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Education and Career Expo highlights government positions and further education

  • By: Ji Youn LeeEdited by: Chi On LIU、Junzhe JIANG
  • 2024-01-29

Attracting more than 800 booths, The Hong Kong Education and Career Expo addressed civil servant positions, featured job openings from private institutions, and provided further study opportunities as a burst for applicants seeking government and commercial sector jobs and a boost of studying abroad. The three-day expo was held from Jan.25, bringing more than 3,000 job openings from 16 countries and 17 regions to the participants.  To help the participants better understand the government’s jobs, the series talk on “Careers in the Government” became one of the most popular stands at the event.  “Hong Kong government, which is the biggest employer in Hong Kong, offers more than 190,000 full-time jobs for those willing to work hard and keep learning to achieve success,” said Ingrid Yueng, Secretary for the Civil Service.  Correspondingly, applications for civil service jobs increased sharply. The applicants for Customs officers surged by 90%, with a 40% increase for Immigration officers since October, according to Yueng. Tiffany Cheung, 23, a fresh graduate from a local university, said the government’s talks during the expo were very insightful for her future career path.   “I can ask questions regarding the application process and job content here, so I think [this event] is quite helpful,” Cheung said. “The talks are quite clear, and the speaker made the content of the position very clear. It matches my expectations regarding the role.”  The unemployment rate in Hong Kong from October to December of 2023 was 2.9%, which resumed at the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to government data. However, Sandy Cheung, a final-year history student at Hong Kong Baptist University, said finding a job proved difficult because there are few opportunities in Hong Kong for her major.  “My history major limits my career prospects, and many of my friends consider teaching or working at …

Business

Greater transparency needed as Hong Kong aims to transform into a green finance hub

    “Greenwashing” is a new buzzword featured at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. It’s part of the slogan of teeanger climate activist, Greta Thunberg. Greenwashing refers to a false impression or providing misleading information about how environmentally friendly a business of a product might be. Hong Kong has been trying to reposition itself as an international green financial hub since 2018. But the process finally stepped out this year as the government and industries seek to address disclosure issues in the green and sustainable investment market as a way to stamp out “greenwashing”. Stephen Phillips, director-general of investment promotion in InvestHK, a department of the government responsible for foreign investment in Hong Kong, told The Young Reporter that  the city “has an important role to play as a green finance centre”. “A number of listed companies also, very strongly committed to both raising green capital, but also being compliant around bringing standards,” he said, “ and Hong Kong obviously serves not only Hong Kong and the rest of China, but also a place in which companies raise money from across the whole of Asia.” A report conducted by Standard Chartered Bank in 2020 found that among 1085 respondents from Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirate and the United Kingdom, 59% of them who put money in sustainable investment said they would consider investing 5% to 10% in sustainable investing, and 75% said they would consider increasing their investment to 25% or more due to the pandemic. However, Alvin Li, Group Financial Consultant of TAL Group, said many investors may take a wait-and-see attitude towards green investment mainly because it is still under development. “The green bond market is still relatively new, still in the embryonic stage, and the secondary market is not fully developed. Investors have doubts …

Business

Budget Address 2021: Deficit hits record high Forecasts economy return to growth this year

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: Zhou Yichen Gloria 周奕辰、Vikki Cai ChuchuEdited by: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿
  • 2021-02-24

Hong Kong government's fiscal deficit would hit a record of HK$257.6 billion this financial year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his budget speech on Wednesday. The deficit was expected to narrow a bit to HK$101.6 billion in 2021/22, accounting for 3.6% of GDP as a series of supporting measures and the continued increase in recurrent expenditure.  Mr Chan also forecasted the city's economy would return to growth of between 3.5% to 5.5% this year, due to an expected recovery in the global economy and the effect of local stimulus measures. The Financial Secretary delivered his budget speech at a Legislative Council meeting today with a focus on “stabilising the economy and relieving people's burden”. He said the economy would still face significant challenges in the first half of the year, but "economic recovery will likely gain a stronger momentum in the second half of the year in tandem with an expected rebound in the global economy." However, he also said, “With the epidemic still lingering, our economy is yet to come out of recession.” “As the social distancing restrictions are relaxed and more people are vaccinated, confidence among investors and citizens will increase, and there will be corresponding economic activities to help the economy recover,” said Billy Mak, associate professor from the Department of Finance and Decision Sciences of Hong Kong Baptist University. “But the recovery process may take three or four years, and the economy this year will still be difficult.” Mr Chan also alerted that Hong Kong would record a deficit for a number of years after achieving a surplus for 15 years. Despite this, the government still decided not to cut spending that affects people's livelihood, especially resources for education, social welfare and healthcare, in order to protect people's livelihood and maintain public confidence. By …

Business

Hong Kong hotels struggle to stay afloat despite staycation fad

  • The Young Reporter
  • By: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿Edited by: Zhu Zijin Cora 朱子槿
  • 2021-02-12

Chui Yuk-hei, a 26-year-old event planner, checked into several luxury hotels in November. She enjoyed her stay at the Mandarin Oriental, the Peninsula Hong Kong and the Four Seasons. “I never tried them before because these top hotels were super expensive,” Ms Chui said, “but now they all offer affordable overnight staycation packages. It’s the best time to enjoy their services.” She spent about HK$9,000 on three hotels in total, less than half the original prices.  More Hong Kongers like Ms Chui are going on staycations, spending holidays in hotels this year. But amid the coronavirus gloom, staycations are not enough to boost revenues, and local hotels still face uncertainties. The fourth wave of Covid-19 infections started in the city in late November 2020. Before that, clusters of cases linked to staycations prompted the government to limit the number of guests in each hotel room to four people only. “Health concerns made many customers cancel their staycation, “ said Benson Soo Koon-chau, 46, manager of four-star One-Eight-One Hotel & Serviced Residences in Sai Wan.      “Staycation is a very up-and-down business,” Mr Soo said. “Many hotels’ staycation business has been largely affected. It’s unlike long-staying service, which people need to pre-pay, no matter whether they eventually check in or not.” One-Eight-One Hotel has increased the portion of long-term leases for customers staying longer than two weeks to earn more stable revenue, he said. “I won’t go on staycation any time soon. It’s not safe. Even before the fourth wave, I would check the health measures at each hotel first,” Ms Chui said.  The pandemic has hit hard on the city’s hospitality industry which already suffered from anti-government protests in 2019. The occupancy rate slumped to 39% in the first six months of 2020 from the previous year’s 90% for …