Author Archives: hksar gov

     An Education Bureau spokesman today (June 19) said that with the Government’s dedication to promoting education hub development and the support of a series of policy measures, Hong Kong’s higher education system has demonstrated extraordinary performance. According to the World University Rankings 2026 published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), an international higher education organisation, University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities have continued to hold top spots, with five of them staying in the world’s top 100, making Hong Kong the place with the highest concentration of top-ranked universities globally (56 per cent). The encouraging achievements not only recognise the unremitting efforts and continuous pursuit of excellence of higher education institutions but also bear testimony to the Government’s long-term commitment to investing in education and enhancing the competitiveness of higher education institutions.

     According to the latest QS World University Rankings, the University of Hong Kong rose six places to 11th in the world, the Chinese University of Hong Kong climbed four spots to 32nd, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology advanced three positions to 44th. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and City University of Hong Kong (CityU) also achieved outstanding results, ranking 54th and 63rd respectively.

     Hong Kong has achieved remarkable performance in multiple key indicators. Hong Kong’s institutions have performed far better than the international average in the International Faculty Ratio and International Student Ratio. The International Faculty Ratio of six universities ranks among the top 50 in the world. In addition, Hong Kong’s institutions have performed exceptionally well in Citations per Faculty, with CityU ranking second worldwide.

     In fact, Hong Kong’s education system has yielded excellent results in various international rankings, fully reflecting the attractiveness of Hong Kong as an international talent hub. In the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025 recently published by the International Institute for Management Development, Hong Kong ranked second globally in Education. In the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025 published yesterday (June 18), which measures global universities’ success in delivering the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a number of Hong Kong universities also performed outstandingly in different fields. Among them, Lingnan University ranked top globally for SDG 4: Quality Education for the first time, showcasing exemplary performance.

     The spokesperson said, “These achievements fully affirm the effectiveness of the Government’s unwavering support through the UGC for the institutions’ continuous innovation and optimisation, giving full play to the strengths of Hong Kong’s first-class universities, and a series of policies for attracting top global talent to tie in with the institutions’ capacity expansion and quality enhancement. For overseas talent interested in studying or conducting research in Hong Kong’s higher education institutions, we will do our utmost to provide assistance and convenience, including striving to further expand the non-local student quota based on actual needs. The Government will also continue to promote internationalisation and diversified development of the eight UGC-funded universities. These measures will not only strengthen Hong Kong’s momentum of development but also make active contributions to national development.”
 
     He stressed that the Government attracts quality talent from around the world and nurtures local talent through various measures such as scholarship programmes to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs. Starting from the 2024/25 academic year (AY), the non-local student quota for UGC-funded institutions has been doubled from 20 per cent to 40 per cent, raising non-local undergraduate enrolment from 19.9 per cent (2023/24 AY) to 23.2 per cent. The Government will further foster collaboration among the eight UGC-funded universities, including supporting the jointly established Heads of Universities Committee’s Standing Committee on Internationalisation to continue to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand worldwide.
 
     The spokesman added that the Government will continue to promote the strengthening of global exchanges and connections of research personnel and teams of local universities and support them to broaden research networks and co-operation areas with their overseas counterparts.
 
     The Government attaches great importance to the quality of teaching and learning at universities and invests substantial resources to step up support for the high-quality development of Hong Kong education. For the 2025–2028 triennium, approximately 78 per cent of the Block Grant will be allocated to support teaching and learning. Compared with the 2022-2025 triennium, the Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant provided by the UGC will increase by $100 million to approximately $920 million. The key themes of the Grant – including the integration of generative artificial intelligence and innovative technologies in education, the sharing of exemplary practices in teaching and learning, and the enhancement of students’ well-being and personal development – are aligned with current trends in education and societal needs. The most recent round of quality audits conducted by the Quality Assurance Council under the UGC also reaffirms the high quality of educational experiences offered by UGC-funded universities.
 
     To dovetail with the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the Government will leverage the vast opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, supporting cutting-edge research conducted by the eight UGC-funded universities through the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the UGC. Over 20 research funds and scholarship programmes operate under the RGC, with more than 1 500 new projects receiving funding annually. These measures will help foster a robust research environment and further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as an international post-secondary education hub. read more

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (June 19) the preliminary figures of chain volume measures of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by economic activity for the first quarter of 2025.       &nb… read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, June 19, 2025 is 103.3 (up 0.2 against yesterday’s index). read more

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, attended the 2025 Lujiazui Forum and related events in Shanghai yesterday (June 18) and today (June 19). Addressing a seminar titled “Collaborative Development of Shanghai and Hong Kong International Financial Centres” today (June 19), he said that Hong Kong and Shanghai are unlocking many more new opportunities for collaborative development with their positions as the country’s “dual engine” financial centres, providing strong support for the country’s “dual circulation” strategy. Mr Hui also met with relevant heads of financial institutions during his stay in Shanghai.
      
     This year’s Lujiazui Forum is themed “Financial Opening-up and Cooperation for High-Quality Development in a Changing Global Economy”. Mr Hui attended the opening ceremony and plenary session of the Forum yesterday and addressed today’s seminar where the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council and the Shanghai Research Center for Financial Stability and Development jointly released a research report on the “Synergistic Development of Shanghai and Hong Kong as International Financial Centres in the New Era”.
      
     Speaking at the Plenary Session IV titled “Deepening the Cooperation between Shanghai and Hong Kong as International Financial Centers” yesterday, Mr Hui said, “Riding on the solid foundation of Stock Connect, mutual-market access between financial markets on the Mainland and Hong Kong has been expanding in scope and capacity. Programmes such as Bond Connect, the inclusion of Exchange Traded Funds into Stock Connect, and Swap Connect have been implemented. These programmes enhance not only the product offering for domestic and foreign investors but also the attraction for more capital influx into the capital markets of the two places, promoting long-term development of the markets.
      
     “At the same time, Hong Kong needs to further enrich the offerings of its offshore Renminbi (RMB) market to facilitate the adoption of RMB by global market participants. To this end, we will step up efforts in four areas, namely enhancing offshore RMB liquidity, increasing products, improving infrastructure, and expanding new markets.”
      
     When talking about stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Mr Hui pointed out that by utilising the innovative capabilities of private institutions, stablecoins are meant to create and implement new use cases for the digital economy with the integration of the financial system with the real economy. Hong Kong’s stablecoin regulatory framework takes into account both innovation and systemic risk prevention, covering the establishment of a transparent reserve asset system, the introduction of independent third-party institutions for regular audits, and the establishment of risk assessment mechanisms. Separately, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is currently engaging the industry to carry out initial exploration on wholesale CBDCs.
      
     “In future, we anticipate closer collaboration with Shanghai in areas such as financial innovation and green finance to achieve synergy effects.”
      
     Yesterday morning, Mr Hui signed the Action Plan for Collaborative Development of Shanghai and Hong Kong International Financial Centres on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government with Shanghai to promote collaborative development, with a view to further forming a “dual hub” landscape of the two financial centres of Shanghai and Hong Kong, for better promotion of the internationalisation of RMB, thus contributing to a joint effort to building the country into a financial powerhouse. The Action Plan covers a number of measures, including supporting the Shanghai Clearing House (SHCH) to strengthen co-operation with Hong Kong banks and offshore Chinese banks in Hong Kong, supporting Mainland banks and financial institutions headquartered in Shanghai to set up regional headquarters in Hong Kong, and pressing ahead with the linkage of the Faster Payment System in Hong Kong with the Internet Banking Payment System on the Mainland.
      
     During his stay in Shanghai, Mr Hui also visited several financial institutions, including the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the SHCH, and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, and met with Deputy Chief Executive of the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Mr Wang Huabin, and the President of Bank of Communications, Mr Zhang Baojiang, to discuss and exchange views to explore opportunities and models for co-operation regarding matters such as promoting gold market development in Hong Kong, enhancement to the offerings of the offshore RMB centre, and fostering collaborative development with the Mainland in financial derivatives and futures markets.
      
     Mr Hui will return to Hong Kong this afternoon.

                

     Shun Fung Tat Engineering Limited was fined $120,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (June 19) for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance. The prosecution was launched by the Labour Department.

     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on August 7, 2023, at a sports centre in Kwai Chung. While a worker was carrying out leak control work on an elevating work platform (EWP), the EWP suddenly overturned, and the worker fell from the EWP onto the ground. The worker sustained serious injuries and passed away on the same day. read more