Month: July 2026

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau and the Inland Revenue Department today launched a public consultation on proposed enhancements to the tax concession regime for corporate treasury centres (CTCs).

The consultation paper proposes introducing a two-tiered regime for CTC tax concessions.

Under Tier 1, the Government seeks to refine existing tax concessionary measures for qualifying CTCs and intra-group financing businesses operating in Hong Kong.

Tier 2 introduces a pre-approval mechanism allowing eligible CTCs and their associated corporations that meet specified conditions to access additional tax benefits or flexibilities over a five-year validity period, subject to Inland Revenue Department approval.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui highlighted the consultation as a major initiative to revamp the tax regime and a significant step towards implementing the “Action Plan to Promote the Development of CTCs in Hong Kong”.

“We have been in close communication with the industry. The tiered tax regime proposed in the consultation paper is precisely designed to address the pain points of the industry in a targeted manner, providing eligible corporations with more comprehensive tax benefits, greater tax certainty, and enhanced compliance flexibility,” Mr Hui said.

He added that the measures are expected to draw more multinational corporations across various sectors and regions to leverage Hong Kong’s role as a platform for “bringing in and going global”, encouraging them to bring funds and core businesses to the city for centralised management, and in turn strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a major base for CTCs.

Members of the public can submit their views on the consultation paper by post to 24/F, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, or by email by September 4.

After considering the feedback received, the Government plans to issue administrative clarifications for enhancing the existing tax concession regime for CTCs within this year, before introducing legislative amendments to the Legislative Council in the first half of next year.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders can now visit Nicaragua without a visa for up to 30 days, the Immigration Department announced today.

Starting from today they will also be able to enjoy visa-free travel to the Solomon Islands for up to 30 days.

Concurrently, nationals of Nicaragua and Solomon Islands can now visit Hong Kong visa-free for up to 30 days.

Highlighting that both Nicaragua and the Solomon Islands are part of the Belt & Road Initiative, the department said the new arrangements bring greater travel convenience to travellers from all three places, while strengthening Hong Kong’s ties with Nicaragua and the Solomon Islands in terms of tourism, culture and economy.

A total of 178 countries and territories now allow visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to Hong Kong SAR passport holders.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention TV and radio duty announcers:
 
Please broadcast the following special announcement by the Education Bureau concerning schools, and repeat it at suitable intervals:

As the Hong Kong Observatory will issue Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3 between 1pm and 3pm today (July 25), classes of kindergartens, schools for children with physical disability and schools for children with intellectual disability will be suspended after noon today. These schools, however, should keep their premises open and implement contingency measures to look after arriving students. They should ensure that conditions are safe before allowing students to return home.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention TV/radio announcers:
 
Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:
 
     The Civil Engineering and Development Department today (July 25) announced that as the Standby Signal No. 1 has been issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, the Chai Wan Public Fill Barging Point has been closed at 8.30am until further notice.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore (Singapore ETO), with funding provided by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, supported the Hong Kong Children’s Choir (HKCC) on its 10-day cultural exchange tour across Singapore and Vietnam, which culminated in the HKCC’s first-ever full concert in Vietnam at the Saigon Opera House in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) yesterday evening (July 25). Featuring 49 choristers aged between 12 and 16, the tour brought Hong Kong’s young artistic talent to the vibrant Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region through a series of concerts, performances, international festivals and exchange activities.

     The finale concert, themed “Everything Flows”, was presented in collaboration with the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra and supported by the Hong Kong Business Association Vietnam (HKBAV). Led by the Music Director and Principal Conductor, Kathy Fok, the Choir showcased a repertoire of Chinese and Western choral works, highlighting Hong Kong’s vibrant arts and cultural scene while promoting cross-border cultural dialogue through music.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) High-level Roundtable on Data for Growth in Chengdu today (July 25):

Good morning, chair (Chair of the 2026 APEC Digital Weeks High-level Roundtable on Data for Growth, Administrator of the National Data Administration of China, Mr Liu Liehong) and distinguished fellow colleagues.

Data is often described as the “new oil”, a powerful resource defining innovation, productivity and inclusive growth. Yet, data only creates value when it is governed responsibly, shared securely and applied wisely. Hong Kong, China (HKC), adopts a balanced approach between openness and governance to keep us at the global forefront in driving high-quality development while safeguarding public confidence.

Now in HKC, more than 5 700 datasets are accessible to the public free of charge to facilitate innovative solutions, business applications and academic research. The scale of adoption is remarkable, with annual data downloads surging from 5 billion in 2019 to over 85 billion in 2025.

We have also established the Common Spatial Data Infrastructure, a one-stop platform hosting a rich repository of standardised geospatial data. These datasets include high-quality territory-wide 3D digital maps covering more than 120 000 buildings and comprehensive 3D pedestrian network. This robust digital infrastructure supports urban planning, city management, smart infrastructure and emerging sectors such as the low-altitude economy and eco-tourism.

Secure and consent-based data sharing is equally vital. Our Consented Data Exchange Gateway (CDEG) securely connects government systems with the financial sector, enabling banks, upon explicit customer authorisation, to access government registries for streamlined account opening, fraud detection and property valuation. CDEG now covers all government departments, facilitating lawful personal data reuse with user consent. To date, CDEG has processed over 40 million secure exchanges.

Looking ahead, we will launch the Digital Corporate Identity (CorpID) Platform this year, enabling secure, efficient, and consensual corporate data exchange among government departments and corporations. It also allows us to explore interface with other corporate identity platforms, paving the way for potential cross-border identity authentication and data interoperability.

Unlocking data’s full value requires strong computing infrastructure. HKC’s current computing power stands at a strong 5 000 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second), and the upcoming Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster is set to deliver an additional 180 000 PFLOPS in the next few years, rendering critical support for the growth of data-driven industries and reinforcing HKC’s role as a leading regional digital infrastructure hub.

As we stand at this pivotal moment, we look forward to deepening collaboration, exchanging insights and sharing visions with our APEC colleagues in harnessing data as a driving force for innovation, productivity, inclusive growth and shared prosperity. Thank you.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Hong Kong Observatory issued the Increasing Gale or Storm Signal No. 9 at 1.10am today (July 26). It replaced the No. 8 Northwest Gale or Storm Signal.
      
     The Home Affairs Department has so far opened 29 temporary shelters in various districts and 193 people have sought refuge at the shelters.
          
     As at 1am, the Government’s 1823 Call Centre and the Fire Services Department received 1 report and 6 reports of fallen trees respectively. No report of landslide or flooding has been received so far.
      
     According to the Hospital Authority, no person has sought medical treatment at the Accident and Emergency Department at public hospitals due to typhoon-related injuries.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region