Online Auction for 220 Vehicle Registration Marks Set for March 26-30 by Transport Department

Online auction of vehicle registration marks to be held from March 26 to 30

The Transport Department (TD) today (March 11) said that the next online auction of vehicle registration marks (VRMs) will be held from noon on March 26 (Thursday) to noon on March 30 (Monday) through the auction platform E-Auction (e-auction.td.gov.hk). Interested bidders can participate in the online auction only after they have successfully registered as E-Auction users.

A spokesman for the TD said, "A total of 220 Ordinary VRMs will be available at this online public auction. The list of VRMs (see Annex) has been uploaded to the E-Auction website. Applicants who have paid a $1,000 deposit to reserve an Ordinary VRM for auction should also register as an E-Auction user in advance in order to participate in the online bidding, including placing the first bid at the opening price of $1,000. Otherwise, the VRMs reserved by them may be bid on by other interested bidders at or above the opening price. Auctions for VRMs with 'HK' or 'XX' as a prefix, special VRMs and personalised VRMs will continue to be carried out through physical auctions by bidding paddles and their announcement arrangements remain unchanged."

Members of the public participating in the online bidding should take note of the following important points:

(1) Bidders should register in advance as an E-Auction user by "iAM Smart+" equipped with the digital signing function; or by using a valid digital certificate and an email address upon completion of identity verification. Registered "iAM Smart" users should provide their Hong Kong identity card number, while non-Hong Kong residents who are not "iAM Smart" users should provide the number of their passport or other identification documents when registering as E-Auction users.

(2) Bidders are required to provide a digital signature to confirm the submission and amount of the bid by using "iAM Smart+" or a valid digital certificate at the time of the first bid of each online bidding session (including setting automatic bids before the auction begins) to comply with the requirements of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance.

(3) If a bid is made in respect of a VRM within the last 10 minutes before the end of the auction, the auction end time for that particular VRM will be automatically extended by another 10 minutes, up to a maximum of 24 hours.

(4) Successful bidders must follow the instructions in the notification email issued by the TD to log in to the E-Auction within 48 hours from the issuance of email and complete the follow-up procedures, including:

• completing the Purchaser Information for the issuance of the Memorandum of Sale of Registration Mark (Memorandum of Sale); and

• making the auction payment online by credit card, Faster Payment System (FPS) or Payment by Phone Service (PPS). Cheque or cash payment is not accepted in the E-Auction.

(5) A VRM can only be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. Relevant information on the Certificate of Incorporation must be provided by the successful bidder in the Purchaser Information of the Memorandum of Sale if the VRM purchased is to be registered under the name of a body corporate.

(6) Successful bidders will receive a notification email around seven working days after payment has been confirmed and can download the Memorandum of Sale from the E-Auction. The purchaser must apply for the VRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser within 12 months from the date of issue of the Memorandum of Sale. If the purchaser fails to do so within the 12-month period, in accordance with the statutory provision, the allocation of the VRM will be cancelled and a new allocation will be arranged by the TD without prior notice to the purchaser.

The TD has informed all applicants who have reserved Ordinary VRMs for this round of auction of the E-Auction arrangements in detail by post. Members of the public may refer to the E-Auction website or watch the tutorial videos for more information. Please call the E-Auction hotline (3583 3980) or email (e-auction-enquiry@td.gov.hk) for enquiries.

The Transport Department (TD), Photo by Bastille Post

Government to introduce resolution to raise borrowing ceiling to $900 billion for Infrastructure Bond Programme and Government Sustainable Bond Programme

The Government served a notice to the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (March 11) to introduce a resolution under the Loans Ordinance to raise the borrowing ceiling from $500 billion to $900 billion for the Infrastructure Bond Programme (IBP) and the Government Sustainable Bond Programme (GSBP) under the Capital Works Reserve Fund.

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "As the Government will accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM) and other public works projects relating to the economy and people's livelihood, we need to raise the borrowing ceiling to $900 billion to increase our capacity to finance public works projects. The Government's capital works expenditure for 2025-26 is estimated to be about $125 billion. The 2025 Policy Address announced that the Government would earmark an additional $30 billion in the next two to three years to increase expenditure on public works projects to drive sustained economic development and support the local construction industry. The capital works expenditure is estimated to be about $128 billion for 2026-27 and will remain at a similar level from 2027-28 to 2030-31.

"Issuing government bonds is one of the public financial management tools. Issuing bonds to support infrastructure development is a common practice worldwide. As public works projects are long-term investments, in particular those in the NM, there is a need for the Government to issue more longer-term bonds to align more closely the cash flow duration with project requirements. A higher borrowing ceiling and a larger mix of longer-term bonds will bring in more net proceeds. The Government plans to issue about $160 billion to $220 billion worth of bonds per annum from 2026-27 to 2030-31, and the corresponding ratio of government debt to Gross Domestic Product will rise from 14.4 per cent to 19.9 per cent, which is a highly prudent level and well below that of most advanced economies. We hope that the new borrowing ceiling can be effected as soon as possible," Mr Hui emphasised.

The GSBP (previously known as the Government Green Bond Programme (GGBP)) was established in 2018 to promote market development and to further consolidate Hong Kong's position as a green finance hub. The IBP was established in 2024 to enable better management of the cashflow needs of major infrastructure projects and facilitate their early completion. Along with the establishment of the IBP, the GGBP, renamed as the GSBP, was expanded to cover sustainable projects, and the total borrowing ceiling for the two programmes was raised from $200 billion to $500 billion, pursuant to a resolution passed by LegCo in May 2024. The 2026-27 Budget further announced raising the borrowing ceiling to a total of $900 billion for these two programmes to increase the capacity to finance public works projects. The two programmes are overseen by a steering committee chaired by the Financial Secretary.

Subject to the legislative process, the Government will move the resolution in LegCo on April 1.

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, Photo source: reference image