The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, will depart for Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, tomorrow (November 13) to attend the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting to be held on November 15.
 
     The Ministerial Meeting will comprise two plenary sessions themed on "Improving Connectivity, Deepening Regional Economic Integration" and "Promoting Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Through Structural Reform". Mr Yau will attend both plenary sessions to exchange views with ministers of the other 20 member economies on the state of the regional and global economies, efforts to deepen regional economic integration, and how to promote sustainable, innovative and inclusive growth through structural reform.
 
     On the sidelines of the Ministerial Meeting, Mr Yau will meet with trade ministers of other APEC member economies to discuss bilateral trade and economic relations as well as issues of mutual concern.
 
     Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong on November 17. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, will be the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, November 12, 2018 is 106.1 (up 0.2 against last Saturday's index).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, November 10, 2018 was 105.9 (up 0.1 against last Friday's index).

     The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (November 12) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei. Around 140 samples were collected and all passed the tests.
 
     A CFS spokesman said, "Lap-mei is popular in winter and the CFS has therefore collected a variety of lap-mei samples including Chinese pork sausages, Chinese liver sausages, preserved duck meat and preserved pork from different retailers including online retailers for chemical tests and nutrition content analyses."
 
     Chemical tests targeted veterinary drug residues and preservatives usually found in preserved food including nitrate and nitrite, as well as other food additives which may be used in the production process such as sulphur dioxide and colouring matters. For nutrition content analyses, the contents of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium and sugars of the samples were tested to see if they were consistent with their declared values on the nutrition labels.
 
     "Members of the public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive consumption of lap-mei in view of its nitrate/nitrite level and potential risk of nitrosamine, as well as relatively higher sodium, sugar and fat contents in some lap-mei. Infants are highly susceptible to nitrite toxicity and should avoid consuming lap-mei. The intake of lap-mei among young children should also be restricted.
 
     "Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as 'carcinogenic to humans' (Group 1). The public should avoid excessive consumption of processed meat to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer," the spokesman said.
 
     The spokesman also advised the trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow good manufacturing practice and use permitted food additives in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers and maintain a good recording system in accordance with the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently received enquiries from members of the public about mobile applications serving to aggregate financial information from different bank accounts or stored value facilities (SVFs).
      
     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that these service providers may not be in co-operation with the banks or SVFs concerned and the services provided are therefore not subject to the HKMA's supervision.
      
     These service providers have required customers to provide login information for e-banking services or SVFs. Members of the public must bear in mind that both their login user name and PIN/password are important personal information, which should be kept with great care. While the HKMA is open-minded to financial innovation, the public must get to know how the service providers collect, use and store their customers' personal information, and understand clearly the terms and conditions of the services when opting for the above services.

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (November 12) reminded interested parties to join auctions which will start next Monday (November 19) for stalls at the 2019 Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs in the New Territories.
 
     The nine LNY fairs will be held at Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan, Yuen Wo Playground in Sha Tin, Kwai Chung Sports Ground in Kwai Tsing, Tung Tau Industrial Area Playground in Yuen Long, Shek Wu Hui Playground in North District, Tin Hau Temple Plaza in Tuen Mun, Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square in Tai Po, Man Yee Playground in Sai Kung and Po Hong Park in Tseung Kwan O, with a total of 652 wet goods stalls, 293 dry goods stalls and six fast food stalls. Auctions for the stalls of these LNY fairs will be held on the following dates from 9.30am until completion of the auctions.
 
      Details of the auctions and opening prices are as follows:
 
Sha Tsui Road Playground (Tsuen Wan)
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Auction date: November 19 (Monday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Stall types: Dry goods and wet goods
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $14,140
Wet goods: $2,950
 
Yuen Wo Playground (Sha Tin)
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Auction date: November 20 (Tuesday)
Auction venue: Wo Che Community Hall, Sha Tin
Stall types: Dry goods and wet goods
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $7,610
Wet goods: $5,970
 
Kwai Chung Sports Ground (Kwai Tsing)
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Auction date: November 22 (Thursday)
Auction venue: Assembly Hall, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices
Stall types: Dry goods and wet goods
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $3,750
Wet goods: $820
 
Tung Tau Industrial Area Playground (Yuen Long)
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Auction date: November 23 (Friday)
Auction venue: Yuen Long Town East Community Hall
Stall types: Dry goods, wet goods and fast food
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $2,250
Wet goods: $1,170
Fast food: $9,130 (Stall size: 5 metres x 4m)
 
Shek Wu Hui Playground (North District)
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Auction date: November 26 (Monday)
Auction venue: Luen Wo Hui Community Hall, Fanling
Stall types: Dry goods and wet goods
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $2,560
Wet goods: $1,190
 
Tin Hau Temple Plaza (Tuen Mun)
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Auction date: November 27 (Tuesday)
Auction venue: Tseng Choi Street Community Hall, Tuen Mun
Stall types: Dry goods, wet goods and fast food
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $3,570
Wet goods: $2,490
Fast food: $9,130 (Stall size: 7.6m x 4.8m)
 
Tin Hau Temple Fung Shui Square (Tai Po)
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Auction date: November 28 (Wednesday)
Auction venue: Tai Po Community Centre
Stall types: Dry goods, wet goods and fast food
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $2,410
Wet goods: $3,790
Fast food: $9,130 (Stall size: 5m x 4m)
 
Man Yee Playground (Sai Kung)
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Auction date: November 30 (Friday)
Auction venue: Hang Hau Community Hall, Sai Kung
Stall types: Dry goods and wet goods
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $750
Wet goods: $630
 
Po Hong Park (Tseung Kwan O)
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Auction date: November 30 (Friday)
Auction venue: Hang Hau Community Hall, Sai Kung
Stall types: Dry goods, wet goods and fast food
Opening prices:
Dry goods: $2,560
Wet goods: $1,390
Fast food: $7,610 (Stall size: 5m x 4m)
 
     Bidders for LNY fair stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.
     
     Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in person with his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.
 
     An FEHD spokesman said, "Successful bidders shall comply with all the stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall."
     
     Details of the 2019 LNY fairs such as the public notice, the locations and layouts of the fair venues, commodities allowed for sale at the fair stalls, open auction arrangements and related rules, and a sample of the licence agreement are available at the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the FEHD hotline 2868 0000.