Hong Kong development chief denies U-turn over agency to support homeowners

🔮 Criminalising bid-rigging to bring ‘revolutionary overhaul’ to sector: minister Justice minister Paul Lam says new legislation will rid building maintenance industry of bad actors and bring in reputable professionals The Hong Kong government’s sweeping reforms to crack down on bid-rigging are intended to bring about a “revolutionary overhaul” of the city’s building maintenance ecosystem, the justice minister has said.

🔮 Bernadette Linn says building maintenance council avoids conflicts of interest by keeping enforcement and support for homeowners separate Hong Kong’s development chief has refuted accusations of a policy U-turn over the establishment of a dedicated agency to help flat owners with building repair tenders, insisting the agency’s planned remit differs fundamentally from one rejected a decade ago. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, in a press conference on Friday, elaborated on the scope of work of the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, which will be established by the end of this year.

🔮 A senior official also hinted that a successor might not be named to replace Winnie Ho Wing-yin, who resigned as housing minister to take political accountability for the city’s deadliest disaster in decades.

🔮 Hong Kong to set up new body to oversee building renovations in regulatory overhaul New council will assign inspection consultants to property owners, handle tendering and evaluate performance as part of reforms following Tai Po blaze Hong Kong will establish a dedicated body to oversee building renovations as part of a wide-ranging overhaul that includes restructuring the Buildings Department and tightening regulation of contractors.

🔮 Hong Kong temperatures drop to 23 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning, lowest this autumn Weather will be mainly cloudy and dry on Tuesday, though sunny intervals are expected during the day with temperatures peaking at around 29 degrees Temperatures in Hong Kong dropped to about 23 degrees Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday morning, the lowest so far this autumn.

🔮 While the department said the irregularities did not “pose obvious danger”, it did not mention whether it would examine the other properties in the development, which comprises 32 detached houses and 11 low-rise blocks containing 50 flats in total.

🔮 Lawmakers warn current proposal is too narrowly focused and should encompass emerging health trends or consumers will be left vulnerable Hong Kong lawmakers have urged the government to widen the scope of a proposed statutory cooling-off law to cover more types of wellness market trends after the abrupt shutdown of the Hotstone Yoga chain, as claimed financial losses by customers rose to HK$3.9 million (US$497,030). Their calls followed the government’s commitment to introduce a bill in the Legislative Council in the first half of next year that would establish a statutory cooling-off period for prepaid fitness and beauty contracts. However, lawmakers said on Friday that the current proposals were too narrowly focused on fitness centres and beauty parlours, leaving consumers unprotected against evolving wellness trends.

🔮 Completion of Tsing Lung Bridge and San Tin section of main highway brought forward, but experts warn people will be arriving far earlier Infrastructure projects could lag behind developments such as the Hung Shui Kiu University Town, they said, suggesting the government launch express bus routes and build the Central Rail Link as soon as possible to ensure connectivity.

🔮 Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park submits proposed list of sector-specific firms to access cross-border data flows in coming pilot Around 100 start-ups selected to join Hong Kong’s flagship border tech hub will undergo mentorship programmes ranging from five to eight years, backed by industry heavyweights, the operator has revealed.

🔮 The firms, based at city’s flagship tech hub at the border, will gain an edge over 100 other companies as part of pilot scheme About 10 artificial intelligence (AI) and biotech companies will be the first to access cross-border data flows under a new pilot scheme, securing an early edge over roughly 100 other firms set up in Hong Kong’s flagship tech hub at the border.

🔮 Two financial broadsheets will follow suit on Monday.

🔮 Bernadette Linn says building maintenance council avoids conflicts of interest by keeping enforcement and support for homeowners separate Hong Kong’s development chief has refuted accusations of a policy U-turn over the establishment of a dedicated agency to help flat owners with building repair tenders, insisting the agency’s planned remit differs fundamentally from one rejected a decade ago. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho, in a press conference on Friday, elaborated on the scope of work of the Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, which will be established by the end of this year.

🔮 Will Tai Po fire reforms wipe out collusion in Hong Kong’s building maintenance industry?

🔮 1. Who will be held accountable for the tragedy?

🔮 He noted that while the IMF expected global growth to slow from 3.5 per cent last year to 3.1 per cent this year, Asia’s economy would continue to expand at a faster pace. The IMF recently upgraded its 2026 real GDP growth forecast for Hong Kong to 3.8 per cent, while the local government maintained its full-year forecast at 3.5 to 4.5 per cent.

🔮 The South China Morning Post examines who is running, what to watch for and how the committee will choose the city’s next leader The nomination period opened on Wednesday for elections to the 1,500-member body responsible for choosing Hong Kong’s next chief executive and 40 lawmakers. Hopefuls from at least four subsectors submitted their nomination forms on the first day. The South China Morning Post explains the significance of the Election Committee polls, who signed up on the first day and what to watch for. What is the Election Committee and why is it important? Wednesday marked the start of a two-week nomination period for the 2026 Election Committee Subsector (ECSS) Ordinary Elections, scheduled for November 22. Up to 982 subsector representatives will be elected to the city’s top electoral college.

🔮 The two documents would go hand in hand, Lee said, promising to take the city’s economic development to the next level by creating a new innovation engine in the Northern Metropolis megaproject, while building on Hong Kong’s strengths in finance, aviation, maritime services, trade and technology.