Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Special announcement on fire in Tin Shui WaiIssued at HKT 13:35
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Speech by FS at International Data Industry Alliance Global Summit (English only)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the International Data Industry Alliance (IDIA) Global Summit today (May 27):
Allen (Honorary Chairman of the IDIA, Mr Allen Yeung), Herbert (Co-Chairman of the IDIA Mr Herbert Chia), Vincent (Co-Chairman of the IDIA Mr Vincent Chan), Leo (President of KN Group, Mr Leo Chan), representatives of governments from around the world, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
My sincere thanks to the IDIA for organising this important event. And to all of you for lending your time and expertise to make this inaugural Summit a success. Let’s join hands to foster meaningful dialogue, deepen partnerships, and shape a smarter and more connected world. Thank you very much.
Hong Kong and Maldives enter into tax pact (with photos)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong and Maldives enter into tax pact Issued at HKT 19:09
Hong Kong today (May 26, Maldives time) signed a comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreement (CDTA) with Maldives in that country. It sets out the allocation of taxing rights between Hong Kong and Maldives, which will help investors better assess their potential tax liabilities from cross-border economic activities.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “Maldives is a participant in the Belt and Road Initiative. This CDTA, which is the 52nd that Hong Kong has concluded, signifies the ongoing achievements of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in expanding Hong Kong’s CDTA network, in particular with tax jurisdictions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. I have every confidence that this CDTA will further promote economic and trade connections between Hong Kong and Maldives. We will continue to seek to sign CDTAs with other tax jurisdictions. This will enhance the attractiveness of Hong Kong as a business and investment hub and consolidate the city’s status as an international economic and trade centre.”
In accordance with the Hong Kong-Maldives CDTA, Hong Kong companies can enjoy double taxation relief in that any tax paid in Maldives, whether directly or by deduction, will be allowed as a credit against the tax payable in Hong Kong in respect of the same income under the tax laws of Hong Kong.
The CDTA also provides the following tax relief arrangements:
(a) Maldives’ withholding tax rate for Hong Kong residents on dividends will be capped at 5 per cent or 10 per cent (depending on the percentage of their shareholdings);
(b) Hong Kong airlines operating flights to and from Maldives will be taxed at Hong Kong’s corporation tax rate on their profits, and will not be taxed in Maldives; and
(c) Profits from international shipping transport earned by Hong Kong residents arising in Maldives will enjoy a 50 per cent tax reduction in Maldives.
The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Mr Benjamin Chan, signed the CDTA on behalf of the HKSAR Government with the Commissioner General of Taxation of the Inland Revenue Authority, Mr Hassan Zareer, representative of the Government of Maldives, on the margins of the Eighth High-level meeting of the Asia Initiative hosted by Maldives.
The CDTA will come into force after completion of ratification procedures by both jurisdictions. In Hong Kong, the Chief Executive in Council will make an order under the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), which will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting. Details of the Hong Kong-Maldives CDTA are available on the Inland Revenue Department’s website.
The Asia Initiative was launched by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2021. It focuses on developing tailored solutions to ensure the implementation of tax transparency standards across Asia and enhancing regional co-operation. To date, Hong Kong and 16 other tax jurisdictions have joined the Asia Initiative.
Issued at HKT 19:09
Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency leads industry delegation to participate in 21st China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair (with photos)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency leads industry delegation to participate in 21st China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair
The Commissioner for Cultural and Creative Industries, Mr Victor Tsang, said in his speech during the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Pavilion held on May 22, that the Hong Kong Pavilion covered many elements to highlight the latest achievements of Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries. There was an extensive portfolio of works from well-known iconic brands and creators with a long history, and also from a number of Hong Kong new-generation creators and brands. The designs presented a rich selection of East-meets-West in Hong Kong’s culture, and designgers have been committed to continuous reinvention based on the profound cultural heritage of their creations. The Hong Kong Pavilion allowed visitors to understand various aspects of Hong Kong’s culture and creative industries, and to experience more deeply what makes Hong Kong a distinguished and unique place.
The Hong Kong Pavilion comprised four zones, exhibiting films, comics, art toys, fashion, jewellery and lifestyle products from 14 units of Hong Kong designers or brands, with an aim to showcase the latest achievements in Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries. Highlights of the pavilion included that the Art Toy Zone was iterated as a creation by three art toy designers, namely Kenny Wong, Lung Ka-sing and Pucky who created their art toys of Molly, Labubu and Pucky respectively; the Fashion Zone featured a classic denim brand and unique Hong Kong fashion designs, motifs and accessories; whereas the Jewellery and Lifestyle Zone featured innovative products by Hong Kong iconic brands, namely Red A, Made by Camel and Chow Tai Fook. The Film and Comics Zone showed footage from eight of the films directed by film director Yang Fan spotlighting multiple remarkable Hong Kong movie scenes and well-known actors, and works from comics artists Joseph Wong, Jerry Cho and Pen So.
The Hong Kong Pavilion also hosted a number of exciting activities during the fair period, including music and dance performances, fashion parades, sharing times and book signing sessions to showcase the cultural soft power of Hong Kong.
As an international and comprehensive cultural industries exhibition at the national level, the ICIF assumes an important business platform for China’s cultural products and projects, promoting the development of Chinese cultural industries and propelling Chinese cultural products to go global. During the fair, Mr Tsang, had meetings with cultural and creative organisations from around the world in order to strengthen connections and join hands with the industry to develop international markets, introducing more outstanding Hong Kong cultural and creative works to counterparts on the Mainland and around the world.
The works and products in the 21st ICIF Hong Kong Pavilion are tentatively planned to be exhibited at the DX Design Hub at 280 Tung Chau Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, in August this year. The exhibition will be open to the public and details will be available in due course.
Issued at HKT 19:33
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Ingrid Yeung visits Shenzhen
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Secretary for the Civil Service Ingrid Yeung today led officials from the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) and the Digital Policy Office (DPO) on a duty visit to Shenzhen together with a delegation of the Legislative Council Panel on Public Service.
They went to learn about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by relevant local organisations to assist in handling government administrative work.
The officials first visited the Government Services & Data Management Bureau of the Shenzhen Municipality in Futian District to learn about the introduction and application of “AI digital employees”.
They also stopped by the Shenzhen Government Service Center to learn about the hotline 12345 and its technological application, then toured the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court and an innovation and technology company to learn how the AI-Enhanced Adjudication Assisting System is used and how AI assists in enhancing legal services respectively.
Mrs Yeung said that with the assistance of the DPO, the CSB endeavours to drive the adoption of management measures and digitalisation among bureaus and departments to reprioritise and reorganise their work, capitalise on technological solutions and streamline work processes, thereby not only enhancing work efficiency and providing convenience to the public but also optimising the use of civil service manpower resources.
The departments are actively promoting e-government services and AI, and many of them have successfully developed their own AI systems for data processing, statistics, traffic management and environmental detection, and more. They also use big data to analyse weather data, and the kiosks for self-service applications have been well received by the public.
HKPilot, a large language model version of a generative AI document processing copilot application self-developed by the Hong Kong Generative AI Research & Development Center (HKGAI) established under the InnoHK research clusters, is currently being piloted within the Government. It helps reduce the manpower required for handling general document processing tasks in the longer term.
The HKGAI will also develop a number of applications for different areas of public affairs, such as the legal-related “LexiHK”, to further integrate the application of generative AI into government affairs.
Tuen Ng visitor arrivals discussed
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki today chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group to co-ordinate the preparatory work for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong during the Mainland’s Tuen Ng Festival long weekend.
The Immigration Department estimates that around 3.2 million passengers, including Hong Kong residents and visitors, will pass through Hong Kong’s sea, land and air control points from May 31 to June 2, among which 2.73 million are expected to pass through land control points.
The peak period of outbound and inbound passengers using land boundary control points (BCPs) will be May 31 and June 1, with around 570,000 and 540,000 passengers expected respectively.
Passengers are advised to plan in advance, avoid making journeys during busy periods and keep track of radio and TV broadcasts on traffic conditions at various control points. The busy times at BCPs are available on the department’s website.
Residents and passengers may also check the estimated waiting times at each land BCP via the Immigration mobile app.
In terms of Mainland inbound visitors, around 380,000 passengers are expected to visit Hong Kong via sea, land and air control points during the three-day Tuen Ng Festival long weekend. The daily average visitor arrivals will increase by 16% year-on-year.
Special arrangements have been formulated at major tourist spots to cope with the increase of people flow.
The Transport Department will enhance transportation services connecting various BCPs, including increasing the frequency of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus (Gold Bus) and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus), and issue additional cross-boundary coach quotas to enhance services.
Regarding local transport services, the department has approached public transport operators to enhance their capacity, and reserve vehicles and manpower to meet the travel needs of visitors.
Among them, the MTR will enhance train services of the East Rail Line between Admiralty and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau at different times from May 31 to June 2 for the convenience of residents and visitors.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Board will launch a dedicated webpage to provide useful information including the operating arrangements of major tourist attractions in Hong Kong.
Mr Chan said on the instruction of the Chief Executive, the working group has consolidated the experience gained from receiving Mainland visitors during the Labour Day Golden Week in early May, and the Government will closely liaise with relevant organisations and the travel trade to enhance various aspects in receiving visitors and offering a high-quality experience.
Health chief attends HA convention
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau today attended the opening ceremony of the Hospital Authority (HA) Convention 2025 and met multiple high-level delegations from the Mainland and overseas for in-depth exchanges on healthcare co-operation and development.
At the opening ceremony, Prof Lo witnessed the successful national accreditation of the Queen Mary Hospital Chest Pain Centre, making it the first chest pain centre in Hong Kong established in accordance with the national accreditation standards.
He said the establishment of a chest pain centre can improve the efficiency of acute chest pain diagnosis and speed up the time for patients to receive cardiac surgery, thereby lowering the death rate, shortening the hospitalisation period and reducing the hospital readmission rate.
The health chief also noted that the adoption of the national accreditation standards by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will also facilitate integration into the overall national development by fully utilising Hong Kong’s advantage of having the motherland’s strong support and close connection with the world, with a view to demonstrating the excellence of the national healthcare standards to the international community, and helping promote the development of the national accreditation standards of chest pain centres into an internationally recognised standard.
Over the course of the convention, Prof Lo met multiple delegations from the Mainland and overseas and attended various events, taking the opportunity to promote medical co-operation and exchanges.
Among others, Prof Lo met Guangdong Health Commission Director-General Liu Liqun and his delegation to explore the exchange of healthcare talent between the two places, and to discuss healthcare collaboration projects, such as the Elderly Health Care Voucher Greater Bay Area Pilot Scheme and the cross-boundary use of electronic health records.
After the meeting, both sides attended the welcoming ceremony for the Mainland Healthcare Talents Visiting Programmes.
Prof Lo was pleased to note that since the 2022 launch of the visiting programmes, 80 outstanding doctors and two batches of about 170 nurses in total from the Mainland have come to the HA on exchange, while more than 25 specialists have also been arranged by the authority to conduct exchanges at public hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.
Afterwards, Prof Lo and the Consul General of France in Hong Kong & Macau Christile Drulhe jointly witnessed the signing of the Declaration of Intent between the HA and the National Conference of University Hospital General Managers of France.
The signing of the declaration formally establishes a strategic collaborative partnership between the two organisations in deepening mutual exchanges, promoting the joint development of hospital services and exchange of medical expertise.
SCS visits Shenzhen with LegCo Members (with photos)
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
SCS visits Shenzhen with LegCo Members Issued at HKT 21:14
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HK, Maldives sign tax pact
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
Hong Kong today signed a comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreement (CDTA) with the Maldives, on the margins of the 8th High-level meeting of the Asia Initiative hosted by the Maldives.
Commissioner of Inland Revenue Benjamin Chan signed the CDTA on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government with representative of the Maldives Government, Commissioner General of Taxation of the Inland Revenue Authority Hassan Zareer.
The CDTA sets out the allocation of taxing rights between Hong Kong and the Maldives, which will help investors better assess their potential tax liabilities from cross-border economic activities.
Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui said the Maldives is a participant in the Belt & Road Initiative, and this CDTA, which is the 52nd that Hong Kong has concluded, signifies the ongoing achievements of the Hong Kong SAR Government in expanding the city’s CDTA network, in particular with tax jurisdictions participating in the Belt-Road initiative.
“I have every confidence that this CDTA will further promote economic and trade connections between Hong Kong and the Maldives.”
In accordance with the Hong Kong-Maldives CDTA, Hong Kong companies can enjoy double taxation relief in that any tax paid in the Maldives, whether directly or by deduction, will be allowed as a credit against the tax payable in Hong Kong in respect of the same income under the tax laws of Hong Kong.
The agreement also provides tax relief arrangements.
It will come into force after completion of ratification procedures by both jurisdictions. In Hong Kong, the Chief Executive-in-Council will make an order under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, which will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting.
Light housing contracts awarded
Source: Hong Kong Information Services
The Housing Bureau today awarded two operation and management contracts for the Light Public Housing (LPH) projects at Tsing Fuk Lane, Tuen Mun and Olympic Avenue, Kai Tak.
The contract for the Tsing Fuk Lane project, providing about 1,900 units, has been awarded to a joint venture formed by Easy Living Consultant and Yan Oi Tong at tender sums of about $143 million.
While the one for Olympic Avenue Phase 1, providing about 3,000 units, has been awarded to a joint venture formed by Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon and Wellpoint Property Management Services at tender sums of about $139 million.
Both projects are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.
Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho said under the bureau’s steer, the first LPH project at Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long, is progressing towards full intake, while the project at Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok, will commence intake in phases by the end of next month.
She also looks forward to working closely with various operating organisations in the coming years to ensure effective operation and management, thereby allowing the residents and nearby communities to benefit from the projects’ ancillary facilities and community services.
The bureau is inviting tenders for two other operation and management contracts, covering the four school conversion projects and the Sheung On Street project in Chai Wan.
Ms Ho appealed to other organisations to participate in the tenders.
The LPH Phase 1 and Phase 2 applications, covering about 4,400 and 5,060 units respectively, have received an overwhelming response, with about 21,900 applications received by the end of May.