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

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today (April 15) issued a joint consultation on the annual update to the list of Financial Services Providers (Note 1) under the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives clearing regime (Note 2). An additional entity is proposed to be included on the list, and an entity to be removed.
      
     Interested parties are invited to submit comments to the HKMA or the SFC by May 14, 2021.
      
     The joint consultation paper can be downloaded from the websites of the HKMA or the SFC.
 
Note 1) The list includes entities that meet the following two criteria:
(i) They belong to a group of companies appearing on the list of global systemically important banks published by the Financial Stability Board, or on the list of dealer groups which undertook to the OTC Derivatives Supervisors Group to work collaboratively with central counterparties, infrastructure providers and global supervisors to continue to make structural improvements to the global OTC derivatives markets; and
(ii) They are members of the largest central counterparties offering clearing for interest rate swaps in the US, Europe, Japan and Hong Kong.
 
Note 2) The current clearing regime covers transactions between major dealers where at least one of them is a prescribed person (i.e. an authorised institution, an approved money broker or a licensed corporation). Transactions in certain standardised interest rate swaps in G4 currencies (i.e. US dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese yen) and Hong Kong dollar between a prescribed person which has reached the prescribed clearing threshold and another major dealer which is not a prescribed person also have to be centrally cleared. To that end, the concept of Financial Services Providers was introduced to identify such major dealers outside of Hong Kong.

     The Thematic Household Survey Report No. 73 is published by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (April 15).

     This publication contains key findings on information technology (IT) usage and penetration based on the Thematic Household Survey conducted during June to October 2020.

     Findings of the 2020 survey revealed that the majority of households (93.9%) had Internet access at home at the time of enumeration. Among these households, smartphone was the most popular type of device used for Internet connection at home (99.7%), whereas personal computer (PC) came next (80.2%). 

     The use of the Internet remained very popular. The percentage of persons aged 10 and over who had used the Internet during the 12 months before enumeration was 92.4% in 2020, up from 90.5% in 2018 when a similar survey was conducted. In particular, the increase was substantial among persons aged 65 and over (from 56.3% to 65.9%).

     Findings of the survey also showed that smartphone had become more popular. Some 5.99 million persons aged 10 and over had smartphone in 2020, around 0.18 million more than that in 2018. The smartphone penetration rate rose from 89.8% in 2018 to 92.1% in 2020. The increase was particularly remarkable among the elderly. About 2 in 3 persons aged 65 and over had smartphone in 2020, compared to around 3 in 5 persons aged 65 and over in 2018.

     Findings of the survey also revealed that online purchase had become more popular. The percentage of persons aged 15 and over who had used online purchasing services for personal matters during the 12 months before enumeration increased to 43.1% in 2020, from 35.8% in 2018. Among these persons, online purchase of daily necessities, clothes and footwear (cited by 83.5% of respondents in 2020) was most popular, followed by online food delivery ordering (25.6%) and online purchase of food/beverages (20.6%).

     Of the persons aged 15 and over who had used online purchasing services for personal matters during the 6 months before enumeration, the median amount spent in purchasing products/services online during that period was $2,000, as compared to $4,000 in 2018. The significant drop in the median amount spent was attributable to the considerable declines in the online purchase of selected big-ticket items, including online travel arrangement (cited by 6.7% of respondents in 2020, compared to 47.3% in 2018) and online ticket reservation (cited by 5.4% of respondents in 2020, compared to 18.5% in 2018), probably due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

     The usage of mobile payment was also common in Hong Kong. The 2020 survey revealed that some 3 063 500 persons aged 15 and over had used mobile payment during the 12 months before enumeration, constituting 49.4% of all persons aged 15 and over. Among these persons, 77.9% and 76.2% had used mobile payment for online shopping and in-store payment during the 12 months before enumeration respectively.
 
Other information

     The survey successfully enumerated target respondents in some 10 000 households in accordance with a scientific sampling scheme to represent the population of Hong Kong.

     Detailed findings of the survey, together with the population coverage and concepts/definitions of key terms, are presented in the publication. Users can download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?scode=453&pcode=B1130201).

     Enquiries about the contents of the publication can be directed to the Social Surveys Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2887 5103 or email: thematic@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, April 15, 2021 is 101.8 (same as yesterday's index).

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) published today (April 15) the April 2021 issue of the "Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics" (HKMDS).
 
     Apart from providing up-to-date statistics, this issue also contains two feature articles entitled "Statistics on Job Vacancies from 2010 to 2020" and "Public Transport Patronage of Hong Kong, 2010 to 2020". Statistics presented in the "Public Transport Patronage of Hong Kong, 2010 to 2020" article are based on the data source from the Transport Department (TD).
 
"Statistics on Job Vacancies from 2010 to 2020"
 
     This feature article gives a brief account of the compilation methodology of job vacancies statistics and the trend in the number of job vacancies in the past ten years.
 
     The movements in the number of vacancies measured from the Quarterly Survey of Employment and Vacancies varied across the years in the past decade from 2010 to 2020. It was generally on an upward trend during the first few years and then remained steady until a sharp decrease appeared starting from mid-2019. Among the various industry sections, the largest decreases were found in the "import/export, wholesale and retail trades" and "accommodation and food services" sections during the ten-year period.
 
     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Employment Statistics and Central Register of Establishments Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4751; email: employment@censtatd.gov.hk).
 
"Public Transport Patronage of Hong Kong, 2010 to 2020"
 
     Hong Kong has an efficient and reliable public transport system to facilitate the movement of passengers within the territory. During the period 2010 to 2020, public transport patronage initially grew steadily from a daily average of 11.6 million passenger journeys in 2010 to a record high of 12.9 million passenger journeys in 2018 before decreasing sharply in 2020 to a daily average of 8.9 million passenger journeys mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related anti-epidemic and social distancing measures. This feature article presents the trend of public transport patronage of Hong Kong from 2010 to 2020.
 
     For enquiries about this feature article, please contact the Statistics Section of the TD (Tel: 3842 6067; email: rssd@td.gov.hk).
 
     Published in bilingual form, the HKMDS is a compact volume of official statistics containing about 140 tables. It collects up-to-date statistical series on various aspects of the social and economic situation of Hong Kong. Topics include population; labour; external trade; National Income and Balance of Payments; prices; business performance; energy; housing and property; government accounts, finance and insurance; and transport, communications and tourism. For selected key statistical items, over 20 charts depicting the annual trend in the past decade and quarterly or monthly trend in the recent two years are also available. Users can download the Digest at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1010002&scode=460).
 
     Enquiries about the contents of the Digest can be directed to the Statistical Information Dissemination Section (1) of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4738; email: gen-enquiry@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (April 15) closely monitoring seven additional cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by Saudi Arabia from January 1 to March 11, 2021. The CHP again urged the public to pay special attention to safety during travel, taking due consideration of the health risks in the places they visit. 
 
     According to the WHO, the seven additional MERS cases involve six male patients and one female patient aged 46 to 84 with underlying illnesses. Among them, three had exposure to camels and consumed camel milk, and three have passed away.
 
     According to the latest information, 2 574 cases have been reported to the WHO (with 886 deaths), including 2 355 in 10 Middle East countries comprising 2 174 in Saudi Arabia, 92 in the United Arab Emirates, 28 in Jordan, 24 in Oman, 23 in Qatar, six in Iran, four in Kuwait, two in Lebanon, and one each in Yemen and Bahrain.
 
     "We will maintain close communication with the WHO and relevant health authorities," a spokesman for the CHP said.
 
     "As countries in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, continue to report MERS cases from time to time, travellers should refrain from going to farms, barns or markets with camels and avoid contact with sick persons and animals, especially camels, birds or poultry. Most of the cases reported in the Middle East had a history of exposure to camels, consumption of camel milk or contact with other MERS patients," the spokesman said.
 
     "Scientific evidence shows that camels are reservoirs for MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Camels infected with MERS-CoV may not show any signs of infection. Infected animals may shed MERS-CoV through nasal and eye discharge and faeces, and potentially in their milk and urine. The virus may also be found in the raw organs and meat of infected animals. Therefore, the best protection is to practise good hygiene and avoid direct contact with all of these," the spokesman added.
 
     From time to time, suspected MERS cases reported to the CHP for investigation involve patients with a history of contact with camels in the Middle East. The CHP strongly advises travel agents organising tours to the Middle East to abstain from arranging camel rides and activities involving direct contact with camels, which are known risk factors for acquiring MERS-CoV.
 
     Travellers to affected areas should maintain vigilance, adopt appropriate health precautions and take heed of personal, food and environmental hygiene. The public may visit the MERS page of the CHP and its Travel Health Service to learn more about MERS statistics in affected areas. The public should also refer to the CHP's Facebook page and YouTube channel and the WHO's latest news for more information and health advice. Tour leaders and tour guides operating overseas tours are advised to refer to the CHP's health advice on MERS.