MIL Asia Pacific Publishing Engine

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Chan Pui-leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
 
Question:
 
     There are views pointing out that with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EV) in Hong Kong, the volume of retired EV batteries (retired batteries) is expected to rise significantly. However, if such retired batteries are not handled properly, the hazardous substances they contain may cause serious environmental pollution and safety issues. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the annual number of retired batteries generated in Hong Kong in the past three years; the respective numbers of batteries that underwent preliminary treatment at licensed disposal facilities in Hong Kong and were exported overseas for recycling;
 
(2) since the launch of the “ezbatteries” scheme sponsored by the Recycling Fund in December 2022, of the respective annual numbers of batteries recycled and those used for second-life applications; whether the authorities have established performance indicators for the scheme and assessed its effectiveness; if so, of the specific indicators and assessment results; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) as the Mainland approved early last year an action plan to improve the recycling system for used new energy vehicle power batteries to further enhance the utilisation capacity of recycled power batteries, and that it is reported that many other Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) have now established relatively well-developed recycling systems for retired EV batteries, whether the authorities have plans to strengthen co-operation between Hong Kong and other Mainland cities in GBA to establish a cross-border battery recycling network, with a view to enhancing resource circulation efficiency; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(4) as it has been reported that the technology for cascade utilisation of retired batteries (i.e. sorting, dismantling and reassembling retired batteries for application in other fields to achieve resource utilisation and environmental protection) in the Mainland is relatively mature, with over 150 “white-listed enterprises” (i.e. enterprises meeting the Industry Standards for the Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Storage Batteries of New Energy Vehicles) responsible for recycling and handling retired batteries, whether the authorities will subsidise or promote more relevant research and development projects to expand the application scope of cascade utilisation of retired battery in Hong Kong and foster the development of the local battery recycling industry; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(5) given that in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on June 8, 2022, the Government indicated that it has kept abreast of the international proposals and policies in relation to the traceability of EV batteries and is considering incorporating those arrangements that suit the local context into the relevant producer responsibility schemes, of the anticipated implementation timeline for the relevant measures on producer responsibility for retired batteries in Hong Kong, and whether such measures will cover the traceability management of EV batteries and the lawful scope of secondary-life applications for retired batteries; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The handling and disposal of retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries are regulated under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) and the subsidiary Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354C). Currently, EV suppliers have engaged licensed collectors to collect retired batteries from their brands’ EVs. These batteries undergo proper preliminary treatment, such as sorting, discharging and insulating, before being packaged and transported overseas to appropriate treatment facilities for recycling.
 
     The Government started planning for the management of retired EV batteries back in 2021 when it released the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles. The measures include promoting research on the second-life use of retired EV batteries through the Green Tech Fund (GTF); pushing forward the construction of local EV battery recycling facility; and formulating the implementation of a producer responsibility scheme (PRS) on EV batteries.
 
     Hong Kong’s first large-scale EV battery recycling facility at the EcoPark is under construction, which is expected to commence operation in the first half of 2026. This facility aims to convert retired EV batteries into recycled black mass to be supplied to the Mainland and neighbouring regions. It will not only promote the development of the EV battery recycling industry, and strengthen Hong Kong’s role in the regional green industry chain, but also serve as a good model for mutually beneficial co-operation in the environmental industry of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Government is currently consulting the trade on the operation of the PRS on EV batteries, and expects to consult the Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Environmental Affairs on the implementation details within 2026.

     The reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Pui-leung is as follows:
 
(1) In the past three years (2022-2024), there were a total of about 160 tonnes of retired lithium batteries from vehicles preliminarily treated by local licensed disposal facilities for transporting overseas to appropriate authorised treatment facilities for recycling. A yearly breakdown is as follows:
 

Year	Total quantity (tonnes)
2022	69.5
2023	53.0
2024	38.1

     As the trade may currently store a certain quantity of retired EV batteries for further handling, the figures provided above may not fully reflect the total quantity of retired EV batteries generated by EVs in Hong Kong.
 
(2) In December 2022, the Recycling Fund allocated funding to launch the “ezbatteries” project for 24 months. By establishing a digital platform, the project offered a convenient channel for various stakeholders, including EV owners and recyclers, to learn more about the collection and recycling processes of retired EV batteries, with a view to alleviating their concerns on the handling of retired EV batteries. The project conducted a series of publicity activities, including workshops, seminars, a promotional video and electronic leaflet, to educate the trade and the public about the handling of EV batteries. As the project focuses on promotion and information sharing, it does not involve the actual recycling of retired EV batteries.
 
(3) In January 2025, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government established the Special Panel for Building “Zero Waste Bay Area” (the Special Panel) to strengthen policy co-ordination, technical exchanges and project collaboration, as well as elevate the capability in jointly handling solid waste.
 
     The Special Panel has commenced discussions on topics such as regional co-operation in resources circulation and waste management policy. It has been exploring ways to promote the co-ordination of regulations and market integration between the two regions, covering the potential and feasibility of cross-regional co-operation in handling different kinds of recyclable materials, including recycled black mass converted from retired EV batteries.
 
(4) As mentioned above, research promoting EVs and the second-life use of EV batteries are listed under the priority theme of green transport under the GTF. At present, the GTF has approved three research and development projects related to the recycling of retired EV batteries, covering application areas such as echelon use of EV batteries, involving a total grant of over $12 million.
 
(5) As mentioned above, the Government is currently consulting the trade on the PRS on EV batteries. This includes considerations for establishing a product traceability system and repurposing retired batteries in good condition for echelon use. The Government will consult the LegCo Panel on Environmental Affairs on the PRS on EV batteries within 2026. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

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 Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):

Question:

     It has been reported that a study has pointed out that there is a lack of support services in Hong Kong society to address the needs of street sleepers, and that the number of hostel places provided for them falls short of demand. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of street sleepers registered under the Computerised Street Sleeper Registry in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the District Council district to which their street sleeping points belonged, gender, age, nationality and reason for street sleeping; 

(2) of the top three districts in Hong Kong with the highest numbers of registered street sleepers in each of the past five years, as well as the respective percentages of such sleepers in the total number of registered street sleepers; 

(3) in respect of emergency and short-term accommodation services for street sleepers (i) subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) or (ii) operated on a self-financing basis by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), of the respective numbers of hostel places, the periods of stay, the ratios of hostel places for men and women and the average occupancy rates of hostel places in each of the past five years; 

(4) of the number of persons waiting for hostel places for street sleepers in various districts, the waiting time and the number of successful cases of quitting street sleeping in each of the past five years; whether the SWD will consider regularly announcing the supply and demand situation of hostel places in various districts to reflect the actual service gaps; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; 

(5) of the respective numbers of outreach visits provided, persons reached and referrals made by the three SWD-subvented Integrated Services Teams for Street Sleepers in each of the past five years, as well as the relevant subventions from the Government; 

(6) of the number of street sleepers who were (i) assisted by the SWD to rent private tenement, (ii) referred by the SWD to apply for residential care services for the elderly, (iii) recommended by the SWD to the Housing Department and become eligible waitlisted cases for allocation of public rental housing units, as well as participating in other accommodation assistance programmes, in each of the past five years; 

(7) whether the authorities have studied the underlying causes for the change in the total number of street sleepers in recent years, and what new measures are in place to help them improve their lives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; 

(8) whether the SWD will allocate additional resources or subsidies to government-subvented NGOs (including service units serving street sleepers) and NGOs operating on a self-financing basis to provide accommodation services for street sleepers, as well as increasing the manpower of social workers and psychiatric nurses and the funding of related items; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and 

(9) as there are views that there is currently a severe shortage of hostel places for street sleepers, and that the maximum period of stay in SWD-subvented hostels is generally limited to six months, which fails to meet the needs of street sleepers for rehabilitation and reintegration into the community, whether the Government will consider increasing the number of places for transitional housing and extending the relevant period of stay to at least two years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     Street sleeping is a complex social problem, involving the policies and work of different bureaux and departments, such as housing, welfare and health, as well as the co-ordination of interdepartmental operations at district level. Government departments and local service units concerned have been working in close collaboration to assist street sleepers.

     The reply to various parts of the question raised by the Reverend Canon the Hon Peter Douglas Koon is as follows:

(1) and (2) The Social Welfare Department (SWD)’s Computerised Street Sleepers Registry (Registry) consolidates information about street sleepers from SWD’s and subvented casework units and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) dedicated to serving street sleepers. After social workers proactively engage with street sleepers through outreaching visits and service referrals, they would conduct professional assessment of the welfare needs of the street sleepers and input the relevant information into the Registry. Since 2023, the SWD has required service units to annually review all the registered cases of street sleepers in the Registry and timely update the data to enable closer service planning. The number of street sleepers reported by such service units in the past five years, broken down by district, gender, age group and reason for street sleeping are respectively set out in Table 1 to Table 4 in Annex. The top three District Council districts with the highest numbers of street sleepers and their respective percentages of total street sleepers in the past five years are set out in Table 5. The Registry does not keep information on the nationality of street sleepers.

(3) to (9) The SWD has been subventing NGOs to operate three Integrated Services Teams for Street Sleepers (ISTs) to provide social welfare support services for street sleepers in Hong Kong. The ISTs proactively reach out to street sleepers through day and late night visits to understand their reasons for street sleeping, and render integrated services according to their actual needs and willingness to receive services. These services, including counselling, service referral, short-term accommodation and financial assistance, etc, are provided to address the urgent welfare needs of street sleepers, thereby helping them live off the streets and reintegrate into the community. The number of outreaching visits conducted by the ISTs, the number of street sleepers approached, the number of cases having given up street sleeping after receiving services by ISTs, and the expenditure on subvented integrated services for street sleepers in the past five years are set out in Table 6.

     The SWD also provides subvention to NGOs to operate short-term hostels for providing transitional accommodation for street sleepers, and through the provision of counselling and consultation services, assisting them to tide over to stable living arrangements. The number of places subvented by the SWD and provided by NGOs on a self-financing basis, broken down by gender, and the average occupancy rate of subvented places in the past five years are set out in Table 7 and Table 8 respectively. As street sleepers and the referring social workers may apply to the hostel directly for the service, the SWD does not maintain information on length of stay in hostels, the number of people on the waiting list and the waiting time in districts. The SWD does not maintain information on service referrals made by the ISTs, street sleepers renting private housing units, being recommended for allocation of public rental housing or participating in other accommodation assistance programmes either.

     Street sleepers have varied reasons for street sleeping, such as being unable to identify affordable accommodation due to unemployment or high rents, choosing to live on the street because of family relationship problems, being unable to secure stable accommodation after discharge from hospital, prison, or drug addiction treatment centre, financial instability, convenience for work and job seeking, lacking the will to live off the streets because of mental health or drug abuse problems, or a desire to stay in a familiar community for living, etc. When their related difficulties or accommodation problems are resolved, some street sleepers will choose to live off the street and reintegrate into the community, resulting in a decline in the number of street sleepers.

     To enhance the welfare support services for street sleepers, the SWD has allocated additional resources to subvented ISTs since 2020-‍21 to increase manpower of social workers, psychiatric nurses and drivers, as well as the funding of other relevant items. Moreover, additional short-term hostel places for street sleepers have been provided, increasing the number of subvented places to 228. The duration of stay at these hostels is normally up to six months, which may be extended by social workers, depending on the welfare needs of individual street sleepers to facilitate smooth implementation of suitable accommodation plans. The SWD will continue to keep in view the welfare service needs of street sleepers, while maintaining communication and collaboration with stakeholders and the government departments concerned, and provide appropriate welfare support services for street sleepers according to their needs, with a view to helping them restore living.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Digital Policy Office (DPO) today (January 21) announced that proposals are now invited from non-profit organisations or industry associations to take part as Leading Organisers for the 2026 and 2027 Hong Kong ICT Awards (HKICTA).
 
     Organised by the DPO, the HKICTA aims to recognise and promote outstanding information and communications technology (ICT) inventions and applications, thereby encouraging innovation and excellence among Hong Kong’s ICT elites and enterprises. Through concerted efforts of the ICT sector, academia and the Government, the HKICTA has always been highly regarded by the information technology industry. Since its debut in 2006, this annual signature event has now entered its 20th year. Over the years, more than 2 200 awards have been presented to recognise outstanding local ICT products and innovative solutions. In addition, HKICTA winners have the opportunity to be nominated for regional and international competitions, with many of them having scooped remarkable prizes, including 16 awards at the Asia Pacific Information and Communications Technology Alliance Awards 2024, an award at the 2024 Global Innovation and Tech Excellence Awards, two awards at the Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Final 2025, and an award at the Hong Kong/Shanghai Co-operation Open Data Challenge 2025. The winners have showcased the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong’s ICT industry.
 
     The HKICTA consists of eight award categories, namely:
 
* Digital Entertainment Award
* FinTech Award
* ICT Startup Award
* Smart Business Award
* Smart Living Award
* Smart Mobility Award
* Smart People Award
* Student Innovation Award
 
     In a bid to foster the innovative use of AI, the Best Use of AI Award was established in each category in 2024 to inspire more innovative applications of AI, and magnify and honour outstanding achievements in harnessing AI in respective areas.
 
     The DPO welcomes applications from all non-profit organisations and industry associations to become Leading Organisers for the coming two rounds of the HKICTA. Leading Organisers are responsible for recruiting and screening entries, promoting the HKICTA through their networks, planning and managing the adjudication process, and holding individual presentation ceremonies for their categories. The selection of Leading Organisers will be conducted through an open and fair process based on established assessment mechanisms and criteria taking into account the effectiveness of the proposals as well as the capability and past performance of the proponents.
 
     The deadline for submission is February 23. Organisations interested in being a Leading Organiser can obtain a set of the application documents (including a Request for Proposal and a Proposal Form) from the website of the DPO (www.digitalpolicy.gov.hk/en/our_work/digital_infrastructure/business_window/tender_eoi_rfp/). Further details are available on the website of the HKICTA (www.hkictawards.hk).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Tam Chun-kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
 
Question:
 
     According to government data, the unemployment rates in the construction sector and the food and beverage services sector remain high and exceed the Hong Kong’s overall unemployment rate. Some members of the public have relayed that there are illegal workers snatching employment opportunities in various industries by asking for low wages, and some enterprises have even abused the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), dealing a severe blow to the livelihood of local workers. There are views that in order to ensure employment priority of local workers, the Government must play a stringent gatekeeping role in its labour importation policy, and rigorously crack down on illegal workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

 (1) given that in September last year, the Government launched measures targeting job categories with more imported workers under ESLS (including waiters/waitresses and junior cooks) to combat abuse of the scheme, whether the Government has compiled statistics on the changes in the numbers of applications for labour importation in respect of the relevant industries and job categories received and approved before and after the launch of such measures; whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; 

(2) of the number of complaints about abusing the ESLS received by the Government since its launch and the contents of such complaints; the number of employers subjected to administrative sanctions after the Government’s investigations into such complaints and, among them, the number of employers prohibited from importing labour for two years; whether the Government will consider introducing other penalties for abuse of the ESLS; 

(3) of the number of persons (including workers and employers) arrested and the relevant penalties imposed in cases involving illegal workers in the past three years, with breakdowns by industry, and among such cases, the number of those involving driving for the carriage of passengers; and 

(4) as the Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address has pointed out that the Government is undertaking a mid-term update of the Manpower Projection with focus on analysing data of industries with a larger number of imported labour, of the progress of the relevant work, and whether it has drawn up a specific timetable to enable an expeditious review of the ESLS on the basis of the outcome of the analysis? 

Reply:
 
President,
 
     To cope with the challenges brought by manpower shortage and foster Hong Kong’s economic development, the Government, on the premise of ensuring employment priority for local workers, suitably allows employers with genuine difficulty in recruiting suitable local workers to apply for importation of workers. Apart from launching sector-specific labour importation schemes for the construction sector, transport sector, and residential care homes for the elderly and residential care homes for persons with disabilities, the Labour Department (LD) has implemented the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS) since September 4, 2023, to suspend the general exclusion of the 26 job categories as well as unskilled or low-skilled posts from labour importation under the previous Supplementary Labour Scheme. The Government has been closely monitoring the employment market and adopting a flexible and targeted approach to adjust the implementation arrangements of the ESLS in light of the latest situation, while combating illegal workers rigorously to safeguard the employment priority for local workers.
 
     In consultation with the Security Bureau (SB), the reply to the Member’s question is as follows:

(1) To ensure the employment priority for local workers and having regard to the situation and changes in the manpower supply and demand of individual industries and posts, the ESLS introduced new requirements of local recruitment on September 10, 2025, requiring employers applying to import waiters/waitresses and junior cooks to join a job fair held at a job centre specified by the LD once a week during the local recruitment period, and conduct job interviews on the spot. The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address also announced that from September 18, 2025, when applying to import waiters/waitresses and junior cooks, the local recruitment period is extended from four weeks to six weeks, and a tightened manning ratio requirement of 2:1 is implemented for the above-mentioned two posts by changing the calculation basis from all posts of an applicant employer to each post under application. In other words, an employer applying to import a waiter/waitress and a junior cook must have already employed two local full-time waiters/ waitresses and two local full-time junior cooks.
 
     Since the implementation of the above new requirements in September, the number of applications for labour importation from the food and beverage services industry has dropped markedly from a monthly average of nearly 370 applications between June and August 2025 to about 260 applications after September. Upon the implementation of a more stringent manning ratio requirement, the approval rate and the number of imported waiters/waitresses and junior cooks approved have both declined. The number of approvals for these two posts decreased from monthly averages of nearly 610 and 560 respectively between June and August 2025 to about 560 and 310. The new requirement of attendance at job fairs has enhanced the transparency of vacancy information and made it easier for local job seekers to apply for jobs on the spot at job fairs, thereby facilitating employment matching in the local labour market and encouraging the industry to take on suitable local job seekers. The implementation of the post-based manning ratio requirement also effectively drives employers to employ local workers to take up relevant posts.

(2) Since the implementation of the ESLS on September 4, 2023, and as at December 31, 2025, the LD received a total of 832 complaints relating to the ESLS, mainly involving suspected displacement of serving local employees with imported workers, non-compliance with the manning ratio requirement or work arrangements of imported workers, etc. During the same period, the LD imposed administrative sanctions on 24 employers who had violated the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, occupational safety and health legislation, Immigration Ordinance (IO) or requirements of the ESLS, including withdrawing the approvals for importing labour granted to 22 employers under the ESLS and refusing to process their subsequent applications for labour importation in the following two years, as well as refusing to process the applications submitted by two employers and their subsequent applications for labour importation in the following year.
              
     The Government does not condone any act of violation. The LD has been closely monitoring the implementation of the ESLS, reviewing and refining its operational and implementation arrangements in good time to ensure employers’ compliance with various requirements under the ESLS.

(3) The Government is committed to combating illegal employment so as to safeguard the employment opportunities of local workers. It is a serious offence to engage in illegal employment. Illegal workers, employers, as well as aiders and abettors of illegal employment will be liable to prosecution in accordance with IO.
              
     According to the records of the Immigration Department (ImmD), the number of law enforcement operations against illegal workers (including joint operations with other departments including the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF)) in the past three years, as well as the number of illegal workers and employers arrested therein are tabulated below:
 

Year	Number of operations	Illegal workers	Employers
2023	17 248	1 304	502
2024	17 906	1 268	513
2025	19 980	1 264	569

     The arrested illegal workers were mainly engaged in work related to the catering or renovation industries. Over the past three years, the majority of the convicted illegal workers were sentenced to imprisonment with imprisonment terms ranging from six days to 23 months, whereas the majority of the convicted employers were sentenced to imprisonment or a fine, with imprisonment terms ranging from 28 days to 19 months, and fines ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. The ImmD does not maintain a breakdown of other statistics mentioned in the question.
 
     As regards illegal workers involved in driving for carriage of passengers, during the enforcement operations against illegal hire car services taken by the HKPF in the past three years, a total of 11 illegal workers were arrested, and 11 persons alleged to have assisted illegal workers to engage in illegal employment in Hong Kong through online car hailing platforms were arrested for offences such as conspiracy to defraud.
 
     The SB established in September 2025 an Inter-departmental Task Force against Illegal Employment (Task Force) to further step up efforts in combating illegal employment. The members of the Task Force include the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), the Education Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the ImmD, the HKPF, the LD and the Transport Department. The Task Force will continue to closely monitor the situation of illegal employment, formulate overall response strategies in a timely manner and step up efforts in combating illegal employment to safeguard the employment of local workers.

(4) The LWB has commenced the mid-term update of the Manpower Projection to update the projection of the overall manpower supply and demand for 2028 by using the most recent situation in 2025 as the baseline. Relevant results are expected to be announced in the fourth quarter of 2026. To tie in with the ESLS review which is to be completed in the first half of 2026, the LWB will accord priority to data analysis for industries with a higher proportion of imported labour, with a view to providing the relevant part of analytical results in advance for reference in reviewing the ESLS and supporting the Government’s medium- to long-term planning.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     ​The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, continued his programme at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday (January 20, Davos time).
      
     In the morning, Mr Chan attended the Special Address delivered by Vice Premier of the State Council Mr He Lifeng at the WEF Annual Meeting. Yesterday, he also held meetings with senior officials from various economies, representatives of international organisations and business leaders to brief them on Hong Kong’s latest developments and unique advantages.
      
     Mr Chan attended a breakfast meeting hosted by a digital asset company, Animoca Brands, where he engaged in discussions with leaders from the financial and innovation sectors on how blockchain applications — including tokenised assets and genomic data analytics — are driving transformation and development in capital markets.
      
     Speaking at the meeting, Mr Chan said that finance and technology are mutually reinforcing. Financial innovations, such as digital assets, not only enhance transparency, efficiency, inclusiveness and risk management in financial services, but also facilitate more effective capital allocation to the real economy. He added that finance also plays a vital role in supporting and enabling technological development.
      
     Mr Chan pointed out that, as an international financial centre, Hong Kong adopts a proactive yet prudent approach to the development of digital assets. The city follows the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation” to promote responsible and sustainable market development. Since 2023, Hong Kong has issued licences to 11 virtual asset trading platforms, and a licensing regime for stablecoins is expected to be launched later this year. He also highlighted the Government’s leadership role in promoting tokenisation, including the issuance of three batches of tokenised green bonds amounting to around US$2.1 billion. In addition, regulatory sandboxes have been introduced to encourage innovative applications in the market.
      
     Later in the day, Mr Chan met with a number of officials from different economies and regional organisations attending the WEF Annual Meeting, including Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of Thailand, Mr Ekniti Nitithanprapas; the Secretary-General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Mr Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi; the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Egypt, Mr Hassan El Khatib; and the State Secretary for International Finance at the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland, Ms Daniela Stoffel. They exchanged views on the global political and economic landscape and issues of mutual concern, and explored opportunities to strengthen collaboration in areas such as trade, finance, industry development and digital transformation.
      
     In addition, Mr Chan met with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to exchange views on the current landscape and future of international trade. Mr Chan reiterated that Hong Kong, China firmly supports free trade and multilateralism, and expressed support for the WTO’s efforts to pursue reforms in response to current global challenges, with a view to enhancing its agility in addressing emerging issues in international trade.
      
     Mr Chan also met with the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of technology investment firm Vista Equity Partners, Mr Robert Smith, to learn about the firm’s latest developments in software and data businesses, and encouraged Mr Smith to consider expanding the company’s presence in Hong Kong.
      
     Mr Chan will continue his visit to Davos today (January 21, Davos time).

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng and a reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Erick Tsang Kwok-wai, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
 
Question:

     The Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan outline the country’s development in the next five years and make special arrangements to promote long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the specific policy options to proactively align with the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, including how to broaden economic development and growth, accelerate the development and application of innovation and technology, and expedite the upgrading of industry structures, so as to align with the country’s development;
 
(2) as there are views that the Northern Metropolis will be crucial to Hong Kong’s economic and innovation development during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, how the Government will strengthen co-operation between the Northern Metropolis and other Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, such as formulating joint policies to promote division of work in development, streamlining the administration workflows, advancing infrastructure construction, and expediting the implementation of the Northern Metropolis Action Agenda and the Conceptual Outline of the Development Plan for the Innovation and Technology Industry in the San Tin Technopole, so as to align with the country’s planning and development; and
 
(3) whether the Government will, apart from formulating one-year policy planning through the annual Policy Address, proactively align with the country’s planning and arrangements and formulate “five-year plans” in the long run, so as to align with the country’s macro development direction?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Having consulted the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) and the Development Bureau (DEVB), our reply in response to the questions raised by Dr the Hon Johnny Ng is as follows:
 
(1) The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) deliberated and adopted the Recommendations of the CPC Central Committee for Formulating the 15th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan) in October last year. The Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan provide top-level design and strategic blueprint for the country’s development over the next five years, comprehensively devising the strategic tasks and major initiatives during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, and clarifying the approaches and key tasks in priority areas ranging from industrial development, technological innovation, domestic market, economic system, opening-up, rural revitalisation, and regional development, to cultural construction, safeguarding people’s livelihoods, green development, safe development, and national defence. All of these strategic tasks and major initiatives will bring boundless opportunities for Hong Kong’s future development, and therefore all sectors of Hong Kong society must seize them firmly. For example, in terms of improving regional economic structures, Hong Kong should deeply engage in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, while strengthening interactive co-operation with other Mainland regional economies for mutual benefit, win-win results, and mutual advancement. In terms of international co-operation, Hong Kong should continue to deepen international exchanges and co-operation, attract global high-end talents and capital, and play its dual roles of assisting Mainland enterprises to “go global” and attracting overseas investment. In terms of green development, Hong Kong should promote green finance and carbon neutrality practices to support the country’s ecological civilisation construction, while fostering the development of local environmental industries. As for the innovation and technology development that Member is concerned about, the Government announced the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint in 2022. In addition, the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park) officially opened in December 2025. Hong Kong and Shenzhen will strive for trial implementation of dedicated cross-boundary policy measures to facilitate the convenient flow of important innovation elements including personnel, materials, capital and data within the Loop, endeavouring to become a testing zone for new rules and innovation and cultivate a testing ground for institutional and policy innovation, in response to the goals and requirements for high-quality development as well as self-reliance and strength in science and technology in the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan. From the above, it can be seen that the work of aligning with the 15th Five-Year Plan is all-round, in-depth and multi-dimensional, covering extensive areas. The Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan also make important plans for Hong Kong’s development, proposing to consolidate, enhance, build and develop the “Four Centres and One Highland”, namely the international financial, shipping, trade and innovation and technology centres, as well as the highland of international top-tier talent. These plans not only represent the direction and driving force for Hong Kong’s long-term development in the future, but also align with the country’s development positioning and are conducive to the country’s development needs, precisely leveraging Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs. At present, policy bureaux and departments of the HKSAR Government are actively studying in-depth on how to proactively align with the Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan in their respective scopes and purviews. After the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan is adopted at the session of the National People’s Congress later, the policy bureaux will take forward the relevant alignment work in full swing. The Steering Group on Integration into National Development led by the Chief Executive will also provide high-level, all-round guidance, co-ordination and supervision to effectively implement the relevant work, ensuring that the HKSAR fully aligns with the 15th Five-Year Plan and promotes high-quality development for both the country and Hong Kong.
 
(2) As regard the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM), it is an important measure taken by the HKSAR Government to actively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, as well as an important engine driving Hong Kong’s future economic and social development. It helps promote the high-quality development and foster more comprehensive co-operation of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We are moving full steam ahead to develop the NM, expedite the construction and attract industries. At the same time, as mentioned above, the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park already officially opened in December 2025, and the ITIB has also promulgated the Conceptual Outline of Development Plan for Innovation and Technology Industry in San Tin Technopole, setting a clear development strategy for the San Tin Technopole.
 
     Recently, in addition to launching the tender exercise for the first pilot area under the large-scale land disposal approach within the NM, DEVB is also actively preparing for the Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company Limited’s commencement of operation in mid-2026. DEVB will conduct a public consultation on the dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of the NM in the first quarter, and has recently introduced to the industry and stakeholders the administrative measures to expedite approval of private projects within the NM. The HKSAR Government will continue to maintain close liaison with the Shenzhen side on matters relating to NM development through the Task Force for Collaboration on the NM Development Strategy. Both sides will conduct joint discussions on matters related to cross-boundary development and construction.
 
(3) The HKSAR Government attaches utmost importance to the work of proactively aligning with the country’s “Five-Year Plans”. The Chief Executive delivers the Policy Address annually, setting out to the Legislative Council and all sectors of the community the major policy directions and concrete measures to be launched by the Government in the coming year. These policy measures maintain consistency and are highly aligned with the national “Five-Year Plans”. In fact, since the promulgation of the 14th Five-Year Plan, each year’s Policy Address has included specific policy initiatives aimed at consolidating and strengthening Hong Kong’s role as the “eight centres” outlined in the plan. The Government also formulates development blueprints from time to time for key policy areas, manifesting medium- to long-term development planning, such as the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint and the Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint. All these demonstrate that the HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the long-term planning and development of the HKSAR. The establishment by the Government of the Steering Group on Integration into National Development to steer the 14th Five-Year Plan and the 15th Five-Year Plan is in itself a mature and established mechanism for comprehensively aligning with the country’s “Five-Year Plans”.
 
     The 15th Five-Year Plan will bring boundless development opportunities to Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government will certainly lead all sectors of Hong Kong society to work together to fully and proactively align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, so as to promote the long-term high-quality development of the country and Hong Kong, integrate into and at the same time serve the overall national development, and contribute to the country’s building of a great country and the great rejuvenation of the nation.
 
     Thank you, President.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Transport Department (TD) today (January 21) said that the next online auction of vehicle registration marks (VRMs) will be held from noon on February 5 (Thursday) to noon on February 9 (Monday) through the auction platform E-Auction (e-auction.td.gov.hk). Interested bidders can participate in the online auction only after they have successfully registered as E-Auction users.
 
     A spokesman for the TD said, “A total of 220 Ordinary VRMs will be available at this online public auction. The list of VRMs (see Annex) has been uploaded to the E-Auction website. Applicants who have paid a $1,000 deposit to reserve an Ordinary VRM for auction should also register as an E-Auction user in advance in order to participate in the online bidding, including placing the first bid at the opening price of $1,000. Otherwise, the VRMs reserved by them may be bid on by other interested bidders at or above the opening price. Auctions for VRMs with ‘HK’ or ‘XX’ as a prefix, special VRMs and personalised VRMs will continue to be carried out through physical auctions by bidding paddles and their announcement arrangements remain unchanged.”
 
     Members of the public participating in the online bidding should take note of the following important points:
 
(1) Bidders should register in advance as an E-Auction user by “iAM Smart+” equipped with the digital signing function; or by using a valid digital certificate and an email address upon completion of identity verification. Registered “iAM Smart” users should provide their Hong Kong identity card number, while non-Hong Kong residents who are not “iAM Smart” users should provide the number of their passport or other identification documents when registering as E-Auction users.
 
(2) Bidders are required to provide a digital signature to confirm the submission and amount of the bid by using “iAM Smart+” or a valid digital certificate at the time of the first bid of each online bidding session (including setting automatic bids before the auction begins) to comply with the requirements of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance.
 
(3) If a bid is made in respect of a VRM within the last 10 minutes before the end of the auction, the auction end time for that particular VRM will be automatically extended by another 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 24 hours.
 
(4) Successful bidders must follow the instructions in the notification email issued by the TD to log in to the E-Auction within 48 hours from the issuance of email and complete the follow-up procedures, including:
 

• completing the Purchaser Information for the issuance of the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark (Memorandum of Sale); and
• making the auction payment online by credit card, Faster Payment System (FPS) or Payment by Phone Service (PPS). Cheque or cash payment is not accepted in the E-Auction.

(5) A VRM can only be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. Relevant information on the Certificate of Incorporation must be provided by the successful bidder in the Purchaser Information of the Memorandum of Sale if the VRM purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.
 
(6) Successful bidders will receive a notification email around seven working days after payment has been confirmed and can download the Memorandum of Sale from the E-Auction. The purchaser must apply for the VRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser within 12 months from the date of issue of the Memorandum of Sale. If the purchaser fails to do so within the 12-month period, in accordance with the statutory provision, the allocation of the VRM will be cancelled and a new allocation will be arranged by the TD without prior notice to the purchaser.
 
     The TD has informed all applicants who have reserved Ordinary VRMs for this round of auction of the E-Auction arrangements in detail by post. Members of the public may refer to the E-Auction website or watch the tutorial videos for more information. Please call the E-Auction hotline (3583 3980) or email (e-auction-enquiry@td.gov.hk) for enquiries. 

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by the Hon Carmen Kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (January 21):
     
Question:
 
     The 2025 Policy Address proposed the introduction of dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM). Subsequently, the Secretary for Development indicated at the policy briefing of the Panel on Development of this Council in October last year that there would hopefully be a main framework for the dedicated legislation, and that subsidiary legislation might be further introduced in the light of NM’s development needs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the roles and functions of the Committee on Development of the NM and its three groups respectively led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary (FS) and the Deputy Financial Secretary in the enactment of the dedicated legislation for the NM; given the Government’s remark that one or more dedicated companies will be set up for various industrial parks within the NM, of the division of labour and collaboration model between the three groups and those statutory industry park companies;
 
(2) apart from the statutory procedures involving six major areas that the Government will be empowered to simplify under the dedicated legislation for the NM (i.e. (i) setting up statutory industry park companies; (ii) providing such companies with dedicated channels for funding; (iii) managing the cross-boundary flow in designated areas; (iv) speeding up the approval of building plans; (v) relaxing permitted uses in outline zoning plans and fine-tuning development parameters; and (vi) expediting compensation payment for land resumption) as proposed in the 2025 Policy Address, whether the Government has plans to extend the application of the dedicated legislation to cover more other aspects; whether the Advisory Committee on the NM chaired by the FS will adjust the structure and terms of reference of the Committee and its sub-committees in the light of the six major areas involved under the dedicated legislation;
 
(3) of the specific timetable for enacting the dedicated legislation for the NM (including its main framework and the subsidiary legislation involving the six major areas); whether the legislative process will be expedited and whether the relevant bill will be introduced as soon as possible; if so, of the plans; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(4) of the government department primarily responsible for formulating the main framework for the dedicated legislation for the NM, and the government departments planned by the Government to be empowered to enact the relevant subsidiary legislation involving the six major areas; and
 
(5) how the Government assesses and ascertains that the intended dedicated legislation for NM can meet NM’s development needs, and whether the Government has anticipated the short, medium and long-term outcomes to be achieved by the dedicated legislation respectively; whether performance indicators will be set out for the effectiveness of the dedicated legislation; if so, of the plans; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     It is stated in the 2025 Policy Address that in order to further develop the economy and improve people’s livelihood, the Government must speed up the Northern Metropolis (NM) development and raise the level of decision-making accordingly by establishing the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis under the leadership of the Chief Executive and introducing dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of the NM, etc.
      
     My reply to various parts of the Hon Kan’s question is as follows:
 
(1) and (4) Three working groups have been set up under the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis to supervise respective matters concerning the development of the NM. As the dedicated legislation involves a range of policy areas, the Northern Metropolis Co-ordination Office under the Development Bureau is currently co-ordinating the relevant preparatory work, and would report to the relevant working groups on different areas. An overall report would also be made to the Committee on Development of the Northern Metropolis and necessary steer would be sought.
 
     The objective of establishing a park company is to attract enterprises to establish presence and accelerate development of industries in the NM under a government-led approach, while allowing more flexibility in operation under a company setting. The Working Group on Devising Development and Operation Models led by the Financial Secretary (FS) is responsible for this important task. Among others, the Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park Company Limited wholly owned by the Government was established in early January this year upon endorsement by the Working Group. This is a non-statutory company responsible for the development and operation of around 23-hectare industry land in Hung Shui Kiu. The Government is moving in full steam on the preparation work for the Park Company to commence operation in mid-2026.
 
(2) and (5) Regarding the dedicated legislation for the NM, the Government’s current thinking is to stipulate the relevant policy recommendations in the proposed legislation as a main framework, and delegate the power of further enacting relevant subsidiary legislation to the Chief Executive in Council to cover the implementation details of the policy recommendations as required. By doing so, the Government will be able to constantly review and flexibly adjust the implementation details as and when necessary in response to the rapid development of the NM, whereas the Legislative Council (LegCo) will continue to play its gatekeeping role.
 
     The dedicated legislation for the development of the NM aims to empower the Government to devise simplified statutory procedures, further remove barriers for the development of the NM, and achieve the dual major goals of accelerating the completion of development and construction, and facilitating industry anchoring in the NM, thereby guiding Hong Kong’s high-quality economic and social development in the future. We are currently formulating the details of the proposed legislation, including the areas and objectives involved, which will be announced and consulted in the upcoming public consultation. The legislative intent may not be quantified or measured by performance indicators at this stage.
      
     Regarding the Advisory Committee on the Northern Metropolis chaired by the FS and its four sub-committees, they comprise members from the Government and various sectors outside. Their primary role is to advise the Government on the overall development and different aspects of the NM, and may raise comments on the drafting and implementation of the dedicated legislation for the NM later with regard to their purview. Their operation will not be affected by the ambit or content of the dedicated legislation for the NM at this stage.
 
(3) We plan to launch a public consultation on the content of the proposed legislation in the first quarter of this year and submit the bill to the LegCo in mid-2026. We will strive to complete the legislative work within this year.