Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is the full text of the Speech on the 2026-27 Budget delivered by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, to the Legislative Council today (February 25):

President, Honourable Members and fellow citizens,

     I move that the Appropriation Bill 2026 be read a second time.

Introduction

2. Today is the ninth day of the Chinese New Year, and the city is still brimming with festive spirits. The bustling New Year fairs, the buzzing Night Parade and the dazzling fireworks display above Victoria Harbour have echoed the vigour and vitality symbolised by the Year of the Horse.

3. Over the past year, as a result of the booming economy and capital market, our tax revenue has increased. Coupled with the reinforced fiscal consolidation programme gradually bearing fruit, our public finances have improved sooner than expected. The Operating Account has returned to a surplus this financial year. After taking into account the proceeds from bond issuance, the Consolidated Account has also returned to balance ahead of schedule. All these have enabled us to suitably reinforce support for the people and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within our means.

4. This year marks the beginning of the National 15th Five Year Plan. The stable and high-quality development of our country is always our strongest backing. Our country’s sustained high-standard two-way opening-up, coupled with scientific and technological innovation, have presented us with new opportunities. We must embrace the 15th Five-Year Plan with an innovative mindset, fostering new quality productive forces in accordance with local conditions. Leveraging our edge of having close connectivity with the Mainland and the world, and with a large pool of talents, we will facilitate enterprises in opening up new markets. We expect Hong Kong’s economy to sustain good momentum this year.

5. The theme of this Budget is: “Driving High-quality, Inclusive Growth with Innovation and Finance”. I will elaborate on this a little later.

Economic Situation in 2025

6. The global political and economic landscape is fraught with complication and volatility. The United States (US) waged a tariff war early last year, precipitating a sharp escalation in global trade tensions. As the US reached preliminary trade agreements with various economies and achieved consensus with China on key economic and trade matters, trade frictions eased, allowing the global economy to continue expanding.

7. Technological transformation and the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) have spurred a fresh wave of investment enthusiasm and driven product demand. Asia, especially China, serves as an important engine propelling global economic growth. Furthermore, the resumption of interest rate cuts by the US since September last year has bolstered performance of the investment and capital markets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects global economic growth of 3.3 per cent for 2025, which is broadly in line with that of 2024.

8. Hong Kong’s economy was buoyant last year. External trade remained strong, private consumption rebounded, and fixed investment accelerated. The overall economy grew by 3.5 per cent in the year, marking the third consecutive year of expansion.

9. Boosted by robust demand for electronic-related products, total exports of goods from Hong Kong grew by 12 per cent in real terms, with particularly notable increases in exports to the Chinese Mainland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

10. Exports of services rose by 6.3 per cent. Visitor arrivals surged by 12 per cent, while cross-boundary financial services and traffic saw sustained growth.

11. On domestic demand, private consumption expenditure rose by 1.7 per cent for the year, reversing the downward trend from the second quarter of 2025. Amid continuing economic expansion and a recovering residential property market, growth in overall investment expenditure accelerated to 4.3 per cent.

12. The labour market gradually stabilised in the latter half of the year. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. Employment earnings showed sustained growth, with the median monthly employment earnings of full time employees increasing by 4.2 per cent year-on-year in the fourth quarter.

13. Inflation remained mild. Netting out the effects of the Government’s one-off measures, the underlying inflation rate was 1.1 per cent last year.

14. The stock market delivered a stellar performance. The Hang Seng Index rose by 28 per cent over the year. The daily turnover surged by 90 per cent to a historic high of close to $250 billion. Capital raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) exceeded 2024 by more than two times to over $280 billion, ranking first globally.

15. The residential property market saw increases in both prices and transaction volumes. Market activities have been active since last March, with total transactions reaching a four year high of nearly 63 000 for the year. Property prices rose by 3.3 per cent for the year, ending a three-year decline, while rental prices rose by 4.3 per cent in the year. Transaction volume for non-residential properties rebounded, while the declines in rentals and prices narrowed.

Economic Outlook for 2026 and the Medium Term

16. Entering 2026, global trade tensions have moderated, and economic activities continued to expand in major economies. The Chinese Mainland will be the leading contributor to global economic growth, serving as the key driver for both regional and global economic momentum. The steadfast development of our country will continue providing firm support for Hong Kong.

17. Our country will implement more proactive macro policies this year, expanding domestic demand, and steadfastly advancing high-quality development, while maintaining reasonable economic growth. This will lay a strong foundation for the 15th Five Year Plan period, and generate propitious conditions for Hong Kong’s economic growth.

18. Driven by investments in AI and other new technologies, the demand for related products continues to underpin the trade expansion in Asia. Market expectations of further interest rate cuts in the US would bolster investor confidence. The IMF forecasts moderate growth for the global economy this year.

19. Benefitting from these factors, Hong Kong’s exports of goods should sustain decent growth. Exports of services will also continue to increase, driven by increasing visitor arrivals and demand for financial services.

20. Domestic demand will grow steadily. A stable labour market and rising household incomes will drive private consumption, while improvement in business sentiment, coupled with expectations of interest rate cuts, will boost asset markets and investments.

21. Nevertheless, the international environment remains complex and intricate. With the major advanced economies still frequently shifting their trade and economic policies, uncertainties will continue to loom over global trade. A slower-than-expected pace of US rate cuts could hamper the optimism currently underpinning the global financial market.

22. Based on our assessment of the current global and local economic situations, we forecast that Hong Kong’s economy will grow by 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year.

23. As for prices, external price pressures are in check. With the local economy continuing to expand, inflation this year is expected to be moderately higher than last year. We forecast the underlying inflation rate and the headline inflation rate this year to be 1.7 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.

24. In the medium term, protectionism will persist in some major economies, while fragmentation of the global economy will continue. Nevertheless, the rise of the “Global South” and the reshaping of the global trade and investment landscape will unlock new markets and new growth areas for Hong Kong.

25. This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Hong Kong will proactively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, better integrate and serve the overall national development, and continue to proactively participate in development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).

26. The current-term Government is committed to expanding economic capacity and enhancing competitiveness, expediting the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM), driving growth through talents and innovation and technology (I&T) and developing new quality productive forces tailored to local circumstances for promoting high-quality economic development.

27. We forecast that Hong Kong’s economy will grow on average by three per cent per annum in real terms from 2027 to 2030, with the underlying inflation rate averaging two per cent a year.

(To be continued.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

International Financial Centre

90. The global political and economic landscape is undergoing profound transformations. Despite the complex and ever-changing external environment, Hong Kong’s financial market has performed strongly and our financial system remains robust. We will continue to consolidate our existing strengths, tap into emerging fields, strengthen market systems and risk control and deepen financial co operation in the GBA. By doing so, we will enhance Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre on all fronts and contribute to the national strategic goal of “accelerating China’s development as a financial powerhouse”. We will also leverage our strengths in finance to drive industry development, i.e. “Finance+”. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Education Commission:

The Chairman of the Education Commission, Dr David Wong, today (February 25) welcomed the measures on education proposed by the Financial Secretary in the 2026-27 Budget.

Dr Wong said, “Education is the cornerstone of talent cultivation and is particularly crucial in building Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent. As the Chairman of the Education Commission, I am pleased to note the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government attaches great importance to education. After considering the overall public fiscal situation, the Government continues to invest substantially in education, optimising the use of resources to focus on enhancing the quality of education and turning Hong Kong into a magnet for vibrant talent. The recurrent expenditure on education has increased by 28 per cent over the past decade. With allocations reaching $102.3 billion for recurrent education expenditure in 2026-27, it accounts for around 17.1 per cent of the total government recurrent expenditure. These figures clearly demonstrate the continued strong support for the education sector in public resource allocation. Regarding the optimisation of resource utilisation, I welcome the Education Bureau (EDB)’s efforts to remove barriers and ease restrictions through streamlining administration for school subsidies to enable more flexible and efficient use of resources. I trust that the education resources will be deployed effectively to achieve maximum benefits.”
 
Dr Wong added, “I fully support the Government’s ongoing efforts to advance the digitalisation of education, including the promotion of digital education and artificial intelligence training on all fronts, to cultivate more innovation and technology talent for the digital era. Regarding higher education, I look forward to the Government’s proactive development of the Northern Metropolis University Town through site allocation and support earmarking $10 billion in loans for the University Grants Committee-funded universities and the universities of applied sciences to support new campus development and construction, further advancing Hong Kong’s development into an international education hub.

“I firmly believe that the EDB will maintain close communication with stakeholders, and jointly elevate Hong Kong’s education quality as well as nurturing more elite talent, thereby contributing to the high-quality development of Hong Kong and our nation,” Dr Wong said.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

​Following is a question by the Hon Augustine Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
 
Question:
 
     Some members of the construction industry have relayed that in recent years, the Government has been launching works projects at varying paces, and the timing of tendering for various projects is unevenly distributed, resulting in the industry being caught in the predicament of “dying from overeating one moment and dying from starvation the next”. Regarding the tendering arrangements for public works projects of various government departments and projects undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through entrustment or subvention (NGO projects), will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the following information in respect of the public works projects of various government departments and the NGO projects in each of the past three years: (i) the number of tenders invited, (ii) the number of successful tenders, (iii) the number of unsuccessful tendering, (iv) the total value involved in the award of contracts, (v) the average number of days taken from the closure of tender exercises to the award of contracts and, (vi) the time taken for the five projects which had taken the longest time, together with a breakdown by government departments and NGOs;
 
(2) whether the Government has plans to further shorten the tendering process, such as by enhancing the e-Tendering System and expediting the assessment of tenders; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(3) given that during the debate on the Members’ motion on “Reviewing the priorities for public works to ensure enhanced speed and efficiency of key projects” in this Council on July 16 last year, the Secretary for Development indicated that the Government had made a Medium Range Forecast of the capital works expenditure for the next few years, which was meant to avoid drastic fluctuations in the volume of public works projects and to provide government departments with an indicator for arranging the priorities of projects, whether the Government will, in planning public works projects, further maintain communication with the industry and, where practicable, adjust the timing for launching the projects to tie in with the overall resources and capacity of the construction industry, thereby avoiding drastic fluctuations in construction volume; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The reply to the three parts of the question raised by the Hon Augustine Wong is as follows:
 
(1) The procurement of works projects involves a number of procedures, including tender invitation, tender evaluation and approval of tender recommendation, etc. Sufficient time must be allowed to ensure that the entire evaluation process is conducted in a rigorous and comprehensive manner.
 
     With regard to tender invitation, we are required to comply with the relevant requirements of the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization (WTO GPA). Where the estimated contract value exceeds the threshold (Note) stipulated under the WTO GPA, the tender invitation period must be no less than 40 days. For contracts that are more complex in nature or of higher value, the tender invitation period may be extended as needed. For contracts with an estimated value below the above threshold, although they are not subject to the WTO GPA requirements, we generally allow a tender invitation period of no less than three weeks, so as to enable bidders to have sufficient time to fully understand various works requirements and assess the associated risks for preparing competitive tenders.
 
     As regards tender evaluation, we generally adopt the two-envelope system. The evaluation is conducted in two stages: we will first assess tenderers’ technical competence and past performance, followed by considering their tender prices. During the process, clarification may be sought from tenderers in regard to their submissions, and legal advice may be obtained where necessary to confirm the validity of the tenders. The whole evaluation process typically takes about 2.5 to three months to complete.
 
     For the past three financial years (i.e. 2022/23 to 2024/25), statistics on works tenders conducted by government departments and non-governmental organisations, including (i) the number of tenders invited, (ii) the number of successful bids (i.e. the number of contracts awarded), (iii) the number of tenders not awarded, (iv) the total value of contracts awarded, and (v) the average number of days from tender closing to contract award, are presented in the Annex. Approximately 80 per cent of the works projects were awarded within five months from the tender closing date.
 
     For the five projects that took the longest time from tender closing to contract award, the duration ranged from 17 to 23 months. Given special circumstances, these projects required a longer processing period, with the main reasons summarised below:
 
(i) For one of the projects, as the tender prices submitted by the tenderers had exceeded the budget, the department concerned had to revise the design of the building foundation and engage all bidders for negotiations. The bidders were then invited to adjust their tender prices having regard to the revised design. Additional time was hence required to complete the relevant procedures;
 
(ii) For three football pitch refurbishment projects, tenderers were required to propose an artificial turf system in their tenders. As the system involved product patents, the department concerned had to request supplementary information from the tenderers a number of times and verify, through legal advisers, whether the proposed manufacturers were the patent holders. This led to a longer tender evaluation period as compared with typical works projects; and
 
(iii) For one of the projects, its funding application had to be considered and approved at a later meeting of the Public Works Subcommittee (PWSC) and the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council respectively, having regard to project priorities. Consequently, the processing time was extended.
 
(2) From time to time, the Government introduces new measures to expedite the procurement process of public works projects, so that works contracts can be awarded as early as possible. Such measures include:
 
(i) In September 2020, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau issued an internal circular requiring Controlling Officers, under normal circumstances, to adopt parallel tendering arrangement (viz. tender invitation for a project may commence prior to the approval of funding) when procuring works contracts. This arrangement enables works contracts to be awarded promptly after funding approval is obtained from the FC. It also helps works departments prepare more accurate project cost estimates for vetting by the PWSC and the FC, while expediting the procurement process.
 
(ii) In June 2022, the Development Bureau (DEVB) launched an electronic tendering system for public works projects, applicable to works contracts requiring approval by the Public Works Tender Board or the Central Tender Board. In addition to enhancing procurement efficiency, the system streamlines procedures by eliminating the cumbersome workflow associated with the handling of traditional paper-based tenders. We plan to enhance the system’s functionality, including exploring the use of AI to support tender evaluation, thereby further improving efficiency.
 
(iii) Procuring departments also organise pre-submission briefings to contractors, reminding them of the key tender requirements, thereby avoiding delay to the tender evaluation process due to spending time on clarifications with tenderers. Furthermore, whenever more serious errors are identified in tender submissions, we will communicate with the industry through contractors’ associations to help improve the quality of tenders.
 
(3) All along, we maintain close communication with the construction industry, engaging regularly with different stakeholders (including the Construction Industry Council, major contractors’ associations, and consultant associations, etc) to understand the industry’s needs and formulate appropriate measures to help address the challenges. In fact, the Government has been maintaining a high level of capital works expenditure over the years.

     In addition, forecast of public works tenders for the coming year is regularly published and updated in the electronic tendering system of the DEVB and on the websites of various works departments. This facilitates contractors in grasping relevant information earlier for planning and preparation of their tender submissions.
 
Note: According to the prevailing requirements, public works contracts with an estimated value exceeding $52,124,001 are subject to the requirements of the WTO GPA.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (February 25):
     
Question:

     There are views that the Government’s protection of animal rights and interests is far from adequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:     
(1), (3) and (6) The Government has been curbing acts of cruelty to animals through stringent enforcement and preventive education initiatives.     
     As regards suspected poisonous baits found by the roadside and animals dying after consuming such baits, enforcement officers conduct comprehensive investigation, and instigate prosecution once sufficient evidence has been obtained to identify the persons involved and in establishing their act constitute an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) (the Ordinance). However, as most of such cases lack eyewitnesses to the incident, enforcement officers inevitably encounter considerable difficulties in gathering evidence and establishing a case. The Government encourages informants to provide as much information as possible to facilitate follow-up and investigation by law enforcement agencies. In making a decision of whether or not to prosecute, the departments make an objective and professional assessment of the available evidence and applicable law, strictly act in accordance with the Prosecution Code issued by the Department of Justice, and would seek legal advice from the Department of Justice as necessary. The HKPF does not maintain the breakdown of the number of reports and prosecutions for such cases.      
     As regards stray animals, the AFCD will endeavour to trace and contact the keeper of an animal following its seizure or capture. If contact is unsuccessful, the department will transfer animals suitable for rehoming to animal welfare organisations for adoption by members of the public; and relocate cattle suitable for release to appropriate sites (such as country parks).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region