Hong Kong

A unit of Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, Hutchison Water, has taken over an Israeli cleantech incubator which it plans to fund to the tune of USD25 million from now until 2020.

Hong Kong’s new government recently averted another political firestorm when it shot down its own trial balloon proposing last-minute changes to development plans for the former Kai Tak Airport. The waterfront site in the heart of densely built-up East Kowloon has lain largely dormant since the old airport closed in 1998. In July, the new Chief Executive CY Leung came to office promising to tackle Hong Kong’s soaring home prices, and his administration indicated that Kai Tak’s plans would be reviewed with an eye to boosting the housing supply.

Hong Kong's seizure of nearly four tonnes of smuggled ivory, worth about USD3.4 million, highlights once again China's significant role in the global trade of endangered species. According to Hong Kong's customs officials, they made their biggest ever haul of endangered species product following a tip-off from mainland Chinese police. While the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Crime scorecard says China is making some progress in key aspects of compliance and enforcement of rhino and tiger trade, it is flagged for failing on key aspects of compliance or enforcement for the illegal trade in elephant products, primarily ivory.

Finally, some data. A couple of weeks ago Civic Exchange and two Hong Kong universities released a report detailing the extent of emissions from ships in the Pearl River Delta region, and their public health impact. It’s a groundbreaking study. Using 2008 data, researchers from HKUST did a ship emissions inventory of vessels activity across the PRD. They then calculated the dispersion of the pollutants, which showed that Shenzhen and Hong Kong have the most ship emissions, ahead of other coastal PRD regions such as Zhongshan and Dongguan, and outer PRD regions, like Foshan and Huizhou.

In what must be considered his boldest appointments since he took office at the beginning of July, Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung has appointed Christine Loh as the Under-Secretary for the Environment in his new administration. Loh was formerly the chief executive of Civic Exchange, the Hong Kong-based think tank she co-founded in 2000, and a staunch but constructive critic of the Hong Kong Government’s environmental policies.