Serial numberNote: All above projects are subject to alienation restriction periods. Owners of the relevant units may only apply to alienate their flats in the open market subject to payment of premium after the alienation restriction period.
(2) In 2017, the HA endorsed the regularisation of the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) to address the demand for SSF among low-to-middle-income white-form applicants. The quota increased significantly from 2 500 in the first phase after regularisation (i.e. WSM 2018) to 7 000 as announced in the 2025 Policy Address. The WSM adopts the same income and asset limits as those under the HOS, allowing eligible persons to purchase the HA’s HOS flats or designated SSF provided by the HKHS with premium unpaid. As for the SCHS and SH projects, as mentioned above, their target groups are higher-income persons who are above the HOS application threshold yet cannot afford private housing. The positionings of the SCHS and SH projects are not the same as those of the HOS of HA and SSF of the HKHS, and hence the former are not included under the WSM. In addition, the stock of flats under the two schemes concerned is limited, and thus the setting up of a separate secondary market for them would not be practical. Although the land leases of the relevant housing estates do not provide for a secondary market, owners who wish to alienate their flats may do so in the open market subject to payment of premium, and since these units were sold at a smaller discount, the amount of premium to be paid would also be lower. We will continue to closely monitor the housing demand-supply situation and optimise the housing ladder at appropriate junctures, so as to encourage upward mobility of our citizens and help them achieve home ownership.
Issued at HKT 12:45
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Inaugural Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Shenzhen Joint Financial Regulatory Meeting
During the meeting, participants exchanged views on industry developments, supervisory work and latest market trends. They also discussed other key topics including banking support for the development of the international innovation and technology hub in the Greater Bay Area, regulatory oversight of AI development and application in the banking sector, as well as insurance services to enhance high-quality city development, facilitation of convenient cross-boundary medical insurance services, and the protection of consumer interests. Through enhanced financial regulatory co-operation and consensus building among Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Shenzhen, the meeting actively promoted high-quality development of the banking and insurance sectors, contributing to the stable development of financial markets and consumer protection.
Issued at HKT 19:00
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Brussels ETO concludes Year of Horse celebration events with receptions in Portugal and Romania
At the reception in Bucharest, Ms Yung also invited Romanian professionals in the information technology sector, which is one of the key economic drivers of Romania, to develop or expand their businesses in Hong Kong through the services provided by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK).
Together with the HKTDC and InvestHK, Brussels ETO also held a business seminar before the reception in Bucharest with the local wine and liquor trade to promote the business opportunities that Hong Kong offers as a leading hub for wine and liquor trading and auctions, following Hong Kong’s reduction of duty on liquor with an alcoholic strength of more than 30 per cent in 2024.
The guests of the reception in Bucharest were greeted by a curated performance by Hong Kong musicians based in Europe, featuring a celebratory medley that bridged Chinese and European musical traditions in a contemporary style, showcasing the talents of Hong Kong’s artists as well as the city’s vibrant cultural heritage and spirit of creativity.
Issued at HKT 18:55
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Remarks by SFST at Bloomberg Family Office Summit 2026 (English Only) (with photo)
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. First of all, a big welcome to this summit even though it is not hosted by us. But I think we share a lot of commonalities between Bloomberg and the FSTB (Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau) in terms of collaboration on financial services, in particular family offices. Just now most of the speech by Bing (Head of Asia Pacific at Bloomberg, Mr Bing Li) covered financial services or family offices but I must say, as we see things now, it’s worthwhile to go a little bit further, in terms of how this whole journey has started, and in terms of Hong Kong building a family office ecosystem.
Without boring all of you, if you recall the year 2023, this Government issued a policy statement on how we want to develop Hong Kong into a family office ecosystem. It was a time when we had COVID and also there was a lot of uncertainty about how the world may unfold. But against that backdrop, we have eight measures being introduced, including tax concessions for family offices, New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, the decision to set up an Academy for Wealth Legacy (Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy) and ways to streamline our approval process for charities in Hong Kong. In that year of 2023, it was also the very first year we hosted the Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit. It was a time when nobody knew exactly what it is because people thought most wealthy individuals or families want to stay low-profile, that they don’t want to be seen. I was warned by many people around me that the summit is going to be a failure because those people don’t want to be seen, don’t want to be heard, and that’s why no one will come. That said, we had a very successful inaugural event in 2023. Time goes on and now it comes to the fourth edition.
As I highlighted, it’s really a journey. After 2023, you may wonder what happened? Just now Bing mentioned our collaboration, and it’s exactly in the year 2024 that we have a Family Office Nexus with Bloomberg in terms of articulating what Hong Kong’s proposition is for family offices, in particular what we can offer to each other in terms of growing this ecosystem. Before that Nexus collaboration, I had the opportunity to meet Michael (Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mr Michael Bloomberg) and also Kevin (Global Head of External Relations of Bloomberg LP, Mr Kevin Sheekey) back then in New York, thanks to Bing’s arrangement. What I was impressed most are two things.
First of all, Michael is really a person that’s very approachable. I recall that when I went to his office, it was just like a normal desk for a clerk. I thought I was in the waiting room but actually it’s not a waiting room; that is his office and he served me tea and fruits. Number two is the fact that he has a lot of insights, in particular how he can put his personal wealth and energy to good causes, in particular his foundation. It actually inspires me a lot in terms of what family offices can do, not just for wealth preservation or creation, but more on what you can do for the community. Thereafter, we had this arrangement where we have this Nexus (Hong Kong Family Office Nexus) and soon after that we have this rulebook (Digital Knowledge Hub) issued by Bloomberg, basically a one-stop shop on the Bloomberg terminal, allowing everybody who would like to learn about Hong Kong’s licensing and requirements for family offices, the investment landscape in Hong Kong and other information to get access to it. I was told that there are a lot of entries and also a lot of usages in that rulebook, which is promising and enlightening.
Soon after and during that year, we had a number of good news. Number one is that we announced that there are 2 700 single family offices in Hong Kong. What I want to clarify is that even though we fixated on that number, it’s not just the number that we get from our Invest Hong Kong. It actually includes the number that Deloitte, which is the independent consultant that we asked to do this research, provides us with in terms of single family offices in Hong Kong, and it hasn’t included the multiple family offices in Hong Kong. So that’s why the ecosystem in terms of number is actually bigger than 2 700. Number two, if you look at how we have come about, as I said, the journey through 2024 and 2025, just very recently, in the early part of this year, we announced another figure, which is 3 380, representing an increase of 680 on the number of family offices, as well as almost a 25 per cent growth.
That number again is just a number that was given by an independent survey. We expect the number to be more because the reason that we have this number is that we didn’t really count other family offices which just come by without government support. Many of them just come here, get their company listed and form a family office and we don’t really know. But that said, I think the 3 380, which is quite an auspicious number, is like a good indication in terms of how vibrant and also how robust we are as an ecosystem for family offices. At the same time, I think one thing that we all try to do throughout these years is apart from the number we want to grow; we also want to make sure that the family office system, as it grows, is benefitting the overall community. That’s why in a latest survey apart from indicating this number of 3 380 single family offices, we also have a few figures.
First of all, we estimated there are around 10 000 individuals or professionals working in this sector in Hong Kong. I suppose most of them are here.
Another figure that we produced is that, annually we expect the family office ecosystem is benefitting Hong Kong in terms of GDP by around HK$13 billion. We want to illustrate that family offices are not just an elite group in Hong Kong; rather they are penetrating and benefitting the overall community.
Of course, being journalists and being Bloomberg, you are very critical people. Every time I quote this number, people will ask, okay, a good number to quote. But that’s it. How about the size, the AUM (assets under management) of these family offices? I can also share with you in this report that, as we estimated, among these 3 380 single family offices, more than half are managing assets or AUM beyond US$50 million and the smallest that we get is around US$10 million. So I would say it is really quite an impressive report in terms of how the ecosystem has been faring, at the same time how it has grown about developing this financial service area. This is where we are now in numbers.
But the next question to ask, being journalists, I’m going to put myself into your shoes, is how about going forward? Where should we go from here? And it’s my firm belief that we should really get our family office 2.0 or this ecosystem deeper and more integrated. I think it should be integrated or deeper in three senses. Number one is to get the local or the indigenous family offices in Hong Kong to try being more integrated with the regional and global ones. It’s very illustrative in our Wealth for Good in Hong Kong Summit that took place yesterday. We had a very good dialogue among the long-established family offices in Hong Kong like Hysan (Hysan Development Company Limited); with the new ones or with the very well-established ones from Germany, for example, we have Leica (Leica Camera AG) and also at the same time those from Europe, the US and Australia. So this is number one in terms of integration that we want to see.
Another type of integration is to see how family offices can get more embedded in different economic or financial activities of Hong Kong, including technology, green, social enterprises, etc. I suppose that’s the reason Kevin and Bing are having this conference – to make sure that these topics will basically penetrate throughout this coming summit.
The final integration that I want to see is that the ecosystem is not just benefitting the so-called Wall Street, but also the Broad Street. That’s why philanthropic activities are so essential. In that regard, right now we have more than 10 000 registered charities in Hong Kong and we’re looking forward to seeing more. In particular, we are very eager to see how this family office ecosystem can really benefit the underprivileged in the community. That’s why the Academy for Wealth Legacy that we set up a few years ago is very eager to see how we have all these kinds of local and regional charity projects coming together to share experiences, learn from each other and also encourage more similar acts by family offices here, also regionally and globally. Right now, they have engaged around 700 family participants. I definitely want to push them to do more. And in that regard, I look forward to further collaborating with Bing and Bloomberg, to getting this ecosystem more integrated, deeper in the three senses I mentioned: East and West, finance and other economic activities, and also finance with broader social and philanthropic endeavours.
I suppose my time is up because I saw the red light flashing. At the same time, I look forward to more insights and also more sharing from the speakers to come. Thank you.
Issued at HKT 18:35
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
HKMA 2026 Pay Review
The Financial Secretary has approved that the Fixed Pay of the HKMA staff will be adjusted upward by a general increase of 2.65 per cent, where an allocation of 1.35 per cent of Fixed Pay is set aside for awarding good performers. Variable Pay equivalent to 20.04 per cent of Total Pay will also be paid to staff on the basis of their performance in 2025. Variable Pay is a one-off payment to staff who have attained or exceeded the required level of performance.
The Financial Secretary determines the pay adjustment of HKMA staff each year having regard to the recommendations made to him by the GSC through EFAC, GSC’s assessment of the performance of the HKMA in the preceding year, the pay-survey findings of the financial sector conducted by independent human resources consultants and any other relevant factors.
Issued at HKT 18:32
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Customs detects smuggling case involving river trade vessel with goods worth about $71 million seized (with photo)
Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, the river trade vessel departing from Hong Kong for Macao was selected for inspection on that day. Upon examination, Customs officers aboard the vessel found a large batch of suspected smuggled goods, including suspected pharmaceutical products, cosmetic injection material, cigars, mobile phones and electronic parts.
Investigations are ongoing. The likelihood of arrests is not ruled out.
Being a government department primarily responsible for tackling smuggling activities, Customs has long been combating various smuggling activities on all fronts. Customs will keep up its enforcement action and continue to resolutely combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies, and carry out targeted anti-smuggling operations at suitable times to crack down on relevant crimes.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 18:05
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Dominic Lee and a reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (March 25):
Question:
There are views that the current arrangements under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS), which focuses on implementing major maintenance works, may not fully address the actual needs of housing estates where buildings are in good condition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will revise the building score system for target buildings under MBIS to include factors such as routine maintenance records, whether a maintenance fund of a reasonable scale has been set up and the past performance of property management companies (PMCs) as considerations, so that housing courts where buildings’ structures are in good condition and maintenance records are in order may postpone mandatory building inspections or implement ongoing maintenance plans in replacement of major maintenance works under safe circumstances; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the respective numbers of cases received and approved, and for which the works have been completed under the various funding schemes (including the Integrated Building Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme) implemented by the Government to assist property owners in taking forward the major maintenance projects in each of the past five years; and
(3) as there are views that given the increasingly important roles of PMCs in providing assistance in supervising building maintenance works, apart from continuously applying the codes of conduct issued by the Property Management Services Authority, whether the Government will enact legislation to specify the statutory responsibilities of the management companies in relation to mandatory building inspections and major maintenance works, including assisting in administration and monitoring of the tendering procedures and enhancing the transparency of project information, with a view to avoiding problems of unreasonable costs or unclear accounts; if so, of the details and the specific directions; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
It is the fundamental responsibility of property owners to maintain their properties. Under a two-pronged strategy, the Government, on the one hand, encourages and supports property owners to maintain and repair their properties. This includes the Government partnering with the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) to provide financial and technical support to property owners in need, assisting them with inspection and repair works. On the other hand, the Government takes proactive intervention where dilapidated buildings pose a public safety hazard.
(1) Under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS), when a private building reaches 30 years of age or above, the Buildings Department (BD) may, in accordance with the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), issue a MBIS notice to the buildings in need, requiring the owner to appoint a registered inspector to carry out prescribed inspections and, where necessary, prescribed repair works in accordance with the result of the inspections.
I would like to emphasise that the legislation does not require all private buildings that have reached 30 years of age to undergo mandatory prescribed inspections. Since the MBIS was implemented in 2012, the BD has successively issued MBIS notices to approximately 9 000 buildings. About 70 per cent of these buildings were already of age 50 years or more at the time the notices were issued. In fact, the BD adopts a risk-based approach in accordance with the building score system to identify buildings for issuing MBIS notices. The current scoring system, which was formulated after consultation with professional bodies and the District Councils, has a maximum score of 100 points. The higher the score, the greater the chance a building will be selected. Currently, under the system, around 70 per cent of the score covers “building condition”, such as emergency report of building defects, outstanding investigation or repair orders, or ranked to be in “poor” condition in the URA’s building condition survey. 10 per cent of the score depends on “building management”, such as whether the building is classified as a “three-nil building”; 10 per cent depends on building age; while the remaining 10 per cent depends on whether the building has cantilevered structures to prevent structural failure and collapse due to compromised load-bearing capacity.
(2) The Government has since 2018 introduced a number of subsidy schemes in partnership with the URA with a total financial commitment of $19 billion, including the Operation Building Bright 2.0, the Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme, the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme, the Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Needy Owners and the Building Drainage System Repair Subsidy Scheme. Figures on applications received, approved, and works completed relating to these subsidy schemes are set out in the Annex. In addition, it was announced in the Budget that the Government will conduct a comprehensive review of the Operation Building Bright 2.0 and draw on past experience to formulate a new subsidy scheme. The Government has earmarked $3 billion for this purpose. We will complete the review early next year and finalise the details of the new subsidy scheme, at which time we will also consult the Legislative Council.
(3) According to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB), as a result of the commencement of the new procurement requirements stipulated under the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) (BMO) in July last year, the Property Management Services Authority (PMSA) has updated the Code of Conduct on Carrying Out Procurement for Clients and Prevention of Bid-rigging and the related Best Practice Guide under the Property Management Services Ordinance (Cap. 626) (PMSO). These updates assist PMCs in handling procurement in a professional and effective manner. If the PMSA has reasonable grounds to suspect that a licensee has failed to comply with the Code, it may initiate an investigation. Upon completion of the investigation and if a disciplinary offence is confirmed, the PMSA may conduct a hearing and impose penalties according to the PMSO, including verbal warnings or written reprimands, fines, imposing or varying a condition of the licence, temporarily suspending the licence, or revoking the licence.
As part of the work in deepening the reform of building management, the HYAB is taking forward the next-phase review and amendment of the BMO. The five preliminary amendment directions include increasing the quorum and voting-in-person thresholds for meetings concerning large-scale maintenance works and high-value procurement; further improving the mechanism of declaration of interests by requiring the works consultants to declare their relationships with the contractors, thereby enhancing the transparency of the procurement process. Following the approach taken in the previous BMO amendment, the PMSA will also update the related Codes of Conduct in tandem with the amendments to the BMO, enabling licensed PMCs to assist owners’ corporations and owners in fulfilling their building management responsibilities more effectively.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
CSTB concludes agreement with Art Basel to deepen collaboration over next five years
In line with its policy objective to establish Hong Kong as a global hub for premium arts trading, the CSTB has entered into a five-year collaboration arrangement with Art Basel, reinforcing Hong Kong as the exclusive host city in the region. In addition to the annual art fair held each March, Art Basel Hong Kong will continue to drive public art promotion and education in the city and will support the CSTB in shaping strategies to further develop the local art ecosystem and market.
Speaking at the opening reception of Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 today, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, said this long-term partnership underscores the Government’s strong commitment to cementing Hong Kong’s status as a global hub for premium arts trading, as well as Hong Kong’s role as a premier East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange. Over the next five years, the Government and Art Basel will work hand in hand to elevate Hong Kong’s world-class high-end arts trading platform and showcase the brilliance of local and Asian talent to a global audience. She is also confident that this partnership will extend beyond the walls of the exhibition hall. Art Basel Hong Kong has always been a powerful engine for the city’s mega-event economy, drawing art lovers, collectors, and industry leaders from around the world to experience the unique energy of Hong Kong, she added.
Since its debut in Hong Kong in 2013, Art Basel Hong Kong has become one of the most prominent flagship art events and a key fixture on the city’s international calendar, bringing together hundreds of international galleries and tens of thousands of collectors and industry professionals each year. Art Basel Hong Kong 2025 was a prime example of success. The five-day fair featured 240 galleries from 42 countries and regions, attracting some 86 500 visitors, more than half of whom travelled to Hong Kong for the event. Looking ahead, the CSTB’s close collaboration with Art Basel Hong Kong will certainly foster the development of the cultural and arts industries, thereby delivering further economic and social benefits for Hong Kong.
Issued at HKT 16:36
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Automatic Exchange of Information) Bill 2026 to be gazetted
As an international financial and trade centre, Hong Kong has been supporting international efforts in enhancing tax transparency and combating cross-border tax evasion. Since 2018, Hong Kong has been conducting automatic exchange of financial account information with partner jurisdictions on an annual basis, in accordance with the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and on the premise of data confidentiality and security. This enables the relevant tax authorities to conduct assessment on their tax residents, as well as detect and combat tax evasion.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, “Since 2024, the OECD has been conducting the second round of peer review on Hong Kong’s implementation of the AEOI regime. Having taken into consideration the OECD’s views, we propose amending the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to enhance the relevant administrative framework, including requiring reporting financial institutions to register with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for strengthening identification, enhancing the requirements on keeping due diligence records, and raising the penalties to increase deterrence. The relevant amendments will take effect from January 1, 2027. Addressing the OECD’s comments in a timely manner will help Hong Kong maintain a favourable rating in the peer review and safeguard Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial centre.
“The Government conducted a public consultation between December last year and February this year. We are pleased that stakeholders, including professional bodies and the financial sector, generally support the above legislative proposals. We have duly taken into account their views on the implementation details when drafting the Bill.”
To assist the industry in adapting to the new requirements and enhance tax certainty, the IRD will issue relevant guidance in due course and provide technical support to the industry and answer enquiries.
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first reading on April 1.
Issued at HKT 15:36
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Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
EMSD urges public to stop using two models of Super and JHE adaptors
The two models of adaptors concerned are as follows:
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