Month: October 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, and the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice David Lok, will officiate at the 2025 Legislative Council General Election (LCGE) kick-off ceremony tomorrow (October 23) at the Central Government Offices to mark the kick-off of the eighth LCGE. Representatives from various sectors, including civil service groups, public corporations, business and industrial sectors, district organisations, ethnic minority groups, and tertiary institutions will attend the ceremony.
 
     The ceremony will be held from 10.30am to 11am tomorrow. Media will be invited to cover the event. The Information Services Department’s website (webcast.info.gov.hk), the news.gov.hk’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/govnews.hk) and the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cmab.gov.hk) will stream the ceremony online.
 
     The eighth LCGE marks the second LCGE being held after improving the electoral system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is of utmost importance for accelerating the development of Hong Kong’s economy and improving people’s livelihood. The nomination period will run from October 24 to November 6 and polling will take place on December 7.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, proceeded to Tbilisi, Georgia, from Türkiye to attend the 5th Tbilisi Silk Road Forum on October 22 (Tbilisi time).

     The Forum brought together over 2 000 delegates from more than 60 countries, including heads of state, ministers and global chief executive officers, as well as international organisation and thought leaders to strengthen East-West co-operation and foster practical solutions for regional and global connectivity challenges.

     At a panel session entitled “Rewiring global trade”, Mr Yau shared with participants Hong Kong’s multifaceted approach to overcome challenges and leverage new opportunities when the world is undergoing profound geopolitical shifts, with protectionism, unilateralism and supply chain realignments reshaping the global trade flows.

     He said that Hong Kong’s extensive network of free trade agreements (FTAs) and economic partnerships has been instrumental in mitigating the geopolitical impacts on trade. So far Hong Kong has signed nine FTAs with 21 economies, including 14 Belt and Road countries, and 24 investment promotion and protection agreements with 33 economies. He highlighted that since the FTA signed between Hong Kong and Georgia entered into force in 2019, there has been a steady growth in bilateral merchandise trade between the two places, with an average annual growth rate of 8.7 per cent recorded between 2019 and 2024.

     Mr Yau noted that apart from changes in the global trade regime, regulatory fragmentation and logistical bottlenecks also obstruct trade flows. He said that Hong Kong has always strived to facilitate trade by improving customs clearance procedures and is also launching the Trade Single Window to digitalise the submission of trade documents.

     Turning to digitalisation, Mr Yau stressed that a robust and well-established framework for digital infrastructure is also essential for embracing transformation. Over the past years, Hong Kong has been actively advancing reforms in the digitalisation of enterprises and trade. He added that specifically, Hong Kong has been fostering international community participation in discussions on the development of the digital economy and exploring the inclusion of relevant provisions in bilateral trade agreements during negotiations, aiming to promote digital trade and cross-border e-commerce.

     In addition to attending the Forum, Mr Yau also took the opportunity to meet with Georgia’s business sector to promote Hong Kong’s favourable business environment during his visit to the country.

     Mr Yau held a business roundtable with local wine practitioners to brief them on Hong Kong’s advantages as a wine and liquor trading hub, and the city’s reduction of liquor duty by introducing a two-tier liquor duty system to encourage the trade and auctions of high-end liquor. They also exchanged views on exploring further collaboration between the two places on wine and liquor promotion, using Hong Kong as a platform for Georgian wine merchants to tap into the Chinese Mainland market.

     Mr Yau also met with representatives of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to brief them on Hong Kong’s latest developments and various initiatives to attract investment and drive economic developments, such as the Northern Metropolis development and the setting up of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global to assist Mainland enterprises in expanding business overseas. He highlighted Hong Kong’s unique role as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” and encouraged Georgian enterprises to grasp the vast business opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area via Hong Kong.

     Upon arrival in Tbilisi on October 21 (Tbilisi time), Mr Yau attended the welcome reception of the Forum during which he had exchanges with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Georgia, Mr Zhou Qian, to give him an update on the latest economic and trade developments of Hong Kong and learn more about the social and economic situation of Georgia.

     Mr Yau will proceed to Beijing on October 23 (Tbilisi time) to join a delegation to be led by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, for a visit.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     The Government has set up District Health Centres (DHCs) and DHC Expresses (collectively referred to as “DHCs”) in all 18 districts over the territory since 2019 to provide services such as chronic disease screening and management, as well as mental health assessments. It is learnt that the operating service contracts of some DHCs have gradually expired, and the Primary Healthcare Commission has conducted tenders again. In its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on March 26 this year, the Government advised that the Primary Healthcare Commission had adjusted the operating service contracts of DHCs, including adjusting the categorisation of service targets and adding new performance assessment indicators when entering into new or renewed operating service contracts with the operators, and was progressively enhancing the performance monitoring mechanism of DHCs to assess the performance of various DHCs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective status of achieving the service targets of each DHC prior to the adjustment to their operating service contracts in the past five years, and the assistance offered to or follow-up made with those DHCs that failed to meet the targets set by the Government;

(2) under the adjusted operating service contracts and performance monitoring mechanism, of the current status of each DHC in (i) achieving the service targets, (ii) meeting the performance assessment indicators, and (iii) various monitoring aspects under the performance monitoring mechanism; whether the Government has set a timetable for regularly reviewing the performance of DHCs in (i) to (iii), and providing appropriate assistance to or making follow-up with DHCs in the light of the outcome of the reviews; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) of the list of DHCs of which the contracts had expired since the launch of the first DHC, including (i) those with contracts renewed and (ii) those requiring open tender again and the reasons why the DHCs concerned were not granted contract renewal;

(4) since the launch of the first DHC, of the respective annual usages of (i) physiotherapy, (ii) occupational therapy, (iii) dietitian services, and (iv) pharmacy services at each DHC; and the respective average monthly usages of the new dedicated nurse clinic and allied health services since their introduction in January this year;

(5) given that the Healthy Mind Pilot Project (HMPP) has been launched at three DHCs since August 15 last year, of the number of members of the public who have undergone preliminary mental health assessments to date, and the respective numbers of those who were referred for low-intensity psychological therapy and those referred to Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness for follow-up; whether statistics have been compiled on the number of those who, after completing the said psychological therapy, subsequently have received psychological therapy again through HMPP or sought other public psychological therapy services;

(6) given that HMPP is running on a trial basis for 18 months from August last year to January next year, with less than half a year remaining before its conclusion, whether the Government has conducted a phased assessment of HMPP; if so, of the details; and

(7) whether the Government will consider incorporating more service target categorisation into the operating service contracts of DHCs, such as the provision of community pharmacies, eye examination services, and emotional health support; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and the challenges involved?

Reply:

President,

     As primary healthcare resource hubs, District Health Centres and District Health Centre Expresses (collectively referred to as DHCs) provide services including chronic disease screening and management, family doctor pairing, health promotion, health risk assessment and community rehabilitation. 

     In consultation with the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission), the replies to the respective parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Hoi-yan are as follows:

(1), (2), (3) and (7) The PHC Commission stipulates facility and service requirements for each DHC, as specified in the operation service contract, including the qualifications and relevant experience of key staff, the districts and number of ancillary centres/service points to be set up, the staffing establishment of the centres and service volume targets. The DHC operators shall provide services in accordance with the operation service contract. The PHC Commission continuously monitors and evaluates the operators’ performance, and will make timely recommendations to the operators for improvement, such as recommending increased outreach services and enhanced community publicity and promotion. The PHC Commission will take into account the relevant assessment results when considering contract renewal, with a view to encouraging the operators to continuously enhance service standards. The Government shall have the right to terminate the operation service contract if an operator fails to comply with the contract requirements.

     The three years of COVID-19 epidemic inevitably affected the preparatory work and commencement of the DHCs, as well as their progress in recruitment of members and service provision after commencement. At the initial stage, the DHCs also needed to operate for a certain period before they could accumulate membership numbers and increase service capacity. With the resumption of normalcy after the COVID-19 epidemic, coupled with the establishment of DHCs covering all 18 districts, the DHCs have been gradually building a primary healthcare service network which begins to take shape in the community. The DHCs assist in promoting the Chronic Disease Co-Care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme) to reinforce the concept of “Family Doctor for All”, and in strengthening women’s health promotion and education through the three Women Wellness Satellites newly established this year, thereby further expanding the community primary healthcare network. The Government is expanding the Primary Care Directory in phases to cover more allied health professionals (sub-directories are developed for doctors, dentists, practising Chinese medicine practitioners, occupational therapists and physiotherapists currently), with a view to promoting multidisciplinary collaboration in providing comprehensive primary healthcare services to citizens. 

     As at June 30, 2025, the cumulative number of DHC members was more than 420 000. To strengthen the role of DHCs as the co-ordinators of community primary healthcare services and case managers, the PHC Commission has adjusted the terms of the operation service contracts of DHCs, including adjusting the categorisation of service targets, such as the pairing of family doctors with citizens and the provision of nurse clinic services, in order to tie in with the enhancement of DHC services. With the adjustments to contract requirements and the accumulation of operational experience of DHCs, the numbers of service attendances at all DHCs have continued to increase (see Annex I). All DHCs attained the service volume targets in 2024-25.
  
     The initial operation period of the District Health Centre operation service contracts is three years from the date of operation with an option for contract extension of up to further three years, whereas the initial operation period of the District Health Centre Express operation service contracts is three years with the option for multiple operation period extensions. The PHC Commission will, in accordance with the terms of the contract and subject to the performance of the operator, arrange for contract renewal or conduct an open tender exercise to identify an operator before the expiry of the initial operation period. Since the operation commencement of the first DHC, all DHCs whose initial operation periods have expired have had their contracts renewed or their operation periods extended. Among them, following the renewal of the Kwai Tsing District Health Centre’s service contract, its six-year term (comprising an initial three-year operation period plus a three-year renewal period) has expired. Subsequently, the PHC Commission has conducted a new open tender exercise and awarded the operation service contract. Separately, in order to upgrade certain District Health Centre Expresses (including Central and Western District, Yau Tsim Mong District and Eastern District) into District Health Centres, the PHC Commission has conducted the open tender exercises and awarded the operation service contracts.

     The targets set under previous operation service contracts primarily focused on service volume. With the ongoing development and evolution of primary healthcare service models and scale, the PHC Commission has updated the classification of service targets when establishing new or renewed operational service contracts. These include drug advisory services, indicators for new members joining the CDCC Pilot Scheme, mental health promotion and education. Key service targets will be subject to particular monitoring. Depending on the progress of the construction works of the new District Health Centres in various districts or the expiry date of the current operation service contracts, the PHC Commission will enter into new or renewed operation service contracts with the operators. Currently, the operators of nine District Health Centres (including Central and Western District, Yau Tsim Mong, Eastern District, Kwai Tsing, Sham Shui Po, Tuen Mun, Wong Tai Sin, Yuen Long and Southern District) have signed new operation service contracts or renewed their contracts. 

(4) The PHC Commission has set Category 1 and Category 2 service targets (Note 1) for each DHC, including service volume target for different allied health disciplines (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietetic services and pharmacist service attendances). The service model of each DHC may vary depending on the service demand of different districts. As such, the PHC Commission will monitor the performance and achievement of targets by individual DHC operators in accordance with the Category 1 and Category 2 service targets specified in the service contracts. The cumulative number of Category 1 and Category 2 service attendances for all DHCs as at 2024-25 is at Annex II.

     On January 20, 2025, the Government introduced dedicated nurse clinic and allied health services through strategic purchasing to offer a broader scope of healthcare services with better coherence to the CDCC Pilot Scheme participants. As at September 30, 2025 (provisional figures), about 11 800 service attendances have received the relevant dedicated nursing clinic and allied health services.
 

Service	Number of Attendances
Nurse Clinic	8 400
Optometrist	2 500
Physiotherapist	100
Dietitian	700
Total	11 800

Note 2: Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred, so the sum of individual items may not necessarily equal the grand total.

(5) and (6) At present, three DHCs (Tuen Mun District Health Centre, and Yau Tsim Mong District Health Centre Express and Eastern District Health Centre Express) have launched the Healthy Mind Pilot Project (Pilot Project) since August 2024, to offer free mental health assessments and follow-up for members of the public on a trial basis at the community level. 

     Currently, the Healthy Mind Pilot Project has been producing satisfactory results. As of September 30, 2025, the three designated DHCs have conducted preliminary mental health assessments for approximately 30 500 members of the public. Members preliminarily assessed to have mild symptoms of depression or anxiety will be recommended to service providers of the Pilot Project in the same district for follow-up by Wellbeing Practitioners who had received mental health training. Including members of the public who participated in the Pilot Project through activities organised by the service providers, about 4 900 individuals completed the further assessment. Of those eligible participants who consented to intervention, about 1 700 individuals are currently receiving or have completed low-intensity psychological intervention (LIPI). Among them, around 180 individuals required referral to specialist or high-intensity mental health services (such as Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness) for further follow-up. Additionally, among participants who completed LIPI, service data indicates that none subsequently re-enrolled in the Pilot Project for treatment. 

     As outlined in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address”, the Government will extend the Pilot Project to cover six more DHCs in 2026 (i.e. a total of nine DHCs), with follow-up services provided by practitioners with an academic background and training in fields such as psychology or counselling. To ensure the smooth implementation of the Healthy Mind Pilot Project, the PHC Commission has established a working group responsible for the ongoing implementation of the Pilot Project.

Note 1: Category 1 service includes health promotion/education. Category 2 service includes health risk factor assessment, screening for diabetes mellitus and hypertension, chronic disease management, community rehabilitation and women’s health services.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

      The Immigration Department (ImmD) conducted a tabletop exercise for handling emergencies yesterday (October 21) to ensure thorough preparations for the 15th National Games (NG), the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities (NGD) and the 9th National Special Olympic Games (NSOG).

      Based on realistic simulation scenarios, the exercise focused on the immigration arrangements for athletes or related personnel at control points during the 15th NG, the 12th NGD and the 9th NSOG; and the emergencies that may arise during the cross-boundary events. The aim was to conduct scenario analyses and process simulations to strengthen the ImmD officers’ responsiveness and collaboration, and ensure that all preparations were thorough and seamless. During the exercise, the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok; the Deputy Director (Control, Visa and Documents), Mr Ching Wo-mok; the Assistant Director (Control), Mr Fan Hiu-sing; and commanders of various control points received a briefing from participating colleagues.
 
      Mr Kwok said that the exercise provided valuable experience and training materials, and its successful completion reflected the maturity of the ImmD’s response mechanisms, showcasing the professionalism of ImmD staff inspired by the spirit of “Love our country and Hong Kong, and striving for excellence.”

      The exercise allowed staff to further familiarise themselves with the protocol of emergency response mechanisms to be used throughout the 15th NG, so that they may continuously exercise effective immigration control to facilitate the visit of athletes and related personnel with safe and smooth immigration services.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon So Cheung-wing and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Dr Bernard Chan, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     The Chief Executive pointed out earlier on that as of the end of July this year, the total number of registered local companies in Hong Kong was over 1.5 ‍million, whereas registered non-Hong Kong companies exceeded 15 000, both reaching all-time highs. Furthermore, between January 2023 and July this year, Invest Hong Kong assisted 1 333 enterprises in setting up or expanding their businesses in Hong Kong, bringing in direct investment of $174 billion and creating over 19 000 jobs within the first year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of non-Hong Kong companies registered in Hong Kong over the past year, with a breakdown and proportion by (i) type of offices (i.e. regional headquarters, regional offices and local offices), (ii) country of origin, and (iii) industry; of the Government’s specific targets for attracting multinational enterprises to establish regional headquarters or regional offices in Hong Kong for the coming three years;

(2) given that the number of registered non-Hong Kong companies has hit a record high, how the Government will leverage this advantage to formulate medium and long-term planning so as to continuously promote the development of headquarters economy, including implementing specific measures to assist companies set up in Hong Kong in “going global”; and

(3) given that some members of the business sector have relayed that non-Hong Kong enterprises have been facing numerous difficulties and challenges after setting up business in Hong Kong, including high premises costs, loss of international talents and difficulty in capital deployment, of the corresponding strategies adopted by the Government to address the issues, including whether it will consider designating land in the Northern Metropolis to establish a “designated zone for headquarters economy” so as to assist incoming enterprises in establishing a presence in Hong Kong and facilitate them to maintain close liaison with other Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area?

Reply:

President,

     In response to Dr the Hon So Cheung-wing’s question, after consulting the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), my consolidated response is as follows:

     As at the end of September this year, the total number of local companies and non-Hong Kong companies registered under the Companies Ordinance reached 1 519 103 and 15 614 respectively, both of which were all-time high figures.

     Besides, according to the annual survey jointly conducted by Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) and the Census and Statistics Department, the number of companies in Hong Kong with parent companies located outside Hong Kong also reached a record high level of 9 960 in 2024, including 1 410 regional headquarters, 2 410 regional offices and 6 140 local offices. Analysed by place of origin, the top five were the Chinese Mainland (2 620 companies), Japan (1 430 companies), the United States of America (1 390 companies), the United Kingdom (720 companies) and Singapore (520 companies). Analysed by major line of business in Hong Kong, the top five were import/export trade, wholesale and retail (4 730 companies), financing and banking (2 020 companies), professional, business and education services (1 530 companies), transportation, storage and courier services (730 companies) and information technology services (500 companies).

     From 2023 to September this year, InvestHK assisted over 1 400 Chinese Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up or expand businesses in Hong Kong. They are expected to bring in direct investment of around $194 billion and create over 20 000 job opportunities. InvestHK has completed in advance the key performance indicator (KPI) (Note) as set out in the 2022 Policy Address.

     The above-mentioned fruitful results not only fully demonstrate the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s investment promotion achievements, but also reflect that Chinese Mainland and overseas enterprises continue to have full confidence in Hong Kong and have selected Hong Kong as their base to expand regional businesses in Asia despite geopolitical impact. In the 2025 Policy Address, the new KPI is to attract at least 1 200 Chinese Mainland or overseas enterprises to set up or expand businesses in Hong Kong between 2026 and 2027, thereby bringing in direct investment of at least $120 billion and creating at least 12 000 job opportunities. InvestHK will continue to plan and attract proactively non-local enterprises and capital to come to Hong Kong.

     Regarding difficulties encountered by enterprises when setting foot in Hong Kong, InvestHK is dedicated to offering them one-stop customised support services, from planning to implementation stages. To strengthen support for enterprises to cope with their difficulties and challenges, InvestHK set up last year, with the support of the Financial Secretary, an inter-departmental/agency referral mechanism led by the Director-General of Investment Promotion. By proactively collecting and analysing Chinese Mainland and overseas enterprises’ concerns and pain points when they plan to establish presence in Hong Kong, InvestHK reflects them to relevant bureaux, departments or agencies accordingly for exploring suitable solutions as appropriate. Since the establishment of the mechanism around a year ago, various issues have been successfully addressed to meet the needs of the trade, including opening of bank accounts, application and work arrangements for imported workers, application for use of vacant land, thereby assisting Chinese Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up and expand their businesses in Hong Kong.

     As for promoting headquarters economy, the Government will capitalise on the unique advantages of Hong Kong as an international financial centre to attract more enterprises from the Chinese Mainland and around the world to establish corporate treasury centres in Hong Kong. In this regard, as pointed out in the 2025 Policy Address, the FSTB is conducting a study on tax concessionary measures to be further enhanced, and targets to complete the study in the first half of next year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will also encourage the banking sector, especially banks in the Chinese Mainland, to establish regional headquarters in Hong Kong, where Hong Kong’s strengths can help them expand into Southeast Asian and the Middle East markets, thereby providing more comprehensive cross-boundary financial solutions.

     In addition, the company re-domiciliation regime commenced on May 23, 2025. A company incorporated outside Hong Kong may apply to the Company Registry for re-domiciliation to Hong Kong. The regime reduces the need to go through complicated and costly judicial procedures, and enables a re-domiciled company to maintain its legal identity as a body corporate, thereby ensuring business continuity. An applicant for company re-domiciliation is required to fulfil requirements concerning company background, integrity, member and creditor protection, solvency, etc.

     As announced in the 2025 Policy Address, the Financial Secretary will lead the relevant policy bureaux, departments and public organisations in formulating packages of preferential policies, including land grants, land premium, financial subsidies and tax incentives, to attract high value-added industries and high-potential enterprises to set up in Hong Kong. InvestHK and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises can flexibly use the policy packages during negotiations with enterprises on settlement details, and then report to the Financial Secretary for approval. This will, at the same time, tie in the industry development of the Northern Metropolis, for proactively attracting high value-added industries and high-potential enterprises to set up in Hong Kong, thereby promoting high-quality development of Hong Kong’s economy.

     On supporting Chinese Mainland enterprises in going global, the 2025 Policy Address announced the establishment of a one-stop platform by mobilising Hong Kong offices abroad, including those under InvestHK and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), as well as Hong Kong offices in the Chinese Mainland, and setup of the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (GoGlobal Task Force) to encourage Chinese Mainland enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform to go global. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development steers the work of the GoGlobal Task Force and coordinates various bureaux (including the FSTB), departments and agencies in formulating diverse proposals for enterprises looking to go global. InvestHK will coordinate and support the work by the GoGlobal Task Force, and through collaboration with the HKTDC and other agencies, engage with small and medium-sized enterprises from the Chinese Mainland, promoting to target enterprises Hong Kong’s advantages as a go global platform by various channels and providing them with comprehensive and customised support services based on their needs.

     On October 6 and 14, we officially launched the GoGlobal Task Force and convened the first meeting of the Steering Committee for the GoGlobal Task Force to discuss work strategies respectively. Going forward, the GoGlobal Task Force will commence various aspects of work progressively, including organising large-scale promotional events in the Chinese Mainland to promote work of the GoGlobal Task Force.

     Looking ahead, InvestHK will continue to work with relevant policy bureaux. On the one hand, it will promote Hong Kong as a springboard for overseas businesses for accessing the Chinese Mainland market, and support them to establish presence here so as to promote headquarters economy and develop the Northern Metropolis. On the other hand, it will also promote Hong Kong to Chinese Mainland enterprises as a go global launchpad and assist them in setting up their businesses in Hong Kong. The efforts will also be organically integrated into the work of the GoGlobal Task Force, thereby enhancing two-way investment (viz. attracting investment inflows to Hong Kong and facilitating further investment beyond Hong Kong).

Note: The KPI in the 2022 Policy Address requires attracting at least a total of 1 130 enterprises to set up or expand their businesses in Hong Kong from 2023 to 2025, thereby bringing in direct investment of at least $77 billion and creating at least 15 250 job opportunities.