Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LegCo Panels elect Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen The 18 Panels of the Legislative Council (LegCo) have elected their Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen for the 2026 session today (January 23). Details are available in the Attachment.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Immigration Department (ImmD) mounted a series of territory-wide anti-illegal worker operations codenamed “Lightshadow”, joint operations with the Hong Kong Police Force codenamed “Champion” and “Windsand”, a joint operation with the Labour Department codenamed “Rainbow” and a joint operation with the Hong Kong Police Force and the Labour Department codenamed “Powerplayer” from January 16 to yesterday (January 22). A total of 13 suspected illegal workers, four suspected employers and two suspected aiders and abettors were arrested.
During the anti-illegal worker operations, ImmD officers raided multiple target locations including restaurants, flats under renovation and grocery stores etc. Thirteen suspected illegal workers were arrested. The arrested suspected illegal workers comprised two men and 11 women, aged 24 to 62. Among them, two women were holding recognisance forms which prohibit them from taking any employment. Two men and two women, aged 36 to 62, were suspected of employing the illegal workers and were also arrested. Furthermore, the two suspected aiders and abettors arrested were a man aged 35 and a woman aged 50. An investigation into the suspected employers is ongoing, and the possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Light Public Housing to open for Phase 3 application from January 30 Eligible applicants will receive the application forms by post on or before January 30, sent by the HB in batches. Application forms submitted between January 30 and February 20 will be handled with priority. Those who have submitted an application form before do not need to make another application.
A spokesman for the HB said, “The LPH application has received an overwhelming response, with over 27 700 applications received as of mid-January. Under the leadership of the HB, six projects providing a total of about 9 500 units were progressively completed for tenant intake last year. Among these, four projects (including Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long; Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok; Choi Yuen Road, Sheung Shui; and Shun On Road, Kwun Tong) with over 4 600 units have already completed full intake. This fully demonstrates that with affordable rent, comprehensive facilities and services, as well as a better living environment, LPH is highly popular among citizens in need.”
The spokesman added, “The Phase 3 LPH projects are located in various districts in Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories, with different scales and merits. We believe that they can cater for the needs of different applicants. More importantly, the living environment and ancillary facilities of all LPH projects are far better than any inadequate housing, such as substandard sub-divided units. There are also special allowances for residents and various services and supports provided by the operating organisations for the tenants. As regards the special allowance for residents, the Commission on Poverty earlier approved an additional allocation of $57.05 million from the Community Care Fund to expand the Trial Scheme on Special Allowance for Households of Light Public Housing (Trial Scheme) to comprehensively cover all 13 LPH projects, extending it until March 31, 2028, with a view to providing timely support to more residents in need (including LPH Phase 3 applicants) and assisting them in adapting to their new communities more quickly. We encourage eligible citizens in need to submit their applications as soon as possible.”
Same as the present, the expanded Trial Scheme will continue to provide a one-off special allowance to LPH residents to alleviate their pressure arising from expenditures during removal and adaptation to the new living environment and communities (such as children’s school transfer, purchasing furniture and electrical appliances and re-establishing community networks). There is no restriction on the use of the allowance so as to allow households to meet their own needs in a more flexible manner. In response to the increase in living costs, the amounts of special allowance under the Trial Scheme have been slightly raised. The new amounts will come into effect from March 1. The amounts of allowance depending on the number of family members living together in the household and the location of the LPH projects are listed in the table below:
(applicable to applications submitted on or after March 1) Details of the LPH Phase 3 application are as follows:
(1) Eligibility for priority application: General applicants who have been on the waiting list for traditional public rental housing (PRH) for three years or more are eligible, with priority given to family applicants. Those meeting the eligibility criteria will receive by post the application forms sent by the HB in batches.
(2) Application period: Applicants who submit duly completed application forms between January 30 and February 20 will be handled with priority, whilst the HB will continue to accept applications after February 20.
(3) Submission methods: Interested applicants may submit their duly completed application forms by post to P.O. Box of the Dedicated Team on Light Public Housing of the Housing Bureau (P.O. Box 28222, Gloucester Road Post Office, Wan Chai, Hong Kong); or by depositing them into drop-in boxes during office hours (from 9am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays, except Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) at the following locations: In addition, if the applicant and all family members have registered for “iAM Smart+”, they may opt to complete, sign and submit the e-Form by scanning the exclusive QR code pre-printed on the application form.
The HB will process the application forms received as soon as possible and make arrangements for the allocation. To give priority to those families in need to move into LPH, if the applicants are currently living in inadequate housing; having special medical conditions; or having minor children, newborn babies, elderly persons, etc, in the family, they will be given a higher priority for LPH allocation.
Information of the projects in the Phase 3 application is as follows:
(1) Sheung On Street, Chai Wan: Providing about 1 720 units (including units for one to two persons, three to four persons and four to five persons), with a number of franchised bus and minibus routes available in the vicinity to/from Chai Wan MTR Station, Heng Fa Chuen MTR Station, and various places in Hong Kong and Kowloon. The estimated monthly rent ranges from about $1,340 to $3,020 (Note).
(2) Olympic Avenue, Kai Tak (Phase 2): Providing about 3 180 units (including units for one to two persons, three to four persons and four to five persons) in the first stage of application, adjacent to Kai Tak MTR Station, and with a number of franchised bus and minibus routes in the vicinity travelling to/from various places in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories. The estimated monthly rent ranges from about $1,310 to $2,990 (Note).
(3) Yan Po Road, Tuen Mun: Providing about 2 760 units (including units for one to two persons, three to four persons and four to five persons) in the first stage of application, adjacent to Yan Po Road Public Transport Interchange and bus stops on Yan Po Road, which provide a number of franchised bus routes to/from various places in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, and MTR bus routes to/from Tuen Mun and Siu Hong MTR Stations. The estimated monthly rent ranges from about $900 to $2,010 (Note).
(4) Tsing Fat Street, Tuen Mun: Providing about 1 160 units (including units for one to two persons, and three to four persons) in the first stage of application, with a bus terminus within the project, which provides public transport services to/from Tuen Mun Town Centre, Tuen Mun Road Bus-Bus Interchange and other destinations in the urban area during peak hours. The estimated monthly rent ranges from about $900 to $1,610 (Note).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
CSTB convenes meeting to co-ordinate preparation for visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during Chinese New Year Golden Week of Mainland The meeting was chaired by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, with representatives from government departments including the Hong Kong Police Force, the Immigration Department, Hong Kong Customs, the Transport Department, and various District Offices attending. Representatives from various tourism-related organisations including the Travel Industry Authority, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, major tourist attractions and the hotel industry also attended.
Miss Law said, “We are approaching the nine-day Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland, and various districts in Hong Kong will host a variety of festive events to create a rich New Year ambience for residents and visitors. We estimate a notable increase in visitor arrivals during the Chinese New Year Golden Week. Relevant departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will maintain close liaison with relevant organisations and the travel trade to make early preparation and planning with a view to providing a high-quality travel experience for visitors, allowing them to enjoy Hong Kong’s unique festive atmosphere.” Relevant parties will continue to maintain close communication before the Chinese New Year Golden Week of the Mainland to plan and take forward various preparations for welcoming visitors to Hong Kong and report the latest situation in a timely manner to the interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration. Issued at HKT 16:43
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Business expectations for the first quarter of 2026 Business Situation
For all surveyed sectors taken together, the proportion of respondents expecting their business situation to be better (11%) in Q1 2026 over the preceding quarter is lower than that expecting it to be worse (14%).
When compared with the results of the Q4 2025 survey round, the proportion of respondents expecting a better business situation in Q1 2026 is 11%, slightly lower than the corresponding proportion in Q4 2025 (13%). At the same time, the proportion of respondents expecting a worse business situation had slightly decreased from 15% in Q4 2025 to 14% in Q1 2026.
Analysed by sector, respondents in most of the surveyed sectors expect their business situation to decrease on balance or remain broadly unchanged in Q1 2026 as compared with Q4 2025. In particular, significantly more respondents in the construction and accommodation and food services sectors expect their business situation to be worse in Q1 2026 as compared with Q4 2025. On the other hand, in the financing and insurance sector, significantly more respondents expect their business situation to be better, as compared to those expecting it to be worse.
The results of the survey should be interpreted with care. In this type of survey on expectations, 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 future accords with the underlying trends. The enumeration period for this survey round was from December 1, 2025 to January 9, 2026.
Volume of Business/Output
Respondents in most of the surveyed sectors expect their volume of business/output to decrease on balance or remain broadly unchanged in Q1 2026 as compared with Q4 2025. In particular, significantly more respondents in the accommodation and food services and construction sectors expect their volume of business/construction output to decrease in Q1 2026 over Q4 2025. On the contrary, in the financing and insurance sector, more respondents expect their volume of business to increase, as compared to those expecting it to decrease.
Employment
Respondents in half of the surveyed sectors expect their employment to remain broadly unchanged in Q1 2026 as compared with Q4 2025. However, significantly more respondents in the construction sector expect their employment to decrease in Q1 2026 over Q4 2025. On the contrary, in the manufacturing and real estate sectors, more respondents expect their employment to increase, as compared to those expecting it to decrease.
Selling Price/Service Charge
Respondents in most of the surveyed sectors expect their selling prices/service charges to remain broadly unchanged in Q1 2026 as compared with Q4 2025. However, more respondents in the construction sector expect their tender prices to go down in Q1 2026 over Q4 2025.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that the overall near-term business outlook among large enterprises was largely stable for the first quarter of 2026, while the overall hiring appetite showed some slight easing.
Looking forward, the spokesman said that the continued positive momentum of the Hong Kong economy will support local business sentiment. Meanwhile, the Government will stay vigilant to the various uncertainties in the external environment.
Further Information
The survey gathers views on short-term business performance from the senior management of about 570 prominent companies in various sectors in Hong Kong with a view to providing a quick reference, with minimum time lag, for predicting the short-term future economic performance of the local economy.
The survey covers 10 major sectors in Hong Kong, namely manufacturing; construction; import/export trade and wholesale; retail; accommodation and food services (mainly covering services rendered by hotels and restaurants); transportation, storage and courier services; information and communications; financing and insurance; real estate; and professional and business services sectors.
Views collected in the survey refer only to those of respondents on their own companies rather than those on the respective sectors they are engaged in, and are limited to the expected direction of quarter-to-quarter change (e.g. “up”, “same” or “down”) but not the magnitude of change. In collecting views on the quarter-to-quarter changes, if the variable in question is subject to seasonal variations, respondents are asked to provide the expected changes after excluding the normal seasonal variations.
Survey results are generally presented as “net balance”, i.e. the difference between the percentage of respondents choosing “up” and that choosing “down”. The percentage distribution of respondents among various response categories (e.g. “up”, “same” and “down”) reflects how varied their business expectations are. The “net balance”, with its appropriate sign, indicates the direction of expected change in the variable concerned. A positive sign indicates a likely upward trend while a negative sign indicates a likely downward trend. However, the magnitude of the “net balance” reflects only the prevalence of optimism or pessimism, but not the magnitude of expected change, since information relating to such magnitude is not collected in the survey.
Furthermore, owing to sample size constraint, care should be taken in interpreting survey results involving a small percentage (e.g. less than 10%) of respondents in individual sectors.
Chart 1 shows the views on expected changes in business situation for the period Q1 2025 to Q1 2026.
Table 1 shows the net balances of views on expectations in respect of different variables for Q1 2026.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Tenders invited for road improvement works at Tai Kei Leng Road and Yuen Ching Road for Yuen Long South New Development Area Second Phase Development The works mainly include: (1) site clearance and formation (including land decontamination works), together with the provision of associated engineering infrastructure; (2) realignment and widening of the existing Tai Kei Leng Road; (3) extension of the existing Yuen Ching Road to connect Long Ho Road; (4) construction of associated works including Pai Laus, noise barriers, junction improvement works, cycle tracks, footpaths, water supply system, sewerage system, drainage system, nullah deckings, slope works, retaining walls, landscaping works, electrical and mechanical works and other ancillary works; and (5) implementation of environmental mitigation measures for the works mentioned above.
The works are scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2026 and will take about 38 months to complete.
The CEDD has commissioned AECOM Asia Company Limited to design and supervise the works. Interested contractors may download the tender forms and other particulars from the e-Tendering System (e-TS). Tenderers must submit tenders in electronic format via the e-TS.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Tenders invited for development of Advanced Construction Industry Building in Tsing Yi A spokesman for the Development Bureau (DEVB) said that the ACIB in Tsing Yi, covering an area of about three hectares, will be the first multi-storey advanced facility dedicated to the construction industry, aiming to drive the adoption of advanced construction technologies and enhance productivity and efficiency through synergy. It will facilitate the sustainable development of the construction industry and enable better land use. The land is being used by a low-density steel rebar prefabrication yard under a short-term tenancy. The Government will utilise the land to develop the multi-storey ACIB, providing more floor areas to set up advanced manufacturing facilities related to the construction industry. Construction is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2026, with commissioning targeted for 2028.
The 2025 Policy Address announced that the DEVB would take forward the ACIB project to provide a dedicated facility for the construction industry, featuring a multi-storey design to house steel rebar prefabrication yards, processing sites for Multi-trade Integrated Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MiMEP), and other advanced manufacturing facilities, so as to promote wider adoption of high productivity construction methods in the industry and enhance new quality productive forces. In May 2025, the DEVB invited the market to submit expressions of interest for this project and offer innovative and practicable suggestions on the relevant advanced facilities in the building. The Bureau subsequently reviewed seven submissions received mainly from local and Mainland contractors and operators related to the construction industry. The views collected were used to formulate the details of the open tender.
Under the 30-year contract adopting a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) approach, the successful tenderer will be responsible for project financing, design, construction and operation. Upon expiry of the contract, the whole building including all manufacturing facilities and equipment shall be transferred to the Government. Advanced production facilities to be provided in the ACIB shall include:
(1) Not less than 15 000 square metres of floor area for steel rebar prefabrication yards; (2) Not less than 5 000 sq m of floor area for MiMEP processing sites; and (3) Not less than 5 000 sq m of floor area for lease to the industry for operating steel rebar prefabrication yards or MiMEP processing sites. Under the two-envelope tender arrangement, a weighting of 70 per cent will be allocated to the assessment of the non-price proposal and 30 per cent to the price proposal. The tender must comply with both the non-price and price requirements. The assessment criteria for the non-price proposal mainly include the tenderer’s experience in managing and operating manufacturing facilities relevant to the construction industry, the overall planning and design of the building, innovative technologies for constructing and operating the advanced manufacturing building and facilities, the annual production capacity of the facilities, and other proposed advanced manufacturing facilities. The detailed assessment criteria are set out in the tender documents.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Legal notices for onboarding of Mandatory Provident Fund industry schemes to eMPF Platform gazetted (i) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Specification of Dates for Purposes of Section 19M(2)(a)) (Amendment) Notice 2026 (Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2026);
(ii) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19U(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2026, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Y(3)) (Amendment) Notice 2026, and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Z(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2026 (collectively Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2026); and
(iii) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Commencement) Notice 2026 (Commencement Notice 2026).
The Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2026 specifies March 26, 2026, and April 30, 2026, as “material day” for the BCT (MPF) Industry Choice administered by the Bank Consortium Trust Company Limited (BCT) and the BEA (MPF) Industry Scheme administered by the Bank of East Asia (Trustees) Limited (BEA) respectively, such that BCT and BEA are mandated to use the eMPF Platform to perform scheme administration functions in relation to these MPF schemes. On cost savings and fee-setting of the MPF scheme to be charged by the MPF trustee on scheme members, the Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2026 appoint June 26, 2026, and July 30, 2026, as respective “material day” for the constituent funds of the MPF schemes mentioned above, such that BCT and BEA are mandated to make corresponding reduction in their fees charged on scheme members in relation to the constituent funds of these MPF schemes.
The Commencement Notice 2026 appoints April 30, 2026, as the day on which sections 80, 100 and 106 of the Amendment Ordinance 2021 come into operation, such that the transfer of accrued benefits between trustees could be streamlined. The Commencement Notice 2026 also appoints October 5, 2026, as the day on which the remaining provisions set out in section 1(3)(b) of the Amendment Ordinance 2021 come into operation, such that the eMPF Platform Company Limited is mandated to maintain a new central register whilst repealing the two existing registers on personal accounts and unclaimed benefits maintained by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.
“With the onboarding of all MPF schemes to the eMPF Platform, it is anticipated that over 10 million MPF scheme members could enjoy fee reductions, representing more than 90 per cent of all scheme member accounts. At the same time, the Government will make use of the favourable conditions created by the eMPF Platform to implement other MPF reform initiatives, including the Phase One Proposal of MPF ‘Full Portability’ for which legislative amendments were completed last year,” a spokesperson for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said.
If scheme members/employers have any questions regarding the detailed operation of the eMPF Platform, they may visit the Platform’s official website (empf.org.hk), or call the Platform’s customer service hotline (183 2622).
The aforementioned legal notices will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting on January 28, 2026.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The Highways Department (HyD) today (January 23) gazetted a notice to extend the tender period for the contract for Widening of Yuen Long Highway (Section between Lam Tei Quarry and Tong Yan San Tsuen Interchange) (Contract No. HY/2025/13) to noon on February 13.
The HyD has commissioned AECOM Asia Company Limited to design and supervise the works. For enquiries, please call the company at 3922 9000 during office hours.