Month: December 2025

Seventh Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Legal Departments Joint Conference advances co-operation in rule of law construction to new levels       
     In the conference, the Department of Justice (DoJ) and representatives of the legal departments of Guangdong and Macao engaged in comprehensive discussions on several major areas, such as the interfaces of legal talent and regulatory frameworks of mediation and arbitration. Substantial results were achieved by the meeting, fully demonstrating the positive role of the joint conference mechanism of the legal departments of the three places.
      
     The meeting reached a consensus on the proposal by the DoJ to establish a GBA commercial mediation and arbitration platform. The platform will bring together mediation and arbitration institutions in the GBA to jointly promote the establishment and adoption of relevant GBA standards, and collectively enhance the efficiency of dispute resolution in the region.
      
     The three places reviewed the GBA Mediator Panel 2025 and the Panel of GBA Arbitrators, and agreed to work towards the common goal of updating the GBA Mediator Panel and introducing the Panel of GBA Arbitrators by the end of this year, marking a new phase in the building of a talent pool for dispute resolution in the GBA.
      
     The three places also discussed the latest developments in nurturing foreign-related legal talent, including the work of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy.
      
     On the interface of regulatory frameworks, the three places agreed to jointly explore pathways to promote the establishment of the GBA arbitration model rules.
      
     In addition, the conference for the first time discussed policy measures related to promoting high-quality development in the GBA, enhancing mutual understanding and collaboration. The three places introduced the latest developments of their respective policy measures, including the DoJ’s intensified efforts to be taken, under the leadership of the Deputy Secretary for Justice, to promote Hong Kong’s legal services and collaborate with other professional service sectors to support Mainland enterprises expanding overseas.

     Concluding the conference, Dr Cheung said that the meeting yielded fruitful results, demonstrating the three places’ determination to jointly enhance the rule of law business environment in the GBA and leverage the unique advantages of “one country, two systems and three jurisdictions”. He expressed his gratitude for the efforts made by the legal departments of the three places and looked forward to the continual deepening of co-operation in the construction of the rule of law in the GBA, providing a solid legal foundation for building a world-class bay area.
Issued at HKT 19:25

NNNN

Quarterly business receipts indices for service industries for third quarter of 2025 
     Comparing the third quarter of 2025 with the third quarter of 2024, double-digit increases were recorded in business receipts indices of the insurance (+40.7%), financing (except banking) (+31.4%), import/export trade (+24.5%) and banking (+12.9%) industries. On the other hand, the transportation industry recorded a decrease of 5.8% in business receipts index during the same period.
 
     Analysed by service domain, business receipts index of the computer and information technology services domain increased by 99.1% year-on-year during the same period, while that of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain also increased by 4.6% year-on-year.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, business receipts in value terms of many major service industries recorded increases of varying magnitudes in the third quarter of 2025 when compared with the second quarter of 2025. In particular, a double-digit increase was recorded in business receipts index of the insurance (+23.9%) industry. On the other hand, business receipts index of the warehousing and storage industry decreased by 5.6% during the same period.
 
     Analysed by service domain, comparing the third quarter of 2025 with the second quarter of 2025 on a seasonally adjusted basis, business receipts index of the computer and information technology services domain increased by 20.0%, while that of the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain also increased by 6.8%.
 
Commentary
 
     A Government spokesman said that business receipts of many service industries increased in the third quarter of 2025 over a year earlier, with more notable increases seen for the insurance, financing (except banking), import/export trade and banking industries.
 
     Looking ahead, business of the service industries as a whole should continue to expand. Sustained moderate growth of the global economy, coupled with easing China-US trade tensions, should provide support to trade-related sectors. Continued improvement in local consumer sentiment, sustained growth in visitor arrivals, vibrant financial market activities, and the Government’s various measures to develop the economy and diversify markets will continue to bode well for various service industries. Notwithstanding, the impact of external uncertainties on certain industries still warrants close attention.
 
Further information
 
     Table 1 presents the business receipts indices and their corresponding year-on-year rates of change in respect of selected service industries and service domains for the recent five quarters, while Table 2 shows the corresponding quarter-to-quarter rates of change in the business receipts indices for the recent five quarters based on the seasonally adjusted series.
 
     The revised figures of business receipts indices for the third quarter of 2025 will be released at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/web_table.html?id=660-69001 
     Data for compiling the business receipts indices are mainly based on the Quarterly Survey of Service Industries conducted by the C&SD, supplemented by relevant data provided by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
 
     A service domain differs from a service industry in that it comprises those economic activities which straddle different industries but are somehow related to a common theme. It may include all activities carried out by all companies in a service industry that is closely related to the domain. For a service industry that is less closely related, however, only a portion of the companies in the industry or even only part of the economic activities of the companies is related to the domain. Taking the tourism, convention and exhibition services domain as an example, it includes all services of convention and exhibition organisers, short-term accommodation services and services of travel agents, and some of the services (only those involving visitors as customers) of restaurants, retailers and transport operators.
 
     The classification of service industries follows the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0, which is used in various economic surveys for classifying economic units into relevant industry classes.
 
     More detailed statistics are given in the report “Quarterly Business Receipts Indices for Service Industries, Third Quarter 2025”. Users can browse and download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080006&scode=520 
     For enquiries about the business receipts indices, please contact the Business Services Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7274 or e-mail: business-receipts@censtatd.gov.hkIssued at HKT 16:30

Results of monthly survey on business situation of small and medium-sized enterprises for November 2025 
     The current diffusion index (DI) on business receipts amongst SMEs decreased from 44.8 in October 2025 in the contractionary zone to 44.5 in November 2025, whereas the one-month’s ahead (i.e. December 2025) outlook DI on business receipts was 47.5. Analysed by sector, the current DIs on business receipts for some surveyed sectors dropped in November 2025 as compared with previous month, particularly for the logistics (from 43.3 to 42.2) and import and export trades (from 45.7 to 44.7).
          
     The current DI on new orders for the import and export trades decreased from 47.1 in October 2025 to 46.0 in November 2025, whereas the outlook DI on new orders in one month’s time (i.e. December 2025) was 47.4.
 
Commentary
 
     A Government spokesman said that business sentiment among SMEs was broadly stable in November after having shown some visible improvement over the past several months. While the current diffusion index on business receipts eased slightly from the high in the preceding month, the index on outlook in one month’s time stayed at an elevated level. Meanwhile, the overall employment situation improved slightly from the preceding month.
 
     Looking ahead, further solid growth of the Hong Kong economy will support local business sentiment. Nevertheless, as the uncertainties in the external environment persist, the Government will monitor the situation closely.
 
Further information
 
     The Monthly Survey on Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises aims to provide a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for assessing the short-term business situation faced by SMEs. SMEs covered in this survey refer to companies with fewer than 50 persons engaged. Respondents were asked to exclude seasonal fluctuations in reporting their views. Based on the views collected from the survey, a set of diffusion indices (including current and outlook diffusion indices) is compiled. A reading above 50 indicates that the business condition is generally favourable, whereas that below 50 indicates otherwise. As for statistics on the business prospects of prominent companies in Hong Kong, users may refer to the publication entitled “Report on Quarterly Business Tendency Survey” released by the C&SD.
 
     The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. The survey solicits feedback from a panel sample of about 600 SMEs each month and the survey findings are thus subject to sample size constraint. Views collected from the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in. Besides, in this type of opinion survey on expected business situation, the views collected in the survey are affected by the events in the community occurring around the time of enumeration, and it is difficult to establish precisely the extent to which respondents’ perception of the business situation accords with the underlying trends. For this survey, main bulk of the data were collected around the last week of the reference month.
 
     More detailed statistics are given in the “Report on Monthly Survey on the Business Situation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises”. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1080015&scode=300 
     Users who have enquiries about the survey results may contact Industrial Production Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3903 7246; email: sme-survey@censtatd.gov.hkIssued at HKT 16:30

External Direct Investment of Hong Kong in 2024 
Stocks of DI
 
     At the end of 2024, the total stock of Hong Kong’s inward DI (i.e. the position of Hong Kong’s DI liabilities) increased by 9.1% over a year earlier to $20,049.6 billion. Its ratio to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 631% in 2024. The increase in 2024 was mainly attributable to the positive DI inflow to Hong Kong.
 
     As for the total stock of Hong Kong’s outward DI (i.e. the position of Hong Kong’s DI assets), it increased by 6.7% over 2023 to $18,890.0 billion. Its ratio to GDP was 595% in 2024. The increase in 2024 was mainly attributable to the positive DI outflow to enterprises outside Hong Kong, partly offset by the decrease resulting from exchange rate variations, as some DI assets are denominated in other currencies.
 
     Analysed by immediate source of investment, Chinese Mainland (the Mainland) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) were the two largest sources for Hong Kong’s inward DI, with a share of 32.7% and 30.4% respectively at end-2024. Analysed by major economic activity of Hong Kong enterprise groups (HKEGs) which had received inward DI, those engaged in investment and holding, real estate, professional and business services took up the largest share, at 68.2% at end-2024. This was followed by banking, at 11.0%; and import/export, wholesale and retail trades, at 10.5%.
          
     Analysed by immediate destination of investment, the Mainland and the BVI were also the two largest destinations for Hong Kong’s outward DI, with a share of 52.1% and 27.6% respectively at end-2024. Analysed by major economic activity of HKEGs which had made outward DI, those engaged in investment and holding, real estate, professional and business services took up the largest share, at 78.8% at end 2024. This was followed by import/export, wholesale and retail trades, at 8.6%.
 
Flows of DI
 
     In 2024, total DI inflow amounted to $982.4 billion, larger than that of $954.9 billion in 2023. On the other hand, total DI outflow in 2024 amounted to $629.2 billion, smaller than that of $752.9 billion in 2023. Taking the inflow and outflow together, a net DI inflow of $353.2 billion was recorded in 2024.
 
     Analysed by immediate source of investment, the Mainland was the major source of Hong Kong’s DI inflow in 2024, amounting to $466.0 billion. The BVI came next, at $237.0 billion. Analysed by major economic activity of HKEGs which had received DI inflow, those engaged in investment and holding, real estate, professional and business services attracted the largest amount in 2024, at $588.0 billion.
 
     Analysed by immediate destination of investment, the Mainland accounted for a predominant share of Hong Kong’s DI outflow in 2024, at $372.9 billion. The BVI came next, at $198.9 billion. Analysed by major economic activity of HKEGs which had made DI outflow, those engaged in investment and holding, real estate, professional and business services took up the largest amount, at $452.9 billion.
 
Commentary
 
     A Government spokesman said that Hong Kong remains one of the world’s major destinations for and sources of external DI. Total DI inflow and outflow continued to be significant in 2024, at $982.4 billion and $629.2 billion respectively. The stocks of overall inward and outward DI also increased further to $20,049.6 billion and $18,890.0 billion (631% and 595% of GDP) respectively at end-2024. These testify Hong Kong’s status as a prominent international centre for finance and commerce and a preferred base for multinational corporations, while also reflect strong global investor confidence in Hong Kong’s economic prospects.
 
     Hong Kong’s DI covers a large geographical spread and a wide range of economic activities, with the Mainland featuring prominently both as a source and as a destination. This underscores Hong Kong’s pivotal roles as a “super connector” and a “super value-adder”.
 
     The Government will continue to leverage on Hong Kong’s unique advantages in fulfilling its role in connecting the Mainland with the world. Persistent efforts have been made in deepening Hong Kong’s international connectivity on all fronts, and proactive measures have been taken in attracting more Mainland enterprises to use Hong Kong as a platform to go global. The Government will also strengthen its policies for bringing in more strategic enterprises to set up in Hong Kong, thereby promoting high-quality development.
 
Further Information
 
     DI represents external investment in which an investor of an economy acquires a lasting interest and a significant degree of influence or an effective voice in the management of an enterprise located in another economy. For statistical purpose, an effective voice is taken as being equivalent to a holding of 10% or more of the voting power in an enterprise.
 
     According to the international statistical standards, the total stocks and flows of DI presented above are compiled based on the “asset/liability principle”, while detailed DI figures analysed by country/territory and by major economic activity of HKEGs are based on the “directional principle”. Owing to the adoption of different presentation principles, the total stocks and flows of DI are different from the sums of the detailed DI figures by country/territory or by major economic activity of HKEGs. However, the overall direct investment balance compiled from figures based on these two presentation principles respectively is the same.
 
     Tables 1 and 2 show the positions (i.e. stocks) and flows of inward DI in Hong Kong by selected major investor country/territory and by major economic activity of HKEGs respectively for 2023 and 2024. Similar statistics on outward DI from Hong Kong are presented in Tables 3 and 4.
          
     More detailed statistics are given in the report “External Direct Investment Statistics of Hong Kong 2024”. Users can browse and download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1040003&scode=260 
     Enquiries about the DI statistics may be directed to the Balance of Payments Branch (2) of the C&SD at 3903 7024.
Issued at HKT 16:30

Special traffic and transport arrangements for 59th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo 
* Pedestrianisation will continue to be implemented at East Point Road, Lockhart Road east of Cannon Street, and Great George Street west of Paterson Street from 4pm to midnight on Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays), and from noon to midnight on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays;
 
* Depending on the on-site crowd and traffic conditions, the section of Gloucester Road between Kingston Street and Causeway Road, Sugar Street, Great George Street, Paterson Street, Kingston Street, Cleveland Street, Hing Fat Street (except franchised buses and green minibuses), Electric Road and Lau Li Street may be closed temporarily or intermittently, and a corresponding traffic diversion will be implemented upon the Police’s request;
 
* Bus stops on Causeway Road outside Victoria Park will be rearranged temporarily;
 
* The public light bus stands at Paterson Street and Sugar Street, and the taxi stands at Paterson Street and Lau Li Street may be suspended upon the Police’s request; and
 
* Hing Fat Street Public Carpark (except for disabled parking spaces) will be suspended at different time slots daily from December 10, 2025 to January 6, 2026.
 
     Details of the special traffic and transport arrangements are available on the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk 
     Members of the public are advised to make use of public transport services as far as possible to avoid traffic congestion and unnecessary delays. The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures when necessary. The Police may adjust the traffic arrangements, subject to the prevailing crowd and traffic conditions. The public should pay attention to the latest traffic news through radio, television or “HKeMobility”.
Issued at HKT 16:00

Proprietors fined for violation of safety legislation      
     The case involved a fatal accident that occurred on December 23, 2024, at an open storage yard in Sheung Shui. Standing beside a lorry-mounted crane, a worker was struck by metal pipes that suddenly rolled off the deck of the crane after unfastening the tightening straps securing the metal pipes. The worker was certified dead on the same day.
Issued at HKT 15:50

NNNN