The Lands Department announced today (November 7) that the tender for a site, New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6574 at Kai Tak Area 4B Site 3, Kai Tak, Kowloon, has been awarded to the highest tenderer, Voyage Mile Limited (parent company: Wheelock Properties Limited, New World Development Company Limited, Henderson Land Development Company Limited and Empire Development Hong Kong (BVI) Limited), on a 50-year land grant at a premium of $8,333 million.

     The tenderers, other than the successful tenderer, in alphabetical order, with the name of the parent company where provided by the tenderer in brackets, were:
 
(1) Centenary Investments Limited (CK Asset Holdings Limited);
(2) Gold Smart Capital Investment Limited (Golden Sphere Developments Limited);
(3) Macfull Limited (China Overseas Land & Investment Limited);
(4) One Gold Investment Limited (K&K Property Holdings Limited);
(5) Sky Notion Limited (K. Wah International Holdings Limited and Sino Land Company Limited);
(6) Vast Prosperity Investment Limited (Jantix Renewal Development Limited); and
(7) World Dynasty (H.K.) Limited (Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited).
 
     New Kowloon Inland Lot No. 6574 has a site area of about 9 706 square metres and is designated for private residential purposes. The minimum gross floor area and the maximum gross floor area are 32 030 sq m and 53 383 sq m respectively.

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health today (November 7) reported two suspected cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places of visit. The cases are detailed below:
 

     "Travellers to the Middle East should avoid going to farms, barns or markets with camels; avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry; and avoid unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. We strongly advise travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV)," a spokesman for the CHP said.

     Locally, the CHP's surveillance with public and private hospitals, with practising doctors and at boundary control points is firmly in place. Inbound travellers and members of the public who recently visited the Middle East and developed fever or lower respiratory symptoms within 14 days will be classified as suspected MERS cases. They will be taken to public hospitals for isolation and management until their specimens test negative for MERS-CoV.

     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS pages of the CHP and its Travel Health Service, MERS statistics in affected areas, the CHP's Facebook Page and YouTube Channel, and the World Health Organization's latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP's health advice on MERS.

     The exhibition "Gilded Glory: Chaozhou Woodcarving" will open tomorrow (November 8) at the Hong Kong Museum of History. With around 120 exhibits, the exhibition will reveal the practical uses and artistic qualities of Chaozhou woodcarving, while also giving the audience a taste of the customs and humanistic spirit of Chaoshan region.

     An opening ceremony was held today (November 7). Speaking at the ceremony, the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Michelle Li, said that the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao signed the Greater Pearl River Delta Cultural Exchange and Co-operation Development Plan 2014-2018 in 2014 to strengthen co-operation among the three places. The Hong Kong Museum of History and Guangdong Museum also launched an exhibition exchange programme this year, demonstrating the close relationship between cultural institutes of Guangdong and Hong Kong.

     Ms Li expressed her gratitude for the support of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Museum and the Federation of Hong Kong Chiu Chow Community Organizations, and said she hopes to continue working with Mainland cultural institutes and community organisations to bring treasures of traditional Chinese art and culture to Hong Kong.

     Highlight exhibits include a gilt wooden diamond-shaped food container featuring a pigmented lacquer painting of "Wine from Wang Maosheng"; a small gilt wooden shrine featuring a biwu dingshuai (awarding marshalship through a martial arts contest) motif; a gilt wooden divine sedan chair; painted queti brackets featuring "Tale of the lychee and mirror carved in relief"; a gilt wooden beam cushion featuring crab and plum blossoms in openwork; and a large gilt wooden lobster and crab cage in openwork provided by Mr Gu Liuxi, who inherited the national intangible cultural heritage of Chaozhou woodcarving.

     Chaozhou woodcarving is known as "gilt wood", as lacquer and gold foil are often applied to give key parts or the entire work a magnificent gold finish. The ingenious openwork carving techniques, together with meaningful folk motifs and patterns, showcase the traditional lifestyle of the Chaoshan region. The exhibition will also illustrate customs and traditions of the Chaoshan community in Hong Kong through various woodcarving works, including the Yu Lan Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Community, Chaozhou opera, Chaozhou music, dietary habits, customs and religious rituals.

     Chaozhou woodcarving is a traditional Chinese folk handcraft with a long and distinguished history, and was popular across the Chaoshan region. Chaozhou woodcarving, along with Dongyang woodcarving, Huangyang woodcarving and Longyan woodcarving, are known as the "Four Greatest Schools of Woodcarving in China". In 2006, Chaozhou woodcarving was inscribed onto the first national list of intangible cultural heritage.

     Other officiating guests included the Director of the Guangdong Museum, Dr Wei Jun; the Executive Vice Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Chiu Chow Community Organizations, Dr Ko Wing-man; and the Museum Director of the Hong Kong Museum of History, Ms Belinda Wong.

     The exhibition, which will run until February 25 next year, is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, and jointly organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Guangdong Museum.

     The Hong Kong Museum of History is located at 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui. For details of the exhibition, please visit hk.history.museum/en_US/web/mh/exhibition/current.html, or call 2724 9042 for enquiries.

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published today (November 7) the results of Survey on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)' Credit Conditions for the third quarter of 2018.
      
     Regarding SMEs' perception of banks' credit approval stance relative to 6 months ago, 77 per cent of respondents perceived similar or easier credit approval stance in the third quarter of 2018, compared with 72 per cent recorded in the previous quarter (Chart 1 in the Annex). 23 per cent of respondents perceived more difficult credit approval stance in the third quarter of 2018, as compared to 28 per cent in the previous quarter.
      
     Of those respondents with existing credit lines, 98 per cent reported that banks' stance on existing credit lines was easier or unchanged in the third quarter of 2018, up from 94 per cent recorded in the previous quarter (Chart 2 in the Annex). 2 per cent of respondents reported tightened banks’ stance in the third quarter of 2018, down from 6 per cent in the previous quarter.
      
     The Survey also gauged the results of new credit applications from SMEs. 3.1 per cent of respondents reported that they had applied for new bank credit during the third quarter of 2018. For respondents who already know their application outcomes, 94 per cent reported fully or partially successful applications; the proportion of respondents that reported fully successful applications increased to 83 per cent from 67 per cent in the survey of the previous quarter (Chart 3 in the Annex). The proportion of respondents that reported unsuccessful application increased from 2 per cent to 6 per cent. It should be noted that owing to a small sample size (i.e. 3.1 per cent of surveyed SMEs), the results on new credit applications from SMEs could be prone to large fluctuations. Care should be taken when interpreting the survey results.
      
About Survey on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)' Credit Conditions
      
     In light of the importance of SMEs to the Hong Kong economy and concerns about potential funding difficulties facing SMEs over the past few years, the HKMA has appointed the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to carry out this Survey, starting from the third quarter of 2016. This Survey is conducted on a quarterly basis, covering about 2 500 SMEs from different economic sectors each time. The results of this Survey can help monitor the development of SMEs' access to bank credit from a demand-side perspective.
      
     The results of this Survey should be interpreted with caution. Similar to other opinion surveys, views collected in this Survey may be affected by changes in sentiment due to idiosyncratic events that occurred over the Survey period, which can make the results prone to fluctuations. Readers are advised to interpret the results together with other economic and financial information. In addition, views collected are limited to the expected direction of inter-quarter changes (e.g. "tighter", "similar" or "easier") without providing information about the magnitude of these changes.
      
     Detailed tables and technical information of this Survey are published on the website of the HKPC (smecc.hkpc.org).

     A total of 107 persons in custody in Shek Pik Prison (SPP) of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) were presented with certificates at a ceremony today (November 7) in recognition of their study efforts and academic achievements.
            
     The 107 persons in custody awarded certificates today had passed 236 papers with 164 distinctions and credits and achieved a total of 845 university credit points. Among them, eight persons in custody were awarded Bachelor Degrees of Business Administration, a Bachelor Degree of Business Administration in China Business and Bachelor Degrees of General Studies by the Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK). Two persons in custody attained good academic results and were presented with scholarships by the OUHK.
      
     In 2018, a total of 199 persons in custody at SPP passed 306 papers in various distance learning courses and public examinations organised by the OUHK, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the British Council and the City and Guilds International Limited.
            
     Examinations passed covered a variety of subjects including Chinese language, English language, mathematics, economics, business finance, business statistics, business administration, software applications, Putonghua, accounting and book-keeping.
      
     Officiating at the ceremony, the Honorary President of the Prisoners' Friends' Association (PFA) and member of the Legislative Council, Mr Michael Tien, said that the CSD endeavours to conduct suitable rehabilitation programmes to help persons in custody turn over a new leaf as well as reintegrate into society. Over the years, the PFA has long been supporting the rehabilitation work of the CSD and co-operating in fostering offender rehabilitation. The PFA's volunteers help persons in custody to cope with imprisonment by providing regular visits and correspondence.
      
     During the ceremony, persons in custody at SPP staged a dance performance, while a band formed by persons in custody also sang to convey gratitude to their family members and all those helping them in rehabilitation.
      
     Also attending the ceremony were the Commissioner of Correctional Services, Mr Lam Kwok-leung; representatives of non-governmental and community organisations; community leaders; and family members of certificate recipients.
      
     Situated on Lantau Island, SPP is a maximum security institution with a capacity of 426 penal places for male adult persons in custody.