Company and its director fined $52,000 for contravening Employment Ordinance
NM Foods Logistics Limited and its director were prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for violating the requirements under the Employment Ordinance (EO). The company and its director pleaded guilty at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (April 20) and were fined a total sum of $52,000. The company and its director were also ordered to pay an employee concerned an outstanding sum of about $87,000.
The company wilfully and without reasonable excuse contravened the requirements of the EO, failing to pay an employee's wages within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and termination of the employment contract, as well as annual leave pay within the statutory time limit, totalling about $87,000. The company also failed to pay the awarded sum of about $87,000 in total to the employee within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal (LT). The director concerned was prosecuted and convicted for his consent, connivance or neglect in the above wage and default award offences.
"The ruling will disseminate a strong message to all employers, directors and responsible officers of companies that they have to pay wages to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO, as well as the sums awarded by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board," a spokesman for the LD said.
"The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.
Source: AI-found images
Speech by FS at OASES Enterprises Signing Ceremony
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at the OASES Enterprises Signing Ceremony today (April 20):
Peter (Director-General of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), Mr Peter Yan), government colleagues, representatives of our strategic enterprise partners, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the signing ceremony for the sixth batch of OASES strategic enterprises.
I am particularly delighted to welcome the 22 enterprises joining us today. They represent a diverse mix of geographies and sectors, including world-leading pharmaceutical companies, as well as pioneers in AI, fintech, advanced manufacturing, and the cultural and creative industries. They come from the Chinese Mainland, and across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. To our new partners - thank you for choosing Hong Kong for your future.
This new cohort will further strengthen our expanding community of strategic enterprises. Together, the 124 enterprises are expected to bring in $73 billion in investment, and create some 25 000 jobs, many of which are high-value positions in R&D (research and development) and management.
Indeed, our earlier batches of enterprises are already making a real impact. Around 75 per cent have established, or are establishing, their global or regional headquarters in Hong Kong. Nearly 90 per cent have set up research and development centres here or will soon do so. Collectively, they take up more than 2.6 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. Many have also chosen to locate in the Northern Metropolis and the Hetao Hong Kong Park (Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone), leveraging their proximity and synergy with Shenzhen and the wider Greater Bay Area (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area).
Beyond these tangible benefits, our strategic enterprise partners are helping to strengthen Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem. Many have formed partnerships with local universities, enterprises and research institutions. Some are collaborating with our hospitals, applying advanced technologies to improve the care for local patients. Others are using Hong Kong as a platform to pilot their cutting-edge applications, such as autonomous driving and fintech solutions, before scaling them internationally.
This is a clear win-win for Hong Kong and for the enterprises. On the one hand, they bring investments, create jobs and deliver innovations that benefit our community. On the other, Hong Kong provides them with the platform, connectivity, finance, talent and professional support to expand internationally and realise their full potential.
Looking ahead, we remain firmly committed to attracting more strategic enterprises. In an increasingly complex global environment, our country continues to achieve steady and sustainable growth. The Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan highlights the development of a modernised industrial system and advances high-level, two-way opening up. In essence, it is encouraging more Mainland enterprises to go global while welcoming international companies into the Chinese market.
Hong Kong is determined to play an instrumental role in this process, serving both as a "super connector" and a "super value-adder". We are a city where capital, talent, technology data, and ideas converge. Strategic enterprises will find abundant opportunities here.
As outlined in this year's Budget, we are advancing our "AI+" and "Finance+" strategies to drive Hong Kong's development. Under "AI+", we are accelerating the adoption of AI across industries. We will explore how AI can further empower our innovation ecosystem, and through "Finance+", we are taking advantage of Hong Kong's IFC (international financial centre) position to empower companies at different stages of development to grow and expand. For example, we are taking forward further reforms to our listing regime to help technology enterprises raise funds.
At the same time, our deepening collaboration within the Greater Bay Area offers unique advantages. In Hetao, we are promoting the efficient and secure flow of capital, goods, talent, data and biosamples with the Mainland. This will create a more conducive environment for innovation, particularly in sectors such as AI and biomedicine. Going forward, enhanced co-ordination between national and Hong Kong drug regulatory authorities will accelerate drug approval processes and shorten the time to market for new products.
Ladies and gentlemen, my message to you - and to innovative enterprises around the world - is simple: Hong Kong is where you want to be. Here, you will find the talent, capital, connections, services and support to realise your ambitions.
On this note, may I once again extend my warmest welcome to our new strategic enterprise partners. I wish you every success in Hong Kong and beyond. Thank you very much.
Source: AI-found images
