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China.Hawaii Chamber of Commerce ® "Hawaii-China Guan Xi, We Get Things Done™" - Trade Advocacy Organization
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Hong Kong, China & Hawaii Biz*
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June 30, 2008
Exchange Fund quarterly loss possible, warns Yam - Hong Kong's HK$1.468 trillion Exchange Fund may post a loss on its investments in the second quarter of this year, Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong warned yesterday. Pressure is mounting for more Hong Kong lenders to hike mortgage rates, senior bankers said yesterday, as funding costs remain at a high level and prime rates will remain unchanged following the Fed meeting. Hong Kong’s top officials – from Friday evening to Sunday – will head a special delegation which will visit areas of Sichuan damaged by last month’s earthquake. The delegation will be lead by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen, a government spokesman said on Friday. Sichuan was struck by a devastating earthquake on May 12. The quake caused extensive damage in the western mainland province – killing thousands of people and making many others homeless. According to official figures some 68,636 people died and 374,171 injured, with 18,467 listed as missing. The quake left about 4.8 million people homeless – though the number could be as high as 11 million. The government delegation will oversee Hong Kong’s contribution to reconstruction work in quake-affected areas and liaise with mainland authorities. In the aftermath of the earthquake, individuals, companies and organisations in Hong Kong have donated more than HK$1 billion to earthquake relief efforts. The government has given HK$300 million, as well as relief materials such as tents, and has also sent medical and rescue teams. Mr Tsang and Mr Tang will meet the officials in Sichuan to discuss how Hong Kong can further assist in reconstruction work. The spokesman said other top officials would also go to Sichuan with delegation. They will include Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the director of the chief executive’s office, Norman Chan Tak-lam, and senior civil servants. Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah will be acting chief executive while Mr Tsang is away. Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yueng will be acting chief secretary. Former bank executive wins tax battle over HK$15.1m payout - A German bank executive has won a legal victory in his battle with the city's tax man. The Court of First Instance ruled yesterday that Walter Fuchs does not have to pay tax on a chunk of the HK$15.1 million he pocketed after being fired from the Hong Kong office of German bank Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank. The case centred on whether the money was taxable income, or termination pay, which is typically tax-free in Hong Kong. In his written decision yesterday, Mr Justice Michael Burrell said that HK$8.9 million of the payout was the same as regular income and should be taxed. But the remaining HK$6.2 million was beyond the reach of the Inland Revenue Department because it was a one-off termination payment. The judge also awarded the bank's former head of Asian operations half his legal costs. Mr Fuchs was fired after a company takeover two years ago. Separately, he also received HK$3.1 million salary for the last year of his contract, which the Inland Revenue did not tax. But the Inland Revenue ruled last year that the remaining payout - about HK$15 million - was taxable. Mr Fuchs appealed against the decision. "If [tax authorities] don't appeal this, they could run into problems in future cases," said Jennifer Wong, a tax partner at consulting firm KPMG. "I would say that this [the ruling] could be quite controversial." The Inland Revenue reasoned that the payment was income because it was spelled out in the banker's employment contract. But Mr Fuchs countered that the money was simply non-taxable damages related to his sacking. Under the terms of the executive's three-year contract, his sacking would require the bank to make a one-time payout equal to double his annual salary - about HK$6 million - plus the average of his annual bonuses, or HK$9 million. "They are two separate payments which are arguably different in nature and attract different legal consequences," Mr Justice Burrell wrote in his judgment. The doubled salary would not have been paid out if Mr Fuchs continued working, suggesting the HK$6 million was "designed to soften the blow of premature unemployment", Mr Justice Burrell added. KPMG's Ms Wong said employees could avoid similar battles if they did not have the details of termination pay spelled out in their employment contracts. "The chances of winning a case against Inland Revenue would improve," she added. "But that could lead to disputes with the employer when an employee [is fired]."
An agreement to let Taipei participate in the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai was signed yesterday, confirming the first official Taiwanese involvement in a world fair since the island was ousted from the United Nations in 1971. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin also invited Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng to be his guest at the 2010 International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition in Taipei. Mr Han, who seemed to be caught off guard by the invitation, did not make any firm commitment. Any visits by mainland officials to Taiwan could be controversial since there are no official relations between the governments on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Chen Yunlin , chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, a semi-official body set up by Beijing to handle affairs with Taiwan, has not yet visited the island. Martin Ting, general producer of the expo in Taipei, said: "We hope Shanghai can join the event. Even if they can't participate on an official level, they can send their non-government organisations to Taipei." Also attending the two mayors' meeting was Terry Guo Tai-ming, chairman and founder of Hon Hai Group and one of the richest men in Taiwan. Mr Guo sat next to Mr Hau at the meeting, though he was not a formal member of the Taipei mayor's delegation. The tycoon pledged to donate NT$300 million (HK$77.1 million) to the Taipei government to set up its pavilion at the Expo. Taipei, with 800 square metres to showcase its wireless broadband internet infrastructure and garbage recycling system, will occupy one of the most prominent locations on the Expo grounds. Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the Expo co-ordinating bureau, said it would stand right next to the Expo's landmark, a 165-metre chimney called the Harmony Tower that he said reflected Beijing's goal of building a harmonious society. Mr Hau returns to Taipei today after leading a delegation of 25 people which arrived in Shanghai on Monday. It was his second visit to Shanghai; the first was in 2005 as head of Taiwan's Red Cross. Yesterday, he toured the Expo construction site, including the Taipei pavilion's location. He also revealed he would return to Shanghai for the event, which takes place between May 1 and October 31, 2010. The organising committee is expecting it to attract more than 70 million visitors. The horticulture exposition in Taipei will run from November 2010 to April 2011. June 27 - 29, 2008
As Macao's tourism industry continues its rapid development, the island city saw its market share of international markets in visitor arrivals rose to 10.5 percent in the first five months of this year, the city's tourism chief said on Wednesday. During the period, visitor arrivals almost reached 12.6 million, registering an increase of 17.4 percent year-on-year, and the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan continued to be the three largest visitor generating markets, said Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, Director of Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO). Antunes presented the tourism development of Macao and outlined MGTO's future marketing strategies at the opening ceremony of the MGTO Annual Marketing Meeting held here on Wednesday. He stressed that MGTO is moving toward the goal of source markets and tourism product diversification. According to a press release from MGTO, it is putting forward a number of tactics to attract more tourists, which include reinforcing cooperation with airlines on new routes, developing and promoting new tourism products, such as wedding/honeymoon package and strengthening regional cooperation and multi- destination travel. In addition, the Macao Special Administrative Region Government has provided steadfast support towards the development of business travel and the MICE industry, Antunes added.
Tycoon and politician Tsang Hin-chi and son Ricky Tsang
Chi-ming have donated HK$10 million for the training of volunteers helping
rebuild earthquake- devastated Sichuan.
Taipei mayor calls for direct flights - The mayor of Taipei hopes to soon see a direct flight open between Shanghai and Taipei. A direct link between Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport and Taipei's Songshan Airport will benefit both cities, Hau Lung-bin said yesterday. He was speaking during an official visit to the Shanghai airport. "I could imagine that Hongqiao (district) will become an important business and transport hub for Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta by 2010," Hau said. "And with the large mass of population and business clusters, Songshan (district in Taipei) will also play a key role in Taiwan's future economic development," he said. "A direct flight will reduce travel time between the two hubs to about 80 minutes, which will closely link Taipei and Shanghai, as well as the entire Yangtze River Delta region economically," he said. "What we need to plan is how to combine our efforts in mutual development." Currently, there is no direct air route between the two cites. Travelers must transfer in Hong Kong or Macao. Chartered flights which are available on occasions like the Spring Festival take about three hours, and planes have to stop off or fly through Hong Kong or Macao. Regular weekend charter flights starts from July 4. After visiting the airport, Hau and his delegation visited the Shanghai municipal urban planning museum. Hau wrote in the museum's signing book: "May dreams of Shanghai and Taipei come true." Today, Hau will visit the Shanghai Wild Animals Park. Jason Yeh, director of Taipei Zoo, told China Daily yesterday that they would not discuss importing pandas from the mainland on this visit, as they had originally planned. The reason is that representatives from the China Wildlife Conservation Association are not available to meet as expected. "But we are very confident in getting the pandas eventually," Yeh said. Several zoos on the island are vying for the right to host the pair of pandas. Yeh said that as early as 1995, Taipei Zoo started sending staff to the mainland and zoos around the world, which have pandas, for trainings on raising pandas. "We have spent more than NT$310 million ($10.3 million) on building facilities for pandas," Yeh said. "The weather from November to March will be cooler in Taiwan and we hope they will come during that time period." Officials from both cities are expected to discuss zoo exchange programs for other rare animals, he said. Lin Hwa-Ching, CEO of the Wildlife Conservation & Research Center at Taipei Zoo, said the exchanges may include Yangtze River alligators and black snub-nosed monkeys from Shanghai and orangutans, white-handed gibbons and sun bears from Taiwan.
China has developed a new-generation
supersonic trainer aircraft with state-of-the-art turbines and a full authority
digital engine control. Shanghai film fest a far cry from Cannes - The Shanghai festival, which recently celebrated its 11th anniversary on June 22, fails to claim its own name to fame - its image is at best, vague. June 24 - 26, 2008
No more hurdles to Ho flagship listing - Casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung-sun's gaming flagship SJM Holdings finally overcame all hurdles yesterday to kick off its roadshow, with its retail book expected to be open from Thursday until July 2. Euro V duty waiver `just drop in bucket' - The government has decided to waive the duty on Euro V diesel but has shot down calls to lower the tax on unleaded petrol and ultra-low sulfur diesel as well as fuel subsidies. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will lead a Hong Kong government delegation to quake-hit parts of Sichuan this weekend to find out how the city can help in their reconstruction. A government source said the delegation, which will spend three days in the southwestern province, would be briefed by the provincial government about the latest situation in the counties affected by the magnitude- 8 earthquake on May 12, which killed more than 70,000 people. "We hope to set up a mechanism by which Hong Kong and Sichuan government officials can discuss co-operation in the reconstruction," said the source. Among those travelling to Sichuan will be Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the director of the Chief Executive's Office, Norman Chan Tak-lam, and senior civil servants. Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah will also lead a delegation to Sichuan from Friday to Sunday. In witnessing the destruction first-hand, the delegations will be following in the footsteps of Premier Wen Jiabao and singer-actor Andy Lau Tak-wah. Individuals, companies and organisations in Hong Kong have donated more than HK$1 billion to earthquake relief efforts. More than 1,000 Hongkongers have registered as quake relief volunteers. The government has given HK$300 million as well as sending medical and rescue teams. Conservancy Association chairman Albert Lai Kwong-tak, a civil engineer, has teamed up with fellow Hong Kong engineers and professionals to plan redevelopment in the destruction zone. He said the group they had formed, Engineers Without Borders, had sent a team to Sichuan this month to make a site assessment and that another trip was being arranged for early next month. Chinese University political analyst Ivan Choy Chi-keung said Mr Tsang was worried about his falling popularity and the perception that he ducks controversy. He pointed to the publicity and photo opportunities the trip to Sichuan would generate, and said: "This will send the message that Mr Tsang is still in charge." Mr Tsang's popularity fell amid the recent controversy over the administration's handling of new appointments to his governing team. A University of Hong Kong opinion survey early this month found his approval rating had dropped to 60.8 out of 100, against 66 when the appointments were announced in May. Tailor, hotel staff named in bribery cases - Eleven people - all suspected of helping to divert hotel guests illegally to a well-known Kowloon tailor - have been charged with bribery in four separate cases, the ICAC said yesterday. In the first case, the Independent Commission Against Corruption alleged that between December 2001 and January last year, the proprietor and three employees of Baron Kay's Tailor conspired and offered advantages to concierge staff of six hotels - The Marco Polo Prince, The Peninsula, The Marco Polo Gateway, Renaissance Kowloon Hotel Hong Kong, Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel and Marriott Hong Kong - in return for them referring hotel guests. The ICAC named the defendants as George Kay Wai-ming, 48, proprietor of Baron Kay's Tailor; salesman Ngai Yan-lung, 61; and accounts clerks Wong Lai-ching, 52, and Lee Fung-ho, 47. Kay, Ngai and Wong each faced one count of conspiracy to offer advantages to agents, while Kay, Ngai and Lee faced a similar conspiracy offence with Wong, the ICAC said. Lee also faced one charge of perverting the course of justice. Baron Kay's Tailor, in Mody Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, has been listed in travel guides and on the Hong Kong Tourism Board's recommended shopping list. In the second case, three concierge staff at The Marco Polo Gateway hotel and two of its bell captains each face one count of conspiring to accept advantages between mid- 2005 and January this year. The ICAC said those defendants were Wong Hing-cheung, 60, Pan Wai-man, 43, and Yeung Wing-wai, 33, Cheng Chi-chiu, 59, and Leung Siu-ho, 46. In the third case, Chan Wing-yin, 46, chief concierge at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis, has been charged with one count of conspiring to accept advantages between January 2004 and November 2006. In the last case, Felix Wong Tim-ki, 27, a concierge clerk at The Peninsula, faces one count of being an agent accepting an advantage - allegedly a suit jacket, a pair of trousers and a shirt - in early 2004. The defendants, all on ICAC bail, will appear in Kowloon City Court this week.
Baosteel Group, China's top steel producer, plans to pay 28.68 billion yuan (HK$32.57 billion) for a controlling stake in a new steel mill, which will merge two existing mills, as Beijing calls for the formation of national giants to rival the likes of ArcelorMittal. Foreign banks struggle to keep talent - While foreign banks in China foresee robust growth in the mainland this year, those overseas lenders are struggling to retain senior executives, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey found the three most difficult positions to fill are senior executives, compliance officers and wealth management officers. China Southern Airlines (1055), the nation's largest carrier by fleet size, has applied for an increase in fuel surcharge to offset expected losses resulting from last Friday's nationwide fuel price hike. Baosteel Group, China's largest steelmaker, agreed to pay up to 96.5 per cent more for its iron ore this year in a term contract with Australian miner Rio Tinto. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin has arrived in Shanghai to close a deal that will allow a participant from Taiwan to join in the 2010 World Expo - the island's first official return to a world fair since it was ousted from the UN in 1971. Mr Hau, who led a 25-member delegation to Shanghai yesterday for a five-day visit, is scheduled to sign Taipei up for the "best cities for urban practices" exhibition from May to October 2010. Taipei will showcase its wireless broadband internet infrastructure and rubbish recycling system. "The most important mission of this trip is to witness the signing of the agreement for Taipei to take part in Shanghai Expo 2010, showing how Taipei has become a wireless city and how it has recycled its rubbish into useful things," Mr Hau, the first Taipei mayor to visit the mainland, said before his departure. The city's rubbish is separated into reusable and non-reusable categories. Taipei competed with 130 cities worldwide to enter the exhibition. The entry as a city rather than a country has allowed the island to return to Expo. Taiwan last participated in an Expo in Osaka, Japan, in 1970 - the year before the UN awarded its China seat to Beijing. In 2005, by signing an agreement with a Japanese restaurant and paying a royalty of NT$15 million (HK$3.85 million), Taiwan was able to host a food stall - in the restaurant's name - showcasing the island's best food at Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan. Mr Hau said that to avoid being criticised by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party for wasting taxpayers' money by taking part in the exhibition, the city government obtained some funding from the Hon Hai Group, one of Taiwan's leading electronics makers. Terry Guo Tai-min, head of Hon Hai and the third-richest man in Taiwan, signed a NT$300 million contract with Mr Hau on Sunday to build and operate an exhibition hall for Taipei. While on the mainland, Mr Hau will also be competing against other Taiwanese cities for the two pandas the mainland offered to send the island as a gift after then Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan met mainland President Hu Jintao in 2005, the Taipei mayor said. "We will also visit the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, and hope to learn how it takes care of pandas," he said. Taipei is vying with Taichung, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung, but it is the only city to have built a NT$250 million panda house and bamboo grove for the two pandas. City officials said Mr Hau would also discuss with mainland authorities the possibility of hosting two other rare species - the snub-nosed monkey and golden monkey - that Beijing has promised to send to Taiwan as a gift after People First Party chairman James Soong Chu-yu's mainland visit in the same year. Mr Hau will also survey Shanghai's transport facilities and other public works, including the project of developing Hongqiao airport into a multiple transport hub in order to draw on Shanghai's experience in airport development for the remodeling of Taipei's 60-year-old airport. Mr Hau met Shanghai's deputy mayor, Tang Dengjie , last night. He is scheduled to meet his Shanghai counterpart, Han Zheng , on Thursday. June 20 - 23, 2008
Three orders implementing double taxation relief arrangements for flights between Hong Kong, Mexico and Finland will be gazetted Friday, the Transport and Housing Bureau said here Wednesday. The three jurisdictions' airlines will be tax exempt for income and profits derived from international flights in a bid to cut operation costs, and improve income and efficiency, the bureau said. The Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Republic of Finland) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income from Aircraft Operation) Order will no longer be required, according to the bureau. The orders will be submitted at the Legislative Council on June 25. People in the transport sector are angry at the government for what they see as delaying tactics in the form of a pledge to review duty on fuel. "The government is acting irresponsibly," said Stanley Chaing Chi- wai, who organized a two-day protest last week. "It is still considering when it should make a decision." Earlier yesterday a government spokesman said the decision to conduct a review had been made after "listening to the trade's views." The offer to conduct a review came one day before legislators are to debate a motion calling for lower duties, although senior government officials are reportedly against any reductions. Drivers staged a truck blockade in Central last Tuesday, causing traffic jams, while hundreds of protesters took part in a two-day sit-in outside Government House. The protesters last Wednesday gave the government a week to act on the fuel tax before it shaped for more rallies. Chaing said yesterday he was angry about the government's response. The removal of the duty would only cost the government about HK$400 million and would not affect revenue much, Chaing said. The transport sector has been hit by soaring fuel prices this year, with some businesses forced to close. A fuel tax cut would help offset the higher prices, people in the sector argue. A government spokeswoman has, meanwhile, defended the tariff, saying Hong Kong's diesel duty represented less than 5 percent of the retail price and was among the world's lowest. She also noted that a concessionary duty of HK$0.56 per liter for Euro V diesel applied from last December. That fell from an original rate of HK$2.89 per liter. And the concessionary duty rate of ultra-low sulfur diesel was only HK$1.11 per liter. Mainland property tycoon Yeung Kwok-keung will soon have the bank financing to take over Shaw Brothers (0080), but the interest rate may have been hiked even higher. The long-term debt funding of HK$7 billion will be made available five to 10 days after Citi, which is arranging the syndicated-loan deal, finalizes the list of banks, Bloomberg quoted sources as saying. The already-high interest rate being levied on Yeung may have been increased. The loan pays "more than 3 percentage points" above the benchmark lending rate, the sources were quoted as saying. It was previously reported the interest rate would be set at 3 percentage points above the benchmark, equivalent to about 7 percent. Yeung, who is chairman of Country Garden (2007), has already obtained another HK$3 billion in financing from Henderson Land Development (0012) chairman Lee Shau-kee. Shares in Shaw Brothers jumped 4.3 percent yesterday to end trading at HK$21.75. At current levels, Shaw's stake in the holding company is worth at least HK$6.49 billion.
The Legislative Council’s Public Works sub-committee has recommended a one-off upfront payment of HK$21.6 billion for the West Kowloon Cultural District project on Wednesday. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) on Wednesday announced the appointment of John Williamson to replace David Webb as an independent non-executive director.
China saw quicker growth in textile exports but slower rise in foreign sales of garments in the first five months of this year, sources with the General Administration of Customs said on Saturday. Between January and May, China exported $66.16 billion worth of textiles and garments, a growth of 15.4 percent on the same period of last year. The total included $26.07 billion worth of textile products, up 26.3 percent, and $40.09 billion worth of garments and accessories, up 9.3 percent. The growth rate for textile exports was higher than the level for the whole of last year, whereas that for garments was nine percentage points lower than the year-earlier level. In May alone, the nation's garment exports increased by a record-low rate of 1.08 percent to $8.59 billion worth. Industry insiders accredited the substantial slowdown to weak demand abroad, expediated appreciation of Chinese currency and higher production cost. They added that the weak demand had affected cotton sector in China. The country imported 240,200 tons of cotton in May, a decrease of 23,200 tons, or 8.81 percent, from the previous months.
June 19, 2008
The government's decision to sue Times Square over the fees it charged for the use of public space will send shockwaves through the industry, developers' representatives warn. "This is very unusual [and] should be of real concern to [developers]," construction sector legislator Abraham Razack said. "The government should have very good justification for this action." As far as he was aware, Times Square had done nothing outside its contract with the government. "They have a right to do what they have done," he said. It is believed Times Square has been charging the highest rent for public space in the city for its two areas of public space: HK$28,000 and HK$40,000 on weekdays and HK$100,000 and HK$124,000 on Fridays, weekends and public holidays. The use of public space at Times Square and many other private developments is governed by deeds of dedication that spell out the responsibilities of management and the terms under which the space can be let. In return for dedicating part of their land to public use, developers are generally rewarded with concessions on the plot ratio. The Legislative Council panel on development is currently reviewing policies on provision of public space. Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit said that while such agreements were probably inevitable, given the city's density and pace of redevelopment, the way they were being managed needed to change. "We have very poor quality open spaces," he said. "Some are in the middle of thoroughfares and others you have to go to the seventh floor to use." He supported the action against Times Square. "The company that signed the deed acts in the role of a trustee, and they are obviously accountable." If they had been charging too much, they could be forced to pay back illegitimate profits. He hoped the Legco review would result in a more transparent and predictable system of open space. "We need consistent rules to govern the use by the public of these privately built, owned and operated spaces. We want the government to publish a set of procedures and guidelines for negotiating such deals." Lau Chun-Kong, international director of Jones Lang LaSalle, said developers had serious concerns about whether the government move would mean a loss of control over what occurred in public areas. "In the past, developers have had control over the use of the space, but if that is to change then they may reconsider their positions," he said. A shopping mall operator would want to be able to control activities that might affect tenants, such as protests against products. Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) has sold a luxury flat at The Arch in West Kowloon for HK$41,000 per square foot, making it the most expensive flat sold in Asia. The record-breaking property is Flat A on the 80th floor of Moon Tower, a source told Sing Tao Daily, sister publication of The Standard. It measures 5,497 sq ft and comes with a pool. In July last year, SHKP sold a property with the same floor area on the 80th floor of Sun Tower for HK$33,500 per sq ft. In April 2005, the property developer sold the then most expensive property - Flat A measuring 5,353 sq ft on the 77th floor of Sky Tower - for HK$31,300 per sq ft.
Hong Kong should reverse its current practice of taxing cleaner fuels while waiving the duty on industrial diesel as part of a package to clean up the city's port, according to a research paper. The paper, released by the think-tank Civic Exchange yesterday, called for greater cross-border and regional collaboration on cleaning up ports. It said that while trucks using Euro V low-sulfur diesel were being taxed 56 Hong Kong cents a litre, ships were burning duty-free fuel oil that was much dirtier. At least 3.8 million people living around Kwai Chung Container Port had been exposed to health risks because of port-related air pollution, the paper said. The port, together with Shenzhen port, handles 9.5 per cent of all global sea cargo. Official data showed that sulfur dioxide emissions from marine sources had grown by 100 per cent since 1990. The 45-page report said fuel and energy use by port terminals, vessels and trucks was largely to blame. Citing the experience of the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in California, it said financial incentives could be provided to vessel operators to adopt cleaner fuels and lower speeds within harbours, and to trucking operators in exchange for scrapping polluting vehicles. "In the short term and before an energy policy is established, Hong Kong might consider charging a fee for fuel with higher sulfur content. The reverse of this is to make cleaner fuel tax-free," the report said. While Euro V low-sulfur diesel for trucks is taxed, fuel with up to 4.5 per cent sulfur content used by ocean-going vessels is duty-free. The report also said Hong Kong's shipping operators were ready to go greener than required by the International Maritime Organisation - a global cap of 4.5 per cent sulfur content in fuel. It said what was needed now was leadership from the government in bringing industry stakeholders and mainland authorities, such as the Guangdong port authority and terminal operators, to work out collaboration plans. "There is a willingness among them to do better, but they will need government regulation to create a level playing field so that laggards do not benefit from non-action," the report said. One of the possibilities is to turn Hong Kong, along with the Pearl River Delta, into a sulfur-emission control area, with stricter standards. The report also said the Shenzhen ports had already piloted a series of green measures, while a Hong Kong operator had voluntarily been using low-sulfur fuel for its fleet calling at the ports of Hong Kong and the delta region. That type of fuel is more expensive. Arthur Bowring, managing director of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, said the limited supply of clean fuel oil had pushed up the price, but rising demand might lower the price in the long term. Patrick Chun Ping-fai, deputy director of marine, said tightening emissions standards might impose financial burdens on business operators and hamper the port's competitiveness. As for co-operation with Shenzhen ports, he said: "Guangdong might also want to clean up its port operation but, at the same time, they might also ponder over [whether] business could be lost to other ports, like the Yangtze delta."
China's three largest airlines, China Southern (1055), Air China (0753) and China Eastern (0670), have each secured four weekly flights to Taiwan after an agreement eased restrictions on direct flights across the Taiwan Strait, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said yesterday. June 18, 2008
DBS Bank (Hong Kong), a relatively small player in the mortgage sector, made a surprise first move in the market yesterday by raising rates 20 basis points in response to rising funding costs. Ferry services between Hong Kong and four ports in the Pearl River Delta have been suspended owing to the massive flooding in southern China. The pay gap between government and private lawyers has been widening - with some senior counsels getting as much as HK$10,000 an hour, legal sources say. In contrast, senior government lawyers get around HK$100,000 a month. Senior barristers in the private sector normally charge between HK$6,000 and HK$8,000 an hour but some at the top charge as much as HK$10,000, especially for civil disputes or commercial crime cases involving the rich and famous. The hourly rates for those with five to 10 years of experience are HK$3,000 to HK$4,000, depending on the complexity of the case. "Personally, I think HK$10,000 is overcharging but there is a market for a group of top barristers who have become superstars and are picked by some clients who only go for the big names," a solicitor said. But it also means the controversy over pay between government and private lawyers is growing - even after Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung has called for a staggering 30 percent pay hike to stem a brain drain as reported by The Standard on June 10. In a letter to department management and staff, Wong said the top-end salary of senior government counsel would rise to HK$112,850, exceeding the starting salary of a directorate grade one civil servant. The new rate would raise the starting salary of a nondirectorate government counsel by 35 percent to HK$59,360 a month. But a Department of Justice source said the pay rise is unlikely to lift sagging morale due to the hefty workload of government lawyers, who normally work 12 hours a day handling various tasks including giving legal advise to different departments. Seven candidates are expected to kick off their listing activities in the coming two weeks, pitching for a total of about HK$21 billion on the Hong Kong bourse. The mainland's second-largest clinker and cement maker China Shanshui Cement Group will start its retail offering this Friday while its trading debut is set for July 4. Shanshui Cement is seeking to raise HK$2.38 billion by selling 650.8 million shares at between HK$2.70 and HK$3.65 apiece. One lot of 1,000 shares would cost HK$3,686.83 based on the top end of the indicative price range. The price- earnings ratio of Shanshui Cement is 13.5 to 18.2 times forecast 2008 earnings, representing a discount of 10 to 20 percent to its peer China National Building Material (3323). Tianyi Fruit, which is pitching for HK$233 million, will also start trading on July 4. The mainland concentrated fruit juice maker will open its four-day retail book next Monday. Mainland footwear and apparel maker XDLong International began pre-marketing activities for its HK$2.34 billion initial public offering yesterday. XDLong is expected to commence the roadshow next Monday. Glorious Property, which is pitching for HK$7.8 billion, is also considering kicking off its roadshow next week, with a trading debut set for mid-July. Meanwhile, two mainland companies - liquor and cigarette distributor Silver Base Group and men's apparel maker Lilang International - are scheduled for a listing hearing this Thursday. Silver Base and Lilang are seeking to raise about HK$2.34 billion and HK$1.17 billion, respectively. "If the hearing is passed, Silver Base will start trading on the local bourse at the end of next month," said a source. But Lilang, according to another source, has not yet fixed its listing schedule. Casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung- sun's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, which shelved its IPO in January, is expected to kick off its roadshow next Monday and start trading on July 11. The size of the revived IPO is cut by almost half to HK$4.7 billion compared to its previous size in January. A former sales director for Centaline property agency was jailed for 40 months in the District Court on Tuesday for offering advantages of HK$1.41 million to a former Li & Fung manager. Hong Kong’s unemployment rate remained stable at 3.3 per cent in March to May, latest statistics released on Tuesday showed.
Farmers around the country have put more than half of their harvests into storage, and a bumper summer crop is expected, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The major grain production areas are poised to reap a good crop for the fifth year in a row, maintaining the rising momentum in grain production, an unnamed ministry official said. Summer crops, mostly cereals of rice and wheat, constitute 23 percent of the country's annual grain harvest, which has grown for four consecutive years, reaching 501.5 million tons last year, almost equal to China's annual consumption.
June 17, 2008
Public-sector doctors are asking for a three- day paternity leave to bolster low staff morale. "There simply aren't enough hours in a day for me to fulfill my work and family roles," said Queen Mary Hospital doctor of international medicine Pierre Chan. During a week of 30-hour shifts and regular 12-hour work days, he has only been able to spend an hour and a half with his one-year- old daughter each time they have met. "Our family is socially and psychologically unhealthy," said Chan's wife and family doctor Eunice Chan Yin-chiu. When she was seven months' pregnant she quit the public sector fearing job-related stress would affect her pregnancy. Although her husband stayed in the public sector, she accepted a pay cut to enter the private sector to have more time with their child. According to surgeon Kelvin Ng Kwok- chai, Chan's departure to the private sector is a familiar story as more doctors are switching over to get better hours and a more balanced work life. "The problem is some doctors are also fathers, and they have to play their family roles as parents - of course they do their best to serve patients but they don't have time to take care of their family life," Hong Kong Public Doctors' Association vice president Ho Pak- leung said. With colleagues working more than 70 hours a week or 33 hours more than their contract stipulates, Ho said introducing paternity leave would not only help doctors balance work and home life but also be an important olive branch and first step in upcoming negotiations between public-sector doctors and the Hospital Authority. He said unless services are redefined and a hybrid public/private solution found, manpower shortages will continue to wreak havoc on job satisfaction and morale among public sector health-care workers. "Wives need the support and care of their husbands," Federation of Trade Union lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing said during an FTU and Men's Concern Group march in Central yesterday - Fathers' |
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Hong Kong:
Chief's plea falls on deaf ears - An unprecedented attempt by chief executive
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to silence his critics over the political appointees row
looked to have backfired last night as debate raged in the Legislative Council
more than seven hours after he spoke.
There are now 95,000 individuals in
Hong Kong with net assets of at least US$1 million (HK$7.8 million), excluding
their primary residence and cars. The number indicates a 10.2 percent increase
in the number of high net worth individuals in the territory since 2006,
according to the latest annual world wealth report by Merrill Lynch and
Capgemini. Driving growth last year were the increase in property prices, the 39
percent rise in the Hang Seng Index, real gross domestic product of 6.4 percent
driven by robust export growth, and the 55 percent increase in market
capitalization on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the report said. "Hong Kong
continues to attract a lot of listings from China," said Mark Matthew, senior
director and chief Asia strategist of Merrill Lynch. "When I combine the very
low levels of valuations in Hong Kong, particularly in the property sector ...
the fact that we will not be having rising rates here, and with the better
outlook in China for the second half, makes us positively disposed to Hong
Kong." Matthew said "the worst is over" for the mainland's economy - now that
the government has introduced a lot of tightening measures on the economy, and
because inflation is on a downward trend. Even though last year's HNWI
population growth rate fell below the 12.2 percent of the 2006 report, Victor
Tan, market director of of Greater China at Merrill Lynch, said the number of
HNWI in Hong Kong was unlikely to shrink, as most of them had diversified
portfolios, thereby spreading out the risks. "Possibly, when the economy was
volatile, investments had been hedged and moved into lower-risk investments,"
Tan said. He noted in the report a quarter of all financial assets in
Asia-Pacific are in cash and deposits, while 21 percent are in fixed income. The
report also showed that the mainland has the second-fastest growing HNWI
population in the world.
Li Ka-shing reveals his key to success -
Hong Kong's richest man has unveiled his secret to success - an index warning
against arrogance. Li Ka-shing said his formula was borrowed from the Greeks: to
strike a balance between "arete" - meaning goodness, excellence and virtue - and
"hubris", referring to pride bordering on arrogance. "The hubris index governs
not only our attitude, but our behaviour. Are we excessively proud and boastful?
Do we fail to listen to foils [critics] that say you're wrong? Do we refuse to
get feedback about the outcome of our acts and decisions? And are we lax in
planning in advance for possible problems, consequences and corrective
measures?" he asked. Mr Li was speaking at a graduation ceremony at Shantou
University in Guangdong. He is honorary chairman of the university council. The
index had been a navigational tool that had guided him through life, Mr Li told
students. Saying a humble heart was the beginning of all knowledge, he reminded
young people to avoid walking on dangerous ground to "systematically inflate the
view of one's own abilities, to become caught up in exaggerated pride or
self-confidence". The tycoon, who had said he treated his philanthropic
foundation as a third son, also cited ancient Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi to
encourage young people to give, not only to take. "A position of sovereign does
not necessarily connect with being thought noble, nor the condition of being
poor with being thought mean," he said. The ceremony was also attended by Yang
Liwei , the nation's first man in space, and Guangdong vice-governor Song Hai.
Mr Li was rewarded for unveiling the secret of his success - with the singing of
a song to mark his 80th birthday, entitled Great Wisdom.
China:
Chinese shares plummeted on Friday as investor sentiment was hurt by weak
overseas markets and concerns about new share offerings. The benchmark Shanghai
Composite Index trimmed 153.42 points, or 5.29 percent, to close at 2,748.43
points. The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 563.45 points or 5.63 percent to
9,436.21. Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 97.2 billion yuan
(around 14.17 billion U.S dollars) from 108.6 billion yuan on the previous
trading day. Oil caps were deeply hurt by the rising international crude oil
price, said Wan Bing, a Guangdong-based GF Securities analyst. PetroChina, the
country's largest oil producer, and Sinopec, Asia's top oil refiner, plunged
3.47 percent to 15 yuan and 9.12 percent to 10.27 yuan respectively. Securities
shares fell on the news of Everbright Securities' coming initial public offering
(IPO). The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the market watchdog,
said late Thursday it would review IPO applications from the Everbright
Securities and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp. on June 30.
According to the draft prospectus, the two companies are scheduled to raise
about 20 billion yuan, which would further drain liquidity from the sluggish
market, dealers said. CITIC Securities, the country's largest listed brokerage
firm, lost 8.33 percent to 24.55 yuan per share and Shanghai-based Haitong
Securities was down 6.11 percent to 24.12 yuan. The market is also concerned
about a possible interest rate rise during the weekend, which may have
unfavorable effects on the A-share market, said Zhang Dongyun, a Haitong
Securities analyst. A report by Guotai Jun'an Securities said that one should
not be over-pessimistic about the market, believing that the country would
loosen its tight monetary policy in the third quarter of this year, which would
create more investment opportunities. The Shanghai Composite Index may fluctuate
between 2,500 and 3,700 points in the second half of this year, said the report.
Losing shares outnumbered gainers by 791 to 35 in Shanghai and by 675 to 17 in
Shenzhen on Friday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has shrunk more than
55 percent from its peak in mid-October last year. 
A bird's eye view of the Shanghai Yangtze Bridge under
construction over the mouth of the Yangtze River in Shanghai, East China, June
27, 2008. Shanghai is working on a mass transport project, including a bridge
and tunnel to connect suburban islands to the city center.
People holding umbrellas walk pass a
fallen tree in south China's Hong Kong on June 25, 2008. Hong Kong was affected
by heavy rain as the Typhoon Fengshen headed towards the southern Chinese city.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued the No. 8 Northeast Gale or Storm Signal on
Tuesday and red warning on Wednesday.
Government ultimatum to chicken farmers: Take our $1b or leave it! - The poultry
industry has been given an official ultimatum accept a HK$1 billion government
compensation package to shut down their businesses or face an uncertain future.
The city's 469 chicken retailers have been told they must decide what to do by
July 24 while farmers, wholesalers and transport workers have been given until
September 24. Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said this was the
government's final offer after a meeting of the Executive Council yesterday. As
well as retailers, Hong Kong has 71 wholesalers, 50 chicken farms and 266
transport workers who depend on the trade for their livelihood. However, if the
retailers' accept the buyout deal it will effectively end the businesses of the
rest of the sector as well as Hong Kong's culture of cooking live chickens. The
need for central slaughtering by 2011 may also be made redundant. Chow expressed
confidence that most of the retailers will accept the deal which is more than
three times the 2005 Voluntary Surrender Scheme. A lot of the traders said they
can't operate under the overnight ban and they are also considering the risk of
facing another bird flu outbreak within the next few years, he said. But, the
government will only approve the offer when 90 percent of the trade accepts it.
Another offer will not be tabled in the future before central slaughtering, Chow
added. A source said the government has improved the deal for retailers with an
increase of almost HK$100 million or over 20 percent to a total of HK$513
million. A source said the increase was justified. "If we terminate the trade's
tools for living out of public health concerns, we must be more reasonable in
our offer," the source said, adding that no further increase is expected after
any future negotiations. Retailers who choose to resume operation on July 2 must
operate under an overnight ban on keeping live chickens in the stalls between
8pm and 5am. Violators are subject to a penalty of HK$50,000 and six months'
imprisonment. The amendments of the law will be gazetted this week and will be
tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting. Chow believes the
overnight ban will be agreed by lawmakers out of public health concerns. "H5N1
is not political, we must be scientific in dealing with it," he said. Chow said
the 400,000 chickens which have been held in farms due to the ban and can no
longer be sold because they are too old will be compensated for at a rate of
HK$30 per bird. A source said the government fears the recent discovery of the
H5N1 virus in the chickens of four wet markets is not a problem of smuggling,
but a drop in chickens' immunity against the virus. 
No one at fault in sturgeon death says Ocean Park - Ocean
Park plans to release the four surviving Chinese sturgeons back into the main
tank of its aquarium in early July despite the death of a fifth fish bitten by a
barracuda. The park's executives, veterinarians and oceanologists insisted
yesterday the attack was an accident. The necropsy on the sturgeon indicated the
bite was not aggressive but a reflex action induced by contact between the fish.
"No one is at fault, and no one is getting fired," executive director of
zoological operations and education Suzanne Gendron said. She said it is the
first time in the world for both species to be kept in the same saltwater
environment and that the two species do co-exist in the South China Sea.
Director of the National Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association Li Yanliang
said sturgeons should be able to get along with other fish, but barracudas may
have attacked the sturgeons because they were newcomers. Sturgeons are
separately kept in the Beijing Aquarium, but experts from the Ministry of
Agriculture said barracudas are not particularly fierce species and interpreted
the attack as an accident. Chinese sturgeons are an endangered species native to
China. Five were presented to the park last month and went on display at Ocean
Park's Atoll Reef main tank last Thursday. Gendron said the eight barracudas
have been with the park for almost 10 years and never showed any signs of
aggression.
Walter Kwok Ping-sheung,
the eldest brother at the heart of controversy surrounding property giant Sun
Hung Kai Properties (0016), has finally broken his silence over the issues
dogging the company. In his first personal appearance since being ousted as SHKP
chairman and chief executive on May 28, Kwok made an effort to mend his
relationship with his family by putting recent events down to misunderstandings.
"The company has grown bigger and numbers of investments are on the rise. It's
normal to have more conflicts among the management," he was reported as saying
yesterday. His ties with matriarch Kwong Siu-hing and with his two brothers
remain strong, and more communication could have solved the problem, he said. "I
maintain a good relationship with my mother and we are having lunch regularly
once or twice a week. "Most of the time she stands by my decisions, on the IFC
[International Finance Center] and ICC [International Commerce Center]
developments for example," the eldest Kwok said. He dismissed rumors that
disagreements with his younger brothers, Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok
Ping- luen, stemmed from the influence of his confidante Ida Tong. "I have been
the chairman for 18 years, any influence would not happen just now. She [Tong]
is a good friend of mine for more than 20 years. We, among a few other friends,
always meet together to discuss economic and political issues," he said. Kwok
also said he has no hard feelings over his new role as an SHKP independent
non-executive director. "I will adjust to it and keep on monitoring the
operations of the company as a non-executive director," he said. Kwok added that
he has no intention of dividing the family wealth: "I will not sell my stake [in
the company] or start up my own business, it's totally a misunderstanding." SHKP
was founded by his late father under the SHKP Foundation, and Kwok said he has
never thought of changing the setup.
Lieutenant General Su
Shiliang (L), commander of China's South Sea Fleet, gestures while welcoming
Major-Gen. Shinichi Tokumaru (R) of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force
after the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer arrived in Zhangjiang,
south China's Guangdong Province on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.
Lawyers warned
over dirty money - Lawyers in Hong Kong have been told to step up the checks
they make on potential clients amid growing concern over the twin threats of
money laundering and terrorist financing.
Chicken ban to
be lifted - Live chicken will be for sale again on July 2 if vendors agree not
to keep the poultry alive overnight.
Regulator says to balance stocks supply
and demand for stability - Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities
Regulatory Commission (CSRC), on Sunday vowed to deepen reform and boost
regulation to promote a stable and healthy development of the capital market.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng Yu-wah on Wednesday said the
government had not reached a decision on scrapping the duty on diesel fuel. Ms
Cheng was speaking after meeting representatives from transport sectors and some
lawmakers from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong
Kong (DAB) party. DAB vice-chairman Lau Kong-wah quoted her as saying the
government might be prepared to phase out Hong Kong’s diesel tax. He made the
comments after a meeting her on Wednesday morning. But Ms Cheng later issued a
statement which clarified the government’s position. It said the government was
still considering the feasibility of cutting the diesel duty. This was because
the government needed to hear more opinions from different sectors, she
explained. Ms Cheng said they would review duties on Euro-V diesel as soon as
possible. But she said duties would be maintained on less environmentally
friendly and low-sulphur diesel. This is more widely used by lorry drivers. The
transport chief said reducing or eliminating the diesel tax was seen as an
important way to help commercial drivers cope with rising fuel costs. After a
meeting with Ms Cheng and other lawmakers on Wednesday morning, Mr Lau had told
local media: “From our conversation, I believe Ms Cheng said the government
could exempt all diesel taxes.” Mr Lau said it was unlikely the government would
scrap Hong Kong’s petrol tax. He said eliminating the diesel tax made sense. “We
hope the measure could help reduce operating costs of mini bus drivers and other
commercial drivers, as well as to reducing their pressure to raise fares,” he
said. Meanwhile, over 100 representatives from the transport sector, including
minibus, taxi and other drivers protested outside the Legislative Council on
Wednesday morning. On Wednesday, Legco also planned to debate the scrapping of
taxes of Euro-V diesel and unleaded petrol by 50 per cent. This is to help
reduce inflationary pressure in the wake of soaring oil prices. Representatives
from the transport sector have said halving the taxes was not enough. They are
demanding the government ends all diesel taxes and introduces an exemption on
diesel station land premiums. Chiang Chi-wai, a spokesman for the Fuel Price
Concern Transportation Joint Conference, said all diesel taxes should be
exempted. “We hope the government can exempt all diesel tax, so as to reduce the
burden of commercial drivers and improve their livelihood,” Mr Chiang added.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan
(L) and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (R) shake hands after opening
remarks at the start of cabinet-level meetings at the Strategic Economic
Dialogue at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, June 17, 2008. China
and the US have made substantial progress in resolving contentious issues such
as currency and trade deficit, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said at the opening of
the fourth Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) Tuesday. The two countries should
adopt a patient approach and avoid "complicating and politicizing economic
issues", he said. "Our cooperation is an irreversible and unstoppable current.
China needs the US, and the US needs China." The meeting is being held on the US
Naval Academy's campus in Annapolis, Maryland. Wang and US Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson are co-chairing the SED as special representatives of President Hu
Jintao and US President George W. Bush. The two-day talks are expected to focus
on the challenges the two countries face because of rising energy and food
prices. An agreement on energy and the environment is expected to be the major
achievement of the dialogue. The US and China must increase cooperation on
energy because of the increase in demand for and record high prices of oil,
Paulson said. "As the two largest net importers of oil, China and the US face
similar challenges as the demand for energy increases." This is the fourth time
Paulson is heading a delegation of US cabinet officials at such a conference.
The Chinese team is led by Wang, who took over after Wu Yi retired earlier this
year. China's high-profile delegation at the talks includes the ministers of
finance, environment and commerce, Xie Xuren, Zhou Shengxian and Chen Deming,
and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan. And the large US delegation consists
of the secretaries of commerce, labor, and health and human services, Carlos
Gutierrez, Elaine Chao and Michael Leavitt. Hoping the next US administration
would continue the dialogue, Paulson said the SED has produced a lot of results.
The two countries should continue the dialogue at least for the sake of the
global economy. "The US and China don't always agree on economic issues.
Sometimes we may disagree quite strongly but we keep talking." Major business
groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of
Commerce and the Financial Services Forum believe the high-level talks should
continue because they will benefit both the countries.
China could see the fifth consecutive
bumper harvest of summer grain for the first time since the founding of the new
China.
Rush to fix dams
as floods engulf 9,000 sq miles - Hundreds of police and rescue officials have
been posted to shore up dams threatening to burst under torrential rain that has
already flooded 9,000 square miles of crops and homes.
Hong Kong heartthrob Tony Leung
and his longtime partner Carina Lau have decided to end their lengthy courtship
with a star-studded wedding slated for October, Chinese media reported Monday.
Lau, an established entertainer like her boyfriend, began sending out
invitations on Friday, Web site Sohu.com reports. Stars on the couple's guest
list include Faye Wong and Na Ying. The wedding will be held in Hong Kong in
October, with the date and the venue yet to be announced. Leung, 45, and Lau,
42, have been together for nearly 20 years, Sohu reports. Yet both have
expressed their longing for marriage in recent interviews. Leung, for example,
was quoted in an Associated Press report in February as saying, "I'm in my
forties - I can't wait until I'm 60."
Times Square is
being sued by the government to recover what could run into millions in
unauthorized profits it has raked in from charging rent for the use of public
space. The landmark lawsuit which backdates the claim to 1993 with interest may
have significant implications for other property owners if it is successful. In
a High Court writ filed against Times Square Ltd and its parent company Wharf
Group, the Secretary for Justice seeks to recover rental fees of as much as
HK$124,000 a day for use of the Causeway Bay piazza. Times Square, which has
been the target of a vociferous campaign to free up the citys public space, says
it will contest the action. Times Square understands that there are differences
in legal interpretation of the related terms and clauses in the deed of
dedication concerning charges to third parties for holding exhibitions and
events at the ground floor piazza, a company spokeswoman said. We believe that
we have not charged more than what is allowed in the deed. We think the case
will ultimately provide for guidance on the proper interpretation of the
relevant clauses in the deed of dedication concerned. The writ says that a
February 28 letter to the Buildings Department from Times Square Ltd reveals the
company charged between HK$28,000 and HK$40,000 per day from Monday to Thursday,
or HK$100,000 to HK$124,000 per day on Fridays, weekends and public holidays to
rent parts of the piazza. The rates are said to be in violation of the deed of
dedication which stipulates the mall operator is only entitled to recover
utility costs. The mall operator admits in its letter the rates may well exceed
[its] facilitation expenses. Last month Secretary for Development Carrie Cheng
Yuet-ngor said the government would take action against the collection of rental
fees for piazza exhibitors. And while there would be a review of the overall
policy, officials said it is still up to the owner whether or not activities may
be held or banners displayed in the open space. The deed of dedication requires
public open spaces to be used for pedestrian passage and passive recreation.
Times Square general manager Leng Yen- thean has claimed overzealous security
guards were responsible for preventing passersby from sitting or loitering. She
also admitted the decision to lease a section of the public space to Starbucks
was a staff error.
Appointees' saga
'will be seen as teething trouble' - Suffrage no precondition for launch of new
team: Henry Tang - Universal suffrage for chief executive should not have been a
precondition for introducing the political appointment system, Chief Secretary
Henry Tang Ying-yen said yesterday. Mr Tang said the controversy over the
appointments, which he admitted the government had not anticipated, would be
seen as just a "small episode" or a "teething problem" when people looked back
at the city's political development. Speaking to Chinese University School of
Communication alumni at a dinner four weeks after the appointment of two tiers
of appointees, he said that the expansion of the ministerial system was a
necessary step as Hong Kong became increasingly politicised. "Some people oppose
the political appointment system, with the major argument being that the chief
executive is not selected through universal suffrage and is not empowered by the
people, therefore undersecretaries and political assistants appointed by him
lack public recognition ... I disagree." Mr Tang said. "Now, we already have a
clear timetable with 2017 as the year for universal suffrage ... the expansion
of the political appointment system today is to gradually introduce more and
more officials to handle political work so that they can collaborate with a
professional team of civil servants, and the political neutrality of civil
servants can be maintained. "The experience has told us there are some matters
which our community can further discuss, for example, how to handle the issues
of allegiance and commitment while maintaining a diverse and international city?
How to respect the public's right to know while protecting privacy at an
appropriate level?" Summing up his six years working at the ministerial level,
Mr Tang said he had learned to appreciate that mistakes by individual officials
would do a lot of damage to the government's credibility. What had moved him
most was the team of professional civil servants who had given him great
support, he said. Lee Wing-tat, of the Democratic Party, said he was mystified
how Mr Tang could consider the controversy a "small episode" in constitutional
reform, saying the appointees' lack of a mandate was a core problem in Hong
Kong's political system. "Somebody might even call Tung Chee-wah's resignation a
small episode, but he was forced to leave because he lacked a mandate," Mr Lee
said. "The reason why the public is so angry with the government over the
political appointees controversy is because some unelected people have filled
top positions with taxpayers' money." The Civic Party's Ronny Tong Ka-wah said
Mr Tang was wrong in believing that a pool of political talent could be created
with the appointment system. The appointees' lack of long-term political
commitment, as shown by their painful decisions when pressured to relinquish
their foreign citizenship, really tells us this system cannot raise people's
interest in serving the public through taking part in elections,' he said. DAB
chairman Tam Yiu-chung said: "Even if this is a small episode, the government
should review the experience and learn its lesson."
Rena Amudu
Kelimu performs a traditional Xinjiang ethnic dance Tuesday while carrying the
Beijing Olympic torch in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous
region.
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (L)
speaks during a meeting of the Sino-US Strategic Economic Dialogue Tuesday in
Maryland.
A warning of a terror attack during the Olympic events in Hong Kong from the
citys immigration chief was played down by the government last night. The
terrorist threat level remains moderate, a government spokesman said, but police
will maintain close liaison with mainland authorities and overseas law
enforcement agencies to ensure timely exchanges of intelligence. The governments
response followed comments earlier yesterday by Director of Immigration Simon
Peh Yun-lu that the department has received intelligence the equestrian events
are under threat of attack. Speaking at his first media reception since assuming
office in April, Peh said intelligence said some people are plotting to sabotage
the Olympic Games, including the equestrian events. Of course this kind of
intelligence will continually change right now the main individuals who might
sabotage the event are terrorists, Peh added, without giving any specifics on
the terrorists. If we know some are plotting to sabotage the Games, or to damage
the solemnity of the events or disrupt the smooth processing of the events, we
will ban their entrance. Lawmaker James To Kun-sun, deputy chairman of the
Legislative Councils security panel, said it was unusual for a director of
immigration to reveal intelligence on a potential threat of terrorist action. He
said it was possible Peh was laying the groundwork with which to ban peaceful
demonstrations during the Games or to prevent people from entering the city. In
his briefing, Peh refused to be specific about the intelligence his department
had received. Asked whether the department will restrict people from Xinjiang or
Tibet, who have a history of fighting for independence from China, from visiting
Hong Kong, Peh said the department will not tag people based on their
geographical locations. He said the department will consider carefully the entry
of those with a history of disrupting the Olympic torch relay in May. The
department estimates 42,000 visitors will arrive in Hong Kong to see the
equestrian events as well as 3,000 athletes. In addition to maintaining close
liaison with mainland authorities, police will step up security measures at
strategic locations, in particular the airport, the public transport system and
other critical infrastructures. Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong
Kong, China president Timothy Fok Tsun-ting said last night he had not received
any news related to the perceived threat. The Immigration Department was highly
criticized on April 26 when it denied the entry of Danish sculptor Jens
Galschiot. He is a member of the group Color Orange which has voiced its concern
at alleged human rights violations in the mainland. 
The mother of the late Cantopop diva Anita Mui Yim-fong yesterday lost her legal
battle to wrest control of her daughters estimated HK$100 million estate. The
High Court said Muis will, in which she left the bulk of her estate to Karen
Trust, with her mother getting HK$70,000 a month for the rest of her life, was
valid. Tam Mei-kam, 84, had argued her daughter was dying of cervical cancer at
the time and was mentally unfit to instruct and execute the will which she
signed on December 3, 2003. Mui died 27 days later aged 40. Tam said she would
fight the decision all the way to the Court of Final Appeal and would donate the
entire estate to charity if successful. In the 104-page written judgment, High
Court Judge Andrew Cheung Kui- nung said he found the three witnesses, who
testified Mui was of sound mind when she signed the will, honest, credible and
reliable. They were her principal doctor Peter Teo Man-lung, Muis godmother of
20 years Sheila Ho and HSBCs private trust director Doris Lau. The judge said
Teo, who was present when the contents of the documents were explained to Mui,
and who had spent a substantial amount of time talking to Mui during her
hospital stay, was in a particularly good position to say whether Muis mental
condition was normal. The judge dismissed the suggestion put forward by Tam that
Mui was suffering from a form of hepatic pre- coma, a brain disorder associated
with liver disease on December 3. What is plain to me from the evidence is that
the deceased only wanted to give her mother just sufficient money to maintain
her then living standard, and nothing else, the judge said. The rationale is
quite plain on the facts she did not trust her mother on managing money. The
judge said Mui was worried that if she left her mother everything in one go, she
would squander it all, with the help of her eldest brother, Peter Mui Kai-ming.
Besides her mothers living expenses, Mui set aside up to HK$400,000 as
university expenses for each of her brothers four children. Her properties in
Happy Valley and London were left to retired designer Eddie Lau Kai. The judge
ruled the costs of HSBC, the New Horizon Buddhist Association, a repository
under the Karen Trust, and Eddie Lau Kai be paid out of Muis estate. 
Days of heavy rain have driven up the
water level of last week's major flood, threatening thousands in south China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Chinese travelers pose for a photo before departure for the United States at
Shanghai Pudong international airport in Shanghai, east China, June 17, 2008.
About 200 Chinese travelers set out from airports in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong
Kong on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the first Chinese vacationers to take part
in tour groups to the United States. 
Travelers
pose for a group photo before they set out from Beijing for the United States at
the Terminal 3 of the Beijing Capital International Airport June 17, 2008.
Chinese shares fall 2.76% in 10th consecutive losing day - Chinese shares sank
to a 15-month low on Tuesday in very low volume, amid weak investor confidence.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.76 percent to 2,794.75, its 10th
loss in a row. The Shenzhen Component Index fared worse, sinking 4.03 percent,
or 395.77 points, to 9,429.50.