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EPD takes action on concrete plants

The Environmental Protection Department said it does not tolerate concrete batching plants operating without a licence and will make every effort to stop any illegal operations.   The department made the statement in response to media reports yesterday of a concrete batching plant at 20 Tung Yuen Street in Yau Tong continuing to operate without holding a valid Specified Process Licence (SPL).   The department has been closely monitoring the operation of two plants, both owned by China Concrete. The other plant is at 22 Tung Yuen Street in Yau Tong.   Regarding the plant at 20 Tung Yuen Street, the Air Pollution Control Appeal Board dismissed an appeal lodged by China Concrete against the department’s refusal of its application for renewal of an SPL for the plant on November 22.   Under the Air Pollution Control (Specified Processes) Regulations, the plant’s SPL ceased to be valid with immediate effect and the department issued a letter requesting that all works be halte

1st fintech initiatives meeting held

The Coordination Group on Implementation of Fintech Initiatives, chaired by Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui, convened its first meeting today.   During the meeting, representatives of the Government and financial regulators exchanged views on the latest fintech developments with those from the financial services sector, academia and research institutions.   Mr Hui said the group was established to holistically review and supervise the development of fintech in Hong Kong, covering various key areas including collaboration with the Mainland and overseas markets, financial infrastructures, regulatory regimes, cybersecurity, promotion, talent development and other cross-sectoral fintech co-ordination.   It aims to ensure the policy and regulations are proactive enough to promote further development of fintech in the city, he added.   The participants reviewed the overall landscape and development trend of fintech in Hong Kong and beyond. They also exchanged views on various initiatives in place to facilitate the incubation process of fintech products and enterprise financing through fintech, as well as to nurture fintech talent.   On the one-stop platform for fintech innovation supervisory co-operation being built by the Monetary Authority and the People's Bank of China in the form of a network link-up in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the participants noted that the two parties are working closely to finalise the implementation details as soon as possible.   They also learnt about the implementation status of the FinTech Virtual Lab launched by the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation.   In addition, the authority briefed the participants on the implementation progress of the Commercial Data Interchange. The platform has now entered the pilot launch stage and is expected to be officially launched by the end of next year.   As nurturing fintech talent is of particular importance to the development of the sector, representatives of the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau and Cyberport informed the participants that a new round of the Financial Practitioners FinTech Training Programme would be rolled out soon.   The bureau's representative also reported on the progress of the development of professional qualification standards under the Qualifications Framework for the fintech sector which was put forward in the 2021 Policy Address.   Moreover, the Government and financial regulators reviewed in the meeting the progress in the implementation of various policies and initiatives on promoting fintech development, including the way forward for regulating virtual asset services providers.
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