Attention duty announcers, radio and TV stations:

     Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals when the Cold Weather Warning is in force:

     The Labour Department reminds employers that as the Cold Weather Warning is in force, they should take appropriate precautions such as reminding employees who have to work outdoors or in remote areas to wear appropriately warm clothing, and make arrangements for employees to rotate from outdoor to indoor or sheltered work sites as far as possible. Employees should take note of the weather report, wear appropriately warm clothing and be mindful of their health conditions. They should notify their supervisors and seek medical help immediately if feeling unwell, such as having cold limbs and body shivering.

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

     The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) announced today (February 29) the successful issuance of its triple-tranche Hong Kong dollar (HKD) benchmark bonds totalling HK$12 billion (Issuance) under its US$30 billion Medium Term Note Programme, marking it the largest-ever HKD senior unsecured public bond transaction and the largest 10-year HKD public bond issuance in the institutional market. The Issuance was book-built and priced in Hong Kong on February 21 with the participation of 20 local and international financial institutions.
      
     The triple-tranche issuance comprises HK$8 billion 2-year, HK$3 billion 5-year and HK$1 billion 10-year bonds. With the strong market reopening after the Chinese New Year and a series of investor roadshows, the Issuance was well received by a diverse group of high-quality local and overseas institutional investors with strong orderbook of over HK$37 billion and final allocation to over 180 accounts, including banks, investment and retirement funds, insurance companies, central bank and government-related funds, family offices and private banks. Major terms of the Issuance are highlighted in the Annex.
      
     The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the HKMC, Mr Raymond Li, said, "We are very pleased to see the successful issuance of the triple-tranche HKD benchmark bonds. This multiple-tenor issuance not only extends the HKMC's bond issuance across the yield curve, but also sets a solid benchmark for other public sector entities and local high-grade issuers. We trust that this could inspire more debt issuance activities in Hong Kong and provide the investing community with high-quality HKD debt instruments, thereby promoting further development of the local bond market."

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson announced the following senior appointment today (February 29):

     Dr Gladys Kwan will be appointed as the Hospital Chief Executive of Caritas Medical Centre with effect from July 15.

     Dr Kwan is a specialist in anaesthesiology and an experienced senior healthcare executive with solid management experience at both corporate and cluster levels. Currently serving as the Chief Manager (Medical Grade) and previously holding the position of Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness and Technology Management) at the HA Head Office, Dr Kwan has notable accomplishments, including establishing the non-locally trained doctors recruitment team for overseas recruitment with outstanding results, and leading the Global Healthcare Talent Scheme successfully to recruit potential talent. During her tenure as the Service Director (Quality and Safety) in the New Territories West Cluster, Dr Kwan played a significant role in driving improvement projects, including the implementation of training programmes for early detection and rapid escalation of clinical deterioration, and supporting the Crew Resource Management Training Programme and in-situ simulation training, with the aim to promote patient safety.

     The HA Chairman, Mr Henry Fan, and Chief Executive, Dr Tony Ko, congratulate Dr Kwan on her new appointment and wish her every success in taking up the new role.

  

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, February 29, 2024 is 105.0 (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 February 28 to noon today (February 29), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 160 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 33 400 samples of food imported from Japan (including 22 388 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 9 324 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests.