Category: Finance

Finance

Quarantine-free entry to HK via Guangdong suspended

Health authorities here on Saturday suspended quarantine-free entry to Hong Kong via Guangdong due to a recently confirmed case in Guangzhou. Speaking at the Centre for Health Protection's daily press briefing, Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan said Hong Kong residents coming back through a special quarantine-free travel scheme - known as Return2HK...
Finance

HK issues special stamps for 100 years of CCP

Hongkong Post is to issue a special set of stamps to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. The stamps - which are available for pre-order before the end of May for collection on July 1 - display the anniversary's official logo printed in simplified Chinese. "The 56...
Finance

Ethnic minorities face hostility at work: poll

A charity focused on inclusivity on Saturday urged the government and employers to set up mentorship programmes for ethnic minorities, after a majority of respondents to its survey said they had faced hostile or unfriendly treatment at the workplace. The NGO, Treats, surveyed nearly 140 ethnic minority adults in Hong...
Finance

‘Doctors’ assessment more important than exams’

Executive councillor and doctor Lam Ching-choi on Saturday sought to ease concerns about the quality of overseas-trained doctors, who will be allowed to work in Hong Kong once laws are changed, saying doctors who are good at exams aren't always good clinically. Under the government's proposal, non-locally trained doctors will...
Finance

New MPFA head prioritises move online

The new chair of the Mandatory Provident Fund Authority, Ayesha Macpherson Lau, says she wants its 'one stop shop' online project to be fully operational by 2025 - with roll-out starting in 2023. The move to the eMPF Platform should reduce fees for Hong Kong's compulsory pension account holders. "One...
Finance

Govt U-turns on quarantine-free entry suspension

The Hong Kong government on Saturday reversed a decision to upgrade Guangdong province’s risk level, hours after health authorities said quarantine-free entry to Hong Kong from the province would be suspended. The reversal came hours after the Centre for Health Protection announced that the arrangement would be halted starting from...
Finance

‘Businesses mulling incentives for those vaccinated’

Restaurants, hotels, retailers and entertainment venues are all willing to offer various perks and discounts to people who are vaccinated against Covid, if it would help boost Hong Kong's inoculation rate, Business and Professionals Alliance vice-chairman Jeffrey Lam said on Friday. The pro-establishment lawmaker and executive councillor said some hotels...
Finance

Govt contract staff issued ultimatum on oath

The government said on Friday that staff employed on non-civil service terms will have three weeks to sign a declaration to uphold the Basic Law and pledge allegiance to the SAR – a move that one union warned could deter people from taking up the interim positions. The Civil Service...
Finance

Lawmakers risk dressing down if they don’t smarten up

The Legislative Council's rules committee on Friday officially proposed a new requirement for lawmakers to dress up for council meetings, with any found to be too scruffy at risk of being shown the door. Sportswear would be out, no jeans allowed, and anyone caught wearing a pair of trainers would...
Finance

Testing order issued for Kennedy Town hotel

Health authorities on Friday issued a Covid-19 testing order for the Cosco Inn in Kennedy Town, after a woman who stayed there tested positive for coronavirus. The 18-year-old Hong Kong woman stayed at the hotel before going to Shenzhen earlier this month and tested positive for Covid-19 there on Wednesday....
Finance

HKUST hints at campus vaccine requirement

The University of Science and Technology said on Friday that students and staff who cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19 for health reasons will need to submit to regular tests, but stopped short of spelling out how it will deal with those who choose not to be inoculated. In a letter,...
Finance

Application forms out for new subsidised flats

Aspiring homeowners queued up at the Housing Authority's headquarters in Lok Fu on Friday to pick up application forms for a new batch of subsidised flats. Around 2,100 units at the newly built Kai Chuen Court in Diamond Hill will be put up for sale at 50 percent of the...
Finance

Patients recovered from Covid need only 1 jab: govt

The government said patients who have recovered from Covid-19 will be regarded as having completed the vaccination course two weeks after they've received the first dose. It said on Friday that a special arrangement will be made to reflect their condition on vaccination records. In a statement, the government said...
Finance

Officials must out punished teachers, High Court told

A group founded by former Chief Executive CY Leung told the High Court on Thursday that the authorities must reveal the names of teachers found guilty of professional misconduct, as parents have a right to know this information when they choose schools for their children. The group, 803 Funds, brought...
Finance

Hong Kong’s jobless rate falls to 6.4 percent

Hong Kong’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent in April, with the city’s labour chief saying the containment of the Covid-19 epidemic here has helped improve the situation. The SAR’s jobless rate hit a 17-year high of 7.2 percent for the three-month period ending in February, but fell 0.4 percent...
Finance

Prison not politics is my future now: Chu Hoi-dick

Former lawmaker Chu Hoi-dick has announced that he's leaving politics and disbanding his political group, as he prepares for a long time behind bars over a number of criminal cases he's facing. The pro-democracy politician is among 47 activists charged under the national security law for their alleged involvement in...
Finance

Boy tests negative now, HK nears 28-day Covid goal

A four-year-old boy who was recently confirmed as having Covid-19 has repeatedly tested negative for the virus, suggesting Hong Kong is just shy of the authorities' initial target of 28 days with no untraceable infections. The boy developed a fever and sore throat on May 12. He was taken to...
Finance

Time to consider resuming cross-border travel: expert

An infectious disease expert says Hong Kong will be able to start talks on resuming cross-border travel with the mainland if the territory manages to go 28 days with no untraceable local Covid-19 infections. This comes as authorities re-test a four-year-old boy to see whether he is a "false positive"...
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