Way forward for the Trade Single Window project
Expediting the implementation of the Trade Single Window initiative
Noting that the SW project of Hong Kong would be fully implemented by 2023 while the Mainland had targeted to implement SW in all customs districts by end 2017 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) aimed to develop SW within each member economy by 2020, Mr CHAN Chun-ying enquired whether there would be any negative impact on Hong Kong as its SW would not be ready by then. Mr CHAN urged the Administration to expedite the implementation of SW to catch up with the development in the neighbouring region.
In response, DSCED(C&I)2 said that the Administration noted the time frame of SW development in other economies and aimed to develop and roll out Hong Kong’s own SW as soon as practicable to keep in line with the international trend.
DSCED(C&I)2 further explained that while the Administration was determined to strive for early completion of the SW project, some essential preparatory work had to be done prior to its implementation. These included engaging the industry to ensure that the eventual model of SW service would suit their needs and be user-friendly, conducting a business process review on the workflow of all 51 B2G trade documents covered by the SW to identify room for streamlining and savings, undertaking system design and development to develop the IT platform of SW in phases, and conducting a mega legislative exercise to formulate and draft a new enabling principal Ordinance and to amend some 40 pieces of existing legislation to underpin the establishment and use of the SW and the relevant pre-shipment documentation regime. The Administration planned to submit the legislative proposal for the new enabling principal Ordinance by 2019 and seek funding approval from the Finance Committee within the current LegCo term to take forward system design and development, which would take about two to three years to complete.
Mr CHAN Chun-ying and Mr YIU Si-wing enquired whether the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau had encountered any difficulty in taking forward the SW project, which involved the policy areas of over 10 Government bureaux and departments. DSCED(C&I)2 responded that the proposed development of SW was a challenging project given its complexity and ambitious implementation timetable. The Administration would ensure a high-level policy steer to drive the implementation process.
Extension and progress report on the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales and the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme
Applications for the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Gurantee Scheme
Mr CHAN Chun-ying enquired if the numbers of applications received and approved in relation to the special concessionary measures under SFGS had increased after the Administration’s introduction of the reduction of the annual guarantee fee rate by 10% and removal of the minimum guarantee fee for the special concessionary measures on 1 June 2016.
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (“ED/CEO of HKMC”) advised that the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (“HKMC”) had implemented a series of initiatives in 2016 to enhance the transparency and awareness of the special concessionary measures under SFGS. Since the second quarter of 2016, HKMC had launched a publicity campaign, in which HKMC met with six major trade and industrial organizations, and six Legislative Council Members from the respective functional constituencies, and secured their support to convey the information with regard to the special concessionary measures to their members. Moreover, in response to the requests and need of SMEs, HKMC had also participated in seminars organized by participating lending institutions (“PLIs”), and trade and industrial organizations for SMEs, with a view to promoting the general awareness of the special concessionary measures under SFGS. HKMC acknowledged that the number of applications of the second half of one particular year was lower than that of the first half for the first three years since the launch of special concessionary measures. Yet, after the introduction of the mentioned improvement measures, the number of applications for the special concessionary measures had increased by 15% in the second half of 2016 compared to the first half of the year; and by 45% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.
Operation of the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Gurantee Scheme
Mr CHAN Chun-ying noted that a total of 775 net default claims involving a net claim amount of about $1.7 billion had been received under the special concessionary measures under SFGS at end-February 2017 but only 175 claims, involving a total claim amount of about $360 million were approved and compensated thus far. Also, HKMC had only completed a total of 94 claim cases in 2016. Mr CHAN queried whether the Administration had reviewed the effectiveness of the processing arrangement for claim cases and introduced improvement measures to accelerate the processing of unsettled claim cases.
ED/CEO of HKMC responded that under normal circumstances, HKMC would respond to a PLI within 10 working days upon receipt of its default claim. The actual processing time would depend on the complexity of each claim and whether the PLI could provide complete information and documents. HKMC was currently processing 40 claim cases. HKMC had been actively processing the outstanding default claims, and the primary reason why HKMC could not yet complete the vetting of these claims was that the PLIs concerned had not yet provided HKMC with all the required information and documents for the due diligence review.
Experience sharing of successful applications of the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Gurantee Scheme and the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales
In relation to the progress reports and final reports submitted under ESP and Organization Support Programme (“OSP”) of the BUD Fund by funded enterprises and organizations, Mr CHAN Chun-ying enquired whether the funded enterprises would share their experience in implementing the funded projects and the real benefits brought about by the projects to the development of their businesses and tips for successful applications. The Chairman shared a similar view and requested the Administration to provide information on the approved and rejected applications under the various industries/sectors in respect of ESP and OSP and the special concessionary measures under SFGS, with details on the kinds of projects which were granted approval and the justifications for rejecting the applications, so that the interested enterprises would be able to better understand the requirements of and vetting procedure for such programmes and stand a better chance of approval for applications.
DGTI advised that a guidebook had been published on the experiences of enterprises from various industries in implementing the funded projects under ESP and the effectiveness of such projects. The guidebook had been uploaded onto the ESP website and distributed free of charge to major trade and industrial organizations and in seminars and symposia to promote ESP. D/CS of HKPC added that symposia had been organized to invite funded enterprises to share with other interested enterprises their experiences in implementing the funded projects and the real benefits brought about by the projects to the development of their businesses. The staff of HKPC and the secretariat of the ESP, had also introduced cases of successful and unsuccessful applications. At the Chairman’s request, DGTI undertook to provide the requested information as stated in paragraph 45 for members’ consideration.