Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Hong Kong Police Force, in collaboration with its counterparts in Macau, Malaysia, the Maldives, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand, conducted the first joint operation of FRONTIER+, a cross-boundary anti-scam platform.

During the month-long operation that began on April 28, 1,858 individuals were arrested, involving 9,268 cases of online shopping scams, telephone deceptions, investment scams, rental scams and employment scams, with a total loss amounting to US$225 million.

Moreover, 32,607 bank accounts were frozen and approximately US$20 million in fraudulent funds were intercepted, effectively disrupting criminal cash flows.

At a press conference this afternoon, Hong Kong Police Force Commercial Crime Bureau Chief Superintendent Wong Chun-yue said investigations revealed that scams across different jurisdictions showed notable similarities.

For instance, the impersonation of customer service representatives emerged as a widespread scam tactic in Hong Kong in 2024, and became less prevalent in 2025 after police intervention. Also in 2025, similar fraudulent schemes employing identical scripts and excuses began to appear in Singapore and Macau.

This observation underscores the critical need for cross-jurisdictional collaboration and intelligence sharing to combat scam syndicates effectively, Mr Wong pointed out.

Established by various anti-scam centres in October 2024, FRONTIER+ now comprises 10 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Indonesia, the Macao SAR, Malaysia, the Maldives, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.

By strengthening intelligence exchange and co-ordinated actions, the platform aims to combat scams, cyber-related crimes and money laundering. It will continue to conduct real-time intelligence analysis and sharing, carry out cross-boundary joint operations, and expand its network by inviting more countries and regions to join, in order to enhance enforcement efficiency.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan will lead Logistics Development Council members on a visit to Chengdu and Chongqing tomorrow to promote Hong Kong’s strengths in logistics.

Ms Chan and the delegation will visit local logistics facilities to gain insights into their operations and explore collaboration opportunities in logistics.

She will also attend the Hong Kong-Chongqing logistics sector co-operation seminar, organised by the Logistics Development Council and Trade Development Council, to foster exchanges between industry players from Hong Kong and Chongqing.

Furthermore, she will meet government officials from Chengdu and Chongqing to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Ms Chan will return to Hong Kong on Friday evening. During her absence, Under Secretary for Transport & Logistics Liu Chun-san will be Acting Secretary.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

May was drier than usual, with a monthly rainfall 81.6mm, which was only about 28% of the norm, the Hong Kong Observatory said today.

The accumulated rainfall recorded in the first five months of the year was 207.1mm, about 35% of the norm for the same period and the eighth lowest on record for the same period.

Moreover, the month was hotter than usual. The monthly mean minimum temperature of 25.5 degrees Celsius, monthly mean maximum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and monthly mean temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius were above their corresponding norms and were respectively one of the eighth, the ninth and the 10th highest on record for May.

The spring of this year from March to May was also warmer than usual. The mean maximum temperature of 26.7 degrees Celsius and mean temperature of 23.7 degrees Celsius were one of the fifth and one of the eighth highest on record for the same period.

A cold front moved across the coast of Guangdong and the temperature in the city dropped to 21 degrees Celsius on May 11, the lowest of the month. Temperatures rose to a maximum of 33 degrees Celsius on May 22, the highest of the month, under the influence of an anticyclone.

There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in May, the observatory added.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government today (June 3) hosted the Forging a National High-calibre Talent Hub Symposium, which gathered about 150 representatives from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong Province, the nine Mainland cities and four major co-operation platforms of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Macao SAR, as well as 23 renowned universities on the Mainland and five of the world’s top 100 universities in Hong Kong.

     The symposium was themed “Regional Collaboration, Empowerment through Science and Education, Global Talent Attraction”. Through keynote speeches and thematic panel discussions, participants exchanged views on promoting regional collaborative ties on talent work and the strategic development of a national high-calibre talent hub.

     In delivering his welcome remarks, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, said that education, technology and talent form the critical foundation for developing new quality productive forces and enhancing high-quality development. The Committee on Education, Technology and Talents of the Hong Kong SAR Government is targeting the manpower demand of Hong Kong’s strategic positioning of “eight centres” and co-ordinating the promotion of integrated development of education, technology and talent to build Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent.

     Vice Minister of Human Resources and Social Security Mr Yu Jiadong stated in his video address that talent serves as a strategic pillar for advancing Chinese modernisation. Building a national high-calibre talent hub requires integration of education, technology and talent, while establishing an environment for talent development with global competitiveness needs reform and innovation of the talent system and mechanism from a global perspective, thereby creating new opportunities and impetus for achieving high-quality development.

     The Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, Professor Richard Wong, and the Vice-President (Talent and International Strategy) of City University of Hong Kong, Professor Li Wen-jung, delivered keynote speeches at the symposium, discussing how higher education institutions in Hong Kong can nurture talent for integration with regional and industry development.

     The symposium featured two thematic panel discussions. The first discussion, joined by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun; the Director of the Beijing Municipal Talent Work Bureau, Mr Zhang Ruobing; the Director of the Shanghai Municipal Talent Work Bureau, Mr Pan Xiaogang; the Deputy Director of the Talent Work Leading Group Office of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Mr Man Xincheng; and the Secretary-General of the Talent Development Committee of the Macao SAR Government, Mr Chao Chong-hang, explored ways to synergise regional strengths in building the talent hub. The second discussion, with representatives from Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Harbin Institute of Technology and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, examined the new talent cultivation models in innovative education.

     Witnessed by Mr Sun, the Director of Hong Kong Talent Engage, Mr Anthony Lau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone, Ms Liang Ke, and member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Talent Work Leading Group Office of the CPC Guangzhou Nansha District Committee, Mr Zhang Jiabing, respectively, deepening collaboration in talent recruitment, services, employment and development between Hong Kong and the two regions.

     In his closing remarks, Mr Sun highlighted Hong Kong’s various advantages in attracting global talent and the need to collaborate with different regions across the country through interdependence and mutual reinforcement, thereby accelerating the development of the national high-calibre talent hub. He expected that the symposium, together with the second Global Talent Summit · Hong Kong scheduled for early next year, would bring together valuable experiences from various regions in talent attraction, retention, nurturing and recruitment, to inject new impetus into high-quality development and achieve the vision of developing a national quality workforce.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Land Registry logged 6,442 sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in May, down 10.9% compared with April and 12.5% lower year-on-year.

The total consideration for such agreements in May dropped 0.5% from the previous month to $49.8 billion, representing a 20% year-on-year decrease.

Of the agreements, 5,105 were for residential units, amounting to a 10.3% decrease from April and an 8% drop from a year ago.

The total consideration for residential units was $38.2 billion, down 9.4% compared with April and 28.3% lower year-on-year.

There were 403,745 land register searches last month.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Labour & Welfare Chris Sun will depart for Geneva, Switzerland, tonight to attend the 113th Session of the International Labour Conference, before heading to Munich, Germany, to continue his visit.

Mr Sun will attend the conference as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) delegation. Commissioner for Labour May Chan, as well as Labour Advisory Board employee and employer members will join him.

While in Geneva, Mr Sun will also hold bilateral meetings with senior officials of the International Labour Organization and leading figures of international organisations attending the conference.

He will also meet government, employer and employee representatives of the PRC delegation, as well as representatives from the Permanent Mission of the PRC to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organisations in Switzerland.

On June 7, Mr Sun will leave for Munich, Germany, for the second leg of his visit.

Joined by Hong Kong Talent Engage Director Anthony Lau, the labour chief will meet young entrepreneurs and talent to exchange ideas and introduce the latest developments in manpower policies in Hong Kong.

Mr Sun will arrive in Hong Kong on June 9. During his absence, Under Secretary for Labour & Welfare Ho Kai-ming will be Acting Secretary.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (June 3) released the statistics on vessels, port cargo and containers for the first quarter of 2025.
 
     In the first quarter of 2025, total port cargo throughput decreased by 3.9% to 41.1 million tonnes over a year earlier. Within this total, inward port cargo decreased by 10.8% to 24.5 million tonnes, while outward port cargo increased by 8.6% to 16.6 million tonnes.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, total port cargo throughput increased by 2.6% in the first quarter of 2025. Within this total, inward port cargo decreased by 1.3% compared with the preceding quarter, while outward port cargo increased by 8.9% compared with the preceding quarter. The seasonally adjusted series enables more meaningful shorter-term comparison to be made for discerning possible variations in trends.
 
Port cargo
 
     In the first quarter of 2025, within port cargo, seaborne and river cargo decreased by 3.7% and 4.2% to 25.9 million tonnes and 15.2 million tonnes respectively over a year earlier.
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2025 with a year earlier, a double-digit increase was recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Chile (+33.3%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Vietnam (-30.6%), Taiwan (-23.9%), Malaysia (-21.6%), Thailand (-21.4%), Korea (-18.5%), Japan (-13.8%) and the mainland of China (-13.2%). For outward port cargo, double-digit increases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Australia (+28.3%), Taiwan (+22.8%) and the mainland of China (+22.5%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in the United States of America (-31.9%), the Philippines (-30.6%), Malaysia (-27.8%), Thailand (-25.9%), Japan (-21.5%) and Vietnam (-18.1%).
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2025 with a year earlier, double-digit changes were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo of “metalliferous ores and metal scrap” (+24.9%), “artificial resins and plastic materials” (-15.0%) and “stone, sand and gravel” (-37.7%). As for outward port cargo, triple-digit or double-digit changes were recorded in the tonnage of “stone, sand and gravel” (+122.9%), “metalliferous ores and metal scrap” (+15.6%) and “artificial resins and plastic materials” (-20.6%).
 
Containers
 
     In the first quarter of 2025, the port of Hong Kong handled 3.37 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, representing an increase of 1.6% over a year earlier. Within this total, laden containers decreased by 3.3% to 2.58 million TEUs, while empty containers increased by 21.2% to 0.80 million TEUs. Among laden containers, inward and outward containers decreased by 2.9% and 3.6% to 1.39 million TEUs and 1.19 million TEUs respectively.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, laden container throughput increased by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2025. Within this total, inward laden containers increased by 3.3%, while outward laden containers decreased by 0.4%.
 
     In the first quarter of 2025, seaborne and river laden containers decreased by 3.3% and 3.2% to 1.82 million TEUs and 0.76 million TEUs respectively over a year earlier.
 
Vessel arrivals
 
     Comparing the first quarter of 2025 with a year earlier, the number of ocean vessel arrivals decreased by 1.1% to 4 506, with the total capacity also decreasing by 3.8% to 70.8 million net tons. Meanwhile, the number of river vessel arrivals decreased by 0.7% to 19 800, while the total capacity increased by 22.6% to 23.1 million net tons.
 
Further information
 
     Port cargo and laden container statistics are compiled from a sample of consignments listed in the cargo manifests supplied by shipping companies and agents to the C&SD. Vessel statistics are compiled by the Marine Department primarily from general declarations submitted by ship masters and authorised shipping agents. Pleasure vessels and fishing vessels plying exclusively within the river trade limits are excluded.
 
     Table 1 presents the detailed port cargo statistics.
 
     Table 2 and Table 3 respectively present the inward and outward port cargo statistics by main countries/territories of loading and discharge.
 
     Table 4 and Table 5 respectively present the inward and outward port cargo statistics by principal commodities.
 
     Table 6 presents the detailed container statistics.
 
     Table 7 presents the statistics on vessel arrivals in Hong Kong.
 
     More detailed statistics on port cargo, containers and vessels are published in the report “Hong Kong Shipping Statistics, First Quarter 2025”. Users can browse and download this publication at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1020008&scode=230).
 
     For enquiries about port cargo and container statistics, please contact the Electronic Trading Services and Cargo Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 2126 or email: shipping@censtatd.gov.hk). For enquiries about vessel statistics, readers may contact the Statistics Section under the Planning, Development and Port Security Branch of the Marine Department (Tel: 2852 3662 or email: st-sec@mardep.gov.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today announced that Oscar Wong will assume the post of District Officer (Sham Shui Po) on June 20.

Mr Wong joined the Administrative Service in 2015. He has served in the then Home Affairs Bureau and the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau.

He is currently a Senior Administrative Officer (Tourism) at the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region