I therefore welcome the decision of the Government to move its focus from
political reforms to development of our economy. Other steps that need
to be taken include upgrading various infrastructures of the city catering
to visitors, promoting Hong Kong’s position as the destination for genuine
goods, upgrading the service quality of our retail workforce, improving the
cross border transport capability and proceeding with the development of a
shopping hub near the border etc.
Although the mode of spending by Mainland consumers is undergoing
some changes, the growth in affluence amongst the Mainlanders will
continue and will be matched by the growing demand for quality goods. I
foresee this trend to continue in the future especially having regard to the
fact that the number of cities that approve the Individual Visit Scheme will
be expanded from the current 49 to other parts of the Mainland once Hong
Kong’s capability of handling visitors are enhanced and the local sentiment
against Mainlanders is softened.
What worries us most is the endless new legislative amendments introduced
by the SAR Government creating increasing constraints for the business and
putting greater pressure on costs. This is a double-blow for the wholesale
and retail trade and examples include the Promotion of Recycling and Proper
Disposal (Electrical Equipment and Electronic Equipment)(Amendment) Bill
2015 aimed to cover four types of electrical appliances which came hot on
the heels from another piece of legislation, the Promotion of Recycling and
Proper Disposal (Product Container) (Amendment) Bill 2015 attempting to
impose charges on the use of glass bottles. Meanwhile, the Food & Health
Bureau also came up with various new initiatives such as expanding the
health warning on cigarette packages, the regulation of edible fats and oils
and recycling of “waste cooking oils” as well as the ban on nutrition and
health claims on infant formula and pre-packaged foods for babies under
the age of three.
Although the trade supports the two amendment bills in principle, there will
be consumer resistance to price increase as a result of the changes and this
will adversely affect consumers’ sentiment to a certain extent. The increase
in the pictorial health warnings on cigarette packages also raises the costs
for the manufacturers but will not necessarily reduce smoking incidence.
The ban on health claims on baby products is a means to encourage breast-
feeding but could inhibit the availability of supplement food for infants.
I hope the Government will give further thoughts to the above issues
before implementing the proposed legislative and policy changes. And
eventually when these are to be implemented, the new measures should be
adopted gradually to minimise the shock to the wholesale and retail trade
which are already hit by the recent slump. The Government should provide
Hong Kong with some breathing space so that we could make use of the
opportunity to upgrade ourselves to prepare for the new challenges in the
next wave of economic growth.
本人作為批發零售行業的一員，歡迎政府將工作重
新聚焦經濟，希望能將高速發展期所忽略的基礎
設施加以完善，提升香港的遊客接待能力，欠缺的
補足，欠佳的改善；另方面加強香港對零售市場商
品正版正貨的監管和宣傳、提高零售前綫員工的質
素、提升與邊境接壤的交通運載能力、以及繼續興
建面向內地採購遊客的邊境購物城等。因為，內地
生活水平不斷提高，帶動對有信譽保證的商品的強
大需求的趨勢，預期在未來一段時間仍會持續。
另方面，內地開放來港個人遊的成市僅
49
個，一旦香
港的接待能力提高，又紓解了針對內地遊客的社會氣
氛，開放更多城市居民來港個人遊是必然的。因此，
有序地增加購物設施和加強從業員培訓是必需的。
本人反而憂慮，特區政府不斷推出新法例會令批發
零售行業受到“雙重夾擊＂！例如，向四類電氣產
品徵收環保徵費的《
2015
年促進循環再造及妥善
處置
(
電氣設備及電子設備
)(
修訂
)
條例草案》還未完
成審議，環境局在立法會暑假休會之前，已向立法
會提交玻璃樽徵費的《
2015
年促進循環再造及妥善
處置
(
產品容器
)(
修訂
)
條例草案》。食物衞生局方面
就推出更多新措施，繼擬擴大煙草產品包裝上的警
示圖像面積之外，又準備立法規管食用油脂及回收
「廢置食用油」，和禁止供
36
個月以下嬰幼兒食用
的嬰兒配方產品、較大嬰兒及幼兒配方產品及預先
包裝食物，使用營養和健康聲稱。
雖然業界基本上支持兩項環保徵費，但要消費者
在短時間接受額外徵費，在一定程度上會影響
消費情緒。而擴大煙草產品的警示則會加重經營
者的成本，卻未必能達到減低吸煙人數的理想目
標；禁止嬰幼兒食品的營養聲稱，明顯是鼓勵母
乳喂哺的手段，但卻防礙需要補充食品的嬰兒買
到合適的食品！
本人希望有關當局能夠對有關的措施進行三思和
按部就班推行，避免在批發零售行業正面對重大
調整期再雪上加霜，讓行業在這次的調整期得到
一個歇息機會，讓業界、讓香港重新整頓業務和
接待能力，以便今後再上路，迎接下一次的經濟
發展浪潮。
7
