Month: July 2026

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 26) that Big Wave Bay Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island is temporarily closed until further notice for maintenance of the shark prevention nets. The red flag has been hoisted at the beach. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 26) that the squash court of Mui Wo Sports Centre in Islands District, which has been designated as a temporary shelter operated by the respective District Office of the Home Affairs Department earlier, has been reopened.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) today (July 27) launched a public consultation on proposed enhancements to the tax concession regime for corporate treasury centres (CTCs). The public consultation will last for six weeks until September 4.

     In June this year, the Government published the Action Plan to Promote the Development of CTCs in Hong Kong (Action Plan), which sets out a “4T” framework covering (i) tax revamp, (ii) tax agreements, (iii) targeted promotions, and (iv) talent and dialogue, with a view to attracting more multinational corporations to establish CTCs in Hong Kong, and enabling existing CTCs operating in Hong Kong to scale up their operations and fully leverage the city’s comprehensive financial ecosystem.- expanding the scope of tax deduction of interest expenses to cover a broader range of corporations, including those carrying on a business of carrying out corporate treasury activities; and
– making legal and administrative clarifications (such as the substantial activity requirement, the benchmark for intra-group financing business, and the definition of corporate treasury transactions, etc) to enhance tax certainty.- a 50 per cent tax exemption for interest income derived by pre-approved Hong Kong associated corporations from the pre-approved QCTC;
– exemption for a pre-approved QCTC from complying with the “subject to tax condition” on interest paid to its pre-approved non-Hong Kong associated corporations; and
– removal of the “anti-tax arbitrage rule” for pre-approved Hong Kong associated corporations. Such corporations may claim full tax deduction for expenses paid or payable to the pre-approved QCTC, subject to a cap set at 30 per cent of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (i.e. EBITDA) for interest expense deduction.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (July 27) the external merchandise trade statistics for June 2026. In June 2026, the values of Hong Kong’s total exports and imports of goods both recorded year-on-year increases, at 53.4% and 45.4% respectively.

In June 2026, the value of total exports of goods increased by 53.4% over a year earlier to $641.1 billion, after a year-on-year increase by 40.8% in May 2026. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods increased by 45.4% over a year earlier to $693.0 billion in June 2026, after a year-on-year increase by 42.0% in May 2026. A visible trade deficit of $52.0 billion, equivalent to 7.5% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in June 2026.

For the first half of 2026 as a whole, the value of total exports of goods increased by 39.1% over the same period in 2025. Concurrently, the value of imports of goods increased by 40.6%. A visible trade deficit of $294.6 billion, equivalent to 7.9% of the value of imports of goods, was recorded in the first half of 2026.

Comparing the second quarter of 2026 with the preceding quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of total exports of goods increased by 13.8%. Meanwhile, the value of imports of goods increased by 9.0%.

Analysis by country/territory

Comparing June 2026 with June 2025, total exports to Asia as a whole grew by 54.4%. In this region, increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations, in particular Singapore (+83.0%), Taiwan (+79.9%), Chinese Mainland (the Mainland) (+59.2%), Vietnam (+55.9%) and Thailand (+52.3%).

Apart from destinations in Asia, increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations in other regions, in particular the USA (+114.3%) and Mexico (+94.2%).

Over the same period of comparison, increases were registered in the values of imports from most major suppliers, in particular Korea (+176.7%), Vietnam (+106.8%), India (+95.4%), Malaysia (+62.4%) and the Mainland (+41.0%).

Comparing the first half of 2026 with the same period in 2025, increases were registered in the values of total exports to most major destinations, in particular Singapore (+90.1%), Taiwan (+68.8%), the USA (+57.8%), Thailand (+53.9%), the United Arab Emirates (+53.8%) and the Mainland (+42.4%).

Over the same period of comparison, increases were registered in the values of imports from most major suppliers, in particular Korea (+117.8%), India (+104.6%), Vietnam (+91.8%), the United Kingdom (+85.0%) and the Mainland (+44.4%).

Analysis by major commodity

Comparing June 2026 with June 2025, increases were registered in the values of total exports of most principal commodity divisions, in particular “electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof” (by $121.8 billion or +57.2%), “office machines and automatic data processing machines” (by $45.9 billion or +93.2%) and “telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment” (by $32.8 billion or +69.9%). 

Over the same period of comparison, increases were registered in the values of imports of most principal commodity divisions, in particular “electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof” (by $120.7 billion or +54.2%), “telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment” (by $37.4 billion or +67.3%) and “office machines and automatic data processing machines” (by $24.6 billion or +53.6%).

Comparing the first half of 2026 with the same period in 2025, increases were registered in the values of total exports of most principal commodity divisions, in particular “electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof” (by $560.9 billion or +47.7%), “telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment” (by $156.7 billion or +58.2%) and “office machines and automatic data processing machines” (by $122.6 billion or +33.7%).

Over the same period of comparison, increases were registered in the values of imports of most principal commodity divisions, in particular “electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances, and electrical parts thereof” (by $557.6 billion or +47.0%), “telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing apparatus and equipment” (by $204.0 billion or +71.5%) and “non-ferrous metals” (by $93.0 billion or +197.8%).

Commentary

A Government spokesman said that merchandise exports continued to surge in June. The value of merchandise exports grew by 53.4% over a year earlier, as global demand for AI-related electronic products stayed strong. Exports to most major markets continued to increase markedly.

Looking ahead, the robust demand for AI-related electronic products globally should render continued support to Hong Kong’s merchandise trade performance. Yet, the recent re-escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East deserves attention. The Government will continue to closely monitor the situation for any implications on export performance.

Further information

Table 1 presents the analysis of external merchandise trade statistics for June 2026. Table 2 presents the original monthly trade statistics from January 2023 to June 2026, and Table 3 gives the seasonally adjusted series for the same period.

The values of total exports of goods to 10 main destinations for June 2026 are shown in Table 4, whereas the values of imports of goods from 10 main suppliers are given in Table 5.

Tables 6 and 7 show the values of total exports and imports of 10 principal commodity divisions for June 2026.

All the merchandise trade statistics described here are measured at current prices and no account has been taken of changes in prices between the periods of comparison. A separate analysis of the volume and price movements of external merchandise trade for June 2026 will be released in mid-August 2026.

The June 2026 issue of “Hong Kong External Merchandise Trade” contains detailed analysis on the performance of Hong Kong’s external merchandise trade in June 2026 and will be available in early August 2026. Users can browse and download the report at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1020005&scode=230).

Enquiries on merchandise trade statistics may be directed to the Trade Analysis Section of the C&SD (Tel: 3863 2592).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible:

Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (July 27) that Shek O Beach in Southern District, Hong Kong Island, is temporarily closed until further notice for maintenance of the shark prevention net. The red flag has been hoisted at the beach. Beachgoers are advised not to swim at the beach.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (July 27) announced the results of a risk assessment study on sodium levels of bread products available in the local market. The study found that the overall average sodium content of the bread samples remained below the “high sodium” threshold. However, wide variations in sodium levels were observed among samples within the same bread type, suggesting that there is still room for the trade to reduce sodium content. 

A total of 112 non-prepackaged bread samples were collected at the retail level for the determination of sodium content. The study covered 12 varieties of bread, namely bagel, butter loaf, cheese bread, cocktail bun, croissant, French bread, “pineapple” bun, sausage bun, sesame roll/bun, sweet plain roll/bun, tuna fish bun and wheat bread with raisins. Moreover, the bread and the stuffings of sausage and tuna fish buns were separately analysed to determine the two portions’ contribution to the overall sodium content.

The findings showed that the average sodium content across all 12 types of commonly consumed bread samples was 320 milligrams/100 grams. French bread recorded the highest average sodium content at 550mg/100g, followed by cheese bread at 490mg/100g and bagels at 470mg/100g. The bread types with the lowest average sodium levels were wheat bread with raisins at 100mg/100g, and butter loaves and sweet plain rolls/buns which both averaged 130mg/100g. The study also found that the sausage and tuna fish stuffing portions accounted for an average of 55 per cent and 35 per cent of the total sodium content in their respective buns. Moreover, compared to overseas studies covering similar types of bread, the sodium levels of bagel, croissant, French bread and sweet plain roll/bun were comparable or lower.

A spokesman for the CFS said, “While the study found that the overall average sodium content of the bread samples remained below the ‘high sodium’ threshold (exceeding 600mg/100g), the sodium levels in some bread types were higher. For instance, consuming approximately one serving size of French bread (about 100g, equivalent to about one third of a long baguette of French bread) or one cheese bun could reach about one quarter of the maximum daily intake of 2000 mg recommended by the World Health Organization. The study also revealed significant variations in sodium content in the same type of bread produced by different suppliers, indicating that there is substantial room for the trade to reduce sodium through recipe reformulation.”

In light of the study findings, the CFS suggests the food trade consider reducing the sodium content of bread by modifying the preparation methods, ingredient(s) and formulations. The trade could also provide more bread products with lower sodium content for consumers to choose from, consider offering bread in smaller portion sizes, and establish a company database to record the sodium content of their bread products for monitoring. The CFS is also implementing a salt reduction scheme in bread by working with the industry to offer white bread and wholemeal bread with reduced sodium content via recipe reformulation. As for consumers, they should maintain a balanced and varied diet, avoiding excessive consumption of high-sodium bread to prevent excessive intake of sodium. When purchasing prepackaged bread, consumers should refer to the nutrition labels and select products with lower sodium levels and also pay attention to the levels of other nutrients (such as sugar and fat). 

​Details and results of the study are available on the CFS website at www.cfs.gov.hk.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Major Sports Events Committee today announced it has awarded “M” Mark status to two prestigious football exhibition matches scheduled for August 1 and 5 as part of the Hong Kong Football Festival 2026: Manchester City vs FC Internazionale Milano (Inter); and Chelsea FC vs Juventus.

Manchester City and Inter will compete for the Asahi Super Dry Trophy, while Chelsea and Juventus will go head to head for the Herbalgy Trophy.

“These two spectacular football showdowns will not only bring thrilling, world-class viewing experiences to local fans and visitors, but also fully demonstrate Hong Kong’s unique charm as an international capital for sports events,” said Committee Chairman Wilfred Ng.