The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary: The Chief Executive has accepted the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal to extend the terms of office of the following two non-perm… read more
The Housing Bureau (HB) today (October 21) awarded the second operation and management contract of the Light Public Housing (LPH) projects (Contract No. LPH20240002) to Easy Living Consultant Limited and Yan Chai Hospital Joint Venture at a tender sum of about $168 million.
The contract includes operation and management of two LPH projects at Choi Hing Road and Choi Shek Lane, Ngau Tau Kok (i.e. the former St Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese School), providing about 2 290 and 148 LPH units respectively. The intake is expected in the second quarter of next year and the first quarter of 2026 respectively. Under the steer and supervision of the HB, the operating organisation will need to work at full capacity to carry out the pre-management works effectively to ensure the smooth handling of LPH application and intake matters, and to provide various services and ancillary facilities for the residents and local community immediately upon intake.
The Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, said, “With the appointment of the second operating organisation for LPH today, this social project has taken another significant step forward. Under this contract, the operation and management of two LPH projects in proximity is taken up by one organisation. This arrangement will create synergy, enhance the flexibility in operation and management, as well as utilisation of resources, thereby increasing the efficiency and expanding the scope of service. I aspire to work closely with various operating organisations in the coming years to ensure effective operation and management, hence allowing the residents and nearby community to benefit from the projects’ ancillary facilities and community services. I would also like to appeal to other organisations that are interested in operating LPH to actively participate in the tenders of other projects, thereby working together with the Government to improve the living environment of grassroots people and help them in their pursuit towards happiness.”
In addition to providing accommodation, the LPH projects will also offer various services and facilities for the residents and local community. Therefore, the requirements for LPH’s operation and management services differ from general property management contracts, which not only include occupant management, property management and daily maintenance, but also a range of social services as well as the management and operation of ancillary facilities including a minibus stand, convenience store, launderettes and study/activity rooms.
To ensure service quality, the HB has, in the assessment process, carried out a technical assessment based on a series of criteria including the management capability and relevant experience of the tenderers, as well as the proposed modes of operation and management, social services and ancillary facilities to be provided, an exit plan and the use of innovation and information technology. The tender price was then comprehensively evaluated to decide on the most suitable operating organisation.
The Chief Executive has announced the construction of about 30 000 LPH units by 2027-28, and the HB and the Architectural Services Department have been working at full steam to take forward the related works. Construction of the projects has been gradually launched and will be completed successively. Moreover, the LPH Phase 1 Application for about 4 400 units has received an overwhelming response, with close to 10 900 applications received by the end of September 2024.
The Government announced today (October 21) the subscription and allocation results of the new batch of Silver Bond.
According to the subscription information submitted by the Placing Banks and the Designated Securities Brokers, as at the close of the subscription period at 2pm on October 14, 2024, a total of 300,413 valid applications were received for a total of HK$69,981,970,000 in principal amount of bonds.
The final issuance amount of the Silver Bond will be HK$55 billion, higher than the target issuance amount of HK$50 billion. Allocation is conducted in accordance with the mechanism set out in the Issue Circular dated September 30, 2024. The valid applications received have been allocated bonds up to a maximum of 24 units (with each unit being HK$10,000). For the 166,177 applications seeking 23 or fewer units, they will be allocated the full amounts applied for. The remaining 134,236 applications (i.e. those applying for more than 23 units) will be allocated 23 units each and then entered into a ballot. Of these applications, 23,737 will be allocated one additional unit.
The Silver Bond will be issued on October 23, 2024, under the retail part of the Infrastructure Bond Programme. Notifications on individual allocation results, applicable subscription moneys and refund of application moneys in excess of the allocated portion will be sent to applicants in accordance with the schedule set out in the Issue Circular.
The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said, “This is the first batch of Silver Bond issued under the Government’s Infrastructure Bond Programme, which will support infrastructure projects for the good of the economy and people’s livelihood, and provide our citizens with a ‘sense of participation’ and a ‘sense of gain’ in support of Hong Kong’s long-term development projects. The positive response in subscription shows that Silver Bond continues to be well-received by senior residents. Silver Bond can provide a safe, reliable and low-risk investment option with steady returns for senior residents, rendering financial services means to better serve the needs of the public and the community. We will keep the effectiveness of the scheme and future arrangements under review, taking account of investor response, market conditions and other relevant considerations.” read more
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, October 21, 2024 is 104.8 (up 0.1 against last Saturday’s index).
The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, October 19, 2024 was 104.7 (down 0.1 against last Friday’s index). read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: The spokesman for Queen Mary Hospital made the following update today (October 21) regarding a patient leaving the hospital without notification earlier:  … read more