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The following is issued on behalf of the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee Secretariat:
The Business Facilitation Advisory Committee held its 13th meeting today (March 15).
The committee is pleased that the Administration has refined the food safety control proposals under the Food Safety Bill taking into account the views received during the public consultation and the findings of the Business Impact Assessment.
The Department of Health (DH) briefed the committee on the proposed regulatory framework for medical devices.
The committee also reviewed the work of the three business facilitation task forces. Some notable progress/developments are:
(a) The Pre-construction Task Force (PCTF) is pleased that the Lands Department (LandsD) has implemented special measures to expedite the premium assessment of more complicated or other justifiable cases;
(b) The PCTF and the Food Business Task Force (FBTF) have separately offered their initial comments on the draft guidelines on the design and management of public open space in private developments to the Administration;
(c) The Administration briefed the FBTF on how the new policy initiatives to optimise the use of old industrial buildings would facilitate the development of wine-related businesses. The LandsD will set up a dedicated team to handle applications for redevelopment or wholesale conversion of industrial buildings under the new initiatives. As suggested by the FBTF, the Government will also consider promoting the concept of "wine and dine in industrial buildings" to potential investors;
(d) Concerning the nutrition labelling scheme for pre-packaged food in Hong Kong, the Retail Task Force (RTF) is pleased to note that the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has set up a Working Group on Nutrition Labelling to help the trade thrash out the remaining implementation issues and made good progress in its business facilitation measures;
(e) The DH reported that steady progress was made in the registration of proprietary Chinese medicine (pCm) and that the Administration planned to start in 2010 the operation of the remaining provisions under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance relating to mandatory registration of pCm. Relevant stakeholders would be consulted on the implementation details, and the DH would continue to step up publicity of the implementation plan through different channels; and
(f) The RTF offered its initial comments on the public consultation document on the Producer Responsibility Scheme for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment to the Administration.
The committee is pleased that the bureaux/departments (B/Ds) concerned have sustained their efforts to enhance their licensing services with positive trade feedback and that the Administration will continue to explore ways to improve the business environment by partnering with the business sector and reforming the existing regulatory regimes. Some noteworthy progress/developments are:
(a) Compared with the ranking four years ago, Hong Kong has moved up four places from seventh to third in the World Bank's Doing Business 2010 Report. The World Bank also commends Hong Kong as one of the "most consistent reformers" in its report. The Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit (EABFU) has been working with relevant B/Ds to keep up Hong Kong's performance for the World Bank's next Doing Business cycle;
(b) The Office of the Telecommunications Authority has further streamlined its licensing regime by reducing the number of their licence types from 37 to 32;
(c) The FEHD has launched the Liquor Licence Processing System at its three licensing offices to automate the processing of the licence-related applications. Further system development is underway to provide an application tracking facility and open up services for electronic submissions;
(d) The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has launched a web-based registration system for electronic submission of lift and escalator certificates by the trade;
(e) The Social Welfare Department has enhanced its Case Management-cum-Tracking Facility to better support its licensing work and risk-based enforcement operations. This boosts efficiency in the regulation and monitoring of residential care homes for the elderly;
(f) The Environmental Protection Department has revamped its dedicated Green Garage website to help operators search for environmental regulatory requirements;
(g) The DH has enhanced its registration system to adopt demand notes, which include e-payment options, for healthcare professionals to pay their fees for renewing their registration. This improves the efficiency of the registration renewal process;
(h) The Excavation Permit Management System of the Highways Department now allows electronic submissions and on-line tracking of applications for all permit types under its purview (i.e. Excavation Permit, Expressway Works Permit and Road Works Permit). Concurrently, electronic processes to handle permit applications have also been implemented to enhance work efficiency;
(i) The Trade and Industry Department (TID) has simplified the licensing requirements for Hong Kong's textiles exports to the European Union to facilitate traders' business operations; and
(j) The EABFU and TID have implemented measures to enhance the utility and user-friendliness of the online "Business Licence Information Service" system.
Papers for the committee meeting will be available at (www.gov.hk/en/business/supportenterprises/bf/advisory/index.htm) for public access.
Ends/Monday, March 15, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:02
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