September consumer prices up 1.6%

September recorded a 1.6% year-on-year rise in consumer prices, matching the rise in August. Food prices, though, rose 4.6% in August and 6% in September over a year earlier, the Census & Statistics Department says.

The department said the implementation of the pre-primary education voucher scheme and a smaller price hike in package tours have partly offset the impact of higher food prices.

It added that netting out the Budget measure of rates concessions for the first two quarters of 2007/08, the underlying inflation rate for September remained the same as for August, at 2.7%.

Food items showing large price rises were eggs (32%); pork (30.4%); canned meat (28.8%); poultry (27.8%); beef (26.1%); frozen meat (15.8%); fresh vegetables (14%) and other meat (13.9%).

Food inflation

Compared with 4.6% in August, prices of basic foodstuffs went up further in September because of global food inflation and a seasonal rise in prices of fresh fruits and poultry and around the Mid-Autumn festival, the department said.

The price hike for poultry was particularly sharp, due to the combined effect of seasonal surge in demand and reduced supply as a result of the outbreak of bird flu in some Guangdong poultry farms.

Year-on-year price increases were also recorded for meals bought away from home (3%), miscellaneous goods (2%), clothing and footwear (1.9%) and transport (0.3%).

However, declines in prices were found for durable goods (-4.2%) and electricity, gas and water (-2.6%).

Rising slowly

Taking the first nine months of 2007 together, the composite consumer prices rose 1.5% over a year earlier.

For the 12 months ended September, the composite consumer price index was on average 1.7% higher than in the preceding 12-month period.

Saying that inflation was on a slowly rising trend, the department added that recent cuts in public housing rentals and a sustained rise in labour productivity would continue to help alleviate upward price pressures in the coming months.

John Tsang starts Washington visit

Financial Secretary John Tsang has started his four-day visit to Washington with a Business Roundtable breakfast meeting.

Mr Tsang called on the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council Allan Hubbard on Friday. This was followed by meetings with the Heritage Foundation and the CATO Institute, during which Mr Tsang outlined the state of the Hong Kong economy and latest developments in business and trade.

In the afternoon, Mr Tsang met with Du Pont Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Thomas Connelly to discuss international investment opportunities. He also held bilateral meetings with financial sector representatives.

In the next two days, Mr Tsang will have more meetings with financial institutes. He will also call on US Federal Reserve Board of Governors Chairman Ben Bernanke.

On Sunday evening, Mr Tsang will officiate at City Contemporary Dance Company's reception and performance. On Monday, he will attend an IMF/World Bank Annual Meeting plenary session and deliver a keynote speech at a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 10th Anniversary conference, before leaving for Boston.

HK retains air cargo handling crown

Cargo throughput at Hong Kong International Airport grew to 3.58 million tonnes last year from 2.07 million in 2001, seeing it retain its position as the world's premier cargo-handling airport.

According to the October 2007 issue of the Hong Kong Monthly Digest of Statistics published today by the Census & Statistics Department, growth was mainly contributed to outward air cargo which rose by 1.1 million tonnes to 2.28 million.

Over the same period inward air cargo grew by 406,000 tonnes to 1.3 million.

The report also carries two other features - Comparing Hong Kong's International Investment Position with Selected Economies 2006, and Chain Volume Measures of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Produ
Click here to download the report free.

Safe driving campaign to launch

Safe driving campaign to launch

Police will hold a two-week safe-driving campaign October 24 to November 6. Officers will distribute leaflets to drivers of public service and goods vehicles, and pedestrians, and take stringent enforcement action against traffic offences like speeding, light jumping, using mobile phones while driving and non-use of seatbelts. The public should report undesirable driving behaviour to Police or the Transport Complaints Unit. Provisional Police figures show 11,253 traffic accidents involving casualties occurred in the first nine months of the year, up 2% on the same period last year. The accidents mainly resulted from tailgating, losing control, speeding, careless lane changing, negligence and ignoring traffic signals.

Ferry firm threatens to reduce services

Pansy Ho Chiu-king, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings, yesterday warned that the company will reduce the service of its subsidiaryTurboJET if the Hong Kong government all
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ows The Venetian's Cotai Jet ferries to use the ferry terminal at Sheung Wan.

The Venetian has teamed up with Chu Kong Passenger Transport to provide services between Hong Kong and Macau, and has requested to use the Hong Kong-Macau ferry pier.

Ho warned that if more operators use the pier TurboJET would have to reduce services to maintain safety and quality.

TurboJET carried over 10 million passengers last year on all routes and is the sole operator using the pier at the Shun Tak Centre.

Although the company does not have a monopoly over the pier, it helped design it, Ho said.

"We know its capacity. We are using it very efficiently right now. If more operators come along it might go over the optimal capacity," she said.

The government, she said, is free to decide which operator can use the pier. "We are not trying to keep Sheung Wan pier all to ourselves," Ho said.

TurboJET's competitor First Ferry operates at the Tsim Sha Tsui-Hong Kong-China ferry terminal.

Ho said that arrangement was decided after in-depth studies and discussions. "It is the best way for both companies to operate efficiently," she said.

Ho said she welcomed competition, but urged the government to give current operators more time to prepare for changes.

TurboJET is also awaiting Macau government approval for it to use the new Taipa Pier in Macau.

Alibaba.com to raise 1.5 bln dollars from listing

HONG KONG (AFP) - Chinese business to business website Alibaba.com said Monday it aims to raise 11.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.5 billion US) in what it called the largest Internet IPO since Google.

The company said the offer price would range between 12 and 13.5 Hong Kong dollars per share, which is higher than analysts had forecast. Trading in the shares in Hong Kong begins November 6.

Alibaba Group chairman Jack Ma said the company aimed to build "a world-class infrastructure and robust ecosystem for e-commerce, which will contribute to the sustained growth of the Chinese economy."

Even at the lower price, the much-hyped listing would give the company, which was only founded in 1999 in Ma's apartment, a value of more than 90 times this year's forecast earnings.

The company added it had already garnered support for its listing from eight major institutional investors, including Yahoo!, AIG Global Investment Corporation, component manufacturer Foxconn, Chinese bank ICBC and technology giant Cisco.

It also said the offer actually could raise more cash -- up to 13.1 billion dollars if international investors take up the offer to buy extra shares.

The proceeds from the offering will be used to grow the existing businesses both in China and internationally and for strategic acquisitions, as well as improving its technology, it said.

David Wei, chief executive officer of Alibaba.com said the listing was an "important milestone" for the company as it tries to take advantage of China's huge internal market and international desire for cheap Chinese products.

Alibaba.com -- part of the Alibaba Group which also includes Yahoo!'s China operation and Taobao.com, China's biggest online auction site -- offers two websites, one for Chinese customers and one for international customers in English. None of the parent group's other operations is included in the initial public offering.

Its spectacular growth has been based on providing a way for small and medium-sized, mainly Chinese, firms to promote their products to a wider audience, as well as helping buyers find new products.

Hungry investors are basing their enthusiasm on projected growth that will see the number of Chinese businesses using such online markets grow from around 8.8 million in 2006 to 41 million in 2012, the company said citing an iResearch study.

Its recorded growth has already been impressive.

In 2002 it had revenue of 359.4 million yuan (47.9 million US) which increased to 1.36 billion yuan in 2006, a rise of 379 percent. The first six months of this year saw an increase of 61 percent in revenue compared to the same period in 2006.

Alibaba.com now has more than 4,400 full-time employees. It has 24.6 million registered members for its Chinese and international sites, the company added.

But the high price has brought warnings that the company is overvalued. Francis Lun, general manager at Fulbright Securities, said the figures were "sky-high."

"They are trying to grab the money and run," Lun added.

Google raised around 1.66 billion dollars when it listed in 2004. Its shares were offered at 85 US dollars on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Earlier this month the shares broke through the 600 dollar barrier for the first time.