Month: May 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government will increase fees for five types of land registration services in three phases through the 2025-26 to 2027-28 financial years, with the increases ranging from around 15% to 35% in each phase.

The scope of fee adjustments will cover registration of instruments, including assignment and mortgage; registration of agreement for sale and purchase; lease registration, agreement, renewal and surrender; registration of other instruments; and registration of instruments whereby any charge or mortgage on any share or interest in a property is assigned or transferred.

The Government explained that these five types of fees for services provided by the Land Registry Trading Fund have not been adjusted for almost 30 years.

The fees were reviewed and adjusted in accordance with an established mechanism and the “user pays” principle, and have been set at levels considered generally adequate for recovering the full costs of providing the services.

The amendment regulation was published in the Government Gazette today and will be tabled in the Legislative Council next Wednesday for its approval by negative vetting.

Thereafter, the revised fees will come into effect in three phases from July 16 of this year, July 1 in 2026, and July 1 in 2027.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Education Bureau will host the “Information Expo on Multiple Pathways 2025” at the Convention & Exhibition Centre’s Hall 1B on May 23 and 24.

The expo will provide senior secondary school students, parents and teachers with up-to-date information on various study and career pathways.

Around 30 institutions and organisations will have booths at the event.

These will provide information on locally accredited post-secondary programmes, Diploma of Applied Education programmes, Information Portal for Accredited Post-secondary Programmes, Electronic Advance Application System for Post-secondary Programmes, the Concourse for Self-financing Post-secondary Education, and the Qualifications Framework.

Hok Yau Club, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups and the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association will offer study and career guidance services to students.

There will also be talks on pathways for school-leavers and strategies for transitioning to post-secondary education. Post-secondary students will share their experiences.

The bureau’s own booth will feature interactive games for expo visitors to participate in.

The expo will run from 10am to 6pm. Admission is free and prior registration is not required.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport & Logistics Bureau has expressed concern over illegal hire car services being provided by online car hailing platforms, and will meet the platforms’ representatives today to reiterate the need for their operations to comply with the law.

Together with the Transport Department, the bureau held a two-hour meeting with the taxi trade yesterday.

In a frank exchange of views, the Government took note of the trade’s views on improving service quality, regulating online car hailing platforms, and combating the illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward.

After the meeting, the bureau received a petition letter with signatures from the taxi trade. It will carefully review the letter and maintain close communication with the trade.

The bureau is pressing ahead at full speed with a legislative proposal to regulate online car hailing platforms, with a view to ensuring safe and convenient point-to-point services for citizens and tourists.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ 2025 Launch Ceremony today (May 16):

Jack (EY China Chairman, Mr Jack Chan), distinguished guests, fellow entrepreneurs, ladies and gentlemen,
 
Good afternoon. It is my great pleasure to join you today to celebrate the official launch of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 programme here in Hong Kong – and to mark the significant milestone of its 20th anniversary in the Greater China region.
 
Over the past two decades, this programme has honoured visionary leaders who have not only built successful businesses but also inspired transformation, resilience, and innovation across industries. At the heart of every one of these stories is the spirit of entrepreneurship – the courage to dream, the drive to transform, and the determination to create meaningful change.
 
In many ways, these qualities mirror the story of Hong Kong itself. As Asia’s premier financial centre, Hong Kong is a place where bold ideas flourish into global businesses. With our open and internationalised market, common law system, free flow of capital and information, and a world-class talent pool, we provide one of the most dynamic platforms for entrepreneurs to launch, scale, and succeed.
 
We are also evolving with the times. As our country continues to advance high-quality development, Hong Kong is seizing new opportunities – from promoting green and sustainable finance, to accelerating digital transformation and Web3 innovation.
 
To support this vision, the Government is undertaking a series of strategic initiatives to foster new quality productive forces. These include strengthening our capital markets, enhancing cross-boundary financial connectivity under the Greater Bay Area, and promoting emerging sectors such as green fintech, virtual assets, and artificial intelligence.
 
But at the core of this transformation is our unwavering support for entrepreneurs – especially those in small and medium enterprises, the true backbone of our economy.
 
We are facilitating access to finance for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) through platforms such as the Commercial Data Interchange, which enables businesses to share their data with banks to unlock trade financing opportunities. Over 50 000 loan applications, amounting to $41.9 billion, have already been processed since the launch of the Interchange.
 
We are nurturing innovation ecosystems with tools like Fintech Connect, which bridges financial institutions with cutting-edge fintech solution providers. On green finance, we have launched the Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Funding Scheme, supporting 60 pioneering projects with early-stage funding.
 
And we are investing in talent development – from training subsidies for fintech practitioners, to capacity-building schemes in green and sustainable finance. These efforts not only empower individuals but also expand the talent pipeline for the next generation of entrepreneurs.
 
Entrepreneurship is also about vision – not only seeing what others don’t, but also at the same time believing in what could be done. That is why we are also embracing frontier technologies. The Generative AI Sandbox, co-launched by the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority) and Cyberport, is helping banks test innovations in a risk-managed environment so as to enhance fraud prevention, compliance, and customer service across the sector.
 
We are also laying the groundwork for the future of digital finance, including a regulatory regime for stablecoins and a forthcoming policy statement on the development of virtual assets – all designed to support responsible innovation while safeguarding market integrity.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate two decades of EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year™ programme, we are reminded that entrepreneurship is not just about building businesses; it’s about building a better future. Hong Kong will continue to stand with our entrepreneurs, as a launchpad for ideas, a platform for innovation, and a partner in growth.
 
I would like to thank EY, Jack and his team for its unwavering commitment to recognising and empowering entrepreneurial leaders, and I look forward to seeing this year’s nominees continue to push boundaries and turn bold aspirations into reality. Thank you, and I wish the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2025 programme every success.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today said that it has no issue with people purely “checking in” or taking photos near prohibited places while passing by, provided there is no intention to endanger national security.

The Government was responding to media enquiries about reporting, photo-taking and video-shooting at locations specified prohibited places under new subsidiary legislation under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO).

It outlined that if people deliberately take photos or footage of the entrances or interiors of prohibited places so as to inspect such places, or engage in other conduct while filming or taking pictures that gives reasonable grounds to believe that they may endanger national security, police officers or guards at these sites have the power to ask them to leave.

At a meeting of the Legislative Council subcommittee and a subsequent media session yesterday, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said that under section 45 of the SNSO a “specified officer” who has reasonable grounds to believe that exercising such power is necessary for safeguarding national security, may order any person to refrain from approaching or inspecting a prohibited place, including by electronic or remote means, and may order persons to leave. Any person who contravenes such an order commits an offence.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Government published in the Gazette today (May 16) the Land Registration Fees (Amendment) Regulation 2025 (the Amendment Regulation) to revise the fees for registration services provided by the Land Registry Trading Fund.

The types of fees to be revised include:
(i) registration of instruments including assignment and mortgage;
(ii) registration of agreement for sale and purchase;
(iii) registration of lease, agreement for a lease, or renewal or surrender of a lease;
(iv) registration of other instruments; and
(v) registration of instruments whereby any charge or mortgage on any share or interest in any property is assigned or transferred.

A Government spokesman said, “The above-mentioned five types of fees have not been adjusted for almost 30 years and are significantly under-recovered. The Government has reviewed and adjusted the relevant fees in accordance with the established mechanism and ‘user pays’ principle. The revised fees are set at levels generally adequate for recovering the full costs of providing the services. In order for the affected parties to adapt to the fee revisions progressively, we propose to increase the above-mentioned fees in three phases in the financial years of 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 respectively, with the increases ranging from around 15 per cent to around 35 per cent in each phase. Among them, registration fee types (i) and (ii) are related to conveyancing transactions. After the fee revisions, the increase in registration fees is still limited compared with the overall costs involved in a typical property conveyancing transaction including property price, stamp duty, and fees for conveyancing solicitors and estate agents. Regarding the other three types of non-conveyancing related registration fees, the payers are primarily corporate clients and financial institutions. It is anticipated that the impact of the fee revisions will be manageable to them.” The revised fees can be viewed from the Land Registry’s website (www.landreg.gov.hk/en/new/fee.htm).

The Amendment Regulation was published in the Gazette today and will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) next Wednesday (May 21). Subject to approval of the Amendment Regulation by the LegCo by negative vetting, the revised fees will come into effect in three phases on July 16, 2025, July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027, respectively.