Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, officiated at the opening ceremony of the Central and Western District Health Centre (C&W DHC) under the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) today (August 31). She said that the Government has long positioned District Health Centres (DHCs) as the hub of primary healthcare services to co-ordinate community healthcare resources, thereby promoting the mindset of “prevention-oriented, early intervention”.
Dr Fan said, “The DHCs, serving as the entry points of the Primary Healthcare Co-Care Network services, provide citizens with a series of standardised and personalised healthcare services. They also co-ordinate family doctor-centred multidisciplinary teams to provide relevant health management and recommendations, including prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and referrals based on individual needs. Among those, around 260 000 citizens have already participated in the Chronic Disease Co-Care Scheme, while about 50 000 citizens have been arranged for free hepatitis B rapid tests under the Hepatitis B Co-Care Scheme since its launch in February. Going forward, the DHCs will continue to introduce more services covering areas such as elderly health and women’s health.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Latest privilege offers of LCSD Museum Pass Under the new round of offers, Museum Pass holders can enjoy a five per cent discount off the published price for the purchase of a “Magic Access” of Hong Kong Disneyland Park (Note 1), while “Magic Access” holders can enjoy a 10 per cent discount for the purchase of a Museum Pass during the promotion period. The discount offer in collaboration with Ocean Park Hong Kong remains the same where Museum Pass holders can enjoy a 10 per cent discount off the published price for the purchase of an Ocean Park Annual Membership (Note 2), while Ocean Park Annual Membership holders can enjoy a 10 per cent discount for the purchase of a Museum Pass during the promotion period.
At present, Museum Pass holders enjoy a wide range of privileges. Special offers for venues and activities under the LCSD include:
The special offers for performing arts programmes include:
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 3
Tomorrow (September 1) marks the commencement of the new school year. It is believed that students and parents are all looking forward to welcoming the new academic term. However, according to the latest forecast by the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), the remnants of “Sautel” are gradually intensifying into a tropical depression. Under its combined effect with the northeast monsoon, it will be windier over Hong Kong during the day tomorrow, with more showers over parts of the territory with squally thunderstorms.
To ensure the safety of students, the Education Bureau (EDB) has reminded schools to make necessary preparations for the potentially unstable weather on the first day of school. The EDB would also like to take this opportunity to remind students and parents again to stay tuned to the latest weather and traffic updatesStudents and parents are therefore reminded that in the event of tropical cyclones and/or heavy persistent rain, the EDB will announce the schooling arrangements for that day based on the latest weather information provided by the HKO, through the following channels:
AM and Whole-day Schools
AM and Whole-day SchoolsIn addition, in accordance with the above-mentioned EDB Circular, schools will formulate and review from time to time school-based contingency plans in advance to cater for various situations that may arise under inclement weather conditions, such as class suspension. Where events organised by schools might need to be postponed or cancelled under inclement weather, schools should inform all relevant parties of the contingency arrangements in advance.
As the situations in localised areas may differ from the territory as a whole, under the prevailing mechanism, if the EDB has not made any announcement for suspension of classes but individual schools consider it necessary to suspend their classes having regard to local weather, road, slope or traffic conditions, the schools concerned may proceed after consulting the EDB. They should at the same time inform relevant parties according to the established contingency plans. Parents can exercise their discretion in deciding whether or not to send their children to school if the local weather, roads, slopes or traffic conditions are adverseStudents, especially those attending a new school, should familiarise themselves early with public transport routes to and from their schools and the service frequencies. Students should take heed of road safety on their journeys, properly use crossing facilities to cross the road, and not use a mobile phone or earphones, play mobile games, eat or drink when crossing the road. The Transport Department (TD) anticipates that the overall road traffic on the first school day will be busier and urges students to allow more time and pay attention to the latest traffic information. The TD’s Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will release the latest information as appropriate. Members of the public are advised to heed the latest traffic news through the TD’s website (https://www.td.gov.hk), the HKeMobility mobile app, radio and television broadcasts. For details, please refer to the TD’s press releases issued on August 24 and 31 entitled “TD reminds public transport operators to provide adequate services on first school day” and “TD reminds students to allow more journey time on first school day” respectively.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Residential Mortgage Survey Results for July 2026 The number of mortgage applications in July decreased month-on-month by 24 per cent to 9 212.
Mortgage loans approved in July decreased by 11.4 per cent compared with June to HK$44.8 billion. Among these, mortgage loans financing primary market transactions decreased by 14.1 per cent to HK$13.3 billion and those financing secondary market transactions decreased by 16.4 per cent to HK$24.2 billion. Mortgage loans for refinancing increased by 18.4 per cent to HK$7.3 billion.
Mortgage loans drawn down during July increased by 6 per cent compared with June to HK$29.4 billion.
The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to HIBOR decreased from 70 per cent in June to 61 per cent in July. The ratio of new mortgage loans priced with reference to best lending rates remained unchanged at 1.3 per cent in July.
The outstanding value of mortgage loans increased month-on-month by 0.4 per cent to HK$1,963.5 billion at end-July.
The mortgage delinquency ratio stood at a low level of 0.11 per cent and the rescheduled loan ratio was unchanged at nearly 0 per cent. Issued at HKT 16:30
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Government’s financial results for four months ended July 31, 2026
July 31, 2026 HK$ millionJuly 31, 2026 HK$ millionand repayment of Government Bondsissuance of Government BondsGovernment Bonds*and repayment of Government BondsGovernment Debts as at July 31, 2026 (Note 3) HK$448,704 million Debts Guaranteed by Government as at July 31, 2026 (Note 4) HK$106,357 million
TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES
July 31, 2026 HK$ millionJuly 31, 2026 HK$ millionissuance and repayment of Government Bonds(Note 5)Notes:
1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at July 31, 2026, was HK$152,842 million.
2. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks. (ii) the Infrastructure Bonds (equivalent to HK$151,555 million as at July 31, 2026) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme. They were denominated in US dollars (US$500 million with maturity in May 2031), Renminbi (RMB56,500 million with maturity from November 2026 to May 2056) and Hong Kong dollars (HK$81,980 million with maturity from August 2026 to May 2056); and
(iii) the Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$108,458 million (with maturity in October 2027 and October 2028 and may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme.
They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$100,289 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,843 million as at July 31, 2026) issued under the Government Bond Programme with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund. Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme (including Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$53,189 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$53,189 million were repaid upon maturity on August 18, 2026; bonds with nominal value of HK$16,600 million will mature within the period from September 2026 to July 2027, and the rest within the period from August 2027 to May 2042.
4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012, the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Cross-boundary Passenger Transport Trade, the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Battery Electric Taxis and the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Travel Sector launched in 2023, and the commercial loan under the Guaranteed Medium Term Note Programme of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited. Issued at HKT 16:30
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released the latest figures on retail sales today (August 31).
The value of total retail sales in July 2026, provisionally estimated at $31.0 billion, increased by 4.5% compared with the same month in 2025. The revised estimate of the value of total retail sales in June 2026 increased by 4.6% compared with a year earlier. For the first 7 months of 2026 taken together, it was provisionally estimated that the value of total retail sales increased by 8.9% compared with the same period in 2025.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Correctional officers stop assault on person in custody At 7.19am today, a 39-year-old male person in custody attacked a 52-year-old male person in custody inside a cell. Officers at the scene immediately stopped the assailant and called for reinforcement.
During the incident, the victim sustained injuries to his head and hands. After examination and treatment by an institution Medical Officer, he was referred to a public hospital for further treatment. The assailant sustained injuries to his shoulder and feet. He did not need to be sent to a public hospital after receiving medical examination and treatment by the institution Medical Officer.
The case has been reported to the Police for investigation.
The two persons in custody were sentenced to imprisonment for the offence of trafficking in a dangerous drug in 2020 and 2014 respectively. Issued at HKT 15:51
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The Hospital Authority (HA) announced today (August 31) that Queen Mary Hospital (QMH) has been accredited under China’s International Hospital Accreditation Standards (2021 Version), making it the fifth public hospital to receive this accreditation.
The Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Libby Lee, said, “QMH has become the fifth public hospital accredited under the national hospital accreditation standards, further reaffirming that the service quality and management standards of Hong Kong’s public hospitals have aligned with national systems and reached international levels. The HA will continue to co-ordinate and encourage more public hospitals to participate in the accreditation process, continually enhancing the quality and safety of public healthcare services to international standards.”
Dr Lee said that hospital accreditation is a significant opportunity for hospitals to thoroughly review and enhance their overall services. The HA expresses gratitude to the expert team from the Shenzhen Hospital Accreditation Research Center and local experts for providing valuable suggestions during the on-site survey. The suggestions are valuable for strengthening the quality of public healthcare.
The Research Center earlier sent experts to conduct on-site accreditation surveys at QMH. The expert team praised the hospital for elevating the multidisciplinary treatment workflow for chest pain and stroke patients to expedite the treatment, receiving accreditations of the National Chest Pain Centre and the National Stroke Centre, all of which were crucial for obtaining the overall accreditation. The expert team recognised that the hospital has a robust management structure and efficient oversight and investigation systems, and a dedication to providing patient-centred healthcare services, as well as continuous innovation in healthcare technology and service models. These factors were recognised as essential foundations for a hospital seeking international standards.
The Hospital Chief Executive of QMH, Dr Theresa Li, who led the hospital’s accreditation preparation work, thanked the support from the Health Bureau and the HA Head Office. Dr Li said that the successful accreditation of QMH is the best affirmation to the hospital’s long-standing commitment to patient safety and high-quality service, proving that the healthcare quality, management and service levels of the hospital have reached international standards and align with national systems, laying a solid foundation for its future development.
Dr Li expressed gratitude to the hospital team for their dedication to the accreditation process over the past year, noting that the hospital conducted a comprehensive review of its existing services through the accreditation process. Dr Li said that QMH will continue to uphold the value of people-centred care, strengthen multidisciplinary treatment services, and elevate the medical standard for patients with complex and acute conditions to provide high-quality healthcare for patients and safeguard public health.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the speech by the Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Mr Kevin Choi, at the seminar on APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Thematic Session on Capacity Building and Resilience Development of SMEs in Guangzhou today (August 31):
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Against the backdrop of global economic transformation and external volatility, driving enterprise upgrading and fostering new quality productive forces are the key policy directions for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government in advancing quality economic development. As at March 2026, Hong Kong is home to some 360 000 SMEs, representing over 98 per cent of our business sector and employing 1.2 million people. As the bedrock of Hong Kong’s economic framework, the pace at which our SMEs upgrade and transform directly impacts our broader economic momentum. To this end, the Government continuously refines its strategies through a multipronged approach, covering financial support, technology adoption, capability building, and market expansion. Crucially, these initiatives align our local business community with national development strategies, including the National 15th Five-Year Plan, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Appointment to Betting and Lotteries Commission announced The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, welcomed the appointment. She said, “Mr Leung has served the community for many years and possesses extensive experience in social work. I look forward to his valuable advice on matters relating to betting and lotteries. I would also like to thank Ms Lee for her contributions during her tenure.”
The Commission is a statutory body established in accordance with the provisions of the Betting Duty Ordinance. Its function is to advise the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs on the regulation of the conduct of horse race betting, football betting and lotteries. Issued at HKT 15:00