The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (August 26) a report entitled "Women and Men in Hong Kong – Key Statistics (2024 Edition)".

     This report is compiled by the C&SD to serve as a ready source of information for those interested in the situation of women and men, and gender equality in Hong Kong. It draws together sex-disaggregated statistics and indicators from a wide variety of sources with a view to depicting the situation of women and men in major economic and social spheres. Users can browse and download this report at the website of the C&SD (https://www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1130303&scode=180).

     Enquiries about the contents of this report can be directed to the Social Surveys Section (2) of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 0592 or email: thematic@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Monday, August 26, 2024 is 103.9 (same as last Saturday's index).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Saturday, August 24, 2024 was 103.9 (down 0.3 against last Friday's index).

     The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a joint enforcement operation with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department yesterday (August 25) in the vicinity of Mong Kok Road. Two suspected illegal workers were arrested during the operation, who are foreign domestic helper women aged 21 and 35. They were suspected to have breached their condition of stay in Hong Kong by engaging in illegal hawking activities on a pedestrian footbridge.

     An ImmD spokesman said, "A foreign domestic helper should only perform domestic duties for the employer specified in the Standard Employment Contract. The helper could not carry out any non-domestic work, or take up, or join or establish any business other than the contracted domestic work, whether paid or unpaid, in Hong Kong. Any person who contravenes a condition of stay in force in respect of him or her shall be guilty of an offence. Offenders are liable to prosecution and upon conviction face a maximum fine of $50,000 and up to two years' imprisonment. Aiders and abettors are also liable to prosecution and penalties."

     Under the existing mechanism, the ImmD will, as a standard procedure, conduct an initial screening of vulnerable persons, including illegal workers, illegal immigrants, sex workers and foreign domestic helpers, who are arrested during any operation with a view to ascertaining whether they are trafficking in persons (TIP) victims. When any TIP indicator is revealed in the initial screening, the ImmD officers will conduct a full debriefing and identification by using a standardised checklist to ascertain the presence of TIP elements, such as threats and coercion in the recruitment phase and the nature of exploitation. Identified TIP victims will be provided with various forms of support and assistance, including urgent intervention, medical services, counselling, shelter or temporary accommodation and other supporting services. The ImmD calls on TIP victims to report crimes to the relevant departments immediately.

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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Digital Policy Office (DPO) today (August 26) jointly announced that the connection arrangement between the HKMA's Commercial Data Interchange (CDI)(Note 1) and the Government's Consented Data Exchange Gateway (CDEG)(Note2) is now in full operation, with a promising growth in the utilisation rate by the pilot banks conducting trial transactions via the CDI-CDEG linkage established in late December 2023. With the successful completion of the trial run, the connection is now open to all CDI participating banks.
      
     As the first government data source of CDI, the Companies Registry (CR) has connected to CDI through CDEG. By connecting to the CR via the CDI-CDEG linkage (also known as "CR@CDI"), banks can directly obtain company particulars such as company names, registered office addresses and share capital structure, which helps streamline various banking processes including account opening, fraud detection and Know Your Customer. The connection arrangement facilitates financial institutions, upon authorisation, to access government data related to corporate and business operations, thereby supporting the digitalisation of the financial services industry, promoting the overall development of Hong Kong's digital economy, as well as facilitating the full exploitation of the potential of data.
      
     With banks conducting pilot trials in phases, the HKMA and the DPO will continue to explore the possibility of including additional business operation data in the future to assist banks in obtaining more comprehensive company search records.
      
     Since its official launch, CDI has successfully enhanced the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan approval processes, facilitating more than 27,000 loan applications and reviews, with an estimated credit approval amount exceeding HK$23.8 billion as of end-June 2024. To unleash the potential of CDI beyond corporate level and to bolster the Government's digitalisation initiatives that enhance public convenience, the HKMA will explore the feasibility of extending the use of CDI to personal level leveraging the CDI-CDEG linkage.
      
     Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, Mr Howard Lee, said, "Thanks to the support of the DPO, the CDI-CDEG connection has been working well, which is a testament to the HKMA's efforts in addressing the industry's demand for government data in its digitalisation journey. Leveraging the established connection between the two platforms, the HKMA will invite more government bureaux and departments to share consented data with banks. These concerted efforts will greatly benefit SMEs across various sectors and contribute to the advancement of Hong Kong's digital economy."
      
     The Commissioner for Digital Policy, Mr Tony Wong, said, "Data is the key element in promoting the development of smart city, and innovation and technology. We have been implementing different measures to promote the opening up and sharing of government data. The connection of the two data sharing platforms is an important milestone on government data sharing. With the banking sector making good use of the new measure, it will enable customers to enjoy more convenient services and facilitate the banking industry to explore more business opportunities, thereby contributing to the development of digital economy of Hong Kong. With a view to promoting data-driven, people-centric and outcome-based digital policies within the Government and across sectors, the DPO will facilitate more opening up and sharing of data, and innovate government services with the aid of digital technologies and data. The DPO and the HKMA will continue to actively liaise with government bureaux and departments to prepare for more related data sharing with the industry, supporting the development of more convenient government services for bringing benefits to citizens and businesses."

Note 1: Launched by the HKMA, CDI is a consent-based financial data infrastructure that aims to enhance data sharing by facilitating financial institutions' retrieval of enterprises' commercial data, in particular the data of SMEs, from both public and private data providers.

Note 2: Developed by the Government, CDEG serves to facilitate the interflow of data within the Government.

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, will lead a delegation to Dunhuang, Gansu Province, tomorrow (August 27) to attend the 19th Joint Meeting of Senior Health Officials of Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to be hosted by the National Health Commission on August 29, and to visit healthcare institutions in Dunhuang.

     The Joint Meeting is a platform for senior medical and health officials, and experts from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao to exchange views and share experiences on present-day medical and public health issues.

     Professor Lo will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony of the Joint Meeting. Delegations of the three places will engage in discussions and sharing on three major topics, namely review of the COVID-19 epidemic and the way forward for prevention and control of infectious diseases, advancing innovation and development in healthcare technology, and strengthening primary healthcare services. For the discussion on the topic of advancing innovation and development in healthcare technology, the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, will be the moderator, with Deputy Secretary for Health Ms Elaine Mak giving a presentation. Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Primary Healthcare, Dr Pang Fei-chau, will present on the topic of strengthening primary healthcare services.

     The Chairman of the Hospital Authority (HA), Mr Henry Fan, and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, will also join the delegation.

     Professor Lo will return to Hong Kong on August 30. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee will be the Acting Secretary for Health.