â€‹Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced today (March 6) it will cohost a seminar with the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AustCham) on Friday (March 8) with top speakers sharing on a series of tourism, retail and food and beverage (F&B) business opportunities Hong Kong has to offer.
      
     The seminar entitled "Unleashing Success: Tourism and Hospitality Business Opportunities in Hong Kong 2024" aims to offer audience an insight into the evolving landscape of Hong Kong's tourism and hospitality sectors in terms of recent trends and business opportunities, plus government assistance available.
      
     The Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Ms Alpha Lau, said, "Australia is one of the top five source markets in InvestHK's portfolio. The event will offer Australian companies the latest about the various developments in Hong Kong's business landscape, helping them to make informed decisions in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong."
      
     The Chief Executive of the AustCham, Ms Stefanie Evennett, said, "This event will be a fantastic chance to gain expert insight and understanding on the changing trends and opportunities in the food, beverage, tourism, hospitality and retail sectors. There is already a strong Australian presence within these sectors in Hong Kong and many of our members play an important part in the city's vibrant F&B scene, but with new key infrastructure projects in the pipeline and a host of events planned for the year ahead I would encourage anyone with an interest in these areas to come along, ask questions and find out more."
      
     At the seminar, the Head, Tourism and Hospitality at InvestHK, Ms Sindy Wong, will give updates on the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme and various forms of government assistance available to foreign investors. Consultant of Euromonitor Ms Prudence Lai will talk about inbound Hong Kong tourism, retail and dining trend, visitor spending, travel pattern, and consumer insights across Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while the Head of Valuation and Advisory Services of Colliers, Ms Hannah Jeong, will share on the opportunities for restaurants, shopping malls and retail space in Northern Metropolis.
      
     For event details, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk/en/events/unleashing-success-tourism-and-hospitality-business-opportunities-in-hong-kong-2024/.  

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 is 105 (down 0.1 against yesterday's index).

     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 March 5 to noon today (March 6), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 165 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 52 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 34 489 samples of food imported from Japan (including 23 108 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 9 626 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Mox Bank Limited relating to suspicious websites, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
      
     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the websites concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by CMB Wing Lung Bank Limited relating to fraudulent websites and mobile applications (apps), which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.

     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks' websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive personal information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the websites or apps concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.