Announcement

Since we have informed you the captioned information announced by the Central People's Government and HKSAR after the CEPA High Level meeting held in Beijing on 27 August 2004. Trade and Industry Department of HKSAR has printed a leaflet summarising the further liberalization measures under CEPA for distributing to interested parties, and more details of the further liberalization can be found in the website of the Trade and Industry Dept (http:www.tid.gov.hk/english/cepa). If you need copies of the leaflet, please contact Ms. Sandy NG of the Dept at 2398 5667.

We have been informed by ETWB that further liberalization under CEPA have been announced by the Central People's Government and HKSAR after the CEPA High Level meeting held in Beijing today.

Attached please find a covering letter of ETWB with a copy of the "Record of Consultations on Further Liberalization under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement" & Annex 2 ( in which Sections 6 and 14 are relevant to the construction related services ) for your attention and information.

The seventh round of applications for the Professional Services Development Assistance Scheme is now open for new applications from 16th August 2004 to 16th October 2004. A self-explanatory letter sent from Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau is attached for your reference. Guide to Application and Application Form can be downloaded from their website : http://www.info.gov.hk/cib/psdas. The dealine of this round of application is 16th October 2004.

A briefing session on the Scheme will be organised by the Bureau on 15th September 2004. Its details and registration form is also attached.

The Outstanding Disabled Employees Award 2004 is organised by the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department. Nominations for the award are now open to employers. For details, please refer to the attached self-explanatory letter and leaflet from Labour Department for your information.

Sub-contractors are required to come up with a company policy on ethics within a year upon joining the primary register. The one we jointly developed with ICAC a few years ago (distributed to you again last month) is probably too sophisticated for second tier sub-contractors and beyond. We have thus modified another version provided by ICAC to suit the exact requirement of the VSRS, with a Chinese translation this time.

Be free to forward to your sub-contractors and encourage them to pass down to their sub-subcontractors. They can use it straight away or model on it.

The record for the 2nd quarter of year 2004 is attached for your information.

Section 23 deals with failure to pay wages within 7 days and section 25 to pay wages and compensation upon termination.

This record is distributed by the Labour Department to selected parties every quarter. Accordingly, we will circulate to all members upon receipt.

You may take this into consideration in your management of sub-contractors.

More information about 2010 Shanghai World Expo was provided from ETWB. For details, please see enclosed file.

ETWB has learnt from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination (上海世博會事務協調局) that the Shanghai Expo Group [上海世博 (集團) ] has been established to manage the construction of facilities for the Expo 2010 Shanghai. If members are interested in projects relating to the Expo, you may contact the Shanghai Expo Group directly. Their contact address and fax number are as follows :

Shanghai Expo Group
Address : 1000 Yan'an (Middle) Road, Shanghai, China Postcode : 200040)
Fax No. : 86-21-61200658

In order to promote, encourage and commend employers in achieving good people management, the Labour Department organizes the fourth GPMA this year. They invite enterprises in the construction industry to share with them the good people management practices adopted. An introduction (both in English and Chinese) of this GPMA with a registration form is attached for your perusal and consideration to participate the event.

Students of CITA's training courses in Electrical Installation and Building Services Supervisor will be graduated in coming August. For the convenience of employers who would like to employ those Graduates, an earlier interview can be arranged by CITA before graduation.

To encourage employers who employ graduates of specified CITA Basic Craft Courses (Electrical Installation included) or Full-time Adult Short Courses on monthly basis, and provide proper training may apply for a monthly subsidy of $1,800 for each graduates under the "Employers Subsidy Scheme".

EMSD advised that the Working Group of the Pilot Scheme recently endorsed that the pilot scheme to allow the use of fresh water for evaporative cooling in air conditioning systems in non-domestic developments would be further extended for two years to 31st May 2006 and expanded to cover a total of 57 designated areas. Detailed application procedures and requirements of the scheme, together with the location plans of latest designated scheme areas are available from the Energy Efficiency Office of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department on 11/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, which can also be downloaded from the section [Promoting Energy Efficiency] --> [Water-cooled Air Conditioning Systems] of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department website http://www.emsd.gov.hk.

Please be informed that the Trade and Industry Department (TID) issued a Notice to Service Suppliers No.3/2004 on 20 May 2004 announcing :

i) the procedures and requirements for companies, which are operating in the form of group of companies, to apply for Certificate of Hong Kong Service Suppliers (HKSS) under CEPA; and

ii) streamlined requirements on general documents and information in support of the applications for Certificate of HKSS.

TID has uploaded the Notice to their website. You may view and download the Notice at :
English : http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/ntss/2004/ntss032004_index.html
Chinese : http://www.tid.gov.hk/tc_chi/aboutus/tradecircular/ntss/2004/ntss032004_index.html

There are 4 parts in Construction Industry Levy (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinanace 2004 :

Part 1 - amendments to the industrial training (construction industry) ordinance
Part 2 - amendments to the pneumoconiosis (compensation) ordinance
Part 3 - adaptation of laws
Part 4 - miscellaneous (with 2 schedules)

Part 3 and Schedules 1 and 2 are deemed to have come into effect on 1 July 97. Parts 1, 2 and 4 shall come into effect on 1 Jun, 2004.

- Amendments to the Industrial Training (Construction Industry) Ordinance (Cap.317)

We have been informed by the letter from CITA that Part I, 2 and 4 of the captioned ordinance shall come into operation on 1st June 2004. Its self-explanatory letter is attached for your attention.

The record for the 1st quarter of year 2004 is attached for your information.

Section 23 deals with failure to pay wages within 7 days and section 25 to pay wages and compensation upon termination.

This record is distributed by the Labour Department to selected parties every quarter. Accordingly, we will circulate to all members upon receipt.

You may take this into consideration in your management of sub-contractors.

In order to reduce uncertainly and to speed-up the issuance of excavation permits under section 10A of the captioned Ordinance by Lands Dept. A flow chart showing the procedures in processing straight forward applications and a list of contact persons coordinating all applications for excavation permits and emergency excavation permits in various District Lands Offices are enclosed for your reference.

The sixth round of applications for the Professional Services Development Assistance Scheme is now open for new applications from 13 April 2004 to 12 June 2004. A self-explanatory letter sent from Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau, Guide to Application, Application Form and leaflet are attached for your reference.

A briefing session on the Scheme will be organised by the Bureau on 12 May 2004. Its details and registration form is also attached.

If you have any questions, please contact PSDAS Secretariat of Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau at 2918 7593 or email address psdas@citb.gov.hk.

Background :

The Territory Development Department (TDD) conducted a consultation session for the Development of West Kowloon Culture District (WKCD) for all members of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited (FEMC) on 12 Feb 2004.

The main purpose of the consultation session is to invite FEMC’s comments and views on the assessment criteria of the Invitation for Proposals for the WKCD project as detailed in the project website http://www.hplb.gov.hk/wkcd/.

A taskforce was set up to collect comments and views from the members of the FEMC after the consultation session.

ASD has provided FEMC the following information by releasing relevant tables, which are

1) Forecast of Contracts 2004 - a table showing the annual forecast of contracts that are anticipated to be invited by the Department in this year.

2) Forecast of Consultancies 2004 - a table showing the annual forecast of consultancies that are anticipated to be invited by the Department in this year.

The record for the 4th quarter of year 2003 was distributed by the Labour Department, and it is now attached for your reference.

Section 23 deals with failure to pay wages within 7 days and section 25 to pay wages and compensation upon termination.

You may take this into consideration in your management of sub-contractors.

For downloading the file, please click "READ MORE".