Tag Archives: China

     â€‹Following is the speech by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Principal Dinner of the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit today (March 25):
 
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good evening. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to tonight’s Principal Dinner, on the eve of the third annual Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit.
 
     Allow me to begin by thanking our Hong Kong dancers for their elegant and innovative approach to the traditional Chinese lion dance – tonight performed as a lion ballet dance. That mingling of Asian and Western cultures is very much in keeping with today’s Hong Kong, the world’s rising East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
 
     Hong Kong’s singular role as a gainful bridge between East and West is why many of you are here, with us, from all over the world – from Mainland China and throughout Asia, from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and beyond. And while our Chief Executive, John Lee, is unfortunately away on a duty visit, I am delighted to be your host for this evening’s gala dinner.
 
     Over these next few days, I invite you to immerse yourselves in all that Hong Kong has to offer – to discover, first-hand, why our city is the leading choice for family offices.
 
     And for good reason. Hong Kong is a super-connector bringing together people and ideas. We are a platform for visionaries looking to create lasting legacies, a dynamic hub where your offices and families can flourish.
 
     The theme of this year’s Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit, “Hong Kong of the World, for the World,” smartly reflects that reality, spotlights our commitment to international collaboration and mutual rewards.
 
     Hong Kong’s advantages are clear and unique. Our “one country, two systems” framework ensures close and beneficial ties with our country and deep connectivity with the rest of the world.
      
     It helps, too, that Hong Kong is China’s international financial centre and one of the world’s major financial centres. In the latest Global Financial Centres Index, out last week, Hong Kong maintained its position as the world’s third-ranked financial centre, and the top in the Asia-Pacific. In the Index’s “human capital,” “infrastructure” and “financial sector development” areas, Hong Kong climbed to second, worldwide, while our rankings in “business environment” and “reputational and general” rose to third, globally.
      
     We are at the forefront of digitalisation, too, the first government to issue tokenised green bonds, demonstrating our flexibility and support for financial technology.
      
     And we will soon publish a second policy statement on virtual assets, including advancing stablecoin regulations to set a new global standard for the future of digital finance.
      
     Hong Kong is also a hub for world-class events such as this evening’s. We bring together thought leaders, policymakers, and industry innovators to help shape the future of finance, technology and sustainability.
      
     Yesterday, the Milken Institute held its second Global Investors’ Symposium, attracting senior players from finance, business, technology, healthcare, philanthropy and government.
      
     It’s just one of a number of events making up our “Wealth & Investment Mega-Event Week”. The HSBC Global Investment Summit opened earlier today. On Thursday, we have the Bloomberg Family Office Summit. And the World Economic Forum is hosting several sustainability-themed events here, including Friday’s One Earth Summit.
      
     Our commitment to creating an enriching environment extends beyond finance and investment. Earlier this month, we opened Kai Tak Sports Park, the striking, pearl-like landmark rising from the waterfront in East Kowloon.
      
     The world-class venue features a 50 000-seat stadium, complete with a retractable roof, and stunning views to Victoria Harbour from the South Stand. The 100-metre Champions Bar will be a popular watering hole this weekend, given that the renowned Hong Kong Sevens kicks off on Friday.
      
     And there’s more, much more, on tap this month in Hong Kong. Art Basel Hong Kong opens this week, featuring more than 240 galleries from 42 countries and regions. And the five-day Art Central opens tomorrow, spotlighting Asian galleries and emerging artists.
      
     Family offices, let me add, are no less critical to Hong Kong’s flourishing future.
      
     At the inaugural Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit, in 2023, we issued a Policy Statement setting out our strategic vision for family offices.
      
     The majority of the Policy Statement’s eight initiatives have already been implemented, I’m pleased to tell you.
      
     They include establishing a dedicated FamilyOfficeHK team within Invest Hong Kong. To date, the team has helped more than 160 family offices set up or expand their operations in Hong Kong.
      
     We’ve also launched the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, designed to attract asset owners to invest and reside in Hong Kong.
      
     And, more good news, a series of enhancement measures are now in place. They include recognising jointly owned assets and investments through specified family-owned entities. And that works well with the tax concession regime we introduced in 2023 for single-family offices.
      
     We are, let me add, expanding tax concessions for single-family offices, increasing the types of qualifying transactions. Add it up, and I think you’ll agree with me that Hong Kong is one of the world’s most attractive destinations for asset owners.
      
     More good reason to turn to Hong Kong for your family office future. You’ll be in good company, with more than 2 700 single-family offices now operating here.
      
     Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we’re just one group photo away from a fine dinner and a fabulous evening.

     â€‹I wish you all a rewarding Summit and a memorable stay in Hong Kong, Asia’s world city. Thank you.

  

     â€‹The Hong Kong Fire Services Department (FSD), the Fire and Rescue Corps of Guangdong Province, and the Macao Fire Services Bureau jointly hold in Hong Kong “Liancheng-2025”, the 48-hour Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) joint emergency response and rescue exercise, for three consecutive days starting today (March 25). 

     “Liancheng-2025”, hosted by the FSD, is participated by the fire rescue departments of the three places, as well as the Hospital Authority and the Civil Aid Service. The exercise is funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. 

     The exercise simulated extreme situations in Hong Kong that put a strain on rescue resources. According to the mechanism under the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Emergency Management Co-operation and GBA Emergency Response Operation Co-operation Framework Agreement signed by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in June last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government requested assistance from the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and the Macao Special Administrative Region Government. The Fire and Rescue Corps of Guangdong Province and the Macao Fire Services Bureau promptly rendered assistance by deploying personnel, fire appliances, and equipment to Hong Kong.

     The Deputy Director of Fire Services (Operations), Mr Angus Wong, who acted as the commander of the Hong Kong cross-border rescue team, co-ordinated and allocated firefighting and rescue personnel and resources of the three places in the rescue operations for a number of simulated incidents. 

     Witnessed by the Minister of Emergency Management, Mr Wang Xiangxi, and the Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung, four Guangdong fire appliances, with cross-boundary quota for fire appliances granted earlier, crossed the border directly with dual licence plates via the Shenzhen Bay Port into Hong Kong to participate in the exercise. It demonstrated the effectiveness of cross-boundary rescue through the cross-boundary Green Channel. 

     Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Fire and Ambulance Services Academy and the China Fire and Rescue Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further deepen their collaboration. The two institutes will co-operate in training firefighting and rescue personnel with quality, and foster innovation and development of firefighting and rescue technologies. The MOU was signed by Deputy Director General of the National Fire and Rescue Administration Mr He Ning and the Director of Fire Services, Mr Andy Yeung, witnessed by Mr Wang and the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Chan Kwok-ki.

     Fire rescue departments from the two places will continue to strengthen and deepen collaboration in areas such as developing personnel training, enhancing professional training, conducting academic and technical exchange, as well as major research projects, with a view to jointly embarking on a new chapter in firefighting and rescue efforts.

                  

     Over 130 influential family office principals and family members from the Mainland, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East gathered at a principal dinner organised by the Government this evening (March 25) to set the stage for the third edition of the annual Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit (WGHK) to be held tomorrow (March 26), reaffirming the city’s role as a premier global hub for family offices.
 
     In his welcome remarks, the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said, “Hong Kong is a ‘super connector’ bringing together people and ideas. We are a platform for visionaries looking to create lasting legacies, a dynamic hub where your offices and families can flourish.”
 
     The evening was graced with the presence of notable speakers, Dr Maye Musk, a best-selling author and a public speaker, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey, at an inspiring fireside chat moderated by the Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Ms Alpha Lau. The speakers shared their insights on women’s influence in leadership and legacy-building with a focus on the critical role of female leadership in shaping the future of business, innovation, and societal progress. The engrossing session fostered an atmosphere of collaboration, paving the way for insightful discussions and new partnerships at tomorrow’s summit, themed “Hong Kong of the World, for the World”.
 
     The event also charmed visitors with a captivating lion ballet performance against the dazzling night view of Victoria Harbour, amazing the attendees with a unique blend of cultural richness and the city’s legendary skyline.
 
     The WGHK will take place tomorrow afternoon with over 300 participants. The summit will not only convene principals and family members to discuss the future of wealth management in the region, but also encourage attendees to experience the city’s dynamic offerings through its vibrant neighbourhoods, dynamic arts scene and strong community spirit, which make the city an ideal destination for both families and businesses.

        

     The Health Bureau announced the details of the fees and charges reform for public healthcare today (March 25). Reforming the subsidisation structure of the public healthcare services aims to guide the public to make optimal use of healthcare resources, reduce wastage and abuse, and enhance healthcare protection for “poor, acute, serious, critical” patients on all fronts, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the healthcare system and strengthening the public healthcare system to cope with the challenges posed by an ageing population, inflation of healthcare costs, etc, and serve as a safety net for all.

     As an indispensable part of healthcare reform, the fees and charges reform for public healthcare covers the following three major areas, with a view to ensuring that limited healthcare resources can be directed in a targeted manner to help those patients most in need:

1. Reforming the subsidisation structure: Reforming the subsidisation structure from a systemic perspective by setting the levels of government subsidisation and the proportion of co-payments by members of the public for various public healthcare services to rationalise the relative demands for in-patient, accident and emergency, as well as different tiers of out-patient services.

2. Reducing waste and abuse: Introducing a co-payment model for non-urgent diagnostic radiology and pathology services, adjusting the charges for and quantities of standard drugs, making use of the fees and charges to drive changes to the public’s behaviour in seeking medical treatment to guide the optimal use of resources.

3. Enhancing healthcare protection: Strengthening protection for “poor, serious, critical” patients on all fronts by enhancing the fee waiver mechanism, introducing an annual cap on fees and charges at $10,000, and increasing subsidies on drugs and medical devices for the critically ill, with a view to preventing “patients with serious conditions falling into poverty”.

     The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, said, “Under the fees and charges reform, we will expand and enhance the co-payment mechanism, based on the principles of ‘co-payment by those who can afford and co-payment by those with mild conditions’, to strengthen the protection for ‘poor, acute, serious, critical’ patients. The Government’s commitment to the public healthcare system will definitely not be lessened and all the gains from the reform will be wholly utilised for public healthcare services. On strengthening the safety net for all, the reform will enable us to further ‘support the poor, save the acute patients, protect those with serious conditions, and help the critically ill’, thereby making the safety net larger, more stable, thicker and denser.”

     The Hospital Authority (HA) will implement the new structure of fees and charges from January next year. The Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko, added, “The HA will press ahead at full steam with the implementation of the reform. The structure of fees and charges of public hospitals in the future will focus on providing more support to ‘poor, acute, serious, critical’ patients and reduce wastage. The new fees and charges will remain at a level affordable to the public, while those with financial difficulties, or those suffering from critical and serious illnesses, will be better protected.”

     Professor Lo emphasised, “Hong Kong’s public hospitals have long been one of the most efficient healthcare systems in the world. The reform will help to ensure that limited healthcare resources are directed to those patients most in need. The reform of healthcare fees and charges will proceed in a gradual and orderly manner. The review of public healthcare fees and charges will continue to be conducted every two years in accordance with the mechanism, with a view to achieving the reform objectives in five years, by which time the 90 per cent overall public subsidisation rate will be maintained. Alongside the implementation of the fees and charges reform for healthcare, the Government will continue to take forward healthcare reform in other areas to build a ‘Healthy Hong Kong’.”

    

     A 38-year-old incoming male driver was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000 at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (March 25) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare to Customs Officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).

     Through risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Hong Kong Customs intercepted an inbound private car, declared to be unladen, at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port yesterday (March 24). Upon inspection, Customs Officers seized a total of about 18 200 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about $93,000 and a duty potential of about $60,000, from the hollow space of the vehicle’s front doors, the front bumper and the centre console. The male driver was subsequently arrested, and the cross-boundary private car was also seized.

     Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences. Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).