Hongkong Post announced today (September 26) that, as advised by the postal administration of Lebanon, due to the recent events in the region leading to a number of flight cancellations and road closures, mail delivery services to Lebanon are subject to delay.
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Promotion Centre (Promotion Centre) of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau held a luncheon sharing session on Start-ups and Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) in Guangzhou today (September 26). The sharing session aimed to provide start-ups with the latest information on ESG development and trends, assist start-ups in formulating ESG policies, and promote sustainable business development.
The Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Ms Maisie Chan, attended the sharing session in Guangzhou and delivered a welcome speech. Ms Chan said that ESG and sustainable development are the foci of global attention. Apart from investors, clients of enterprises are also paying more attention to environmental protection, civic social responsibility and corporate governance. For enterprises, the formulation of ESG strategies to achieve sustainable development has transitioned from being optional to becoming an essential requirement. Today's sharing session was organised by the Promotion Centre to provide information in this regard to start-ups.
Ms Chan emphasised that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to providing support to Hong Kong residents and enterprises pursuing development in the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), as well as enhancing the promotion of the enormous opportunities GBA development has to offer. The Promotion Centre, established in Guangzhou in April last year, seeks to better understand the development needs of Hong Kong residents and enterprises in the Mainland cities of the GBA and to provide practical assistance through various forms of activities. The Promotion Centre encourages Mainland talent and enterprises to capitalise on Hong Kong's unique advantages and status under the principle of "one country, two systems", and to develop overseas markets through Hong Kong, thereby fully leveraging Hong Kong's dual roles in "going global and attracting foreign investment".
The sharing session today, held at Guangzhou Oâ‚‚ PARK, received support from the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province and attracted nearly 100 start-up representatives. In addition to keynote speeches, practical case studies were presented on how enterprises could achieve sustainable development in terms of environmental, social and corporate governance. At the sharing session, four representatives from Hong Kong enterprises also shared their experiences in implementing ESG practices across cultural and creative, environmental protection, architectural design, and educational technology industries. There was an interactive session as well to discuss strategies for implementing the best ESG initiatives to help enterprises stand out from their competitors.
Moreover, participants of the sharing session took the opportunity to visit Oâ‚‚ PARK, a city revitalisation project that has integrated ESG concepts into its development since the design stage. During the visit, participants also further learned from successful cases about the benefits of integrating ESG concepts into the operating strategies of enterprises.
The Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest – Hong Kong Chapter (MiCHK) 2024 Final was held successfully at Cyberport today (September 26). "The next-generation photonic integrated circuits for future high-bandwidth optical links, sensing and computing" by Kokoxili Photonics Limited won the Champion prize, while "Electron Beam (EB) irradiation technology application" by HK Highsolve Technology Limited and "All-scenario rapid testing platform against antimicrobial resistance" by MicroFlow Innovation Limited won the First Runner-up prize and the Second Runner-up prize respectively. They will represent the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to compete in the Global Final Contest of the Maker in China to be held in the fourth quarter of this year in Guangzhou.
Speaking at today's event, the Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong, said that the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint has set "To proactively integrate into the overall development of the country and consolidate our role as a bridge connecting the Mainland and the world" as one of the four broad development directions. The MiCHK is a sound platform for Hong Kong start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to further expand business opportunities in the Mainland market, with numerous winning teams establishing their foothold in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and expanding their operations on the Mainland in recent years. Moreover, many teams have attracted the attention of corporate investors from the Mainland and overseas, receiving a considerable number of procurement contracts and collaboration opportunities.
Mr Wong stressed that the theme of this year's contest has been extended to cover the frontier technology fields such as advanced network equipment, quantum technology and green technology with a view to fostering the development of innovation and technology (I&T) and related industries, and promoting the development of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong. He congratulated the winning teams and encouraged all participating teams to continue to forge ahead in the area of I&T, so as to contribute to the high-quality development of the country and Hong Kong.
The MiCHK 2024 has received overwhelming response with a total of 153 local innovation projects. After initial screening and a semi-final held earlier, the top 10 finalists entered the Final today, where they competed for the Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up honours by staging roadshows to a panel of judges comprising local and Mainland experts of different I&T fields. Apart from building a platform for local I&T startups, the MiCHK arranges one-on-one business matching sessions between the top 10 finalists and the investors and enterprises from the GBA. The top 10 finalists were given opportunities to join different incubation and acceleration programmes and exhibitions to promote their products and services to different regions through various platforms. Details about the entries can be obtained from makerinchina.hk/.
The MiCHK 2024 is organised by the Digital Policy Office of the HKSAR Government, the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, the Department of Youth Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs, and formulated by the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, the Angel Investment Foundation and the Guangzhou SME's Promotion Association For Specialization Refinement Differentiation Innovation Development. With the support of the Guangzhou Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangzhou Municipality and the People's Government of Guangzhou Nansha District, this is the sixth time the regional chapter took place in Hong Kong.
​With regard to the 2024 National Day Fireworks Display to be held on October 1, the Marine Department (MD) will strictly enforce marine traffic control and strengthen the inspection of spectator vessels on the event day to ensure that safety requirements are met.
The MD will establish a Closed Area in the waters off the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, where barges and pontoons for the fireworks will be anchored, from 2pm to about 11pm on the event day. All vessels will be prohibited from entering the area. The two Restricted Areas will be established in two stages. The Restricted Area 1 will be established in the waters off the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui from 6.30pm to about 10pm to facilitate the drone performance, while the Restricted Area 2 in the Central Harbour will be established from 8pm to about 10pm. Other than authorised vessels, no vessels will be allowed to enter. Scheduled ferry vessels with permission may continue services until 8.30pm.
Spectator vessels could stay inside the Specified Area other than the Restricted Areas and the Closed Area for viewing from 7pm to about 10pm on the event day. To enhance marine safety during a major event at sea, coxswains of spectator vessels in the Specified Area during the specified period must ensure that children on board are accompanied by an adult and wear a lifejacket at all times. Coxswains must also keep a passenger and crew list on board for emergency purposes. The MD will enhance enforcement work and initiate prosecution if any vessel fails to meet with these requirements.
In addition, to ensure vessels disperse in an orderly manner, the Eastern and Western Cordon Lines of the Restricted Area will be lifted in stages after the event. The Western Cordon Line will be lifted first at about 10pm. Spectator vessels behind the Western Cordon Line and those wishing to move to the east must follow the instructions of officers from the MD and the Police at the scene. The Eastern Cordon Line will be lifted later depending on traffic conditions in Victoria Harbour. It is anticipated that the Restricted Areas will be lifted by about 10.15pm.
For landside crowd control, public landing steps at Kowloon Public Pier will be closed temporarily from 7pm to about 10pm, while other public landing steps within the Restricted Areas will be closed temporarily from 7.30pm to about 10pm. Buffer Zones at Kowloon Public Pier, Kwun Tong Public Pier and Central Piers 9 and 10 will be established immediately after the event for safe and orderly disembarkation of passengers.
Officers from the MD and the Police will also maintain order at major landing facilities after the event. Coxswains and crew members should remind passengers to pack their personal belongings early before the vessels arrive alongside the landing steps, as well as assisting passengers to disembark. Coxswains and passengers should follow the guidance of the MD and the Police at the scene.
The MD and the Marine Police will also strengthen law enforcement, especially on conditions of life-saving appliances, speeding and overloading. Coxswains and persons-in-charge of vessels should check again and reconfirm that the operating licence, the certificate of survey and the third-party risk insurance are valid before setting sail.
MD Notice No. 175 of 2024 on the marine traffic control and safety measures has been issued and is available for viewing on the MD's website (www.mardep.gov.hk).
Overall Wage and Payroll Statistics
According to the figures released today (September 26) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the average wage rate for all the selected industry sections surveyed, as measured by the wage index, increased by 3.7% in nominal terms in June 2024 over a year earlier.
About 63% of the companies reported increase in average wage rates in June 2024 compared with a year ago. A total of 32% of the companies recorded decrease in average wage rates over the same period. The remaining 5% reported virtually no change in average wage rates.
After discounting the changes in consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (A), the overall average wage rate for all the selected industry sections surveyed increased by 1.9% in real terms in June 2024 over a year earlier.
As for payroll, the index of payroll per person engaged for all the industry sections surveyed increased by 3.5% in nominal terms in the second quarter of 2024 over a year earlier.
After discounting the changes in consumer prices as measured by the Composite Consumer Price Index, the average payroll per person engaged increased by 2.2% in real terms in the second quarter of 2024 compared with a year earlier.
The wage rate includes basic wages and other regular and guaranteed allowances and bonuses. Payroll includes elements covered by wage rate as well as other irregular payments to workers such as discretionary bonuses and overtime allowances. The payroll statistics therefore tend to show relatively larger quarter-to-quarter changes, affected by the number of hours actually worked and the timing of payment of bonuses and back-pay.
Sectoral Changes
For the nominal wage indices, year-on-year increases were recorded in all selected industry sections in June 2024, ranging from 3.1% to 4.5%.
For the real wage indices, year-on-year increases were also recorded in all selected industry sections in June 2024, ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%.
The year-on-year changes in the nominal and real wage indices for the selected industry sections from June 2023 to June 2024 are shown in Table 1.
As for the nominal indices of payroll per person engaged, year-on-year increases were recorded in all selected industry sections in the second quarter of 2024, ranging from 1.6% to 8.6%.
For the real payroll indices, year-on-year increases were also recorded in all selected industry sections in the second quarter of 2024, ranging from 0.4% to 7.3%.
The year-on-year changes in the nominal and real indices of payroll per person engaged for selected industry sections from the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2024 are shown in Table 2. The quarterly changes in the seasonally adjusted nominal and real indices of payroll per person engaged in the same period are shown in Table 3.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that wages and labour earnings continued to record decent increases in the second quarter of 2024 over a year earlier.
The average wage rate for all selected industries rose further by 3.7% in nominal terms in June 2024. After discounting for inflation, the average wage rate increased by 1.9% in real terms.
Payroll per person engaged, which includes basic wage, discretionary bonuses and other irregular payments, increased further by 3.5% in nominal terms in the second quarter of 2024. After discounting for inflation, payroll per person engaged increased by 2.2% in real terms. All selected industries saw increases in payroll per person engaged in both nominal and real terms.
Looking ahead, the tight overall labour market should provide support to growth in wages and labour earnings in the near term, though the pace of growth may vary across sectors in tandem with their business performance.
Other Information
Both wage indices and payroll indices are compiled quarterly based on the results of the Labour Earnings Survey (LES) conducted by C&SD. Wage index only covers employees up to the supervisory level (i.e. not including managerial and professional employees), whereas payroll index covers employees at all levels and proprietors actively engaged in the work of the establishment.
Apart from the differences in employee coverage, wage statistics are conceptually different from the payroll statistics. Firstly, wage rate for an employee refers to the sum earned for his normal hours of work. It covers basic wages and other regular and guaranteed allowances and bonuses, but excludes earnings from overtime work and discretionary bonuses, which are however included in payroll per person engaged. Secondly, the payroll index of an industry is an indicator of the simple average payroll received per person engaged in the industry. Its movement is therefore affected by changes in wage rates, number of hours of work and occupational composition in the industry. In contrast, the wage index of an industry is devised to reflect the pure changes in wage rate, with the occupational composition between two successive statistical periods being kept unchanged. In other words, the wage index reflects the change in the price of labour. Because of these conceptual and enumeration differences between payroll and wage statistics, the movements in payroll indices and in wage indices do not necessarily match closely with each other.
It should also be noted that different consumer price indices are used for compiling the real indices of wage and payroll to take into account the differences in their respective occupation coverage. Specifically, the Composite Consumer Price Index, being an indicator of overall consumer prices, is taken as the price deflator for payroll of workers at all levels of the occupational hierarchy. The Consumer Price Index (A), being an indicator of consumer prices for the relatively low expenditure group, is taken as the price deflator for wages in respect of employees engaged in occupations up to the supervisory level.
Detailed breakdowns of the payroll and wage statistics are published in the "Quarterly Report of Wage and Payroll Statistics, June 2024". Users can browse and download the publication at the website of C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050009&scode=210).
For enquiries on wage and payroll statistics, please contact the Wages and Labour Costs Statistics Section (1) of C&SD (Tel: 2887 5550 or email: wage@censtatd.gov.hk).