Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Diesel Subsidy Scheme to end on June 29 as scheduled
Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East region, the Government has been closely monitoring geopolitical changes and tracking fuel supply and price fluctuations. The Task Force, led by the Financial Secretary, was established to dynamically assess geopolitical development and fuel supply and prices, to ensure the stability of Hong Kong’s energy supply, and to closely examine the impact of oil price fluctuations on various industries.
In formulating support measures, the Task Force took the following principles into account:
(1) Given that fluctuations in crude oil prices have a broad impact across society and considering the Government’s fiscal constraints, priority should be given to the operational sectors that are most severely affected and that involve public services;
The United States and Iran both announced the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz after having signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Based on the latest futures market data, the Government Economist estimates that international refined oil prices for diesel would gradually decline for the remainder of the year.
As the support measures are temporary and time-limited in nature, and to prevent risks to public finances, the Task Force decided that the Scheme will end at 11.59pm on June 29 as scheduled upon the expiration of the two-month period. The Task Force will continue to dynamically assess the situation in the Middle East region, and fuel supply and prices, so as to ensure the stability of Hong Kong’s energy supply.
The Government will make announcement in due course on the arrangements of the other two time-limited measures, i.e. toll waiver for commercial vehicles and liquefied petroleum gas fuel subsidy.
Issued at HKT 11:45
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Fatal traffic accident in Ta Kwu Ling
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Ta Kwu Ling today (June 26) in which a man died.
At 6.27am, a public light bus (PLB) driven by a 74-year-old man was travelling along Man Kam To Road towards Sheung Shui. When approaching Hung Kiu San Tsuen, it reportedly failed to brake in time and knocked down a 69-year-old man who was riding a bicycle.
Sustaining serious head injuries, the male cyclist was rushed to North District Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 6.59am.
A 43-year-old female PLB passenger was suffering from waist pain and was sent to North District Hospital in conscious state.
The PLB driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and is being detained for further enquiries.
Investigation by the Special Investigation Team of Traffic, New Territories North is underway.
Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 3800.
Appointments to Board of Ocean Park Corporation announced
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Appointments to Board of Ocean Park Corporation announced————-
Mr Paulo Pong Kin-yee————————–
Mr Simon Wong Hin-wing————————–
Ms Cissy Chan Ching-sze
Mr Jimmy Chan Kwok-ho
Dr Quinton Chan Yuk-kuen
Mr Humphrey Choi Chor-ching
Mr Raymond Chow Ming-joe
Ms Lau Kam-shim
Mr Jonathan Leung Chun
Dr Lo Wai-kwok
Dr Ma Kwan-ki
Mr Alvin Miu
Mr David Tang Chi-fai
Mr William Harry Tang Jiasheng
Professor Qiu Jianwen
Mr Alexander Yeung Ching-loong
Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) (or representative)
Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (or representative)
Commissioner for Tourism (or representative)
Issued at HKT 11:30
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Labour Department suspends recognition of safety training course operated by training course provider
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Labour Department suspends recognition of safety training course operated by training course provider
The LD found that the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions had violated the approval conditions for operating the courses, including an examiner (a staff member of the training course provider) disclosing answers to trainees during the re-examination, an examiner and an invigilator failing to invigilate the examinations in a proper manner resulting in their inability to detect trainees cheating, insufficient staff being present to invigilate certain exam periods, and the re-examination being conducted in a training venue that was not approved by the Commissioner for Labour.
After conducting thorough investigations and gathering evidence, and taking into account the explanations and representations provided by the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions and the relevant persons, the LD decided to suspend its recognition of the Green Card Course for six months. At the request of the LD, the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions has recalled and cancelled most of the Green Cards concerned. Two Green Cards (the numbers are listed in the Annex), which have not yet been recalled, have also been invalidated.
A spokesman for the LD said, “The LD is highly concerned about the quality of mandatory safety training courses. The LD has increased manpower to monitor compliance with approval conditions by recognised training course providers, with a view to maintaining training standards and providing workers with appropriate occupational safety and health (OSH) training. If a training course provider does not comply with the approval conditions set by the LD, its recognition to operate the relevant courses will be withdrawn or suspended. The LD will continue to closely monitor the quality of all training course providers and their trainers and strive to enhance the standard of OSH in Hong Kong.”
There are 125 training course providers offering the recognised Green Card Course. Relevant course information has been uploaded to the LD’s website (www.labour.gov.hk/eng/osh/content5.htmIssued at HKT 11:00
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Tenders invited for site formation and engineering infrastructure works for Ngau Tam Mei New Development Area Contract 1
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Tenders invited for site formation and engineering infrastructure works for Ngau Tam Mei New Development Area Contract 1 The works are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2027 and will take about 35 months to complete.
The CEDD has commissioned AECOM – AIS Joint Venture to design and supervise the works. Interested contractors may download the tender forms and other particulars from the e-Tendering System (e-TS). Tenderers must submit tenders in electronic format via the e-TS.Issued at HKT 11:00
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Appointment to Social Workers Registration Board announced
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Appointment to Social Workers Registration Board announced————–
Mr Herman Hui Chung-shing———————-
Miss Grace Chan Man-yee———-
Ms Ann Au Chor-kwan
Miss Chan Chong-lai
Miss Anna May Chan Mei-lan
Mr Cheung Tat-ming
Mr Chiu Han-man
Professor Eric Chui Wing-hong
Professor Alex Fan Hoi-kit
Mr Fong Cheung-fat
Dr Fong Fu-fai
Ms Wendy Fung Shuk-man
Mr Frederick Lai Wing-hoi
Dr Kevin Lau Chung-hang
Ms Alice Lau Oi-sze
Mrs Patricia Lau
Ms Carmen Lee Shuk-ha
Ms Lee Yuk-chi
Mr Leung Kin-hung
Dr Pamela Leung Pui-yu
Mr Roy Lo Wa-kei
Dr Webster Ng Kam-wah
Mr Sin Yat-kin
Ms Annie Tam Kam-lan
Mr Barry Wong Man-sing
Mr Joseph Yuen Hon-lam
Director of Social Welfare or representative
Issued at HKT 11:00
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Government appoints self-recommended youth members to Standing Committee on Language Education and Research
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Government appoints self-recommended youth members to Standing Committee on Language Education and Research
SCOLAR was established in 1996 to advise the Government on language education issues in general and on the use of the Language Fund.
The Government recruits young persons who are eager to serve the community to join the Government’s advisory committees through the MSSY with a view to providing more opportunities for young people to participate in policy discussions.
Issued at HKT 11:00
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Labour Department investigates fatal work accident in Kowloon Bay
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Labour Department investigates fatal work accident in Kowloon Bay
The LD immediately deployed staff to the scene upon receiving a report of the accident, and is now conducting an investigation to look into its cause.
Issued at HKT 10:58
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Wage and payroll statistics for March 2026
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
Overall Wage and Payroll Statistics
According to the figures released today (June 26) by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), the average wage rate for all the selected industry sections surveyed, as measured by the wage index, increased by 3.4% in nominal terms in March 2026 over a year earlier.
About 62% of the companies reported increase in average wage rates in March 2026 compared with a year ago. A total of 33% of the companies recorded decrease in average wage rates over the same period. The remaining 5% reported virtually no change in average wage rates.
After discounting the changes in consumer prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index (A), the overall average wage rate for all the selected industry sections surveyed increased by 1.7% in real terms in March 2026 over a year earlier.
As for payroll, the index of payroll per person engaged for all the industry sections surveyed increased by 3.4% in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2026 over a year earlier.
After discounting the changes in consumer prices as measured by the Composite Consumer Price Index, the average payroll per person engaged increased by 1.8% in real terms in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier.
The wage rate includes basic wages and other regular and guaranteed allowances and bonuses. Payroll includes elements covered by wage rate as well as other irregular payments to workers such as discretionary bonuses and overtime allowances. The payroll statistics therefore tend to show relatively larger quarter-to-quarter changes, affected by the number of hours actually worked and the timing of payment of bonuses and back-pay.
Sectoral Changes
For the nominal wage indices, year-on-year increases were recorded in all selected industry sections in March 2026, ranging from 2.5% to 4.0%.
For the real wage indices, year-on-year increases were also recorded in all selected industry sections in March 2026, ranging from 0.9% to 2.3%.
The year-on-year changes in the nominal and real wage indices for the selected industry sections from March 2025 to March 2026 are shown in Table 1.
As for the nominal indices of payroll per person engaged, year-on-year increases were recorded in all selected industry sections in the first quarter of 2026, ranging from 2.3% to 4.1%.
For the real payroll indices, year-on-year increases were also recorded in all selected industry sections in the first quarter of 2026, ranging from 0.7% to 2.5%.
The year-on-year changes in the nominal and real indices of payroll per person engaged for selected industry sections from the first quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026 are shown in Table 2. The quarterly changes in the seasonally adjusted nominal and real indices of payroll per person engaged in the same period are shown in Table 3.
Commentary
A Government spokesman said that wages and labour earnings rose further in the first quarter of 2026 over a year earlier, at a pace similar to that in the preceding quarter. A broad-based rise was recorded, with all selected industries registering increases in the average wage rate and payroll per person engaged.
Looking ahead, the ongoing expansion of the Hong Kong economy should continue to render support to labour demand, and thus wages and labour earnings. The Government will continue to keep a close watch on the potential implications of the evolving external uncertainties on the Hong Kong economy.
Other Information
Both wage indices and payroll indices are compiled quarterly based on the results of the Labour Earnings Survey (LES) conducted by C&SD. Wage index only covers employees up to the supervisory level (i.e. not including managerial and professional employees), whereas payroll index covers employees at all levels and proprietors actively engaged in the work of the establishment.
Apart from the differences in employee coverage, wage statistics are conceptually different from the payroll statistics. Firstly, wage rate for an employee refers to the sum earned for his normal hours of work. It covers basic wages and other regular and guaranteed allowances and bonuses, but excludes earnings from overtime work and discretionary bonuses, which are however included in payroll per person engaged. Secondly, the payroll index of an industry is an indicator of the simple average payroll received per person engaged in the industry. Its movement is therefore affected by changes in wage rates, number of hours of work and occupational composition in the industry. In contrast, the wage index of an industry is devised to reflect the pure changes in wage rate, with the occupational composition between two successive statistical periods being kept unchanged. In other words, the wage index reflects the change in the price of labour. Because of these conceptual and enumeration differences between payroll and wage statistics, the movements in payroll indices and in wage indices do not necessarily match closely with each other.
It should also be noted that different consumer price indices are used for compiling the real indices of wage and payroll to take into account the differences in their respective occupation coverage. Specifically, the Composite Consumer Price Index, being an indicator of overall consumer prices, is taken as the price deflator for payroll of workers at all levels of the occupational hierarchy. The Consumer Price Index (A), being an indicator of consumer prices for the relatively low expenditure group, is taken as the price deflator for wages in respect of employees engaged in occupations up to the supervisory level.
Detailed breakdowns of the payroll and wage statistics are published in the “Quarterly Report of Wage and Payroll Statistics, March 2026”. Users can browse and download the publication at the website of C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1050009&scode=210).
For enquiries on wage and payroll statistics, please contact the Wages and Labour Costs Statistics Section (1) of C&SD (Tel: 2887 5550 or email: wage@censtatd.gov.hk).
Extension of e-Appointment service to applications for registration of Enduring Power of Attorney in High Court Registry
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:
The Judiciary today (June 26) announced that the e-Appointment service will be extended to applications for registration of Enduring Power of Attorney (EPoA) in the High Court Registry from next Friday (July 3), for the booking of appointments from July 6.
Starting from July 6, 2026, anyone who wishes to apply for registration of an EPoA at the High Court Registry is required to make an online appointment in advance via the e-Appointment System at www.judiciary.hk/en/court_services_facilities/hcr_index.html. For details, please refer to the Guidance Notes on the system’s webpage. Walk-in applications without an appointment will no longer be accepted. Walk-in applicants will need to book an appointment for another day via the system, unless there are remaining timeslots in the afternoon of the same day.
Registered users of “iAM Smart” may use the auto form-filling function of “iAM Smart” to provide relevant personal data for making appointments.
The e-Appointment service aims at saving court users’ time and enhancing the operational efficiency of court registries and offices. It has already been made available for a wide range of services, including those at the Appeals Registry of the Clerk of Court’s Office of the High Court, the Apostille Service Office of the High Court Registry, the High Court Registry, the Probate Registry, the District Court Registry, the Family Court Registry, the Lands Tribunal Registry, the Labour Tribunal Registry and the Integrated Mediation Office. Details are available at www.judiciary.hk/en/court_services_facilities/es_index.html.