Hong Kong Update for Travellers and Others

Get travel advice and stay on top of the latest developments in Hong Kong affecting the airport, public transport, public safety and other issues. Details here.

Economy shrinks by 2.9%

November 15, 2019 - Hong Kong’s economy contracted by 2.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, marking its first year-on-year decline since the recession of 2009. Delivering the Third Quarter Economic Report 2019 (Nov 15), Government Economist Andrew Au said on a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, real GDP decreased significantly by 3.2% in the third quarter after a 0.5% decline in the second quarter. With two consecutive quarters of contraction, the economy had already entered a recession. Due to slackening global demand and escalated US-Mainland trade tensions, the total exports of goods registered an enlarged year-on-year decline of 7.1% in real terms in the third quarter. The local social incidents with intensifying violence in the past few months have kept visitors away, taken a heavy toll on consumption demand, and seriously dampened investment sentiment. The real GDP growth forecast for the year as a whole is revised downwards to -1.3%. Details here.

Government makes election pledge

November 15, 2019 - The Hong Kong SAR Government takes the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election seriously and will try its best to ensure it takes place as scheduled, said Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip (Nov 15), who said the Government will closely monitor Hong Kong’s current social events and put in place corresponding measures to deal with any eventualities.He said violent protests and all associated acts must stop so that electors can cast their votes in a safe and peaceful environment. Over 600 ordinary polling stations and 20 dedicated polling stations have been put in place, and the Registration & Electoral Office has arranged training and briefing sessions for 20,000 electoral staff. Approximately 4.13 million electors are expected to cast their votes to elect their representatives on November 24. Details here.

Hong Kong - Asia's wine hub

November 7, 2019 - Hong Kong's status as Asia's premier wine trading and distribution hub is affirmed by the city's zero wine duties, world-class logistics network and long-standing experience with wine trading, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair 2019 (Nov 7). Mr Chan added that Hong Kong's proximity and singular connections to vast consumer market of Mainland China were also attributes of the city's hub status. In its 12th edition, this year's fair has attracted over 1,000 exhibitors from more than 20 countries and regions, with Latvia, Lithuania, Vietnam and Ukraine participating for the first time. Details here.

Nurturing fintech development

November 7, 2019 - Tasked to drive fintech development in Hong Kong, Cyberport technology park has nurtured and grown a fintech cluster with some 360 fintech startups and companies, making it the largest fintech community in Hong Kong and also one of the largest in Asia, said Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang (Nov 7). Cyberport has also expanded into new specialized areas such as InsurTech and RegTech, opening up new opportunities for the fintech industry. To develop talent, Cyberport has partnered with the University of Hong Kong and industry players in launching Asia's first Fintech Massive Open Online Course in 2018, or MOOC in Fintech. Separately, the Cyberport University Partnership Program provides fintech-focused entrepreneurship training opportunities for students, who also have the chance to attend a weeklong boot camp at a renowned university in the United States, and visit top tech firms and start-up accelerators. Details here.

Reinforcing Hong Kong-US Ties

November 6, 2019 - Eddie Mak, Hong Kong Commissioner to the United States, met with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California. The two discussed the latest developments in Hong Kong and reinforced Hong Kong-US ties.

Hong Kong an attractive fintech base

November 6, 2019 - With Hong Kong's fintech sector fast emerging as a regional hub, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city offers great opportunities for fintech and investment in fintech. Speaking at the opening of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2019 (Nov 6), Mr Chan said Hong Kong is at the heart of fintech innovation in Asia. World-renowned innovation laboratories and accelerator programs, such as Accenture Fintech Innovation Lab and Deloitte Asia Pacific Blockchain Lab, have established their presence in Hong Kong, with the number of Fintech companies exceeding 600. About 40 per cent of them were started overseas, choosing turning to Hong Kong as their base in the Asian region. Many of them see Hong Kong as their business bridge to the region and, in particular, to the Mainland. Details here.

Fostering the fintech ecosystem

November 6, 2019 - Noting the remarkable momentum of fintech development in Hong Kong, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority Eddie Yue highlighted (Nov 6) some of the initiatives introduced a to further bolster the fintech ecosystem in the city. These included the establishment of the Bank of International Settlements Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, blockchain collaboration with the subsidiary of Institute of Digital Currency of PBoC, joint research with Bank of Thailand on the application of Central Bank Digital Currency to cross-border payment, a study on the application of AI technology in the banking industry and the launch of a collaboration platform to support fintech development. Details here.

Sixteen measures to benefit Hong Kong

November 6, 2019 - The Central Government will introduce 16 measures to facilitate Hong Kong people working and living in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said (Nov 6) seven of these measures will benefit Hong Kong residents, including making it easier for them to purchase property in the Greater Bay Area cities by exempting the requirements of paying individual income tax and social security. There will be a pilot program for Hong Kong people to open Mainland personal bank accounts in the Greater Bay Area. The establishment of a cross-boundary wealth management scheme will also be explored. On supporting professional services, there will be six measures covering legal, construction and finance businesses. The remaining three measures aim to support the development of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Co-operation Zone, facilitate customs clearance of imported animal-derived biomaterials, and relax the limitation on exporting Mainland human genetic resources to Hong Kong and Macau. Details here.

SCED attends Informal WTO Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai

November 5, 2019 - Amid the increasing doubts and concerns about the multilateral trading system (MTS) brought about by trade disputes, unilateral measures and the global economic slowdown, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau urged WTO members to demonstrate joint efforts and firmly uphold the credibility of the MTS when he attended the Informal World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in Shanghai (Nov 5). Noting that the Appellate Body (AB) of the WTO will become inoperable in a month's time, leaving the WTO dispute settlement system in limbo, Mr Yau urged members to resolve the AB impasse resolutely with pragmatism and flexibility while engaging in discussions to address concerns about existing rules and practices. Details here.

AI development in Hong Kong

November 5, 2019 - With its commitment to developing innovation and technology (I&T), the Hong Kong Government is also determined to take the lead in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies through an array of initiatives and measures, said Chief Executive Carrie Lam at the Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai (Nov 5). These include enhancing R&D capabilities, encouraging collaborative researches between institutions in Hong Kong and the global research community, setting up of a Smart Government Innovation Lab, introducing chatbot functions to the government portals and enquiry hotline, and attracting talent to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is also actively participating in the establishment of an international I&T hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, along with the launch of a new funding program to support and encourage R&D collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland on projects related to AI. Details here.

Firm and unequivocal commitment to I&T

November 5, 2019 - The Hong Kong Government is firmly and unequivocally committed to the development of innovation and development (I&T) and enhancing technology infrastructure in the city, said Secretary for Innovation and Technology Nicholas Yang (Nov 5). In opening remarks at the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2019, Mr Yang said the government has allocated more than US$13 billion to support I&T development and earmarked US$705 million for development of Cyberport 5. Plans for Phase II expansion of the Hong Kong Science Park were also recently announced to support the city's fast-growing start-up community, which has grown by more than 40% since 2017. Details here.

Legal pacts signed

November 4, 2019 - Hong Kong’s Department of Justice (DoJ) signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Thailand and the United Nations (UN), respectively (Nov 4) at the 3rd UNCITRAL Asia Pacific Judicial Summit. The MOUs signified an encouraging step in legal co-operation with international organizations and foreign jurisdictions. They were the third and the fourth instruments on enhancing exchanges signed by the DoJ this year, following the ones with Japan in January and Korea in September. The Hong Kong-UN MOU was for collaboration in the field of international trade law, and to promote the use of arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution to resolve disputes in international trade, commerce and investments while the MOU between Hong Kong and Thailand provided a general administrative framework for co-operation and facilitates development of the related services in both places. Details here.

Residents born in 1957, 1958 or 1959 to apply for new smart ID cards

November 4, 2019 - Hong Kong residents born in 1957, 1958 or 1959 should apply for a new smart identity card in person at a Smart Identity Card Replacement Centre from Nov 16 to Feb 17, the Immigration Department announced (Nov 4). Eligible applicants may make appointment bookings via the Internet (www.gov.hk/newicbooking), the ImmD mobile application or the 24-hour telephone booking hotline (852) 2121 1234. Residents who are absent from Hong Kong during their call-up period can apply within 30 days of their return to the city. Details here.

Retail sales fell in September

November 1, 2019 - The value of total retail sales in September 2019 fell by 18.3% year-on-year, compared with a decline of a revised 22.9% in August, as the local social incidents continued to take a heavy toll on inbound tourism and consumption-related activities. Details here.

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