Statistics of Stored Value Facilities schemes issued by SVF licensees
The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published today (December 20) statistics on SVF schemes issued by SVF licensees for the third quarter of 2024.
The SVF scheme statistics (see Annex) include quarterly data on SVF schemes issued by the SVF licensees of the relevant periods.
According to the quarterly statistics, the total number of SVF accounts in use (Note 1) was 77.47 million at the end of Q3/2024, representing a 2.8 per cent increase from the previous quarter. The total number of SVF transactions was around 2.0 billion in Q3/2024, 2.6per cent higher than the previous quarter. The total value of SVF transactions was HK$188.8 billion in Q3/2024, representing an 8.6per cent increase from the previous quarter. Of the total transaction value, HK$44.8 billion was related to point-of-sale spending payment, HK$28.0 billion in online spending payment, HK$17.3 billion in P2P funds transfer and HK$98.7 billion in add value. The total float and SVF deposit (Note 2) was HK$18.5 billion at the end of Q3/2024, 3.5per cent higher than the previous quarter.
As compared with the end of Q3/2023, the total number of SVF accounts in use at the end of Q3/2024 was up by 12.6 per cent, and the total float and SVF deposit was up by 7.1 per cent. The total number and value of SVF transactions during Q3/2024 were up by 3.3per cent and 11.8per cent respectively year-on-year.
Note 1:"Total number of SVF accounts in use" refers to the total number of SVF accounts that can be used as at the end of the reporting period.
Note 2: The terms "float" and "SVF deposit" follow their definitions in the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance.
Government invites healthcare sector to establish Institute for Medical Advancement and Clinical Excellence
The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, today (December 20) invited seven major institutions in the Hong Kong healthcare sector to establish the Institute for Medical Advancement and Clinical Excellence (IMACE) as its founding members, with a view to implementing the idea of establishing a professional platform for developing evidence-based clinical protocols and exploring the feasibility of devising service quality and efficiency standards for the public and private healthcare sectors as put forward in "The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address", thereby further enhancing the healthcare standards in Hong Kong.
The seven institutions invited to be founding members are the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM), the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority, the Primary Healthcare Commission, the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Private Hospitals Association. The diverse backgrounds of these invited institutions, which cover aspects such as medical professional standards, public health planning, academic research and development, as well as hospital management in the public and private sectors, will enable the IMACE to gather various types of clinical evidence and widely canvass professional views.
Professor Lo said, "Formulating clinical guidelines for various diseases in accordance with evidence-based medicine can enable healthcare personnel to deliver more appropriate, effective and holistic diagnostic and treatment solutions to patients based on objective research findings. I hope that the healthcare community may make the best use of the professional platform, the IMACE, by actively sharing their experiences and insights, to enable the quality of public and private healthcare services in Hong Kong to scale new heights."
Policy objectives
At present, the types of healthcare services delivered to citizens when they seek consultations largely depend on the experience and expertise of individual medical practitioners. Patients with similar conditions may undergo very different clinical pathways, resulting in potential variance in the standard of care.
With reference to experiences across the globe, clinical guidelines formulated with substantial evidence-based analysis by the healthcare community can help reduce unnecessary or ineffective medical practices, thereby benefitting patients. The establishment of a professional platform can also foster professional exchange among healthcare personnel to learn about and apply the latest technologies in their daily practice, which will be conducive to developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.
In this connection, the Government has taken the initiative to establish the IMACE, which is positioned as a professional-led and evidence-based platform comprising members from both the public and private healthcare sectors in Hong Kong. The IMACE enables the healthcare sector to collect data and cases in an effective manner for detailed deliberations on clinical practices in screening, diagnosis, treatment and management of various diseases, as well as evaluating the efficacy of various medical options (e.g. drugs, medical devices, diagnostic techniques, surgical procedures, non-pharmacological interventions, new medical innovations).
Upon comprehensive deliberation, the IMACE will devise and promulgate clinical guidelines as well as service quality and efficiency standards.
Apart from providing a reference for healthcare personnel to enhance healthcare standards, the relevant clinical guidelines and standards can also serve as public education tools to facilitate citizens' understanding of the healthcare services they may need in the event of different illnesses. Furthermore, the IMACE can make recommendations to the Government on implementing policy initiatives on driving clinical excellence and improving practice quality.
Operation framework
The founding members of the IMACE are invited by the Secretary for Health. In addition to the aforementioned founding members by invitation, and having regard to the specific needs of the deliberation topics, the Secretary for Health also allows the IMACE to invite professional members (e.g. industry associations for medical practitioners and other healthcare personnel, specialists in certain fields) and co-opted members (e.g. patient groups) to join the meetings, thereby facilitating more holistic deliberations.
To uphold the principle of professional autonomy, the Health Bureau will fund the operation of the IMACE without joining its discussions. Therefore, the HKAM has been invited to nominate another individual to serve as the Convenor to chair the meetings and provide secretarial support for the IMACE to assist in its initial operation. As things currently stand, the IMACE is targeted to be formally established in the first half of 2025.
