Month: December 2025

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak today expressed deep sorrow over the passing of the Most Venerable Jing Yin, Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Eighth Abbot of Po Lin Monastery.

Miss Mak said the Most Venerable Jing Yin dedicated his life to promoting Buddhism and benefitting the Buddhist community, noting that he also took an active part in education and social matters, rendering immense meritorious service.

“The Most Venerable Jing Yin was always concerned about the matters of Islands District. Since 2020, he had served as a member of the Lamma Area Committee, offering advice on the district’s development and environmental improvements. He made significant contributions, particularly in the conservation and promotion of traditional culture, with fruitful results.

“The Buddhist community and members of the public are grateful for his contributions. We will always remember him.” 

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Overall consumer prices rose 1.2% year-on-year in November, the same as in October, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

Netting out the effects of the Government’s one-off relief measures, the underlying inflation rate was 1% in November, the same as that recorded in the previous month.

Compared with the year before, price increases were recorded in November in the following categories: transport; alcoholic drinks and tobacco; miscellaneous services; housing; meals out and takeaway food; miscellaneous goods; and basic food.

Meanwhile, year-on-year decreases were logged for clothing and footwear; durable; and electricity, gas and water.

The Government said consumer price inflation stayed subdued in November. It expects that overall inflation should remain modest in the near term, as cost pressures on the domestic and external fronts are still broadly in check.

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

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), in collaboration with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB) and the Intellectual Property Department (IPD), launched the Intellectual Property (IP) Financing Sandbox today (December 22). 
      
     As set out in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address”, the IP Financing Sandbox aims to assist pilot sectors in leveraging IP assets for financing. 
      
     The Sandbox serves to provide a collaborative and risk-controlled environment for banks, IP valuation firms, legal practitioners and other relevant professions to test the full lifecycle of IP financing arrangements that are based on IP assets such as patents, trademarks and copyrights. 
      
     Through the Sandbox, banks can develop and refine their IP financing arrangements with the support from multidisciplinary professionals as well as guidance by the HKMA, the CEDB and the IPD. This initiative can also enable banks to accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing to better serve the needs of innovative enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises which are rich in IP assets but may lack tangible assets that can be pledged as collateral for bank financing.
      
     Three major banks in Hong Kong have joined the Sandbox as inaugural participants, and have solicited interests from clients from the biotechnology, electronics and technology sectors to conduct pilot trials of IP financing through the Sandbox (see Annex). 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Government announced today (December 22) the official launch of the intellectual property (IP) financing sandbox and the opening of the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre (HKTISC), marking key milestones in promoting IP financing and further developing Hong Kong’s IP trading ecosystem while fostering innovation.

     The Chief Executive announced in the 2025 Policy Address the launch of the sandbox to assist pilot sectors (particularly the technology sector) in leveraging IPs for financing with the support of the banking, insurance, valuation, legal and other professions. The sandbox will provide a collaborative and risk-controlled environment for stakeholders to test out the full lifecycle of IP financing and accumulate practical experience in providing IP financing.

     With the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (CEDB), the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) deliberation, the sandbox is underpinned by the following four core operating principles:

(1) Recognition of IP value: Participating banks will consider the value of IPs owned by borrowing enterprises, alongside the borrower’s credit demand, financial position and repayment ability in their credit underwriting process.

(2) Independent and standardised valuation: To ensure credibility, IP valuation will be conducted by independent service providers using universally accepted methods. Where appropriate, qualitative patent evaluation reports can be obtained to support this process. 

(3) Risk management: Participating banks should comply with applicable supervisory requirements on risk management, while participating enterprises should comply with the legal and regulatory requirements in respect of maintaining and developing the IP assets concerned.

(4) Stakeholder collaboration: The initiative relies on a cohesive ecosystem. It brings together enterprises that hold IP assets, banks, valuation experts, legal practitioners and other relevant professionals to co-create successful financing transactions.

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, said that the IP financing sandbox, together with other related measures announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address”, would help leverage Hong Kong’s unique strengths to build an ecosystem where IP is protected with rigour, valued with clarity, and financed with confidence, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong’s role as a regional IP trading centre.

     By enabling enterprises to leverage their IP assets for financing, the sandbox will help unlock a new financing channel, thereby supporting the commercialisation of outcomes of research and development as well as creativity, and promoting innovation and technology as a key driver of economic growth.

     Three major banks have committed to participating in the sandbox, while nearly 30 professional firms from the legal and valuation sectors have indicated keen interest in participating. The CEDB, the IPD and the HKMA will closely monitor the progress of the pilot projects, gather feedback, and provide guidance as needed. It is anticipated that several trial cases are in the pipeline for the first phase of the sandbox.

     In addition, the HKTISC that officially commenced full operations today is another key complementary initiative in promoting IP financing. With the support of the IPD, the HKTISC will closely engage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the innovation and technology sector and provide a qualitative patent evaluation service to assess, based on national standards, the quality of their patents from legal, technological and economic perspectives. The Government will also launch a support scheme through the HKTISC in 2026 to financially assist SMEs to engage professional service providers for the valuation of their whole IP portfolios in monetary terms. 

     These integrated measures aim to provide an objective reference about the strengths of the patents and the monetary valuation of the whole IP portfolios owned by the SMEs, facilitating more effective credit assessment and investment analysis.

     The Technology and Innovation Support Centre is a dedicated programme of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which supports researchers and innovators at different stages of the innovation cycle, helping them make use of the IP system (especially by means of patents) to protect their inventions and guiding them to bring the technology to market. With the recognition of the Hong Kong Productivity Council as a Technology and Innovation Support Centre hosting institution by the China National Intellectual Property Administration and WIPO, the HKTISC will join the 200-plus strong Technology and Innovation Support Centre network in the country, which promotes better integration of Hong Kong into overall national development.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau sponsored the participation of selected original Hong Kong comic works under the fourth edition of the Hong Kong Comics Support Programme (HKCSP) at the Comic Fiesta 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and set up the Hong Kong Pavilion to facilitate the industry’s expansion into overseas markets and promote exchanges between the Hong Kong and Southeast Asian comic industries.

     Comic Fiesta 2025 took place on December 20 and 21. In addition to showcasing the 16 original Hong Kong comic works under the fourth edition of the HKCSP at the Hong Kong Pavilion, CCIDA sponsored the authors of the 16 comic works to attend the event in person and conduct drawing sessions. The set-up of the Hong Kong Pavilion was also supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. The two-day event attracted an enthusiastic response with around 10 000 visitors recorded, demonstrating Hong Kong’s strong cultural soft power.

     The HKCSP nurtures Hong Kong comic artists and supports local comic companies. Since its launch in 2021, the HKCSP has supported publication of 63 original Hong Kong comic works, some of which won prestigious international awards. Through participating in overseas events such as the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France and Comic Fiesta in Malaysia, and local events such as Ani-Com & Games Hong Kong, comic works developed under the HKCSP have secured nearly 40 licensing agreements for publishing in different languages, showing the vast potential of Hong Kong creative industries. For more information about the HKCSP, please visit www.hkcsp.hk.