The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited on fraudulent website, which has been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website for ease of reference by members of the public.
 
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information to the website concerned or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact the bank concerned using the contact information provided in the press release, and report to the Police or contact the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.
 

     The Lands Department (LandsD) announced today (March 6) that a site, Kowloon Inland Lot No. 11240 at the junction of Soy Street and Shanghai Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, listed in the 2019-20 Land Sale Programme will be disposed of by public tender. The tender invitation for the lot will commence on March 13 and close on April 24.
 
     Kowloon Inland Lot No. 11240 has a site area of about 625.5 square metres and is designated for non-industrial (excluding godown, hotel and petrol filling station) purposes. The minimum gross floor area is 3,751.75 sq m. The maximum gross floor area for private residential purposes that may be attained is 4,691.25 sq m. The maximum gross floor area for non-industrial (excluding private residential, godown, hotel and petrol filling station) purposes is computed according to the relevant special condition in the Conditions of Sale. The aforementioned minimum gross floor area and maximum gross floor area for non-industrial (excluding private residential, godown, hotel and petrol filling station) purposes include the gross floor area of Government Accommodation, being a neighbourhood elderly centre and a day care centre for the elderly to be constructed by the purchaser.
 
     Land sale documents including the Form of Tender, the Tender Notice, the Conditions of Sale and the sale plan of the lot will be available for downloading from the LandsD website (www.landsd.gov.hk), and the sale plan will be available for distribution and inspection by the public from March 13, when the particulars of the tender will also be gazetted.

     The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) announced today (March 6) the results of the fourth round applications to the Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding Scheme in 2019-20.
 
     The PPR Funding Scheme aims to promote public policy research and provide evidence-based research to facilitate public policy discussion. Applications are accepted throughout the year. For the fourth round exercise in 2019-20, PICO received 27 applications. On the advice of an assessment panel, PICO has supported seven projects with total funding of about $4.6 million.
    
     Applications to the PPR Funding Scheme are assessed by an assessment panel, chaired by and comprising experienced academics, who will take into account comments of reviewers who are academics and experts outside the panel in considering the applications. Each application is considered on its merits and relevance to public policy development in Hong Kong. A declaration of interests system is in place to ensure that the assessments are fair and impartial.
 
     Details of the funded projects have been uploaded to PICO's website (www.pico.gov.hk/en/PRFS).

     Following the partial resumption of counter services on Monday, Wednesday and Friday since March 2 in line with the Government's direction on gradual resumption of public services in an orderly manner, the Labour Department (LD) today (March 6) said that all counter services will resume on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with effect from March 9.
 
     Kwun Tong Occupational Health Clinic will remain open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Fanling Occupational Health Clinic on Tuesday and Thursday.
 
     The LD will continue to review the situation and make announcements as appropriate.
 
     For enquiries, members of the public can call the LD's 24-hour enquiry hotline at 2717 1771 (the hotline is manned by 1823), or email the department at enquiry@labour.gov.hk. 

     The Annual Report on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) 2019 was published by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (March 6). The report provides a detailed analysis on the movements of the Composite CPI, CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) in 2019. These series of CPIs reflect the impacts of consumer price changes on households in different expenditure ranges. The report also presents charts and tables showing movements of the CPIs analysed by commodity/service section and their contributions to the overall change in the indices.
 
     When analysing the CPIs, Hong Kong has all along adopted a classification system which has evolved over time to meet user needs and local situation. To facilitate international comparison, statistical tables of CPIs based on the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) developed by the United Nations are also presented in the report.
 
     Apart from statistics on the CPIs, the report contains detailed explanations of the concepts and compilation methods of the CPIs.
 
     Users can download this publication free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp270.jsp?productCode=B1060002). 
 
     Enquiries concerning the report can be made to the Consumer Price Index Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7374, fax: 2577 6253 or email: cpi@censtatd.gov.hk).