Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13 Director of Bureau : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Session No. 12 File name : cedb(cit)- doc
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- Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13
Question : Regarding the entry policy for Mainland pregnant women, whose spouses are not Hong Kong people, coming to Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme, would the Administration consider allocating resources and manpower for a dedicated study on the situation and the relevant policy? If yes, please provide details of the allocation. If not, please state the reasons. Asked by : Hon. NG Margaret Reply : The aim of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) is to facilitate all eligible Mainland residents to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis, without having to join group tours. Under the IVS no restrictive measure will be put in place on any particular group of visitors. Imposing restrictions on visiting Hong Kong by Mainland pregnant women whose spouses are not Hong Kong residents is beyond the scope of tourism policy. The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau has no plan to allocate resources and manpower for a dedicated study on the situation and the relevant policy. On the other hand, to deter non-local pregnant women without obstetric bookings from seeking emergency deliveries through the accident and emergency departments shortly before labour, a number of measures are being actively implemented. On immigration controls, the Immigration Department (ImmD) will strengthen surveillance of non-local pregnant women; the Department of Health is also taking measures to enhance assistance to the ImmD staff by providing additional healthcare manpower at the boundary control points. In addition, relevant government departments will closely monitor the situation and enhance enforcement against non-compliant vehicles and drivers carrying non-local pregnant women to Hong Kong, and intermediaries involving in illicit activities.
Question : The Bureau will work with the Trade and Industry Department to launch a five-year dedicated fund to support Hong Kong enterprises in developing their brands, upgrading and restructuring their operations and promoting sales in the Mainland domestic market in mid 2012. (a) Which different programmes will the dedicated fund cover? What are the names, targets, concrete features, and the expenditure and manpower involved of each programme? (b) How many Hong Kong enterprises are expected to benefit from each of these programmes? What is the implementation timetable for the entire dedicated fund? (c) What assessment and monitoring mechanism will be put in place for the entire dedicated fund? (d) Will regular or mid-term review be conducted? If yes, what are the details? If no, what are the reasons? Asked by : Hon. TAM Wai-ho, Samson Reply : To support Hong Kong enterprises, in particular the small and medium enterprises, to capture the opportunities arising from the National 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chief Executive announced in the 2011-12 Policy Address a proposal to set up a dedicated fund of $1 billion to encourage them to move up the value chain and explore and develop the Mainland market through developing brands, restructuring and upgrading their operations and promoting domestic sales in the Mainland. The fund would comprise two parts: (i) to provide funding support to individual Hong Kong companies to assist them in undertaking projects to develop brands, upgrade and restructure their business operations and promote sales in the Mainland market, so as to enhance their competitiveness and facilitate their business development in the Mainland market; and (ii) to provide funding support to non-profit-distributing organisations for them to undertake large-scale projects which aim to assist Hong Kong enterprises in general or in specific sectors to develop brands, upgrade and restructure business operations and promote sales in the Mainland market, so as to enhance their competitiveness in the Mainland market. We have consulted the trade earlier and are finalising the operation details of the fund, including the assessment and monitoring mechanisms, and the manpower and associated costs required for implementation of the fund. We plan to seek funding approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in April with a view to launching the fund by mid-2012. After the launch of the dedicated fund, we would closely monitor the use of the fund and review its effectiveness to ensure that resources would be used effectively to achieve the objectives of the fund. As the number of applications and companies to be benefitted would depend on a number of factors, such as the overall economic environment and the operational details of the fund, etc, we are unable to provide relevant estimates at this stage.
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