Tag Archives: China

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 a press release issued by Mox Bank Limited relating to fraudulent websites and phishing instant messages, which have been reported to the HKMA. A hyperlink to the press release is available on the HKMA website.
      
     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 personal 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 websites or instant messages concerned, should contact the bank using the contact information provided in the press release, and report the matter to the Police by contacting the Crime Wing Information Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012. read more

      â€‹The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau today (August 23) announced that the 2024 Paris Olympic Games Mainland Olympians delegation visiting Hong Kong from August 29 to 31 includes 65 athletes and eight coaches from 16 … read more

     The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, today (August 23) officiated at the Award Presentation Ceremony 2024 of the Hong Kong Scholarship for Excellence Scheme (HKSES). Sixty students were selected as the 10th cohort of awardees.
           
     Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Choi said that young people are the future, hope and pillars of Hong Kong, as well as the engine for driving the long-term development of society and the economy. The Government has always attached great importance to the development of young people. The HKSES highlights the Government’s commitment to and efforts in fostering the talent development of the next generation. She encouraged awardees to act as ambassadors in telling good Hong Kong stories while overseas, and make the best use of their enriched knowledge and skills upon graduation in contributing to Hong Kong, and seizing the immense opportunities brought about by the nation’s development.

     All awardees received their formal secondary school education in Hong Kong, studying either local or non-local curricula. Among them, 51 will be pursuing undergraduate studies and nine will be pursuing postgraduate studies at world-renowned universities. These include not only top-notch comprehensive universities but also world-class institutions specialising in particular disciplines.
           
     The awardees will pursue a wide spectrum of disciplines, with over half of them pursuing programmes related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Other disciplines include law, arts, culture and performing arts, medical and health sciences, and social sciences. The distribution of the awardees by different disciplines is shown in the Annex.
           
     A total of 923 applicants competed for this year’s HKSES. Apart from outstanding academic achievements, the awardees also demonstrated excellence in their leadership qualities.
           
     As the selection process is ongoing, more applicants may be offered the scholarship after today’s ceremony. A list of the awardees as of today has been uploaded to the HKSES website (hkses.edb.gov.hk).
           
     Launched in November 2014, the HKSES has been regularised since the 2019/20 academic year. It aims to support local students to pursue studies at world-renowned universities outside Hong Kong with a view to grooming a top cadre of talent with global vision, an international network and world-class education, thereby contributing to enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness as Asia’s world city in a globalised knowledge economy. Since its introduction, the HKSES has benefited 930 students. The key features of the scholarship scheme are available at the HKSES website.
           
     The application details of the next cohort of the HKSES will be announced shortly.

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     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government conducted today (August 23) a drill for the Pilot Scheme for Direct Cross-boundary Ambulance Transfer in the Greater Bay Area (Pilot Scheme) in collaboration with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. The drill, which simulated the transfer of patients under the cross-boundary ambulance arrangement, was conducted smoothly in general. The HKSAR Government will review the drill arrangement with the relevant Mainland authorities, with a view to launching the Pilot Scheme within this year.
 
     Today’s drill mainly aimed at testing the routing of the cross-boundary ambulance between the University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH) and the designated hospitals in Hong Kong (Tuen Mun Hospital and Hong Kong Children’s Hospital), as well as the immigration arrangements of the ambulance to and from Hong Kong. After departure from HKU-SZH this morning, the designated Shenzhen cross-boundary ambulance travelled to Tuen Mun Hospital via Shenzhen Bay Port and subsequently headed to Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, before returning to HKU-SZH via Shenzhen Bay Port. The process was generally smooth. Upon reviewing today’s drill arrangement, the HKSAR Government may conduct another drill with the relevant Mainland authorities if necessary with the aim of launching the one-year Pilot Scheme within this year.
 
     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, “At present, there is no direct cross-boundary ambulance arrangement for transfer of patients by land between Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as Macao. The handover of patients can only be conducted at boundary control points under the ‘vehicle-to-vehicle’ mode. However, such a ‘vehicle-to-vehicle’ mode may pose medical risks to certain patients with special medical needs. With the further integration of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and more frequent travelling of residents within the GBA, the HKSAR Government is determined to rationalise the relevant cross-boundary transfer arrangement which has been an issue of public concern for years. I am glad that Guangdong and Hong Kong took the lead in conducting a successful drill today through the concerted efforts of the HKSAR Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government to gear up for the official launch of the Pilot Scheme.”
 
     The Chief Executive announced in the 2023 Policy Address the exploration of a cross-boundary ambulance transfer arrangement in the GBA. The Pilot Scheme will first roll out the arrangement of direct ambulance transfer of patients from designated hospitals in Shenzhen and Macao to designated public hospitals in Hong Kong. The Government published in the Gazette on August 16 the exemption of designated Shenzhen cross-boundary ambulances from the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374E) (the Regulations) during a specified period, pursuant to regulation 3(c) of the Regulations so as to facilitate the drill arrangement. The Governments of the two places will strive to finalise as soon as possible the long-term arrangements for designated Shenzhen cross-boundary ambulances to enter Hong Kong.
 
     Apart from the entry arrangement of vehicles into Hong Kong, the Health Bureau is also in discussion with the relevant departments of the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government on the implementation details regarding the entry of medical items and personnel on the ambulance into Hong Kong. In particular, HKU-SZH will deploy healthcare personnel to escort patients with clinical needs on the ambulance to a designated public hospital in Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will ensure compliance by the doctors concerned with the relevant laws of Hong Kong, such that they can continue to carry out the necessary medical procedures for the patients on board the ambulance upon entry into Hong Kong. The Medical Council of Hong Kong has issued a promulgation regarding limited registration in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161). The Hospital Authority (HA) is making limited registration applications for the Mainland doctors who will provide support aboard the cross-boundary ambulances.
 
     Meanwhile, the HKSAR Government is also in discussion with the Macao Special Administrative Region Government on the relevant drill arrangement. The cross-boundary ambulance mechanism will only be activated when a prior agreement between the sending hospital (i.e. HKU-SZH or the Conde S. Januario Hospital of Macao) and the receiving hospital (i.e. designated public hospitals under the HA of Hong Kong) has been reached in advance, with the medical needs, safety and interests of patients as the prime concerns while avoiding abuse of the mechanism. Subject to the effectiveness and operational experience of the Pilot Scheme, relevant government departments will consider whether and how to expand the Scheme, such as including more designated hospitals and/or extending the Pilot Scheme to a two-way arrangement.

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The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Mr Eddie Yue, and the Chief Executive Officers of three chairman banks of the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) met with the press today (August 23). The following is the translation of the transcript of remarks by Mr Yue:
 
     My colleagues and I just had a meeting with the three chairman banks of the HKAB and discussed various issues relating to lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and property mortgage lending.

     In the past few years, the banking sector in Hong Kong has been supporting the development of SMEs of different industries. Since the establishment of the Banking Sector SME Lending Coordination Mechanism by the HKMA together with the banking sector in 2019, several rounds of measures have been rolled out to support SMEs, including the Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme, deferment of repayment period and conversion of trade financing lines into temporary overdraft facilities, which tided many SMEs over the difficult times during the COVID pandemic.

     While the local economy has continued to recover after the pandemic, the HKMA is keenly aware that some SMEs are still facing challenges in their business operations amid uncertainties in the external and local economic environment. In view of this, we launched nine measures in March this year, including banks undertaking not to demand early repayments from mortgage customers repaying on schedule, and not to adjust credit limit merely due to change in collateral value. For certain cases warranting adjustment of credit limits, a transition period of at least six months should be given.

     A total of around 14 000 SMEs had already benefitted from the nine measures in the first four months following their launch, involving an aggregate credit limit of over HK$31 billion. The HKMA also joined hands with the HKAB and the Chinese Banking Association of Hong Kong to exchange views with over 20 different trade associations and representatives of various industry sectors through seminars and other events.

     During the meeting today, the three banks reaffirmed clearly that they had not changed and would not change their risk appetite towards SME financing and related credit approval standards. They would also ensure ongoing effective implementation of the aforementioned nine measures.

     We also hereby announce that the HKMA and the HKAB are establishing a joint Taskforce on SME Lending, to further strengthen the related work at both the individual case and the industry levels:
 

1. For individual cases of SMEs encountering difficulties when obtaining bank financing, a mechanism will be set up, whereby the cases will be reviewed by the HKMA and, as appropriate, referred to the relevant banks for prompt handling by their dedicated teams;
2. If some common issues are identified among the cases, the Taskforce will work out appropriate solutions for adoption across the banks; and
3. The Taskforce will work to further enhance communication among the HKMA, the banking industry and the commercial sector, so as to understand the financing needs of SMEs in a more timely manner, and to provide better support for the development and transformation of SMEs. 

     The HKMA will continue to monitor banks’ business strategy for supporting SMEs through various means in our supervisory processes.

     To sum up, the HKMA and the banking sector will work together to continue providing support for SMEs seeking bank financing, and walk side-by-side with SMEs to get through this rather difficult time. Understandably, it is necessary for banks to maintain consistent and effective risk management to safeguard depositor interests. For cases of prolonged non-repayment despite relief or restructuring provided, actions will inevitably be taken by banks, but they will ensure such actions are implemented and communicated to the customers in an accommodative manner.

     Regarding residential mortgage lending, our discussion today focussed on how transparency, efficiency and customer experience in approval processes can be improved. For instance, banks will make clearly that loan applicants can be informed of the outcome within a reasonable period of time after receipt of necessary documents. This will be further discussed and worked on at the industry level via the Taskforce. read more