The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by Vice Mayor of the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government Mr Lai Zhihong today (March 4) to discuss the deepening of medical co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
      
     At the meeting, both sides exchanged views on various cross-boundary medical collaboration measures, including the implementation progress of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme), the cross-boundary use of electronic health records supported by the eHealth mobile application and strengthening the exchanges between healthcare professionals of the two places, which have laid the foundation for further collaboration in the future.

     Professor Lo said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to cross-boundary medical collaboration, and has been continuously exploring the collaboration in multiple areas and aspects of healthcare, with a view to continuously enhancing the regional advantage of healthcare professions of Hong Kong as well as the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), thereby benefitting the residents in the region.
      
     "In this regard, the Health Bureau is actively pressing ahead with the extension of the Pilot Scheme to cover nine Mainland cities in the GBA as set out in the 'The Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address', with the aim of announcing relevant details in the first half of this year. In addition, we will fully utilise the eHealth platform to expand the sharing of cross-boundary medical records.

     "I have every confidence that under the guidance of key policies such as the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the National 14th Five-Year Plan, as well as the Resolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, Hong Kong and Guangzhou will take forward healthcare integration and innovation in the GBA through concerted efforts in accordance with the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits, thereby contributing to the needs of national development."
      
     The Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, as well as officials from the Health Bureau and the Department of Health, also attended the meeting today. 

    

     The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) today (March 4) expressed strong disapproval of the US's imposition of a further 10 per cent duty on products of Hong Kong (i.e. a cumulative 20 per cent duty).
 
     A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, "The US's measure is grossly inconsistent with the relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and harms the interest of both parties. The HKSAR Government once again urges the US to take immediate actions to rectify its wrongdoing and withdraw the unilateral tariff measures.
 
      "The HKSAR Government strongly opposes any unreasonable behaviour that disregards the international trade order. As announced earlier, the HKSAR Government will file a complaint regarding the matter with the WTO to defend our legitimate rights," the spokesman reiterated.

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 Chong Hing Bank Limited relating to fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens, 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 login screens 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.

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 Bank of East Asia, Limited relating to fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens, 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 login screens 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.

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

     CMU OmniClear Limited (CMU OmniClear), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Exchange Fund, and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today (March 4) to deepen their collaboration in enhancing the post-trade securities infrastructure of Hong Kong's capital markets, and supporting the long-term development of the city's fixed-income and currencies (FIC) ecosystem.
      
     Based on the MOU, CMU OmniClear and HKEX will explore and pursue cooperation in areas such as realising cross-asset class efficiencies across equities and fixed income, expanding the use of Mainland bonds as collateral, enhancing Hong Kong as a bond issuance centre and developing an international central securities depository (ICSD) in Asia, with a view to consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, a global risk management centre, and an offshore Renminbi (RMB) business hub.
      
     The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of CMU OmniClear, Mr Eddie Yue, said "We are delighted to deepen the cooperation with HKEX on financial market infrastructures in Hong Kong. This MOU signifies an important milestone and our shared commitment to supporting the development of Hong Kong's capital markets.  This is also a pivotal step in accelerating the transformation of the Central Moneymarkets Unit (CMU) into an ICSD in Asia upon the establishment of CMU OmniClear.  With our collective efforts, we believe we can offer the market a wider spectrum of products across asset classes, fostering the continued development and innovation in Hong Kong's financial markets."
      
     The Chief Executive Officer at HKEX, Ms Bonnie Chan, said, "We are delighted to be entering into this cooperation agreement with CMU OmniClear. This agreement underscores HKEX's strategic commitment to build a vibrant, world-leading FIC ecosystem in Hong Kong. We look forward to working closely with the HKMA and CMU OmniClear to advance the development of Hong Kong's fixed-income market, enabling the next chapter of RMB internationalisation and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, a global risk management centre, and an offshore RMB business hub."