Tag Archives: China

     The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will depart for Dongguan tomorrow afternoon (October 24) to attend the opening ceremony of the fourth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) High-quality Talent Development Conference and the third GBA Doctoral and Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, jointly organised by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao on October 25, to further deepen talent exchanges and co-operation in the GBA. During his stay in Dongguan, Mr Chan will also visit a key local enterprise and an educational institution.

     The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, and the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage, Mr Felix Chan, will also join the visit.
    
     Mr Chan and Mr Sun will return to Hong Kong on October 25. During Mr Chan’s absence, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, will be the Acting Chief Secretary for Administration. During Mr Sun’s absence, the Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Ho Kai-ming, will be the Acting Secretary for Labour and Welfare. read more

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 the press releases issued by the banks listed below relating to fraudulent websites, internet banking login screens, phishing emails or other scams, which have been reported to the HKMA. Hyperlinks to the press releases are available on the HKMA website.
 

Bank	Type of scam
The Bank of East Asia, Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
Chong Hing Bank Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens

 
     The HKMA wishes to remind the public that banks will not send SMS or emails with embedded hyperlinks which direct them to the banks’ websites to carry out transactions. They will not ask customers for sensitive information, such as login passwords or one-time password, by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).
      
     Anyone who has provided his or her personal information, or who has conducted any financial transactions, through or in response to the scams concerned, should contact the relevant bank with the information provided in the corresponding press release, and report the matter to the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more

     ​An incoming female passenger was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment with a fine of $500 by the Fanling Magistrates’ Courts today (October 23) for possessing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

     Customs officers intercepted an incoming 36-year-old local female passenger at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point on October 14 and seized 381 duty-not-paid cigarettes from her personal belongings, with an estimated market value of about $1,900, and a duty potential of about $1,260. The female passenger was subsequently arrested.

     Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Members of the public should not defy the law.

     Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 23) the designation of twelve banks as Primary Liquidity Providers (PLPs) for offshore renminbi (RMB) market in Hong Kong (i.e. CNH market) for a two-year term, with effect from October 27, 2026 following the expiry of the current term, and the increase in the total amount of RMB liquidity available in the PLP Scheme.
      
The twelve PLPs are:
Agricultural Bank of China Limited
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd.
BNP Paribas
China CITIC Bank International Limited
China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited
Citibank, N.A.
Deutsche Bank AG
Hang Seng Bank, Limited
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, The
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited
 
     The PLP selection was based on a range of criteria, including the institution’s capability in providing CNH funding and making market for CNH instruments, and commitment to using Hong Kong as a global hub for offshore RMB business. As the result of the designations, the total RMB repo facility dedicated to all PLPs will increase from RMB20 billion to RMB22 billion. The expansion of the PLP Scheme will enhance liquidity support to the offshore RMB market and is conducive to strengthening the position of Hong Kong as the offshore RMB business hub.  
      
     The HKMA regularly reviews the operation of the scheme and the performance of PLPs and consider the need for refinements, including the number of PLPs and the size of the repo facility. read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department is conducting comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     From noon on October 22 to noon today (October 23), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 212 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).
 
     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website (www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24, 2023, to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 269 760 samples of food imported from Japan (including 167 933 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 57 460 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more