The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) received eight suspects by batches from the Mainland authorities at the Shenzhen Bay Port today (March 22). Under the Reciprocal Notification Mechanism, the HKPF received on August 28 last year a notification from the Mainland law enforcement agencies regarding the detention by the Mainland authorities of the abovementioned eight male suspects and four other persons who were suspected of illegal crossing of boundary in Mainland waters, in which two of them were returned to Hong Kong in December last year.

     The cases involved by the eight male suspects in Hong Kong are as follows:

     A 31-year-old man was arrested in Admiralty on September 29, 2019 and was charged with rioting and assaulting police officer. He was released on court bail pending trial and not allowed to leave Hong Kong, but he then fled Hong Kong.

     A 19-year-old man was in suspected connection with a conspiracy to commit arson case in Wan Chai happened on September 30, 2019 in which someone was found manufacturing petrol bombs inside a unit on Lockhart Road. After investigation, five males were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent. They were released on court bail pending trial and not allowed to leave Hong Kong, but then the 19-year-old suspect and two other suspects in the case fled Hong Kong.

     A 19-year-old man was arrested in Yau Ma Tei on November 18, 2019 and was charged with rioting and possession of offensive weapons. He was released on court bail pending trial and not allowed to leave Hong Kong, but he then fled Hong Kong.

     Three men, aged between 21 and 24, were arrested in Wan Chai on December 8, 2019 and were charged with conspiracy to shoot with intent to do grievous bodily harm. They were released on court bail pending trial and not allowed to leave Hong Kong, but they then fled Hong Kong.

     A 30-year-old man was arrested in Sheung Shui on January 16 last year and was charged with making explosives. He was released on court bail pending trial and not allowed to leave Hong Kong, but he then fled Hong Kong.

     A 30-year-old man was arrested on August 10 last year for collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security and other offences. He was on Police bail pending further investigation and was requested to surrender his travel documents and restricted from leaving Hong Kong, but he fled afterwards.

     HKPF states that the eight suspects were returned after completion of legal proceedings by the Mainland authorities. The six cases happened in Hong Kong are handled by National Security Division, Commercial Crime Bureau, Crime Hong Kong Island Region, Crime New Territories North Region and Crime Kowloon East Region respectively.

     Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Alfred Sit, at the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) Smart City Forum today (March 22):
 
Sunny (Board Chairman of ASTRI, Mr Sunny Lee), Ching-choi (Non-official Member of the Executive Council Dr Lam Ching-choi), Rebecca (Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Ms Rebecca Pun), Lucas (Acting Co-CEO and Chief Technology Officer of ASTRI, Dr Lucas Hui), Martin (Acting Co-CEO and Chief Operating Officer of ASTRI, Dr Martin Szeto), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
 
     Good afternoon. It is my great honour to join you all today at ASTRI Smart City Forum, bringing together business and industry leaders, researchers as well as our friends and partners in the innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem, to share views and explore ways to make Hong Kong smarter.
      
     Following the publication of the first Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong in 2017, we released the Smart City Blueprint 2.0 (Blueprint 2.0) in last December. This Blueprint 2.0 contains more than 130 smart city initiatives across six smart areas, namely "Smart Mobility", "Smart Living", "Smart Environment", "Smart People", "Smart Government" and "Smart Economy", and specifically includes a new chapter on "Use of I&T in combating COVID-19" as well as ideas of exploring smart village pilots in rural areas. Initiatives included in the Blueprint 2.0 are going to bring benefits and convenience to members of the public, allowing them to better perceive the benefits of smart city and I&T in their daily lives.
      
     Among all these exciting initiatives, I would like to highlight an important digital infrastructure for our smart city development, the "iAM Smart" platform, which was launched about three months ago. "iAM Smart" is a one-stop personalised digital services platform which enables users to log in and access commonly used online services through their personal mobile phones. There are now more than 30 commonly used online services of the Government and public utilities accessible through this platform, for example the COVID-19 Electronic Vaccination and Testing Record System. By mid of this year, users may gain access to more than 110 online services of the Government, public utilities as well as commercial organisations through this convenient platform. If you have yet to experience the convenience brought by this mobile app, I strongly encourage you to download it now and try it out.
      
     Developing Hong Kong into a smart city is undoubtedly an important commitment of the Government. However, the full participation of the private sector, academia and research institutes is also of paramount importance to help us move towards this goal. I am glad to learn that many of the technologies developed by ASTRI could play a part in our smart city development in various aspects. For example, its Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything C-V2X technology for the development as well as application of autonomous vehicle technology, and its AI as well as machine learning technologies for the development of a Cervical Cancer Screening Management System, are both highly relevant in supporting the objective of making Hong Kong smarter in its transportation system and healthcare system respectively.
      
     On the "Smart Economy" aspect, ASTRI, as commissioned by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, published a white paper on alternative credit scoring of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in last November. It sets out how Hong Kong can take advantage of AI and machine learning to explore a wide variety of data from many sources to assess the creditworthiness of MSMEs, with a view to improving access to finance for MSMEs.
      
     Let's not forget that all these technologies could only be developed, improved and sustained with the support and input from our tech talent. As such, we have been making continuous efforts to cultivate the young people's interest in innovation and technology. In the 2020/21 school year, we launched the IT Innovation Lab in Secondary Schools Programme to cultivate an interest in information technology among secondary school students, and enhance their digital skills, computational thinking and innovative abilities. We have received an overwhelming response with over 110 applications as at end of this February, just three months after the programme was opened for application. We will be extending this IT cultivation programme to primary schools through a new Knowing More About IT Programme in the 2021/22 school year which aims to enhance primary school students' interest to pursue the study of STEM subjects and to prepare for their integration into the digital society in the future.
      
     I am glad that ASTRI has also been playing an active role in nurturing I&T talent. Earlier this month, ASTRI signed a memorandum of understanding with the Faculty of Engineering of the Chinese University of Hong Kong to take forward a Smart City Technology Oriented Practitioner programme. ASTRI will provide paid full-time employment opportunities to enrolled students for a period of four to eight months and engage them in ASTRI's ongoing smart city-related projects. By giving our young people hands-on experience, we are also giving fresh impetus to our smart city development. 
      
     There are many more smart city initiatives under the Blueprint 2.0 and those being taken forward by ASTRI. All these will enable the public to enjoy a more convenient and smarter life. In Hong Kong's journey to embrace I&T and become a smarter city, I am sure there is a lot more we could do and achieve together. May I appeal to you all to join hands with us to make our city smarter, to further bring benefits and convenience to our people's daily lives with innovation and technology.
      
     Last but not least, I would like to thank ASTRI for inviting me to this Forum. I wish the Forum every success and all participants a fruitful sharing. Thank you very much.

     The Transport Department (TD) today (March 22) announced that the next auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held on March 28 (Sunday) at Meeting Room N201, L2, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.

     "A total of 200 approved PVRMs will be put up for public auction. A list of the marks has been posted on the department's website, www.td.gov.hk," a department spokesman said.
 
     The reserve price of each of these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 should also participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.

     People who wish to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following points:

(1) Bidders are required to produce the following documents for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after successful bidding:

(i) the identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) the identity document of the purchaser (if the purchaser and the successful bidder are different persons);
(iii) a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation (if the purchaser is a body corporate); and
(iv) a crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed. Successful bidders may also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS), but are reminded to note the maximum transfer amount in the same day of the payment card. Payment by post-dated cheque, cash, credit card or other methods will not be accepted.

(2) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the Memorandum will not be permitted.

(3) A PVRM can only be assigned to a motor vehicle which is registered in the name of the purchaser. The Certificate of Incorporation must be produced immediately by the purchaser if a vehicle registration mark purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(4) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 of the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations.

(5) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed.

(6) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.

(7) In view of public health concerns, all persons entering the auction venue will have to undergo on-the‑spot body temperature checks arranged by the TD. Any member of the public whose body temperature is higher than 37.5 degrees Celsius or who refuses to undergo a body temperature check will be denied entry to the auction hall and payment office. The TD also requests all persons entering the auction hall and payment office to wear masks and clean their hands with alcohol-based sanitiser, and to wear masks throughout the duration of the auction and payment process.

(8) In order to reduce the risk of the virus spreading, the TD will adjust the distance between seats and the number of seats in the auction hall and payment office, and implement crowd-control measures. The TD also appeals to the bidders to reduce the number of accompanying persons as far as possible. Furthermore, the auction in the morning and afternoon will be divided into two sessions so as to shorten the duration of crowd congregation. The first session of the morning auction will commence at 9.25am while the second session will begin no earlier than 10.35am. The first session of the afternoon auction will commence at 2.25pm while the second session will begin no earlier than 3.35pm. The auction venue will be disinfected before the commencement of the second sessions. Interested bidders may arrive at the auction venue in accordance with the time schedule for the auction of vehicle registration marks.

(9) In order to more effectively assist the Department of Health in epidemiological investigations and to protect the safety of members of the public and employees, members of the public will be required to scan the "LeaveHomeSafe" QR code or register their names, contact numbers and the date and times of their visits before entering the auction venue (auction hall and payment office). As a result of the arrangement, members of the public are advised to remain patient as the waiting time for entering the auction venue may be longer.
 
     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein.  For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be sent to the TD for processing," the spokesman added.

     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk.

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (March 22) the preliminary Balance of Payments (BoP) and International Investment Position (IIP) statistics of Hong Kong for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the whole year of 2020. This release also included the preliminary External Debt (ED) statistics of Hong Kong for the same period.

I. Balance of Payments

     Hong Kong recorded a BoP surplus of $233.5 billion (as a ratio of 32.7% to GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a surplus of $19.3 billion (as a ratio of 2.8% to GDP) in the third quarter of 2020. Reserve assets correspondingly increased by the same amount ($233.5 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2020.

     For 2020 as a whole, there was a BoP surplus of $263.0 billion (as a ratio of 9.7% to GDP), as against a deficit of $8.9 billion (as a ratio of 0.3% to GDP) in 2019.

Current account

     The current account recorded a surplus of $30.9 billion (as a ratio of 4.3% to GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2020. This implies that Hong Kong’s savings is greater than its investment, enabling Hong Kong to accumulate external financial assets (such as equity securities or debt securities) as a buffer against global financial volatilities. Compared with the current account surplus of $44.5 billion (as a ratio of 6.0% to GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2019, the decrease in surplus was mainly due to a decrease in the goods balance, partly offset by an increase in the services surplus and an increase in the net inflow of primary income.

     The goods account recorded a deficit of $8.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, as against a surplus of $11.9 billion in the same quarter of 2019. Over the same period, the services surplus increased to $17.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with the $12.2 billion in the same quarter of 2019. The primary income inflow and outflow amounted to $348.4 billion and $321.6 billion respectively, thus yielding a net inflow of $26.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a net inflow of $25.7 billion in the same quarter of 2019.

     For 2020 as a whole, the current account surplus was $179.0 billion (as a ratio of 6.6% to GDP), larger than that of $170.8 billion (as a ratio of 6.0% to GDP) in 2019, mainly due to a decrease in the goods deficit and an increase in the net inflow of primary income, partly offset by a decrease in the services surplus.

Financial account

     An overall net inflow of financial non-reserve assets amounting to $170.9 billion (as a ratio of 23.9% to GDP) was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020, as against an overall net outflow of $108.0 billion (as a ratio of 15.4% to GDP) in the third quarter of 2020. The overall net inflow recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020 was mainly due to net inflows of other investment and direct investment, partly offset by a net outflow of portfolio investment.

     In the fourth quarter of 2020, reserve assets increased by $233.5 billion, compared with an increase of $19.3 billion in the third quarter of 2020.

     For 2020 as a whole, an overall net inflow of financial non-reserve assets amounting to $22.9 billion (as a ratio of 0.8% to GDP) was recorded, as against an overall net outflow of $245.6 billion (as a ratio of 8.6% to GDP) in 2019. The overall net inflow recorded in 2020 was the result of net inflows of other investment, direct investment, and cash settlement of financial derivatives, which were largely offset by a net outflow of portfolio investment.

     In 2020, reserve assets increased by $263.0 billion, as against a decrease of $8.9 billion in 2019.

II. International Investment Position

      At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, both Hong Kong’s external financial assets and liabilities stood at a very high level, amounting to $48,767.7 billion (equivalent to 18.0 times of GDP) and $32,077.3 billion (equivalent to 11.8 times of GDP) respectively, a typical feature of a prominent international financial centre.

     Hong Kong's net external financial assets (i.e. assets minus liabilities) amounted to $16,690.4 billion (equivalent to 6.2 times of GDP) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with $15,054.2 billion (equivalent to 5.5 times of GDP) at the end of the third quarter of 2020. Hong Kong's net external financial assets to GDP ratio is one of the largest in the world, which provides the economy with a strong cushion against sudden external shocks.

III. External Debt

     At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Hong Kong's gross ED amounted to $13,824.4 billion (equivalent to 5.1 times of GDP). Compared with $13,317.7 billion (equivalent to 4.9 times of GDP) at the end of the third quarter of 2020, gross ED increased by $506.6 billion. This was mainly attributable to the increases in ED of the banking sector, ED of other sectors and debt liabilities in direct investment (intercompany lending).

     As one of the world's major financial centres, Hong Kong has a significant amount of ED held against the local banking sector arising through normal banking businesses. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, 60.7% of Hong Kong's ED was attributable to the banking sector. Other ED mainly consisted of ED of other sectors (24.1%) and debt liabilities in direct investment (intercompany lending) (15.1%).

Further information

     BoP is a statistical statement that systematically summarises, for a specific time period (typically a year or a quarter), the economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world (i.e. between residents and non-residents).

     IIP is a balance sheet showing the stock of external financial assets and liabilities of an economy at a particular time point. The difference between the external financial assets and liabilities is the net IIP of the economy, which represents either its net claim on or net liability to the rest of the world.

     Gross ED, at a particular time point, is the outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy and that require payment of principals and / or interests by the debtors at some time points in the future.

     Table 1 presents Hong Kong's BoP. Table 2 presents the detailed current account, while Table 3 presents the detailed capital and financial account. Table 4 shows Hong Kong's IIP, and Table 5 shows Hong Kong's ED.

     Statistics on BoP, IIP and ED for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the whole year of 2020 are only preliminary figures and are subject to revision upon the availability of more data.

     More details of the statistics of BoP (including seasonally adjusted current account), IIP and ED, together with the conceptual and methodological details, are presented in the publication Balance of Payments, International Investment Position and External Debt Statistics of Hong Kong, Fourth Quarter 2020 published by the C&SD. Users can download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp260.jsp?productCode=B1040001).

     For enquiries about the BoP, IIP and ED statistics, please contact the Balance of Payments Section of the C&SD (Tel.: 3903 6979; fax: 2116 0278; email: bop@censtatd.gov.hk).

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (March 22) the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for February 2021. According to the Composite CPI, overall consumer prices rose by 0.3% in February 2021 over the same month a year earlier, smaller than the corresponding increase (1.9%) in January 2021. The larger increase in January 2021 was attributable to the low base of comparison in January 2020 arising from the Government's payment of public housing rentals and waiver of two-thirds of rent for tenants of Group B estates by Hong Kong Housing Society in January 2020. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rate of change in the Composite CPI (i.e. the underlying inflation rate) in February 2021 was -0.1%. The decrease was smaller than the corresponding decrease in January 2021 (-0.5%), mainly due to the increases in the costs for meals bought away from home and the charges for household services.   

     It should be noted that consumer prices tend to show greater volatility in the first two months of a year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year. As the Lunar New Year fell in mid-February this year but in late January last year, the year-on-year comparison of the figures for January and February 2021 might have been affected by this factor to a certain extent. Taking the first two months of 2021 together to neutralise the effect of the Lunar New Year, the Composite CPI rose by 1.1% over a year earlier. Netting out the effect of all Government's one-off relief measures, the corresponding rate of change was -0.3%.

     On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly rate of change in the Composite CPI for the 3-month period ending February 2021 was 0.0%, and that for the 3-month period ending January 2021 was 0.2%. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the corresponding rates of change were -0.1% and 0.1%.

     Analysed by sub-index, the year-on-year rates of change in the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 0.9%, 0.0% and 0.0% respectively in February 2021, as compared to 6.3%, 0.1% and -0.3% respectively in January 2021. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the year-on-year rates of change in the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 0.4%, -0.3% and -0.2% respectively in February 2021, as compared to -0.1%, -0.7% and -0.5% respectively in January 2021.    

     Taking the first two months of 2021 together, the year-on-year rates of change in the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 3.5%, 0.0% and -0.2% respectively. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the corresponding rates of change were 0.1%, -0.5% and -0.4% respectively.

     On a seasonally adjusted basis, for the 3-month period ending February 2021, the average monthly rates of change in the seasonally adjusted CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 0.2%, 0.0% and -0.1% respectively. The corresponding rates of change for the 3-month period ending January 2021 were 0.3%, 0.2% and 0.2% respectively. Netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures, the average monthly rates of change in the seasonally adjusted CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) for the 3-month period ending February 2021 were 0.0%, -0.1% and -0.2% respectively, and the corresponding rates of change for the 3-month period ending January 2021 were 0.0%, 0.0% and 0.1% respectively.    

     Amongst the various components of the Composite CPI, year-on-year increases in prices were recorded in February 2021 for electricity, gas and water (19.3%); food (excluding meals bought away from home) (1.5%); miscellaneous services (1.2%) and meals bought away from home (0.2%).    

     On the other hand, year-on-year decreases in the components of the Composite CPI were recorded in February 2021 for clothing and footwear (-3.9%), transport (-2.9%), durable goods (-1.7%), alcoholic drinks and tobacco (-0.9%), housing (-0.2%) and miscellaneous goods (-0.1%).    

     For the three months ending February 2021, the Composite CPI rose by 0.5% over a year earlier. The respective rates of change in the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 2.1%, -0.3% and -0.3%. The corresponding rates of change after netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures were -0.2%, 0.2%, -0.4% and -0.3%.    

     For the 12 months ending February 2021, the Composite CPI was on average 0.2% higher than that in the preceding 12-month period. The respective rates of change in the CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) were 0.0%, 0.3% and 0.3% respectively. The corresponding rates of change after netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures were 0.7%, 1.1%, 0.6% and 0.5% respectively.  

Commentary

     A Government spokesman said that taking the first two months of 2021 together to neutralise the distortions caused by the timing of the Lunar New Year, underlying consumer prices registered a small year-on-year decline of 0.3%, mainly reflecting the narrowed increase in food prices and the enlarged fall in private housing rentals. Meanwhile, price pressures on other major CPI components remained very mild.

     Looking ahead, as it will take time for global and local economic activities to return to pre-recession levels, price pressures should stay mild in the near term. The Government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Further information

     The CPIs and year-on-year rates of change at section level for February 2021 are shown in Table 1. The time series on the year-on-year rates of change in the CPIs before and after netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures are shown in Table 2. For discerning the latest trend in consumer prices, it is also useful to look at the changes in the seasonally adjusted CPIs. The corresponding time series on the average monthly rates of change during the latest 3 months for the seasonally adjusted CPIs are shown in Table 3. The rates of change in the original and the seasonally adjusted Composite CPI and the underlying inflation rate are presented graphically in Chart 1.

     More detailed CPI data (including year-on-year comparison, month-to-month comparison, seasonally adjusted data series and the CPIs by the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP)) are available in the monthly reports. Users can download the February 2021 issue of the "Monthly Report on the Consumer Price Index" (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp270.jsp?productCode=B1060001), the time series of CPIs at detailed level (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp270.jsp?productCode=D5600001), the time series of CPIs at COICOP division level (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp270.jsp?productCode=D5600002) and the time series of CPIs after netting out the effects of all Government's one-off relief measures (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp270.jsp?productCode=D5600003) at the website of the C&SD.

     The current CPI series are compiled based on the expenditure patterns obtained from the 2014/15 Household Expenditure Survey (HES). The 2019/20 HES is being conducted to collect information for updating the expenditure weights of the CPI series and the new 2019/20-based CPI series will be available around mid-2021. As a result of the rebasing exercise, the year-on-year changes of the new 2019/20-based CPI series will be compiled from October 2020 onwards. The year-on-year changes compiled from the new 2019/20-based CPI series may be different from those compiled from the current 2014/15-based CPI series. The 2014/15-based CPI series will continue to be compiled and published until the reference month of December 2021.

     For enquiries about the CPIs, please contact the Consumer Price Index Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7374 or email: cpi@censtatd.gov.hk).