Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Commerce & Economic Development Bureau and the General Administration of Customs (GACC) today signed the Cooperation Arrangement on Single Window – a trade facilitation measure between Hong Kong and the Mainland.

The co-operation arrangement was signed by Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau and Minister of the GACC Sun Meijun.

Noting that the Mainland is Hong Kong’s largest partner in trade in goods with frequent cross-boundary trade, Mr Yau said the Single Window provides a one-stop electronic platform for the trade to lodge various types of documents for trade declaration and cargo clearance.

The arrangement will allow collaboration and interconnectivity of the systems of the two places to reach new heights, enhancing the existing mechanism of exchange and co-operation as well as exploring different areas of collaboration, he added.

The bureau has been implementing the Single Window in three phases, with the first two phases in full service since 2020 and 2023 respectively, covering 42 types of trade documents. Phase 3 services will be rolled out in batches from 2026 onwards.

The GACC and the Customs & Excise Department launched the Mainland-Hong Kong “Single Submission for Dual Declaration” Scheme in 2024, covering all cargo imported from the Mainland through land boundary control points. The scheme spares enterprises the time and manpower required for declaration and minimises operating costs.

It covers all cargo passing through land boundary control points between the two places starting today, enabling industry stakeholders to reuse road cargo information when submitting to the systems of both sides. The scheme will be reprovisioned in Phase 3 of the Single Window. 

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang and Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Maisie Chan are on a duty visit to Egypt from May 17 to 20 to promote the development opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

During his stay in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Mr Tsang met Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and exchanged views with representatives of the political and business sectors.

Mr Tsang today attended the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area-Africa (Egypt) Economic & Trade Cooperation Exchange Conference and delivered a speech to promote the development opportunities of the GBA to the political and business sectors.

He said that with the central authorities’ full support, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other bay area cities complement each other’s strengths and work closely together to promote the GBA’s high-quality development.

Mr Tsang also noted that Hong Kong possesses the institutional advantages of “one country, two systems”, with a business environment that is highly market-oriented and internationalised, underpinned by the rule of law, a free flow of capital, a robust financial regulatory regime, a simple and low tax regime, and a global pool of professional talent.

He encouraged enterprises to capitalise on Hong Kong’s unique advantages of having the staunch support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world by establishing a foothold in the city and tapping into the huge GBA market.

Mr Tsang added that Hong Kong, as a world-renowned metropolis and China’s most internationalised city, should play its unique roles and functions as a super connector and super value-adder, commence more international co-operation, contribute to the country’s high-quality opening up and development, and further enhance its global influence in the changing international landscape.

He will depart for Hong Kong this afternoon, arriving on May 20.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at the Welcome Dinner for the Global Prosperity Summit 2025 today (May 19):

President Wu Hailong of China Public Diplomacy Association, Commissioner Cui Jianchun (Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), Mrs Regina Ip (Convenor of the Non-official Members of the Executive Council and Chairperson of Savantas Policy Institute), Professor Yang Jiemian, Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, Mr Iñaki Amate, Chair of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, 
Given today’s global turmoil, connectivity has never been more important. In a time of economic uncertainty, Hong Kong serves as a welcoming financial harbour. Here, information, capital, goods and people flow freely, thanks to our common law system and a legal regime similar to that of many of the world’s leading financial hubs. With economies everywhere seeking security, seeking ways of boosting their economy, Hong Kong is proving highly attractive to them.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Executive John Lee today met Minister of the General Administration of Customs Sun Meijun at Government House to discuss strengthening enforcement and co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland Customs.

Ms Sun and her delegation are in Hong Kong to attend the World Customs Organization (WCO) Asia/Pacific Regional Heads of Customs Administrations Conference.

Welcoming them, Mr Lee thanked the General Administration of Customs for supporting the Hong Kong Customs & Excise Department in its bid for the Vice-Chairpersonship of the Asia/Pacific region of the WCO (2024-2026). 

He said the successful election last June not only reflects the support Hong Kong enjoys at a national level and from the Asia-Pacific region, but also consolidates the city’s role as a “super-connector”.

While in Hong Kong, Ms Sun will also to attend signing ceremonies for co-operation agreements between the General Administration of Customs and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. These aim to promote flows of people and goods between the two places, as well as co-operation on exports of Hong Kong dairy and meat products to the Mainland.

The Chief Executive said these initiatives will enhance Hong Kong’s position as an international trade and shipping centre, laying a solid foundation for further co-operation between Hong Kong and Mainland Customs.

On enforcement co-operation, Mr Lee said that Hong Kong and Mainland Customs have long been working together to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities and prevent and detect smuggling of contraband.

He said he hopes Hong Kong and Mainland Customs can in future maintain close co-operation on immigration and customs clearance, anti-smuggling and anti-drug trafficking activities, and trade facilitation.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Transport Department today announced that it will cease accepting paper applications for the renewal of Full Driving Licences (FDL) via the drop-in boxes at designated post offices from June 1 to enhance service efficiency.

At present, an FDL holder should renew the licence within four months before its expiry date or within three years after it has expired. An online renewal application can be submitted via GovHK, using an “iAM Smart+” account with the digital signing function or a valid personal digital certificate.

To remind and enable the public to renew their licence in time, the department will send by post the “FDL Renewal Notice & Application Form” (form TD 578) to licence holders around three months prior to its expiry, and a reminder (form TD 601) to those whose FDLs have expired for nearly three years and are yet to be renewed. Both forms are printed with a renewal password.

People may submit an online application using the renewal password and other personal information, including their identification document number, for authentication to complete renewal procedures.

If the applicant’s address has not changed within three months upon receipt of the Renewal Password, submission of address proof is not required during the online application process.

As of end-April, nearly half of FDL applicants have opted for online renewal, making it the most popular local e-licensing service after the International Driving Permit. The department therefore implements the service adjustment to make better use of public resources.

As for paper applications, the current arrangements for submission through the counters and drop-in boxes at the Transport Department’s Licensing Offices and by post remain unchanged.

Click here for details of renewing the Full Driving Licence.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Executive John Lee today met CPC Jilin Provincial Committee Secretary Huang Qiang at Government House to discuss co-operation and people-to-people exchanges between Hong Kong and Jilin.

Mr Huang and his delegation were in Hong Kong promoting Jilin’s industries and Jilin-Hong Kong economic and trade ties.

Welcoming them, Mr Lee said Jilin serves as an important gateway for the country’s northward opening-up under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI). He also highlighted that Jilin boasts a robust industrial and manufacturing sector, and that its expertise in manufacturing automobiles and high-speed trains is unmatched nationally.

As a functional BRI platform, Mr Lee said Hong Kong will continue to function as a “super connector” and “super value-adder” to assist Jilin and other Mainland provinces and cities in expanding to global markets, while also attracting more external investment to the country.

Following the launch of direct flights between Hong Kong and Changchun, Jilin in December, Mr Lee said economic, trade, and cultural exchanges between the two places will be further enhanced, fostering people-to-people bonds.

The Chief Executive stressed that Hong Kong will continue to deepen its multifaceted exchanges and co-operation with Jilin, leveraging complementary strengths so that the two places can jointly make greater contributions to the country’s development.

Acting Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Clement Woo and Director of the Chief Executive’s Office Carol Yip also attended the meeting.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (May 19) the composite interest rate at the end of April 2025 (Note 1).

The composite interest rate, which is a measure of the average cost of funds of banks, decreased by 5 basis points to 2.02 per cent at the end of April 2025, from 2.07 per cent at the end of March 2025 (see Chart 1 in the Annex). The decrease in composite interest rate reflected the decreases in the weighted funding cost for deposits during the month (see Chart 2 in the Annex) (Note 2).

The historical data of the composite interest rate from the end of the fourth quarter of 2003 to the end of April 2025 are available in the Monthly Statistical Bulletin on the HKMA website (www.hkma.gov.hk).

Note 1: The composite interest rate is a weighted average interest rate of all Hong Kong dollar interest-rate-sensitive liabilities, which include deposits from customers, amounts due to banks, negotiable certificates of deposit and other debt instruments, and all other liabilities that do not involve any formal payment of interest but the values of which are sensitive to interest rate movements (such as Hong Kong dollar non-interest bearing demand deposits) on the books of banks. Data from retail banks, which account for about 90 per cent of the total customers’ deposits in the banking sector, are used in the calculation. It should be noted that the composite interest rate represents only average interest expenses. There are various other costs involved in the making of a loan, such as operating costs (e.g. staff and rental expenses), credit cost and hedging cost, which are not covered by the composite interest rate.

Note 2: Since June 2019, the composite interest rate and weighted deposit rate have been calculated based on the new local “Interest rate risk in the banking book” (IRRBB) framework. As such, these figures are not strictly comparable with those of previous months.