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DEVELOPMENT
T H U R S D A Y , O C T O B E R 1 3 , T2H0 U 0R 5 S D A Y , O C T O B E R 13 , 2 0 0 5
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
THE VERDICT: SHOPOWNER A hairy-crab seller welcomed the wider scope of yuan business to be available at Hong Kong banks, saying it would make it more convenient to settle payments with mainland business partners. Benson Tung Cheung-wah, 44, who owns a crab stall in Happy Valley, said once the service came into operation he would consider writing cheques in yuan to pay suppliers across the border, but he regretted the service would be restricted to Guangdong. “I hope it can be extended to more provinces, as crab suppliers are from areas near Shanghai,” he said. When Mr Tung started his business seven years ago, all transactions were made by cash. “I had to prepare a large amount of cash, about $80,000 to $100,000, and a staff member of the crab supplier would come to my shop about 10 times a year to collect money,” he said. “The crab supplier has an office in Hong Kong and is responsible for delivering hairy crabs to my shops and collecting money. It was very risky and dangerous, as I had to keep a large amount of cash.” His mainland business partner opened a bank account in Hong Kong three years ago. “It is always good that we can have more options on bank services.” Agnes Lam Benson Tung is happy he will no longer have the worry about having large amounts of cash on hand to pay suppliers. Photo: Ricky Chung
New government HQ back to square one on financing Chloe Lai and Andy Cheng The government does not expect its new headquarters at the Tamar site to be ready until 2012 or 2013, given it must relaunch the process of securing funding and invite fresh tenders. But it will waste no time in getting the ball rolling again, the chief executive said. The administration will retable its funding request to the Legislative Council this year. A lawmaker who supports the proposal said funding was certain
to be approved as plans included a new Legislative Council building. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen signalled his determination to see the project through, describing it as “a practical need” and stressing that construction work would create 2,700 jobs. He described the government’s current Lower Albert Road home as “too old” and said the new headquarters would improve the administration’s relationship with the legislature. A government source said the project was shelved in 2003 before
Four more cities to join individual visit scheme Dennis Eng Four more mainland cities with a combined population of almost 30 million will be included in the individual visit scheme from November 1, although the number of extra tourists to Hong Kong is not expected to be significant in the short term. The chief executive said the scheme would be extended to Chengdu , Jinan , Shenand Dalian . yang Last year Hong Kong hosted 4.2 million mainland visitors travelling under the scheme, which permits residents of designated cities to visit as individuals rather than as tour group members. The scheme brought in about $6.5 billion in tourist receipts last year. “As the next stage, we aim to extend the scheme to those panPearl River Delta provincial capitals not yet covered by the scheme,” Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said.
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About 30 mainland cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangand Shenzhen, zhou, Zhuhai already benefit from the scheme. Chengdu has a population of about 10 million. Dalian, Jinan and Shenyang have 5 million or 6 million people each. The chief executive of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Eden Woon Yi-teng, said the scheme had proved a boon for the retail and hospitality industries but stressed that adequate infrastructure needed to be in place to cope with the extra demand. Links between Hong Kong and the mainland would be further enhanced with the third phase of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, Mr Tsang said.
TAMAR
Legco’s Finance Committee approved funding, and the funding process had to start all over again. The source also said there would be a new tendering arrangement. The five construction firms that qualified to bid for the project in 2003 would not be given preferential treatment.
OPENING UP THE BORDER ZONE A proposal on ways to significantly cut the size of the border restricted area will be ready next spring. At the same time, the Planning Department will launch a study and consult the public on how to preserve environmentally sensitive areas when the restricted zone opens to development. Sources said yesterday that more than half the 2,800-hectare restricted area would be opened up. The chief executive said: “On the advice of the security departments and on the basis that an effective border will be maintained, we have decided to reduce the size of the closed area significantly.” He promised careful planning to ensure private land and wetlands with conservation value would not be affected. Chloe Lai
MY VIEW CHRISTINE LOH
Alternatives to a Tamar move Donald Tsang Yam-kuen sent a message to legislators yesterday to get on with building a large government complex at Tamar, including a separate space for the Legislative Council. However, he did not explain why the new complex needs to have 3.7 million sq ft of floor space, which is more than the Two International Finance Centre office towers, and how many officers are expected to be relocated there. There is less reason today to assume a cheek-by-jowl approach produces efficiency. Physical proximity is not enough to ensure good communication, and distance is not necessarily a barrier to teamwork. There are advantages to a distributed location system and risks in a highly concentrated one. Firstly, having experienced the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, packing a large number of government decision-makers and officers in one location does not appear to be the wisest choice. Secondly, the degree of disruption to government functioning is likely to be higher should Tamar be affected by natural ca-
“Building a giant complex is not the only answer to address the lack of space” lamities, accidents or even terrorist attacks with so many people in one location. Building a giant complex is not the only answer to address lack of space, especially if there are merits to distributing government officers in different locations. The first option must be to consider expansion and improvements at the Central Government Offices. It is unclear if this has been truly explored or whether
there is just an assumption among the top brass that there is no way to squeeze more space from the existing sites. This option has other advantages. The CGO is in an attractive location with natural greenery, and in a low-density setting. It is connected to Government House, beyond which is the Botanical Gardens. While Tamar will offer a magnificent harbour view, the current setting provides an entirely different feel. Is it possible to conceive of an attractive plan that uses space within the CGO and Murray Building more efficiently, provides functional and aesthetic improvements, possibly even allows for additional space to be constructed, and for these areas to be better linked to Government House and the Botanical Gardens so that this becomes a unique local icon? There would then be no need to consider selling the CGO and Murray Building to generate revenue to pay for the $6 billion development at Tamar. Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive officer of independent think-tank Civic Exchange
A vocal advocate of the project, Patrick Lau Sau-shing of The Alliance, hoped the government would start discussions with Legco as soon as possible. Mr Lau, who represents the functional constituency for architects, surveyors and town planners, said: “I’m sure Legco will support the plan. All major parties except the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong support the government … I’m sure Legco will pass the funding approval. All they need to do now is to come to Legco.”
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Vincent Ng Wing-shun, vicepresident of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, hoped the government would not build massive structures on the Admiralty site, as it is on the harbourfront. “We think 30 to 40 floors [for the buildings] is acceptable,” he said. The statutory height limit for the site is 180 metres, allowing construction of buildings around 60 storeys high. The government source said the limit would not be lowered but it was possible the administration would choose a tender based on shorter structures.
Bankers see little joy in concessions on currency Enoch Yiu and Maria Chan Bankers were generally disappointed with local yuan banking services unveiled in Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen’s first policy address. They had been hoping for more lucrative concessions from mainland authorities. A further relaxation of mainland controls that would allow Hong Kong lenders to issue yuan chequebooks to Hong Kong customers with yuan deposits so they could make cheque payments at Guangdong retail outlets would attract little interest, they said. Stanley Wong Yuen-fai, director and deputy general manager of ICBC (Asia), said: “In Guangdong, many retailers and restaurants do not accept personal cheque payments, and there are a lot of technical problems in providing such services. I believe only a few Hong Kong travellers will request the new yuan chequebook.” The authority to issue the new chequebooks at a date yet to be announced was included in a number of expanded yuan banking concessions granted to Hong Kong by the mainland, Mr Tsang said. The others were: ● An increase, yet to be specified, in the amount of yuan that can be exchanged from Hong Kong dollars per day per person into a yuan deposit in Hong Kong. The present cap is 20,000 yuan; bankers believe this will be raised to 50,000 yuan; ● A planned lifting of the credit limit attached to yuan credit cards issued by banks in Hong Kong. The present limit is 100,000 yuan; ● An extension of yuan settlement
YUAN
services to more market sectors than the present list, which covers the catering, hospitality and retail sectors; and ● Permitting designated merchants to open yuan deposit accounts and allowing them to exchange their yuan receipts oneway into Hong Kong dollars. “Some bankers are disappointed as the latest relaxations do not include the profitable business such as yuan lending and yuan-denominated bonds,’’ Mr Wong said. His view on new yuan chequebooks was echoed by Brian Cheung Nam-chung, senior manager of Liu Chong Hing Bank. “Many shops and restaurants in China reject credit cards and want cash payment only. It is hard to imagine they will accept personal cheque payments,” Mr Cheung said. However, William Tang Yiuleung, head of the branch administration department at Wing Lung Bank, welcomed the measures. “To allow individuals to make payment by cheque may pave the way for corporates to open yuan saving and chequing accounts in future.” Mr Tang welcomed the planned removal of the 100,000 yuan limit of yuan credit cards as it gave more flexibility for banks to set their credit limit to clients. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the measures would boost the city’s status as an international financial centre.