Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 3

     Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) Mr Charles Ng today (June 14) concluded his visit to Canada, deepening economic and business ties with Canadian investors and enterprises.

     During his visit June 8 to 14 to Waterloo, Toronto, and Montreal, Mr Ng met with investors, family offices, start-ups, academia, and business leaders, emphasising Hong Kong’s role as a global financial hub and gateway to Mainland China and international markets. He hosted roundtables highlighting Hong Kong’s strengths in wealth management and cross-border investments and discussed how Canadian enterprises can leverage Hong Kong for global expansion. He toured innovation labs and facilities at universities and discussed Asian expansion plans with Canadian founders. The meetings connected researchers and ecosystem builders across life sciences, medtech, cleantech, AI, and more.

     Mr Ng also highlighted the upcoming Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025, inviting Canadian investors and entrepreneurs to visit Hong Kong from November 3 to 7 and explore Asia’s dynamic markets. The event offers unparalleled access to industry leaders, cutting-edge fintech trends, and high-growth opportunities for positioning companies at the forefront of innovation.

     Mr Ng said, “The visit was highly fruitful, underscoring the strong economic relationship and vibrant investment exchanges between Hong Kong and Canada. It highlighted Hong Kong’s distinctive role as a ‘super connector’ linking global markets, offering Canadian businesses valuable pathways for expansion into Asia. This engagement not only reinforced ties between the two markets but also unlocked exciting collaborative opportunities.”

     Participants at the events expressed keen interest in Hong Kong’s business environment and connectivity. Investor Relations Officer, Velocity Incubator, University of Waterloo, Mr Andrew Martinko, said, “We learned from Invest Hong Kong about their strong commitment to driving tech innovation through action. They presented a dynamic and expanding start-up ecosystem, clearly focused on welcoming talented Canadian founders and connecting them with high-potential Asian markets and diverse funding opportunities, all within close geographic reach.”

     Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of XSIM AI Canada Inc, Ms Shan Tao, said “Participating in the StartmeUpHK Festival was a pivotal moment for XSIM AI Canada Inc. The support and insights from InvestHK and the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association helped us uncover the unique opportunities within Hong Kong’s ecosystem. It ultimately led to a conditional offer from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation’s Soft Landing Programme, and the establishment of our business there. Hong Kong is where our vision for practical, scalable, purpose-driven industrial AI found both strategic alignment and real momentum – advancing economic value and environmental impact.”

     Partner at DS Avocats and Honorary Secretary of the Federation of Hong Kong Business Associations Worldwide, Ms Cindy Ho, facilitated high-level connections during the trip and shared her insights. She said, “Canada and Hong Kong share a robust and time-tested business relationship, driving trade, investment, and innovation. With Hong Kong serving as a vital hub for Canadian businesses expanding into Asia, and Canadian expertise fuelling innovation in Hong Kong, this dynamic exchange is unlocking new opportunities and reinforcing bilateral trade and investment in the global economy. As a legal professional working closely with international businesses, I have seen firsthand how Canada and Hong Kong businesses can benefit namely through the Hong Kong-Canada Income Tax Agreement. Together, we are building a future of shared prosperity and ambition, backed by strong trade and investment agreements and a long-term commitment to sustainable growth.”

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong today met the management of internationally renowned semiconductor company Nexperia as he began his visit to the Netherlands.

Apart from learning about Nexperia’s latest development directions and technology as well as its businesses in Hong Kong and globally, Prof Sun also explored with the company on its plan of further expansion in Hong Kong.

Nexperia has businesses around the globe with research and development (R&D) facilities established in the Hong Kong Science Park.

On Saturday, Prof Sun visited the showroom of Renault Group in Paris, France, and met the group’s management who gave him a briefing on the latest development and planning of the group and its brands as well as its various innovative businesses. Both sides also explored ways to deepen collaboration.

BeyonCa, a premium electric vehicle enterprise backed by France’s Renault Group and China’s Dongfeng Motor Corporation, was established in Hong Kong in 2021 with its international headquarters being set up at the Hong Kong Science Park.

Prof Sun pointed out that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has clearly stated in the Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Development Blueprint that the development of advanced manufacturing and new energy are one of the strategic technology industries.

He highlighted that the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research & Development Institute, established in September last year, is preparing the set-up of two pilot lines at the Microelectronics Centre this year, striving to put them into operation next year to support product development and trial production.          

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

​The Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, began his visit to the Netherlands today (June 15, Amsterdam time).
 
Professor Sun met with the management of an internationally renowned semiconductor company Nexperia to learn about its latest development directions and technology, as well as its businesses in Hong Kong and globally. He also explored with the company on its plan of further expansion in Hong Kong. Nexperia has businesses around the globe with research and development (R&D) facilities established in the Hong Kong Science Park.
 
Professor Sun visited the showroom of Renault Group in Paris, France and met with the group’s management yesterday (June 14, Paris time). BeyonCa, a premium electric vehicle enterprise backed by France’s Renault Group and China’s Dongfeng Motor Corporation, was established in Hong Kong in 2021 with its international headquarters being set up at the Hong Kong Science Park. Professor Sun was briefed on the latest development and planning of the group and its brands as well as its various innovative businesses. Both sides also explored ways to deepen collaboration.

Professor Sun said, “The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has clearly stated in the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint that the development of advanced manufacturing and new energy are one of the strategic technology industries, and is actively enhancing support for strategic industries such as new energy vehicles and semiconductor technology, so as to promote new industrialisation in Hong Kong. In promoting microelectronics R&D, the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute was established in September last year to spearhead collaboration among universities, R&D centres and the industry on the R&D of third generation semiconductor core technology. The institute leverages the Greater Bay Area’s well-developed manufacturing industry chain and enormous market, and promotes the ‘1 to N’ transformation of R&D outcomes and industry development. It is preparing the set-up of two pilot lines at the Microelectronics Centre this year, striving to put them into operation next year to support product development and trial production.”
 
During his stay in Paris, Professor Sun was interviewed by local media to introduce the latest situation and opportunities of Hong Kong’s I&T, telling the good I&T story of Hong Kong.
 
Professor Sun will depart for The Hague this evening to continue his visit to the Netherlands.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Transport ＆ Logistics Mable Chan will begin a two-day duty visit to Shanghai tomorrow to promote Hong Kong’s strengths in maritime services to the Mainland shipping sector.

During the visit, Ms Chan will also inspect an automated port terminal to explore collaboration opportunities, and meet local government officials to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.

Ms Chan will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon. During her absence, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau will be Acting Secretary for Transport & Logistics.　

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, will start a two-day duty visit to Shanghai tomorrow (June 16).
 
During the visit, she will promote Hong Kong’s strengths in maritime services to the Mainland shipping sector and inspect an automated port terminal to explore collaboration opportunities. She will also meet with local government officials to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
 
Ms Chan will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday afternoon (June 17). During her absence, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, will be the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Police today officially launched the digitalisation of Fixed Penalty Notices, and will issue penalty tickets for illegal parking and moving traffic offences electronically from now on.

Additionally, a thematic portal and mobile application have also been launched to facilitate vehicle owners and drivers to verify and settle their fines using electronic payment methods.

The force will issue electronic penalty tickets (ePTs) according to the verified e-contact means (ECM) submitted by offenders to the Transport Department – SMS tickets for those who have provided a Hong Kong mobile phone number, and email tickets for those who have provided an email address.

It will continue to issue printed paper penalty tickets to those that have not submitted their verified ECMs.

At the initial stage of implementation, Police will adopt a “dual-track” transitional arrangement. Offenders will receive both ePTs and printed paper tickets, and they are only required to settle their fines using either one. Members of the public are encouraged to use ePTs. 

The formats of penalty tickets have also been updated to include new payment information and methods.

The force reminds the public that all SMS tickets are issued under the SMS sender name “#HKPF-eTT”, and a purported SMS ticket that is not sent under this sender name must be fake.

Moreover, all SMS or email tickets do not contain any hyperlinks, and people should avoid clicking on any suspicious hyperlinks or providing any personal information.

Lastly, the platform’s thematic portal has a domain ending with “.gov.hk”. Websites that do not end with “.gov.hk” are not government official websites.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

In response to a media report about impurities found in drinking water samples from various districts, the Development Bureau pointed out that the tests mentioned in the report were not conducted in strict compliance with the international standards adopted by Hong Kong’s drinking water testing programme.

The bureau said, as understood, the media organisation had mainly collected samples of impurities from aerators of water taps, commonly known as strainers, and then placed the samples into water for laboratory testing.

It noted that aerators are a kind of filter accessory commonly installed at household water taps and shower heads to help block impurities, hence the presence of impurities in the samples is simply a result of the strainer functioning, and is not abnormal.

In the past, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) had received similar inquiries, and staff members were deployed immediately to conduct onsite inspection.

They also arranged for flushing of consumers’ water meter, reminded them to cleanse the strainers, and checked for any irregularities in water quality. If a water quality issue is suspected, the WSD would collect drinking water samples for testing and notify consumers about the results.

In fact, only a few of such cases required water sample testing in the past three years, and the testing results showed that the water samples complied with Hong Kong Drinking Water Standards (HKDWS).

The bureau stressed that water quality testing must be conducted in accordance with international standards, including taking reference to ISO5667 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for sampling, and referencing Chinese National Standard GB/T 5750 and the American Public Health Association’s in testing methods and procedures.

The samples tested must be drinking water samples, not those collected from strainers as arranged by the relevant media organisation. In other words, the type of samples, methods and procedures will affect the validity and representativeness of the tests.

As mentioned in the report, impurities collected from the strainers include resin, plastic and silicone. The bureau said it may relate to materials peeling off from pipes or fittings of the inside service of the building. These substances are not soluble in water. If they are found, the inside service should be cleansed as soon as possible.

The bureau explained that the drinking water supplied by the WSD undergoes strict treatment and meets HKDWS. However, materials may peel off from public or inside service pipes of buildings due to aging or water pressure, necessitating the installation of strainers at pipes.

Property owners, registered agents and management offices must carry out regular and proper maintenance of building’s inside service, including cleansing sump and rooftop tanks, to maintain good drinking water quality at the consumers’ taps.

To ensure the city’s drinking water quality, the WSD runs a routine drinking water testing programme, randomly collecting water samples from over 28,000 publicly accessible consumers’ taps in shopping centres, community facilities, sports venues and government offices, for testing every year.

The sampling rate is based on international standards and the water quality parameters are drawn up in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.

Moreover, the WSD randomly selects about 670 residential and non-residential water accounts each year to collect drinking water samples at their water taps and test for six metals, namely, antimony, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and nickel, to ensure HKDWS compliance. The test results are regularly published on the department’s website.

The bureau added that the WSD had requested more detailed information, including sampling locations, for follow-up with the consumer when enquiries were received from the media organisation. It is still awaiting such information.

Citizens may call the WSD’s 24-hour hotline 2824 5000 to enquire about drinking water quality.