The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) today (July 19) published the information memoranda for the auctions of radio spectrum in the 850/900 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 6/7 GHz bands and invited interested parties to submit applications.
 
     A spokesperson for OFCA said, "The Communications Authority (CA) and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (SCED) issued joint statements in May last year and March this year, announcing the decisions to assign a total of 510 MHz of spectrum in the aforementioned bands through auction within this year for the provision of public mobile services including the fifth generation (5G) services. The assignment will further promote the development of 5G services in terms of network capacity, service speed and coverage."
 
     The CA will conduct the auction of 110 MHz of re-assigned spectrum in the 850/900 MHz and 2.3 GHz bands on November 11, followed by the auction of 400 MHz of new spectrum in the 6/7 GHz band on November 25. The spectrum will be assigned to the successful bidders under unified carrier licences with a validity period of 15 years. Parties interested in participating in the auctions may submit their applications to OFCA on September 19 and 20.
 
     The SCED has set the auction reserve prices for the use of the aforementioned spectrum, viz. $4 million per MHz for the 850/900 MHz and the 2.3 GHz bands, and $2 million per MHz for the 6/7 GHz band. The actual amount of spectrum utilization fees payable will be determined through the respective auctions.
 
     The spokesperson added, "To prevent over-concentration of spectrum holdings by a single spectrum assignee, the CA has set caps on the amount of spectrum that can be acquired by each assignee in the respective bands, which are 10 MHz for the 850/900 MHz band, 50 MHz for the 2.3 GHz band, and 140 MHz for the 6/7 GHz band."
 
     Detailed arrangements of the auctions are set out in the information memoranda which are available on OFCA's website:
 
For the 850/900 MHz and 2.3 GHz bands:
www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_1712/850_900_mhz_and_2_3_ghz_bands_auction_IM.pdf

For the 6/7 GHz band:
www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_1713/6_7_ghz_band_auction_IM.pdf

     The Government announced today (July 19) the following senior appointments:
 
(a) Mrs Angelina Cheung Fung Wing-ping, Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service, will take up the post of Commissioner for Tourism on August 12, 2024; 
 
(b) Mr Aaron Liu Kong-cheung, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury), will take up the post of Director-General of Trade and Industry on August 19, 2024; and
 
(c) Mr Maurice Loo Kam-wah, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury), will take up the post of Director of Lands on September 5, 2024.
 
     Commenting on the appointments of Mrs Cheung, Mr Liu and Mr Loo, the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, said, "The appointees are seasoned Administrative Officers with proven leadership and management skills. I have every confidence that they will continue to serve the community with professionalism in their new posts."
 
     Brief biographical notes of the three officers are set out below:
 
Mrs Angelina Cheung Fung Wing-ping
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     Mrs Cheung joined the Administrative Service in September 1992 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 in April 2022. She has served in a diverse range of bureaux and departments, including the former City and New Territories Administration, the former Economic Services Branch, the former Education and Manpower Branch, the Civil Service Bureau, the Home Affairs Department, the former Food and Health Bureau and the Labour and Welfare Bureau. She was Deputy Secretary for Education from April 2012 to October 2017, Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs from October 2017 to August 2020, and has been serving as Deputy Secretary for the Civil Service since August 2020. 
 
Mr Aaron Liu Kong-cheung
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     Mr Liu joined the Administrative Service in June 1996 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 in April 2023. He has served in a diverse range of bureaux and departments, including the former Security Branch, the former Industry Department, the former Economic Services Bureau, the Civil Service Bureau and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau. He was Deputy Commissioner for Tourism from September 2016 to July 2019, Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services) from August 2019 to July 2022, and has been serving as Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury) since July 2022. 
 
Mr Maurice Loo Kam-wah
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     Mr Loo joined the Administrative Service in July 1996 and rose to the rank of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 in April 2022.  He has served in various bureaux and departments, including the former Home Affairs Branch, the former Transport Branch, the Home Affairs Department, the former Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau, the former Environment and Food Bureau, the Civil Service Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Commission, the former Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington DC. He was Principal Assistant Secretary (Financial Services) from April 2011 to June 2014, Deputy Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) from July 2015 to August 2020, and has been serving as Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury) since August 2020.

      

     The International Arts Carnival (IAC), a summer arts festival organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will present an interactive music theatre production, "DÇŽ JiÄ�n Ninja: Finding Dreams", from August 2 to 4. Produced by local percussionist Anna Fan, who will perform together with percussion group daÌŒ jiaÌ„n, the programme melds live music and original songs with drama and dance. It is most suitable for family audiences who can learn more about the cultures of Chinese and Western music through trying out different kinds of percussion instruments.
 
     Filled with drum beats and laughter, the production guides audiences to know more about musical instruments such as the Chinese drum, Brazilian parade drum and glockenspiel, to sample for themselves the immense power of percussion music.
 
     At the core of the play is a group of dÇŽ jiÄ�n ninjas living on the sea. These cheery ninjas are not just good at drumming but have hidden skills lying in their superpower: using percussion to concoct a dream essence. A catastrophe has robbed people of their ability to dream when they sleep. To pull them out of the blues, dÇŽ jiÄ�n ninjas call on children and adults alike to embark on a sea adventure. Together they learn various percussion instruments so that everyone can have great dreams again.
 
     Programme Producer Anna Fan, a local percussionist, drummer, arranger and composer, graduated from the Music Department of Hong Kong Baptist University in percussion and studied jazz drumming at the Berklee College of Music in the United States. Fan is currently the creative director, band leader and lead singer with percussion groups dÇŽ jiÄ�n and FANtastic Line. Keen to promote boundary-pushing percussion and jazz culture, Fan has founded PE LAB, a collective that creates chiefly for percussion groups' original work that fuses pop, jazz and Broadway musical songs. Fan is also a drummer for local band m.a.R.K, making frequent appearances at music festivals at home and abroad.
 
     Interactive music theatre production "DÇŽ JiÄ�n Ninja: Finding Dreams" will be staged at 7.30pm on August 2 and 3, and 3pm on August 3 and 4 at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. The programme will be performed in Cantonese with limited lyrics in English. It also contains strobe lighting and loud sound effects. Tickets priced at $160, $240 and $300 (half-price tickets for children) are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288, or use the mobile ticketing app "URBTIX". For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.hkiac.gov.hk.
 
     Each performance will be followed by a meet-the-artist session.
  
     This year's IAC is running from July 5 to August 11, featuring a wide array of fun-filled educational programmes by overseas, Mainland and local art groups and artists. In addition to acrobatics, magic, dance, music, theatre and puppetry, the IAC also offers film screenings, online programmes, parent-child workshops and an exhibition.

  

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 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited relating to fraudulent websites and social media accounts, 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 social media accounts 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.

     Five red tides were sighted over the past week, the Inter-departmental Red Tide Working Group reported today (July 19).

     On July 15, staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) spotted five red tides at Victoria Harbour (near Sai Ying Pun), Victoria Harbour (near North Point), the waters off Cheung Sha Wan Promenade, Tsing Lung Tau and Lei Yue Mun respectively. The red tides at Victoria Harbour (near Sai Ying Pun), the waters off Cheung Sha Wan Promenade and Tsing Lung Tau still persist, while the other two red tides have dissipated. No associated fish deaths have been reported as of today.

     A spokesman for the working group said, "The above red tides were formed by Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, which is commonly found in Hong Kong waters and non-toxic."

     The AFCD urged mariculturists at Lo Tik Wan, Sok Kwu Wan, Ma Wan and Cheung Sha Wan fish culture zones to monitor the situation closely and increase aeration where necessary.

     Red tide is a natural phenomenon. The AFCD's proactive phytoplankton monitoring programme will continue to monitor red tide occurrences to minimise the impact on the mariculture industry and the public.