In his welcoming remarks in the Forum, the Director of the Bangkok ETO, Mr Parson Lam, said that Hong Kong and Thailand share close bilateral trade relations.  Hong Kong is one of the major trading and investment partners of Thailand. In 2023, the total merchandise trade value between Hong Kong and Thailand amounted to about US$19 billion. He expressed his anticipation for the strengthening of economic, trade and investment co-operation between the two places.

     Mr Lam highlighted that the unique advantages of Hong Kong under "one country, two systems" have made it a top destination for business expansion for overseas and Mainland companies. In 2023, the number of overseas and Mainland companies that had set up or expanded their businesses in Hong Kong exceeded 9 000. He encouraged Thai companies to make good use of Hong Kong's role as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to tap into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) market and participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. He also briefed attending business leaders on Hong Kong's initiatives on attracting enterprises and investment.

     The Advisor to the Prime Minister of Thailand and Thailand Trade Representative, Dr Nalinee Taveesin, attended the Forum and delivered an opening remarks. The Director-General of Investment Promotion of InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau, gave a presentation on the business opportunities and market outlook of Hong Kong. The Regional Director, Southeast Asia and South Asia of the HKTDC, Mr Ronald Ho, shared the vast opportunities brought by the GBA. 

     About 200 guests from various business sectors in Thailand attended the Forum and took part in panel discussions.

     To step up publicity efforts on attracting enterprises and investment, the Bangkok ETO has been running a campaign in Skytrain and metro stations, key shopping malls and commercial buildings, as well as international and domestic airports in Thailand since February to promote Hong Kong's vast potential for businesses and talent.

          

     â€‹The "teamLab: Continuous" exhibition (the lawn area in Tamar Park) accepted online booking for special sessions in the first week (March 25 to March 31) through the Klook system from noon today (March 18). It received an overwhelming response, and quotas for all sessions are full. The exhibition is part of the large-scale outdoor art project "Art@Harbour 2024", presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). 

     Members of the public who were unable to make a registration could make same-day booking through the Klook system for the available quota from 1pm daily from March 25.

     The LCSD reminded the public that admission to the exhibition zone at some part of the lawn area of the Tamar Park is only allowed for holders of a valid QR code. To allow more visitors to enter and ensure that they have a good visiting experience, the recommended duration of each visit is 30 to 45 minutes. If necessary, clearance may be implemented every night at some of the exhibition areas to disperse crowds. Visitors should follow the instructions of the staff during clearance and co-operate with them in an orderly manner. 

     Members of the public without registration can visit the "Science in Art" of the "Art@Harbour 2024" at the Central and Western District Promenade (Central Section) and the exhibits of "teamLab: Continuous" at other areas which do not require registration.

     Booking for the second week (April 1 to 7) will open at noon next Monday (March 25).

     For the content and period of the exhibition, as well as the latest news and information of "Art@Harbour 2024", please visit the website for the latest updates at www.museums.gov.hk/en/web/portal/artatharbour.html.

     A licensee and an associate of the licensee of an employment agency (EA) were convicted of attempting to overcharge a foreign domestic helper (FDH) and fined a total of $16,000 at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts today (March 18) for violation of the Employment Ordinance and the Crimes Ordinance.   
      
     In September 2022, the Labour Department (LD) received a complaint from an FDH against Saiko Hong, located in Sheung Wan, for charging her an excessive commission. As the investigation revealed sufficient evidence that the licensee of the EA concerned and the associate of the licensee had attempted to overcharge the FDH, the LD decided to prosecute.
      
     Under the Employment Ordinance, an EA licensee or his/her associate, or a person purporting to act in such capacities, is not allowed to collect from a job seeker any fees or charges other than the prescribed commission, which is an amount not exceeding 10 per cent of the first month's salary of the job seeker upon successful placement.
      
     The LD reminds EAs to operate in full compliance with the law as well as the Code of Practice for EAs at all times. Failure to do so may lead to prosecution and/or revocation of the EA's licence. The maximum penalties for the offences of unlicensed operation of an EA or overcharging commission from job seekers are a fine of $350,000 and imprisonment for three years.
      
     Should there be enquiries about matters related to EAs or complaints about malpractices of EAs, please contact the Employment Agencies Administration of the LD by calling 2115 3667, e-mailing ea-ee@labour.gov.hk, or visiting its office at Unit 906, 9/F, One Mong Kok Road Commercial Centre, 1 Mong Kok Road, Kowloon.

     Hong Kong Customs on March 15 mounted an anti-smuggling operation in the western waters of Hong Kong and detected a suspected case of using a river trade vessel to smuggle goods in the waters off Black Point. About 1 tonne of unmanifested suspected scheduled dried shark fins with an estimated market value of about $5 million were seized.

     During an anti-smuggling operation conducted in the above-mentioned waters on that day, Customs officers intercepted a river trade vessel heading towards Macao. After inspection, Customs officers found the batch of suspected scheduled dried shark fins inside a container on board the vessel.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
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     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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).

  

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (March 18) chaired the third meeting of the third-term Human Resources Planning Commission. Representatives of Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) briefed members on their achievements in trawling for talent, enterprises and investment as well as their work plans, and exchanged views with them.

     Since December 2022, the Government has been implementing an array of new initiatives to proactively attract and retain talent under the steer of the Chief Secretary for Administration. They included enhancing various existing talent admission schemes, establishing the Top Talent Pass Scheme, and running the online platform of HKTE. The physical office of HKTE was set up in October 2023 to steadfastly provide comprehensive one-stop support services for talent interested in coming to Hong Kong and those who have arrived. HKTE is actively expanding its network of collaborative partners to organise themed events, as well as online and offline activities such as themed seminars. It aims to assist incoming talent in obtaining necessary information about employment, education, settlement, entrepreneurship, etc., thereby enabling them to adapt to their new life as early as possible and encouraging them to settle in Hong Kong for development.

     At the meeting, members were pleased to note that the various talent admission schemes had been well received. As at end-February 2024, the schemes had received a total of more than 250 000 applications, about 160 000 of which had been approved. More than 100 000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong, far exceeding the Government's annual target of drawing in at least 35 000 talents. HKTE will continue to proactively attract talent from around the world to Hong Kong. In May 2024, it will organise the Global Talent Summit and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) High-quality Talent Development Conference to promote Hong Kong's unique advantages as an international talent hub and foster the flow of talent and development opportunities among GBA cities.

     OASES was established in December 2022. It has been engaging and negotiating with strategic enterprises from life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, financial technology, as well as advanced manufacturing and new-energy technology, to formulate special facilitation measures for them to set up operations in Hong Kong. The Advisory Committee on Attracting Strategic Enterprises, chaired by the Financial Secretary, was set up in early 2023 to consult business sectors regularly on the overall strategy of attracting strategic enterprises and target industries.

     At the meeting, members were pleased to learn that OASES had met with more than 200 enterprises so far; and that following the announcement in October 2023 of the first batch of about 30 strategic enterprises with their operations set up or expanded in Hong Kong, OASES would welcome the second batch of around 20 enterprises in March 2024. All these companies are expected to bring about more than $40 billion in investment and about 13 000 jobs in total. Also, many of them are companies with market capitalisation or valuation of more than $10 billion or engaging in cutting-edge technologies. They will attract upstream, midstream and downstream partners from their industry chains, thereby promoting the development of the innovation and technology sector.

     Overall, members agreed with the current-term Government on its strategies of proactively attracting talent and enterprises, and were pleased to note the good results of the work by HKTE and OASES so far to help boost the competitiveness of Hong Kong. Mr Chan said that the Government would press ahead with attracting more top-notch talent and strategic enterprises, through HKTE and OASES respectively, to expedite the development of new quality productive forces for injecting stronger impetus into the city's high-quality development.