Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Government Property Agency is inviting tenders for a three-year licence of the advertising area on a portion of the rooftop of Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. 
    
     The advertising area should be used for the purpose of installation, operation, management, maintenance and control of the Advertising Display Systems (as defined in the Form of Licence Agreement) for display of advertisements only.

     The tender notice was uploaded today (May 15) to the Agency’s website: www.gpa.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 9/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, during the period from 9am to 6pm from Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays. The documents can also be downloaded from the Agency’s website.

     Interested tenderers who wish to attend a site inspection should make a prior appointment with the Government Property Agency by calling 3842 6775 on or before June 3 this year.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Logistics Department Tender Box situated on the Ground Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, before noon on June 12 this year. Late tenders will not be accepted. read more

     The Government published the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 8) Regulation 2020 (Regulation) in the Gazette today (May 15).

     The Regulation seeks to amend Schedule 8 to the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117) to waive the stamp duty on stock transfers involving the activities of exchange traded fund (ETF) market makers in the course of allotting and redeeming ETF units listed in Hong Kong.

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “The rapid growth of ETF market has brought new opportunities to the development of our securities market. By reducing the transaction cost of ETFs listed in Hong Kong, the new initiative will spur the development of our ETF market and drive the depth and liquidity of our securities market, thereby reinforcing Hong Kong’s position as an international financial centre.”

     “I am pleased to see the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited’s similar efforts in introducing further measures to lower the transaction cost of ETFs traded in Hong Kong.  I am confident that with our concerted efforts, we will be able to attract more ETFs to list on our market and develop Hong Kong as an ETF hub of choice in the region.”

     In his 2020-21 Budget, the Financial Secretary announced the new initiative of waiving the stamp duty on stock transfers for primary market ETF activities.  The stamp duty for trading ETF in the secondary market in Hong Kong has been waived since 2015.

     Following the gazettal today, the Regulation will be tabled before the Legislative Council for negative vetting on May 20 and will come into effect on August 1, 2020. 
   
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     Regarding a question of History Paper 1 of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination which has aroused grave public concerns today (May 14), a spokesman for the Education Bureau (EDB) gives the following response:

     “The EDB noted that one-sided information has been attached to the question of History Paper 1 of this year’s HKDSE Examination. The question is a leading one, which may lead candidates to reach a biased conclusion, seriously hurting the feelings and dignity of the Chinese people who suffered great pain during the Japanese invasion of China. The EDB deeply regrets and condemns the design of such a question in a public examination.     

     “The EDB demands the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority to seriously follow up the matter and provide reasonable explanations to the public.  It is also required to review the question-setting mechanism comprehensively to make prompt improvements with a view to maintaining the fairness, impartiality and credibility of the HKDSE Examination.” read more

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at a media session after passage of the Appropriation Bill 2020 today (May 14): Reporter: Secretary, do you have plans to roll out a third… read more

       The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, visited the Chinese Medicine Clinic cum Training and Research Centre (CMCTR) in Tai Po District today (May 14) to meet the representatives from the organisat… read more