Remarks by SFST on enhanced regulation of licensed money lenders at media session
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, at a media session after attending a radio programme this morning (March 15):
Reporter: About the money lenders regulations, so what are the impacts of these new measures that you are expected? The second question is regarding the Middle East situation. Can you recap in English, what's the situation's impact on Hong Kong's, especially financial and family office business? And how would it affect the foreign investment? Thank you.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury: In response to your first question about the measures that we put together in the money lenders regime. I would say that the proposed measures that we have are very targeted in terms of issues that we need to deal with. I think one of the issues that we come across very often is that many households are being used as referees in some of these lending activities of their domestic helpers. So that's why from August 1 this year, we require that no more such requirement can be imposed on in the lending activities, in a sense that no referee will be required in such lending activities with a view to protecting our citizens.
Secondly, I would say, in terms of the overall approach that we take to deal with this money lending regime is that we are applying a rather equivalent requirement, not just to domestic helpers but everybody with a monthly income below $12,000. In this regard, we have applied a ratio which is applicable to the proportion of money on a monthly basis that need to repay the debt, and at the same time to make sure that all the lenders in this regime will be able to share information such that there's no one single individual who try to borrow from different lenders can circumvent the requirement.
In response to your second question about how we see the Middle East. As you all can see, on the financial services side, the stability, the safety and also sophistication of financial centre are more robust than ever in terms of how we are being viewed internationally and also domestically. That's why against this backdrop, we are proposing some measures to strengthen our role as an asset and wealth management centre in the current regime where many investors would like to diversify their investments. And that's why we have a law in place to be proposed to the legislature with a view to extending the tax concession that we are going to give to family offices and also to the funds that are eligible, in such a way that they will be qualified for tax concession for a wider spectrum of products. At the same time, in two weeks' time, we are going to launch our annual Wealth for Good Summit for family offices such that we can bring these advantages to the international family office ecosystem. As we gather from Invest Hong Kong, in fact a few of the Middle Eastern families are already in town, trying to anticipate our event and at the same time to know more about what we have to offer for family offices and also corporate investors in terms of our asset management businesses.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, Photo source: reference image
Government concludes second-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units
Today (April 21) is the second day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Ten middle-zone floors of Wang Sun House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.
A total of 77 households (271 people) registered to return to their units today through the "one social worker per household" service, while 78 households (275 people) actually turned up (one household reported sick and absent yesterday joined the arrangement today). The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was one hour and 48 minutes, with the shortest time being 21 minutes and the longest three hours and 25 minutes. About 13 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour. A total of 14 households (34 people) went up and down the building more than once within three hours. Among them, eight households (23 people) made one additional trip, four households (eight people) made two additional trips, while one household (one person) made four additional trips, with the highest record of one person of one household making five additional trips and another making four additional trips.
The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received 11 cases of requesting police assistance and two cases involving residents seeking help due to physical discomfort, as well as two cases seeking psychological counselling services.
The 11 cases of requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including camera, jewellery and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and lost property was recovered in four cases. In another four, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. For the remaining three cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units and the residents could not provide details on the concerned property.
After reviewing the experience from the first day of arrangements, two adjustments have been made on site starting today:
(1) expanding the personal protective equipment donning area at Kwong Fuk Community Hall, adding more tables and chairs, and setting up more marquees for rain protection; and
(2) adding more tables and chairs in the resident waiting area at Tai Po Baptist Public School, and expanding the on-site storage area to facilitate residents while they wait for transport.
Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, and staff mobilised from other departments, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members to fully support residents returning to their units.
Government concludes second-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes second-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes second-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes second-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
