News Capsules

New Measures to Control Air Pollution
New legislation has been launched to control the emissions of volatile 
organic compounds (VOCs), a major category of pollutants responsible 
for smog that reduces visibility in Hong Kong. 

The Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation bans 
the import and local manufacture of products whose VOC content exceeds 
the prescribed limits. Products that will come under the regulation include architectural paints, printing inks, and several types of 
consumer goods. 

The SAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government have a 
consensus to reduce VOCs by 55% by 2010, on the basis of the emissions 
in 1997. This new legislation is an essential step towards this goal. The regulation will be implemented in phases starting April 1, 2007.

Labour Market Remains Buoyant
Statistics released in November 16 show that the seasonally adjusted 
unemployment rate declined to 4.5% (provisional figure) in August - 
October 2006, the lowest since the second quarter of 2001. Decreases 
were mainly observed in the decoration and maintenance, real estate, 
insurance, import/export and retail sectors. Meanwhile, the 
underemployment rate rose from 2.3% to 2.4% (provisional figure), with 
increases primarily found in the decoration and maintenance, and 
manufacturing sector. A Government spokesman noted that, "Despite 
steady improvements in the general employment scene, the mismatch in 
human resources brought by the structural change in the local economy 
still needs to be addressed." 

Export Figures Rise in October 2006
The value of total exports of goods registered a notable growth in October, essentially a continuation of the rapid growth seen in most parts of the year. The Mainland China market continued to be the key growth spot in Hong Kong's trade in October, while exports to the US market, which had been weak over the past few months, also showed better performance. The value of total exports of goods (comprising re-exports and domestic exports) increased by 7.9% in October over a year earlier to HK$230.4 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 4.7% in September. Within this total, the value of re-exports increased by 10.7% to HK$218.9 billion in October, while the value of domestic exports decreased by 27.0% to HK$11.5 billion. 

October Arrivals Top 2.19 million 
Tourism increased by 2.3% in October 2006, compared with a year 
earlier, with visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reaching more than 2.19 million. This brings cumulative arrivals for the year to over 20.76 million, a rise of 8.7%. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the top regional source markets were Mainland China, Taiwan, South and Southeast Asia. 

More Awards for HKIA 
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has won three awards from leading media outlets. TravelWeeklyChina cited HKIA for offering the best airport facilities at the magazine’s biannual industry awards; Business Traveller China Awards 2006 named HKIA best airport in China; and readers of SmartTravelAsia.com picked HKIA as the best airport worldwide in the online magazine’s Best in Travel Poll 2006. 

The Airport Authority's Chief Executive Officer Dr. David J. Pang expressed his appreciation for the awards, and for the efforts of HKIA staff, and noted that the opening of Passenger Terminal 2 will bring airport customers “an even wider choice of facilities and services, further confirming our status as Asia’s premier aviation hub.” 

Top