| Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13 |
Reply Serial No.
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CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY TO
INITIAL WRITTEN QUESTION
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CEDB(CIT)052
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Question Serial No.
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1776
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Head :
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152 Government Secretariat:
Commerce and Economic
Development Bureau (Commerce,
Industry and Tourism Branch)
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Subhead (No. & title) :
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Programme :
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(3) Subvention: Hong Kong Trade Development Council
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Controlling Officer :
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Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
(Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
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Director of Bureau :
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Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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Question :
In respect of the local exhibitions organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in 2011-12, please set out the expenditure and revenue as well as their respective percentages accounted for in the HKTDC’s overall expenditure and revenue.
Asked by : Hon. LEE Wai-king, Starry
Reply :
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC)’s expenditure in organising local exhibitions, the percentage it accounted for in the overall expenditure, the amount of revenue generated from local exhibitions organised by TDC, and the percentage it accounted for in the overall revenue in 2011-12 are tabulated as follows-
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2011-12^
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TDC’s expenditure on local exhibitions #
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$1,102 million
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TDC’s overall expenditure
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$2,484 million
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Expenditure on local exhibitions as a percentage of TDC’s overall expenditure
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44%
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TDC’s revenue from local exhibitions
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$1,370 million
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TDC’s overall revenue
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$2,475 million
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Revenue on local exhibitions as a percentage of TDC’s overall revenue
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55%
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Note: From 2009-10 and onwards, TDC’s expenditures include financial cost.
# The expenditure on local exhibitions includes direct cost as well as the costs attributable to the operation of exhibitions, e.g. staff costs, costs for local and overseas branch offices, booth design, data intelligence, IT support amd capital expenditure, etc.
^ Figures to be finalised at the end of financial year.
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Signature
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Name in block letters
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Andrew HY WONG
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Post Title
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Permanent Secretary for Commerce and
Economic Development
(Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
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Date
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29.2.2012
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| Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13 |
Reply Serial No.
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|
CONTROLLING OFFICER’S REPLY TO
INITIAL WRITTEN QUESTION
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CEDB(CIT)053
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|
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Question Serial No.
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1777
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Head :
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152 Government Secretariat:
Commerce and Economic
Development Bureau (Commerce,
Industry and Tourism Branch)
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Subhead (No. & title) :
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Programme :
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(6) Travel and Tourism
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Controlling Officer :
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Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
(Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
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Director of Bureau :
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Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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Question :
(a) It was pointed out in paragraph 129 of the Budget Speech that the Government would propose to allocate $150 million to the Mega Events Fund and extend its operation for five years. Please tabulate the allocation for relevant events by the Fund in the past 3 years, including the amounts for the events involved in the vetting of funding applications, the title and nature of the events, the organisers, the dates of the events and the latest balance of the Fund.
(b) What are the number of events not approved in each of the past 3 years? What are the main reasons?
(c) The Government indicated that the Mega Events Fund Assessment Committee had been invited to study ways of giving the Fund more flexibility to facilitate its effective operation. What does it refer to?
Asked by : Hon. LEE Wai-king, Starry
Reply :
(a) The Mega Events Fund (MEF) was established in 2009, following funding approval of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council (LegCo). Since its inception, six rounds of applications have been invited and a total sum of $51.3 million has been granted to support 16 mega events. Details of the events and their respective amount of funding are highlighted below.
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Project title
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Organiser
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Nature
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Time
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Upper limit of funding
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Swire “Symphony Under the Stars”
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Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
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Large-scale outdoor classical concert
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13 November 2009
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$1.4 million
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Hong Kong Tennis Classic 2010
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Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association Limited
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International tennis tournament
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6 - 9
January 2010
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$9 million
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Mui Wo Water Lantern and Sky Lantern Festival
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Hung Shing Festival Preparatory Committee Limited
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Traditional cultural activity
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26 - 29
March 2010
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$1.5 million
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Hong Kong 2010 International a cappella Festival
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The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups
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Large-scale music festival
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27 March –
22 April 2010
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$0.8 million
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Hong Kong Musical Festival
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Springtime Experimental Theatre
Perry Chiu Experimental Theatre
Ah Lo Productions
Chung Ying Theatre Company
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Large-scale musical opera festival
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29 March –
21 April 2010
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$2.5 million
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Hope and Glory
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The Birch Foundation
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Large-scale multi-media arts exhibition
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8 April –
30 May 2010
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$2 million
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Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival
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Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association
Hong Kong Tourism Board
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Traditional cultural activity with strong sports element
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23-25
July 2010
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$5 million
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Record Breaking Dragon and Lion Dance Extravaganza
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Hong Kong Dragon and Lion Festival Preparatory Committee
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Traditional cultural activity
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1 January 2011
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$1 million
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Hong Kong Tennis Classic 2011
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Hong Kong Tennis Patrons’ Association Limited
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International tennis tournament
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5-8
January 2011
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$5 million
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Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival
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Lam Tsuen Wishing Square Development Limited
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Traditional cultural activity
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11-17 February 2011
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$1.8 million
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Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival 2011
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Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association
Hong Kong Tourism Board
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Traditional cultural activity with strong sports element
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17-19
June 2011
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$4 million
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Hong Kong International Jazz Festival 2011
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Hong Kong Jazz Association
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Large-scale music festival
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25 September –
2 October 2011
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$3 million
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Hong Kong Cricket Sixes 2011
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The Hong Kong Cricket Association
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International cricket tournament
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28 - 30 October 2011
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$3.5 million
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UBS Hong Kong Open Championship 2011
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Hong Kong Golf Association Limited
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International golf tournament
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1 - 4 December 2011
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$8 million
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Dragon and Lion Dance Extravaganza
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Hong Kong Dragon and Lion Festival Preparatory Committee
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Traditional cultural activity
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1 January 2012
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$1.4 million
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Hong Kong Well-wishing Festival 2012
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Lam Tsuen Wishing Square Development Limited
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Traditional cultural activity
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23 January –
6 February 2012
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$1.4 million
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The three-year MEF approved by LegCo will expire by the end of March 2012. After deducting $8.7 million reserved in 2012-13 for paying the outstanding balance in respect of those MEF supported events completed before the end of March 2012, the remaining balance (around $40 million) will lapse automatically.
(b) In the past three financial years, there were 21, 13 and eight unsuccessful applications for the MEF respectively. The MEF has a strict and open assessment mechanism. The MEF Assessment Committee considers all the applications in detail. Successful applications must fulfil certain basic criteria. For instance, the proposed event must be an arts, cultural or sports event; the organiser(s) must be local non-profit-making organisation(s); and the number of participants in the proposed event must exceed 10 000. To pass the assessment, the proposed event is also required to attain passing marks for each of the assessment criteria including economic benefits, publicity benefits, scale of the event, technical and financial feasibility, as well as the applicants’ event management capabilities, etc. The MEF Assessment Committee has been assessing each of the applications carefully in accordance with the open assessment mechanism. Applications failing to meet any of the assessment criteria will be rejected.
It is the established practice for the MEF Assessment Committee not to disclose the identity of unsuccessful applicants or the details of their applications without the consent of the applicants. Nevertheless, the Secretariat of the MEF Assessment Committee will notify unsuccessful applicants individually and give an account of the reasons for their unsuccessful applications upon request, with a view to assisting the applicants to make improvements in future applications.
(c) In his 2012-13 Budget, the Financial Secretary has proposed to allocate another $150 million to the MEF and extend its operation for five years. The MEF Assessment Committee is studying ways of giving the MEF more flexibility to facilitate its effective operation. We wish to finalise detailed modus operandi of the new scheme and consult the Economic Development Panel of LegCo on the proposal as soon as possible. Our plan is to seek funding approval from the Finance Committee within this legislative year.
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Signature
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Name in block letters
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Andrew HY WONG
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Post Title
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Permanent Secretary for Commerce and
Economic Development
(Commerce, Industry and Tourism)
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Date
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29.2.2012
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