MIL Asia Pacific Publishing Engine

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     The Returning Officers for the various subsectors of the 2026 Election Committee Subsector Ordinary Elections received a total of 25 nomination forms for candidates and three nomination forms from designated bodies today (October 14). This brings to 1 086 the total number of nomination forms for candidates and 35 the total number of nomination forms from designated bodies received since nominations opened on October 7. The nomination period will end on October 20.
 
     The breakdown of candidate nomination forms received by each subsector is set out below:
 

 
Besides, a total of three nomination forms were received from designated bodies by each subsector:
 

Particulars of the nominations received today will be uploaded to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

​The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), announced today (October 14) that a tender of 3-year HKD institutional Government Bonds (Bonds) through the re-opening of existing 5-year Government Bond issue 05GB2912001 under the Infrastructure Bond Programme will be held on October 21, 2026 (Wednesday), for settlement on October 22, 2026 (Thursday).
 
An additional amount of HK$0.75 billion of the outstanding 5-year Bonds (issue no. 05GB2912001) will be on offer. The Bonds will mature on December 5, 2029 and will carry interest at the rate of 3.23 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrear. The Indicative Pricings of the Bonds on October 14, 2026 are 98.74 with an annualised yield of 3.690 per cent.
 
Tender is open only to Primary Dealers appointed under the Infrastructure Bond Programme. Anyone wishing to apply for the Bonds on offer can do so through any of the Primary Dealers on the latest published list, which can be obtained from the Hong Kong Government Bonds website at www.hkgb.gov.hk. Each tender must be for an amount of HK$50,000 or integral multiples thereof.
 
Tender results will be published on the HKMA’s website, the Hong Kong Government Bonds website, Bloomberg (GBHK ) and Refinitiv (IBPGSBPINDEX). The publication time is expected to be no later than 3pm on the tender day.

HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds Tender Information

Tender information of 3-year HKD HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds:
 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR Government), announced today (October 14) that a tender of 10-year HKD institutional Government Bonds (Bonds) through the re-opening of existing 10-year Government Bond issue 10GB3507001 under the Infrastructure Bond Programme will be held on October 21, 2026 (Wednesday), for settlement on October 22, 2026 (Thursday).
 
An additional amount of HK$1.25 billion of the outstanding 10-year Bonds (issue no. 10GB3507001) will be on offer. The Bonds will mature on July 24, 2035 and will carry interest at the rate of 3.17 per cent per annum payable semi-annually in arrear. The Indicative Pricings of the Bonds on October 14, 2026 are 94.28 with an annualised yield of 3.986 per cent.
 
Tender is open only to Primary Dealers appointed under the Infrastructure Bond Programme. Anyone wishing to apply for the Bonds on offer can do so through any of the Primary Dealers on the latest published list, which can be obtained from the Hong Kong Government Bonds website at www.hkgb.gov.hk. Each tender must be for an amount of HK$50,000 or integral multiples thereof.
 
Tender results will be published on the HKMA’s website, the Hong Kong Government Bonds website, Bloomberg (GBHK ) and Refinitiv (IBPGSBPINDEX). The publication time is expected to be no later than 3pm on the tender day.

HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds Tender Information

Tender information of 10-year HKD HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds:
 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Following is a question by the Hon Tang Fei and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, in the Legislative Council today (October 14):
 
Question:
 
Given the changes in the school-age population, the Chief Executive has proposed the “Confluence and Elevation – School Excellence Project” in the 2026 Policy Address to encourage mergers of suitable publicly-funded primary and secondary schools, consolidating resources and raising the quality of education. Regarding the specific arrangements of the Project, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) when the specific implementation timetable, eligibility criteria and vetting and approval criteria of the Project will be announced; how the authorities will assess the scope of operation and resource integration of schools after mergers, so as to ensure that the Project achieves the policy objective of raising the quality of education;
 
(2) what measures the authorities have in place to support schools in addressing the issues of manpower deployment for teachers and utilisation of school premises arising from mergers, including whether transitional arrangements for teachers will be provided, and whether the consolidation of school premises and operational resources will be co-ordinated, thereby assisting school sponsoring bodies in implementing mergers smoothly and raising the quality of education; and
 
(3) whether the Project will allow mergers of schools under different funding modes; if so, how the authorities will formulate proper transition arrangements in respect of tuition fees, student admission mechanism, utilisation of school premises and resource deployment when handling mergers involving aided and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, so as to assist the schools concerned in achieving a smooth transition?
 
Reply:

President,

The National 15th Five-Year Plan expressly advocates expanding excellence and enhancing quality in basic education. It also emphasises the importance of stepping up the dynamic adjustment of resources for basic education and their cross-level reallocation to address surpluses and shortfalls, whilst enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. To align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan sets out a development direction for continuous enhancement of the quality of basic education in the face of the challenges brought about by a structural decline in school-age population. As announced in the 2026 Policy Address, the Education Bureau (EDB) will launch the “Confluence and Elevation – School Excellence Project” for publicly-funded schools within the 2026/27 school year, which aims to optimise the allocation of education resources and develop quality education in response to parents’ aspirations for high-quality schools.

In fact, schools are places for nurturing the whole-person development of students. Maintaining an appropriate size of the overall student population and the number of classes are beneficial to creating a conducive teaching and learning environment and providing opportunities for group learning to facilitate students’ all-round development. To this end, the Project aims to encourage schools to strive for expanding excellence and enhancing quality, consolidate their strengths for better synergy and expand their operation scale, thereby achieving the synergy effect of “one plus one is greater than two” in quality enhancement. The EDB will introduce more facilitation measures and remove policy barriers for publicly-funded schools approved to participate in the Project, so as to support them in seeking confluence and elevation.

Our reply to the question raised by the Hon Tang Fei is as follows:

(1) and (2) It is expected that schools participating in the Project will undergo a comprehensive upgrade of their physical infrastructure, such as school premises and facilities, and allocate abundant manpower and resources to provide students with a higher quality of education. At present, the EDB is collecting views on the support and facilitation measures under the Project from representatives of the school sector, with a view to finalising the implementation details, such as whether there is a need to set an application threshold based on school scale (e.g. a requirement on the number of approved classes), the feasibility of merging schools across different finance types, whether arrangements will be in place for the flexible use of school premises upon merger, as well as the provision of additional resources and manpower during the transitional period. The EDB will work swiftly to sort out and refine the details, with a target of launching the Project within the 2026/27 school year for application by eligible schools. We will prudently consider each application to ensure that the approved cases are in line with the policy objectives and principles.

(3) Based on past experience, there has been a merger between a Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) secondary school and an aided secondary school, after which the merged school has continued to operate as an aided school. Currently, the EDB is studying the feasible options for joint operation of schools of different finance types to ensure that the numbers of both aided and DSS schools will not increase following the mergers, so as to stabilise the education ecosystem. As for government schools, only mergers among government schools are possible given their unique staff establishment and finance type.

We have to emphasise that, regardless of whether the schools participating in the Project are under the same school sponsoring bodies (SSBs), they must give due consideration to the district and school circumstances as well as students’ interests, and maintain communication with stakeholders prior to making a decision to join the Project. For merger proposals involving schools of different finance types, the schools must thoroughly consult various stakeholders (including school staff, parents and students) about relevant arrangements, such as the appointment terms for staff, tuition fees, school premises and curriculum arrangements. Merger proposals should be taken forward subject to effective communication with stakeholders.

The EDB established the Task Force on Supporting the Sustainable Development of Public Sector Schools in March 2026, which is led by a directorate officer of the EDB and comprises officers from the School Development Sections of the Regional Education Offices of the EDB, experienced retired principals and stakeholder representatives. The Task Force provides professional advice for the school sector on planning the way forward and assists schools in achieving a smooth transition and continuous development. Moreover, members of the Task Force play a facilitating and supporting role in the process. Apart from helping SSBs reach a consensus with stakeholders after thorough communication, the members also offer suitable advice based on schools’ actual needs and support them in consolidating resources as well as taking forward the implementation and related arrangements for the merger proposals in light of local circumstances.

President, the EDB’s aim in addressing the structural decline in school-age population is crystal clear. We will accord top priority to the interests of students while ensuring healthy and sustainable development of our education system. Amid the structural decline in school-age population, apart from our efforts to strive for a “soft landing”, the EDB must seek to advance the development of quality education in Hong Kong to turn a possible crisis into opportunities. Therefore, we encourage SSBs to plan ahead for long-term school development and support their proactive formulation of plans to consolidate resources and enhance the quality of education.

The EDB will maintain communication with the sector and continue to review the prevailing policies and options with respect to class structures and school development with a focus on enhancing the overall education quality, so as to provide students with more opportunities to receive quality education in schools of higher quality, larger scale and higher efficiency.

Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Thomas So and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (October 14):
 
Question:
 
     There are views pointing out that with the Government’s active support, the development of the first two phases of the Trade Single Window (TSW) and the related services have yielded positive results, but progress in the digitalisation of “Business-to-Business” (B2B) trade documents, which account for the vast majority of all trade documents, remains relatively slow. While the Government already issued a consultation paper between late 2025 and early 2026 on legislative amendments to facilitate the digitalisation of B2B trade documents, a legal basis and official verification standards are still lacking. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) given that the Government has previously indicated that it does not recommend the introduction of a mandatory accreditation or regulatory regime at this stage for establishing the reliability of electronic trade documents owing to the current lack of a leading technological solution in the market, but there are views suggesting that Hong Kong has a responsibility to lead and promote the formulation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Standards for electronic trade documents, whether the Government will promote technological development for the digitalisation of B2B trade documents in such directions as establishing an official regulatory and accreditation framework in the future;
 
(2) as there are views pointing out that “ValidAP”, the Government’s platform for the cross-boundary validation of electronic trade documents, has achieved preliminary results in promoting commercial data verification, and the Government is also pressing ahead with Phase 3 of the TSW at full steam, whether the Government will consider adopting existing cross-‍boundary data verification technology as the basis and taking the lead in developing a comprehensive electronic accreditation and mutual data recognition system covering B2B commercial certificates and transaction records such as electronic bills of lading (eBLs) and commercial invoices; and
 
(3) as the Project Ensemble launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) already covers use cases such as trade finance and eBLs, and the HKMA has signed the Memorandum of Understanding between Shanghai and Hong Kong on Digitised Cargo Trade and Finance Cooperation with the Shanghai Data Bureau and the National Technology Innovation Center for Blockchain, whether the Government will further consolidate existing resources and establish an interdepartmental cross-boundary digital trade sandbox jointly with the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Customs and Excise Department and the Innovation and Technology Commission to enable the logistics, trading, banking and insurance sectors to conduct trials on a common platform for unifying standards on electronic trade documents and data, and connect it to the Project Ensemble and the initiative on Shanghai-Hong Kong co-operation on eBLs, with a view to expediting the formation of digital trade rules recognised in the GBA and even the international community? 

Reply:
 
President,
 
     In consultation with the Customs and Excise Department, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the consolidated reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Thomas So is as follows:
 
     The Government has been committed to promoting the development of digital trade in order to maintain and enhance Hong Kong’s position as an international trade centre. With reference to the Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (MLETR) advocated by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Government is advancing legislative amendments to facilitate the digitalisation of “Business-to-Business” (B2B) trade documents, and will introduce an amendment bill to the Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Cap. 553) into the Legislative Council within this year. In taking forward the work relating to the digitalisation of trade documents, the Government has been, and will continue to be, actively drawing reference from the practices of other jurisdictions.
 
     The MLETR adopts a functional approach and provides a legal framework to ensure that electronic transferable records (ETRs) possess the necessary characteristics to achieve their legal effect and functions, while upholding the principle of technological neutrality by not prescribing the use of any particular technology or platform. The advantage of this approach is that it affords flexibility to accommodate rapidly evolving technologies and business models, and facilitates cross-border interoperability.
 
     Specifically, the MLETR provides that a reliable method must be used to establish that an ETR may be regarded as equivalent to a paper-based document. In defining “reliable method”, the provisions of the MLETR set out a range of factors for consideration, including the security of hardware and software, the ability to prevent unauthorised access, and applicable industry standards. To enhance legal certainty, the MLETR also advocates a “proven-in-fact” approach, under which a method need not be assessed against the criteria of the factor-based evaluation if it has in fact been proven capable of achieving its intended function.
 
     Currently, the more common international practice is for each jurisdiction to provide a legal framework for ETRs that is consistent with international standards (including the MLETR), while, in accordance with the principles of technology-and-medium neutrality, allowing enterprises to use and develop different technological solutions, thereby driving the market to develop technologies and systems that meet practical needs.
 
     The Government has been promoting trade digitalisation through improving the legal framework, upgrading trade infrastructure and facilitating cross-boundary data interoperability. The Trade Single Window, as Hong Kong’s digital trade infrastructure, enables the industry to submit trade documents to the Government on a one-stop basis. ValidAP, on the other hand, provides cross-boundary electronic trade document authentication services to verify, among other things, whether an electronic document has been issued by the relevant authority. The two platforms each have their own policy objectives and service scopes, and differ from the proposed end-to-end electronic authentication and mutual recognition system covering B2B transactions.
 
     Given that relevant technological solutions are already available in the market, and that technologies and business models continue to evolve, the Government’s current focus is to establish a clear legal framework for the recognition of electronic trade documents and promoting cross-boundary interoperability, thereby creating favourable conditions for the industry to adopt and develop different solutions. It might not be the most cost-effective use of public resources if the Government were to develop or construct similar systems on its own. Regarding the introduction of a mandatory accreditation regime, full consideration must also be given to its impact on enterprise choice and market innovation. At present, other jurisdictions generally have not introduced mandatory accreditation regimes. We will uphold the principle of technological neutrality, allowing enterprises to select suitable solutions according to their business needs, and will continue to monitor international developments and the associated benefits.
 
     The Government understands that promoting cross-boundary interoperability with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chinese Mainland as a whole is of great importance to Hong Kong’s commercial and trade development. In recent years, the Chinese Mainland has actively promoted the trials and the application of electronic trade documents, including amending the Maritime Code of the People’s Republic of China (Maritime Code) in October 2025 to provide legal status for electronic transport records such as electronic bills of lading. The amended Maritime Code, which was also formulated with reference to the MLETR and relevant international conventions, has been implemented since May 2026. Upon completion of the relevant legislative amendments, Hong Kong will be able to enhance the cross-boundary acceptability of such documents with the Chinese Mainland.
 
     On the other hand, the HKMA is advancing trade finance digitalisation through the multi-year Project CargoX. With the participation of 21 banks, the CargoX Pilot Programme was launched in May 2026 to facilitate the iterative validation of cargo and trade data initiatives. In 2026 and 2027, the Pilot Programme focuses on four key areas, including integrating with key government cargo and trade data platforms (such as the Transport and Logistics Bureau’s Port Community System and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau’s Trade Single Window), combining small and medium-sized enterprises’ trade flow and cash flow data for banks’ multi-dimensional credit assessment, adopting Digital Corporate Identity to enable trusted data sharing, and enhancing connectivity with key trade corridors, such as the Chinese Mainland and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
 
     In this connection, the HKMA has collaborated with the Shanghai Data Bureau (SDB) to successfully establish a link-up between the HKMA’s Commercial Data Interchange and a digital trade platform developed by the SDB. Known as “CargoX Connect”, this collaboration has enabled five pilot banks to access and utilise trade declaration data from the Yangtze River Delta region to facilitate various trade finance processes, such as trade verification and due diligence on trade counterparts, resulting in faster loan drawdowns for Hong Kong businesses engaging in both onshore and offshore trade. To date, this pilot project has enabled the approval of 10 trade finance loans amounting to $180 million. The HKMA intends to extend this successful model to other provinces and cities in the Chinese Mainland as the next phase of development. The Government will continue to monitor standard developments both internationally and in the Chinese Mainland to provide a foundation for cross-boundary interoperability.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Government today announced that the Central Kowloon Bypass will be fully commissioned on December 6, and an $8 toll will take effect on the same date.

The Legislative Council approved the $8 toll arrangement  in 2025 for all vehicles using the Central Kowloon Bypass. The Secretary for Transport & Logistics has made the Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2025 (Commencement) Notice to specify that the relevant toll provisions will come into operation from December 6, 2026.

The commencement notice will be published in the Gazette on October 16 and tabled at the LegCo for negative vetting on October 21.

The Central Kowloon Bypass comprises the already commissioned its Yau Ma Tei Section, and the Kowloon Bay Section, which is scheduled for commissioning on December 6.

Together with the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel, it forms Route 6, linking Tseung Kwan O, Kowloon East and Kowloon West.

Upon the commissioning of Route 6, the journey time between Tseung Kwan O and Yau Ma Tei during peak hours is expected to be substantially reduced from about 65 minutes to about 12 minutes, bringing considerable convenience to the public.

The Transport & Logistics Bureau said that after duly considering public affordability, the toll for the Central Kowloon Bypass has been set at $8. It is expected to recover part of the operating costs while achieving the intended traffic diversion effect, thereby alleviating traffic on major roads in Kowloon.

The Government has been actively launching publicity campaigns to help the public fully grasp the toll arrangement, with a view to ensuring the smooth rollout.

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

The Digital Policy Office announced today that an AI Assistant feature is being introduced in the latest version of the “iAM Smart” mobile application to answer enquiries about government services.

The update will be rolled out gradually via official application stores from today through to late October.

The AI Assistant’s service covers enquiries related to public services provided by the Government. Members of the public can type in queries and the assistant will retrieve information instantly from official sources, and organise it into coherent and concise content, using AI technology. 

When users enquire about an online application procedure, the AI Assistant will list out eligibility criteria, step-by-step instructions and a relevant service link, enabling one-click access to the online service. Where applicable, it will also integrate with the “e-ME” form-filling function of “iAM Smart” to assist users in completing online forms.

To activate the AI Assistant, users can simply update to the latest version of the app and tap the icon of the mascot “Swifty” on the homepage.

An enhanced version of the AI Assistant with personalised features will be launched before the end of the year.