Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Government announced today (October 16) that the Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots (Working Group), led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, will progressively roll out four projects during the next phase starting from the fourth quarter of 2026, to provide visitors with more diversified tourism experiences with Hong Kong characteristics.
      
     Mr Cheuk said, “In response to the growing pursuit of in-depth tourism experiences by visitors to Hong Kong, the Government has been committed to identifying and integrating tourism resources with potential in Hong Kong. Through strengthening cross-departmental co-ordination and leveraging community efforts, the nine tourist hotspot projects rolled out in the first phase have been well received. Starting from the end of this year, the Working Group will roll out tourist hotspot projects covering themes such as industrial brands, miniature art, religious culture and local characteristics in phases, showcasing Hong Kong’s unique cultural heritage and city landscape to visitors.”
      
     Details of the four projects are as follows:
 
1. Phase two of the Hong Kong industrial brand tourism 

     The Hong Kong industrial brand tourism scheme has been well received since its launch. The next phase will further introduce different types of brands to provide visitors with more diversified options. The newly added projects include the depots of Kowloon Motor Bus, the MTR “Station Rail Voyage: Explorer” exhibition, and the Beijing Tong Ren Tang’s Hong Kong production and research and development base. Visitors can visit the relevant brand facilities through a “group-in, group-out” mode to learn about the history of the brands and the production processes of related products. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong will continue to be commissioned to handle the reservation and co-ordination work of local travel agents. The visit arrangements for the relevant projects are expected to be progressively rolled out from the fourth quarter of this year.
 
2. Hong Kong Miniature City Exhibition 

     To enrich the tourism experience at the Peak, Madame Tussauds Hong Kong will recreate the “Hong Kong Miniature City Exhibition” at the Peak Tower starting from the fourth quarter of this year. The new exhibition will feature exquisite new miniature art exhibits that vividly showcase Hong Kong’s landmark buildings, authentic customs and ways of life in three dimensions, allowing visitors to savour the unique charm of Hong Kong while touring the Peak.
 
3. Promoting immersive religious and cultural tours 

     To enhance tourists’ sightseeing experiences through the use of technology, the Chinese Temples Committee is progressively strengthening the digitalisation and cultural promotion measures for its administered temples, such as installing QR code display boards at the temples, and allowing visitors to learn about temple antiquities and redeem cultural souvenirs by mobile application in an interactive manner. The Government will further explore using temples as the core to connect historical buildings and monuments of cultural value across various districts, thereby creating itineraries for “immersive temple culture tours”.
 
4. Seasons of Yuen Long district tourism promotion project

     ​To promote the distinctive cultural landscape of urban-rural integration in Yuen Long, the Yuen Long District Office will collaborate with district organisations to launch the Seasons of Yuen Long project, with a view to encouraging visitors to explore the local characteristics of the district under different themes all year round (for example, viewing the grand parade in Yuen Long town centre during the Tin Hau Festival, and visiting the district’s natural and ecological attractions during autumn and winter to see red leaves and observe migratory birds). The project comprises the production of a tourist map, the development of a thematic website, and the installation of themed information boards near landmarks in the town centre and rural areas of Yuen Long. Deliverables are expected to be rolled out in phases from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of next year.
 
     The Working Group expresses its gratitude to the organisations and brands involved in the above projects for their active participation and support. The Government will continue to promote cross-sectoral collaboration and encourage the trade to continuously develop tourism projects that can showcase different characteristics of Hong Kong, enriching visitors’ experiences in the city, encouraging them to extend their stays, and attracting them to visit Hong Kong again.

        

     The Government published the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Deductions for Intellectual Property Expenditure) Bill 2026 (the Bill) today (October 16) to suitably relax the tax deduction arrangements for relevant capital expenditure incurred by enterprises for purchasing Intellectual Property (IP) rights or for the licence to use IP rights.
      
     A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said, “The Bill puts into effect the measure announced in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 Budgets to further enhance the tax deduction arrangements for local IP, lowering the costs of IP transactions to facilitate more IP trading activities and support the development of knowledge‑intensive industries in Hong Kong.”
      
     The Bill proposes to relax the IP-related tax deduction arrangements by allowing tax deductions for relevant capital expenditure incurred by enterprises in respect of the following:
      
     (1) Purchase of eligible IP rights from associates: allowing tax deduction for capital expenditure incurred by enterprises for the purchase of eligible IP rights from associates, such as group affiliates, to encourage multinational enterprises to centralise their IP management in Hong Kong, and to facilitate domestic intra-group transfer and business activities; 

     (2) Purchase of eligible IP rights which are used by a licensee outside Hong Kong: where the licensing income from the eligible IP rights is regarded as arising in or derived from Hong Kong under the foreign-sourced income exemption regime and is chargeable to profits tax in Hong Kong, the capital expenditure incurred for the purchase of the IP rights may also be allowed for tax deduction on a proportionate basis; and 

     (3) Upfront licence fee for the use of eligible IP rights in a licensing arrangement: to further encourage IP development and commercialisation, tax deduction can be allowed for upfront licence fees incurred by enterprises for the use of eligible IP rights in a licensing arrangement. 
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     The amendments proposed in the Bill will apply to contracts entered into on or after April 1, 2026, for the purchase of eligible IP rights or for the licence to use eligible IP rights.
      
     To safeguard Hong Kong’s tax base and prevent abuse of the tax deduction arrangements, the Bill provides for a series of rigorous safeguard measures. These include introducing a main purpose test for the purchase of IP rights from associates, providing for the calculation of the deduction amount for the capital expenditure incurred for the purchase of IP rights from Hong Kong associates, and where the capital expenditure incurred for purchasing eligible IP rights from non-Hong Kong business associates or acquiring a licence from associates for the use of eligible IP rights exceeds a specified threshold, a third-party independent valuation report is required to substantiate the tax deduction claim, so as to prevent excessive tax deduction.
      
     The spokesman continued, “The Government has been actively promoting the development of IP trading and financing in Hong Kong. Following the implementation of the concessionary tax rate under the ‘patent box’ initiative, the Bill will further enhance Hong Kong’s IP tax ecosystem. The introduction of more flexible tax deduction arrangements, whilst upholding our tax principles, will incentivise more local and overseas enterprises to select Hong Kong as their preferred platform for cross-border technology transfer and IP financing, thereby bolstering Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology centre and a regional IP trading centre, in alignment with the National 15th Five-Year Plan.”
      
     The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for First Reading and Second Reading on October 28. read more

     The Government today (October 16) published in the Gazette the subsidiary legislation relating to the implementation of the Arrangement on Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Proceedings between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (New Arrangement), namely, the Rules of the High Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026, Rules of the District Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026 and Matrimonial Causes (Amendment) Rules 2026. The aforesaid subsidiary legislation will come into operation on March 30, 2027.
 
     The existing Arrangement for Mutual Service of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Proceedings between the Mainland and Hong Kong Courts (Existing Arrangement) has been implemented for over 27 years. The volume of requests for mutual service of judicial documents between the courts of the two places has surged in recent years. To enhance the efficiency of the courts of the two places in mutual service of judicial documents, the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) signed the New Arrangement on April 20 this year with a view to enhancing the mechanism for mutual service of judicial documents in civil and commercial matters between the Mainland and Hong Kong. The New Arrangement aims to further promote the alignment of mechanisms and rules between the legal systems of the two places. The above subsidiary legislation seeks to implement the New Arrangement in Hong Kong, while the SPC will promulgate judicial interpretation on the implementation of the New Arrangement in the Mainland. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and SPC have agreed that the New Arrangement will come into force on March 30, 2027, replacing the Existing Arrangement.
 
     In order to implement the New Arrangement, the High Court Rules Committee made the Rules of the High Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026 under section 54 of the High Court Ordinance (Cap. 4) on October 12, 2026; the District Court Rules Committee made the Rules of the District Court (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2026 under section 72 of the District Court Ordinance (Cap. 336) on October 12, 2026; and the Chief Judge made the Matrimonial Causes (Amendment) Rules 2026 under section 54 of the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance (Cap. 179) on October 12, 2026.
 
     A spokesman for the DoJ said, “The relevant subsidiary legislation implements the New Arrangement to add manners of service of judicial documents for civil proceedings (including matrimonial proceedings) on persons in the Mainland, thereby promoting timely and efficient handling of cross-boundary civil and commercial cases, strengthening the protection of the rights and interest of parties in the two places and better accommodating the increasingly close-knit ties and judicial needs between the Mainland and Hong Kong.”
 
     The Government briefed the Legislative Council Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services on the signing and implementation work of the New Arrangement on April 27, 2026. The Panel and the representatives of the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bar Association generally welcomed the signing and supported the implementation of the New Arrangement. The Government also consulted the relevant stakeholders including the two legal professional bodies on the draft amendment rules of the courts and has suitably incorporated their comments.
 
     The above subsidiary legislation will be tabled at the Legislative Council next Wednesday (October 21) for negative vetting. read more

     The Government announced today (October 16) that an official ceremony will be held on November 12 to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen.

     November 12, 2026, marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen, a great national hero, a great patriot and a great forerunner of China’s democratic revolution. In commemoration of Dr Sun Yat-sen’s immortal contributions to national independence, social progress and the people’s well-being, the Government will hold an official ceremony at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park on the morning of November 12.

     Hongkong Post will issue special stamps to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen on the same day. Government departments and community organisations will organise a series of commemorative activities starting this month to allow members of the public to gain a better understanding of his life and contributions from diverse perspectives. These activities include exhibitions, seminars, guided tours, film screenings, student and youth exchange tours to the Chinese Mainland, local heritage trail visits, and a parent-child quiz competition.

     Information on relevant activities has been uploaded to the thematic webpage “Commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen”, which was added to the official website of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum today. Members of the public are welcome to browse the thematic webpage for the commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the birth of Dr Sun Yat-sen for details of the activities. read more

     The Labour Department (LD) will hold an online briefing on the employment of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) on November 19 (Thursday), at 7pm. Enrolment is now open.

     The online briefing will provide an overview of the employment rights and obligations of employers of FDHs. Representatives from the Immigration Department will also speak on the Immigration Ordinance and legislation related to the employment of FDHs, as well as to share insights on building a safe community. Employers of FDHs, especially first-time employers, are welcome to attend.

     The online briefing will be conducted in Cantonese via Zoom, and admission is free. Interested parties may register online at the LD’s dedicated FDH Portal (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk), or download the enrolment form (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk/res/pdf/Enrolment_Form_ER.pdf) and submit it by email (fdh-enquiry@labour.gov.hk) or by fax (3101 0604). The deadline for enrolment is November 17 (Tuesday). The quota will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. For enquiries, please contact the LD at 3582 8995.  read more