Month: July 2025

Additional screening for Film Archive’s “Intimate Moments with The Master: Crossing Years (2024)” Issued at HKT 12:25

NNNN

Mainland Shunde cuisine brand “Under Big Banyan” establishes regional headquarters in Hong Kong to drive overseas expansion (with photo) 
Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK Mr Arnold Lau said, “We welcome ‘Under Big Banyan’ to join Hong Kong’s diverse food and beverage landscape. The brand’s choice of Hong Kong as its international gateway underscores our city’s role as an ideal springboard connecting the Mainland and the global market, highlighting Hong Kong’s strengths in internationalisation, cultural inclusiveness and its business environment, providing strong support for brands to go global.”
 
     The Chairman of “Under Big Banyan”, Mr Liu Weihua, said, “We chose Hong Kong not only for its geographical advantages, but also for its market – with strong spending power and an internationalised customer base, serving as an excellent platform for promoting Shunde cuisine overseas. Hong Kong attracts tourists from all over the world, helping to significantly boost our brand’s international exposure. The city’s multicultural environment also allows us to assess the suitability of our dishes for global markets.”
 
Mr Liu added, “Hong Kong’s robust business infrastructure, legal and tax transparency and seamless connection with the Mainland enable us to validate our overseas business model at a lower cost. The new regional headquarters in Hong Kong will oversee and co-ordinate our business operations across Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Additionally, we will establish an international training base for Cantonese chefs, nurturing local catering talent to support the brand’s long-term development.”
 
He stated that the essence of Shunde cuisine is “never tire of fine food, the charm of home cooking”, emphasising lightness, freshness, tenderness, and smoothness. The signature dishes of “Under Big Banyan” are braised goose with black bean sauce, fresh fish skin and pan-fried stuffed lotus root, combining nutritional value with great taste that meet the global demand for high-quality Chinese cuisine. Hong Kong, as a culinary hub of Asia, will serve as a vital gateway for promoting Shunde’s culinary culture to the world.
 
     “Under Big Banyan”, founded in 2019, currently operates over 50 directly managed stores across various cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the brand has received numerous industry accolades. With the mission of delivering “freshly made Shunde cuisine”, the brand is dedicated to showcasing the unique flavours of Shunde food with freshness as its core value – a commitment that has been widely embraced by diners.
 
To download event photos, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72177720327419962Issued at HKT 11:45

Import and Export (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 gazetted 
     A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said, “We are grateful to the Legislative Council for passing the relevant bill to provide the legal basis for the implementation of TSW Phase 3, achieving another important milestone on trade facilitation. The TSW not only overhauls and enhances the document submission workflows between participating government agencies and the trade, but also enhances the efficiency of cargo clearance in Hong Kong and helps consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international trade centre and a logistics hub. The Government is pressing ahead with the development and testing of the information technology (IT) system of TSW Phase 3, with the target of rolling out the services by batches from 2026 onwards.”
 
     The Government is implementing the TSW in three phases to provide a one-stop electronic platform for the trade to lodge business-to-government trade documents for trade declaration and cargo clearance. Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the TSW have been in full service since 2020 and 2023 respectively, covering 42 types of trade documents in total. Phase 3 is the final and most complex phase of the TSW. It involves a large volume of documents submitted by a wide range of stakeholders, covering Import and Export Declarations (TDEC), cargo information required to be submitted under different transport modes (including Advance Cargo Information, Cargo Manifests and Cargo Reports), and applications for Certificates of Origin and Dutiable Commodities Permits. The IT system of Phase 3 will replace the long-established GETS and major cargo clearance systems of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), and the trade will be required to use the TSW to submit relevant trade documents.
 
     Features of Phase 3 include:     To provide sufficient time for the trade to migrate to the new system, the Amendment Ordinance has included provisions on transitional arrangements to allow parallel run of TSW Phase 3 and GETS for a certain period of time. The C&ED will also launch a series of publicity, promotion and training programmes and provide support services prior to the rollout of Phase 3 services to ensure a smooth transition for the trade.
 
     The main provisions of the Amendment Ordinance come into operation today, except for some provisions relating to the deletion of the existing legal framework of GETS, which shall take effect on a day to be designated by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise by notice published in the Gazette.
Issued at HKT 11:00

NNNN

Gazettal of two pieces of subsidiary legislation under Copyright Ordinance 
     The above two pieces of subsidiary legislation are made under section 46(1) of the Ordinance. They aim to specify libraries, museums and archives and prescribe conditions for certain permitted acts for use of copyright works, and at the same time replace the Copyright (Libraries) Regulations (Cap. 528B) currently governing some of the relevant permitted acts.
 
     A spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said, “The Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022 (the Amendment Ordinance), which came into operation on May 1, 2023, not only has strengthened copyright protection in the digital environment, but also maintained a proper balance between copyright protection and reasonable use of copyright works. The Amendment Ordinance has introduced and expanded the permitted acts for specified libraries, museums and archives to facilitate their reasonable use of copyright works in their collections during daily operations, promoting research, private study, as well as knowledge dissemination and preservation of historical and cultural heritage. Therefore, it is necessary to update the relevant subsidiary legislation to facilitate the above.”
 
     The spokesperson added that the Government had earlier conducted a public consultation on the legislative proposals for the two pieces of subsidiary legislation and had carefully considered and taken on board the views of stakeholders. The proposals will provide specified libraries, museums and archives with a statutory framework which is clear and complies with the Ordinance, thereby enabling them to more effectively perform and fulfil their functions in education and the inheritance of knowledge and culture.
 
     The two pieces of subsidiary legislation will be tabled before the Legislative Council on July 16 for negative vetting. Upon completion of the relevant legislative procedures, the Government will carry out publicity and educational activities to enhance the awareness of the relevant provisions among the specified libraries, museums, archives and their users, and to enable the relevant stakeholders to get fully prepared before the two pieces of subsidiary legislation come into effect on January 1 next year.
Issued at HKT 11:00

NNNN

Appointments to Financial Reporting Review Panel 
The appointments and reappointments, made in accordance with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588) (AFRC Ordinance), are:
 
New Convenors
———————-
Mr Paul Donald Hebditch
Mr Eric Tang Ying-cheung
Mr Tang Yiu-chung
 
New Members
———————-
Ms Fanny Hsiang Yuet-ming
Mr Alexander Kaung Wai-ming
Mr Lam Chi-ki
Ms Carrie Lau Kar-yee
Mr Jason Li Jiasheng
Mr Ng Chun-man
Ms Elza Yuen Wai-yiu
 
Reappointed Member
——————————-
Mr Jacob Lee Chi-hin
 
A spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau today (July 11) said, “The Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) is a key regulator for corporate governance of companies listed in Hong Kong. One of the statutory functions of the AFRC is to initiate enquiries concerning non-compliance with legal, accounting or regulatory requirements in a listed entity’s financial reports.
 
“The FRRP, a statutory body established under the AFRC Ordinance, is indispensable to the discharge of the AFRC’s statutory functions of enquiries. The work of the FRRP will benefit from the rich experience and professional knowledge of the members.
 
“We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt appreciation to the two outgoing Convenors and nine outgoing members for their valuable contribution to the work of the FRRP in the past years,” the spokesman added.
 
When an enquiry case arises, the AFRC may appoint one Convenor and four or more members from the FRRP to form a Financial Reporting Review Committee which will enquire into the relevant non-compliance of the case. The Committee will submit an enquiry report on the case to the AFRC for consideration and, where appropriate, follow-up action.
Issued at HKT 11:00

NNNN

Rates and Government rent due July 31Issued at HKT 11:00

NNNN

Units providing day child care services will not open today 
Please broadcast the following special announcement immediately, and repeat it at frequent intervals:
 
     “As announced by the Government earlier, units under the Social Welfare Department providing child care centre services, services under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project, and after school care programmes for pre-primary or primary school children, will not open to the public today (July 11). Members of the public in need may contact the centres or services units concerned for assistance.”
Issued at HKT 5:21

NNNN