The Education Bureau today (July 6) reminded parents that the results for Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) 2020 (including results at the discretionary places (DP) and central allocation (CA) stages) will be announced tomorrow (July 7).
 
     "A total of 54 112 students participated in the SSPA System for this allocation cycle," a spokesman for the bureau said. "Taking into account the total number of students allocated DP and the first three choices through CA, the overall satisfaction rate is 90 per cent. Considering the number of students allocated DP and the first choice through CA, the satisfaction rate is 77 per cent."
 
     The satisfaction rates for DP and CA are:
 
* Among the students allocated DP, 63 per cent were allocated the first choice; and
 
* For students allocated through CA (including Part A for Unrestricted School Choices and Part B for Restricted School Choices), 83 per cent of students were allocated the first three choices while 62 per cent were allocated the first choice.
 
     "At the DP stage, the maximum DP quota is 30 per cent for each secondary school, and students can apply to a maximum of two schools. At the CA stage, 10 per cent of the CA places are set aside for Unrestricted School Choices in Part A, and students can choose a maximum of three secondary schools from any school net. As for Part B Restricted School Choices, students can choose a maximum of 30 schools within their own school net," the spokesman said.
 
     "We hope parents and students can accept the allocation results with a positive attitude. The learning effectiveness of students does not rest only on the schools to which they are allocated; it hinges more on whether students are prepared to adopt a proactive approach and to learn with a positive spirit. In this connection, it is important for parents to continue to support and encourage their children, rather than let their expectations become a burden on their children."
 
     All Primary Six students participating in this year's SSPA System should return to their schools tomorrow to collect the Allocation Slips and Admission Slips.
 
     The registration period will take place this Thursday and Friday (July 9 and 10). Students must report to the secondary schools allocated during the registration period. In case neither the students (especially cross-boundary students) nor their parents or guardians are able to return to schools and collect the Allocation Slips and Admission Slips in person, the parents or guardians should authorise a representative in writing in advance to collect the documents and complete the registration procedure on their behalf.
 
     The spokesman reminded that, should any parent or guardian have genuine difficulties in collecting the Admission Slip and registering with the allocated school personally or through an authorised representative, he/she should contact the student's primary school in advance, so that the school will return the Admission Slip of the student concerned to the School Places Allocation Section of the Education Bureau, which will inform the allocated school and make appropriate registration arrangements. Failure to do so will be taken as giving up the place allocated. The parent or guardian concerned should also approach the student's allocated secondary school and provide contact information as soon as possible.
 
     If a tropical cyclone or rainstorm warning signal is issued on the day for announcement of the allocation results or on the days for registration, all school heads and parents should pay attention to announcements on the radio or television for special arrangements.
 
     For enquiries about the allocation results, students and parents may call the Education Bureau's School Places Allocation Section on 2832 7740 or 2832 7700 during office hours.

     The Land Registry today (July 6) released its statistics for the first half of 2020. 

Land registration
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* The number of sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration for the first half of 2020 was 32,749 (+4.6 per cent compared with the second half of 2019 but -24.7 per cent compared with the first half of 2019).
 
* The total consideration for these agreements for the first half of 2020 was $269.02 billion (-8.8 per cent compared with the second half of 2019 and -32.3 per cent compared with the first half of 2019).
 
* The number of assignments of building units for the first half of 2020 was 35,038 (-25.8 per cent compared with the second half of 2019 and -21.5 per cent compared with the first half of 2019).
 
* The total consideration for these assignments for the first half of 2020 was $249.86 billion (-37.2 per cent compared with the second half of 2019 and -31.9 per cent compared with the first half of 2019).

Land search
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* The number of searches of land registers made by the public for the first half of 2020 was 2,373,015 (-4.1 per cent compared with the second half of 2019 and -7.9 per cent compared with the first half of 2019).

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

     US Dollar Liquidity Facility tender notice:
 

Note: Licensed Banks interested in participating in the tender for the first time are encouraged to provide US dollar settlement instructions by email (settlementsection@hkma.gov.hk) to the HKMA's Settlement Team in advance, preferably two days prior to the tender. Required information includes name of corresponding bank, name of final beneficiary (must be the Licensed Bank participating in the tender), and account or CHIPS number of a US dollar bank account to be settled in the US. Such information needs to be provided once only, unless there is further change.

     The Employment Support Scheme (ESS) Secretariat published on the ESS website (www.ess.gov.hk) today (July 6) the name list of the third batch of employers who have received wage subsidies, the amount of subsidies received and their committed headcount of paid employees.
 
      "The ESS Secretariat published the name list of the two batches of employers who received wage subsidies on June 22 and June 29 respectively. The name list of the third batch of employers published today covers about 30 000 employers. These employers have received wage subsidies totalling about $7.7 billion (for June to August 2020), and committed to maintaining a total paid headcount exceeding 330 000 during the subsidy period," a Government spokesman said.

     Furthermore, the ESS Secretariat has today commenced the disbursement of wage subsidies to the fourth batch of some 11 000 successful employer applicants, with subsidies totalling about $6.3 billion and a total committed headcount of paid employees of about 270 000. The Secretariat will publish the name list of the employers concerned upon completion of the subsidy disbursement. The Secretariat will also disburse the $7 500 one-off subsidy to the fourth batch of about 10 000 Self-employed Persons (SEPs).

     The first tranche of the ESS closed on June 14 and received a total of 168 799 applications from employers and 259 860 from SEPs. As of now, the ESS Secretariat and the processing agent have completed processing over 100 000 applications from employers, which is 60 per cent of the total applications from employers, involving a total wage subsidy of $25.4 billion and benefitting 1.11 million employees. As for SEPs, a total of about 84 000 qualified SEPs each has been disbursed with the $7 500 one-off subsidy, totaling $630 million.

     The spokesman said that the ESS Secretariat and processing agent will continue to process the remaining applications from employers and SEPs, with a view to completing the processing of all eligible applications in mid-July. Amongst these applications, about 23 000 employers have not provided the supplementary bank and/or MPF account information. The ESS Secretariat and the processing agent are carrying on liaising and following up the cases, with a view to completing the processing of applications expeditiously.

     A man who went missing in Sham Shui Po has been located.

     Lam Kam-kong, aged 74, went missing after he left an elderly home on Yen Chow Street on June 30 afternoon. Staff of the elderly home made a report to Police on the same day.

     The man returned to the elderly home on July 3 afternoon. He sustained no injuries and no suspicious circumstances were detected.