The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (April 30) invited tenders for the provision of services for the treatment and recycling of washing machines.

     The Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), or WPRS in short, which covers air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, computers, printers, scanners and monitors (collectively referred to as regulated electrical equipment or REE), has been in operation since August 1, 2018. The WPRS enables the WEEE generated locally to be properly recycled and turned into resources, instead of being exported for treatment or sent to landfills. 

     The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Treatment and Recycling Facility (WEEE·PARK), developed by the Government, commenced full operation in March last year to ensure that Hong Kong has adequate capacity for processing the waste REE generated locally, particularly those items with lower recycling value or higher processing costs such as refrigerators and washing machines. At the same time, the Government has been encouraging local recyclers to enhance their operation standards by obtaining a waste disposal licence in compliance with the requirements set out in the Waste Disposal Ordinance for the recycling and treatment of waste REE, so as to promote the development of the recycling industry and facilitate a circular economy.

     An EPD spokesman said, "We notice that at present some recyclers have been granted a waste disposal licence to carry out the treatment of certain types of WEEE, including washing machines. To encourage market participation in the recycling of WEEE, we decided to engage contractors who have obtained the waste disposal licence, through open tender, to carry out the treatment and recycling of washing machines that are collected outside the statutory removal services under the Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance for a contract period of 10 months.

     "Through this short term contract, we may observe any market changes or developments and take note of progress before deciding on the need to prepare a further contract for bidding by interested recyclers."

     The EPD believes that the arrangement will send a positive message to the market and encourage capable recyclers to consider suitable investment and apply for waste disposal licences, so as to more fully participate in the recycling and treatment of WEEE, which will bring long term benefits to the development of the local recycling industry.

     The tendering period will close at noon on June 20, 2019 (Thursday). Interested parties may obtain the tender documents from the Supplies Section of the EPD at 5/F, Chinachem Exchange Square, 1 Hoi Wan Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, during office hours. They may also refer to the EPD website at www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/business_job/business_opp/tender.html for information. For enquiries, please call 2963 9460.

     The Lands Department announced today (April 30) that in respect of the tender for the site New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6576 at Kai Tak Area 4B Site 1, Kai Tak, Kowloon, which was awarded on March 27 to the successful tenderer, Infinite Sun Limited (parent company: Wheelock Properties Limited, Henderson Land Development Company Limited, China Overseas Land and Investment Limited and New World Development Company Limited), on a 50-year land grant at a premium of $9,893,000,000, the tender amounts submitted by the unsuccessful tenderers in descending order are published on an anonymous basis as follows:
 
(1) $9,861,900,000
(2) $8,380,000,000
(3) $8,008,000,000
(4) $7,825,000,000
(5) $6,859,000,000  

     The information disclosed in this press release is for information only.

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, at a media session after the Bills Committee on Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 meeting at the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (April 30):

Reporter: What do you think of the failure again to elect the chairman for the Bills Committee? Secondly, I understand that the Government wishes to have this proposal to be discussed in the Bills Committee, but is the Government prepared to table directly the bill to the Council, given the urgency of the matter?
 
Secretary for Security: Obviously, I think the proper procedure is to go through the Bills Committee so that there will be a good exchange of opinions and a good opportunity for the Government to explain all the legal principles and policies that we want to achieve in our bill. That is something that has been done in respect of all bills and this is a procedure we want to follow.
 
　　There may be different opinions by a lot of people, but for legislators who have different opinions it is best to express all these opinions in the Bills Committee so that they can make proposals, or at the end of the day they can also make amendments to the Government proposal. There are a lot of things that should be done in the Bills Committee so that the due process can proceed so as to address the two purposes we have all along been explaining that the bill wants to achieve. The first is to deal with this murder case in Taiwan and the second is to plug the loophole, which is something that has been exposed and proven by the Taiwan case because, indeed, a similar case as serious as the Taiwan case may happen anytime and at anyplace. We just don’t have the legal basis to deal with them. Certainly, we can’t afford to have other cases right in front of me when we have the same problem of not being able to deal with them on the legal basis. So I sincerely urge the Legislative Council and the Bills Committee to start the process of scrutinising the bill, and discussing and exchanging opinions with the government team. We will do our best to explain the purposes on the legal basis, and of course we do our best to ensure that the whole legislative process will complete before the end of this Legco year so that we have the legal basis to deal with the Taiwan murder case as well as to ensure that we will also be able to deal with similar cases in the future.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (April 29) seized about 80 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $80 million at Tai Kok Tsui.

     During an anti-narcotics operation conducted in Tai Kok Tsui yesterday evening, Customs officers intercepted two men and found the batch of suspected cocaine inside two suitcases carried by them. The two men, aged 18 and 28, were then arrested.

     Investigation is ongoing.

     Along with two another serious narcotics cases detected earlier this month, Customs officers have seized about 421 kilograms of suspected cocaine in total with an estimated market value of over $400 million. Customs will continue to investigate whether the three cases are connected.

     Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to the Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (April 30) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,171.2 billion as at March 31, 2019, HK$5.8 billion higher than that at the end of February 2019. Foreign currency assets increased by HK$30.0 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$24.2 billion.

     The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to income from foreign currency investments and an increase in unsettled purchases of securities, which were partly offset by the sale of US dollars under the Currency Board arrangements. The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to withdrawals of placements by Fiscal Reserves, which were partly offset by additional placements from HKSAR government funds and statutory bodies and an increase in market value of Hong Kong equities.

     The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of March 2019 was HK$1,639.4 billion, decreased by HK$7.2 billion, or 0.4 per cent, from the end of February 2019. The decline was mainly due to a decrease in the balance of the banking system, which was partly offset by an increase in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness.

     The amount of Backing Assets decreased by HK$1.1 billion, or 0.1 per cent, to HK$1,815.5 billion. The decrease was mainly due to the sale of US dollars under the Currency Board arrangements, which was partly offset by the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness, and revaluation gains and interest from investments. The backing ratio increased from 110.33 per cent at the end of February 2019 to 110.74 per cent at the end of March 2019.

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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 Special Data Dissemination Standard (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 April 2019, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: