Night view of the Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on July 8, 2018. [Photo/VCG] HONG KONG -- Hong Kong was ranked the fourth globally on the ease of doing business, moving up one place from being the fifth last year, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government quoted a World Bank annual report as saying on Wednesday. The World Bank's Doing Business 2019 Report, which was released Wednesday, compared the ease of doing business in 190 economies through 10 indicators. Hong Kong performed well in a number of the indicators and was ranked the first for both paying taxes and dealing with construction permits. The score of Hong Kong has improved from 83.44 last year to 84.22 this year, reflecting continuous enhancements in our business facilitation measures, the HKSAR government said. The World Bank commends Hong Kong for the successful implementation of reform measures to improve the ease of doing business. In the past 10 years, Hong Kong has maintained its position among the world's top ranking economies in the report, re-affirming our favorable business environment for overseas companies to set up their regional headquarters and offices, and for all businesses to flourish, a spokesman said. The HKSAR government will study the report carefully and continue to work closely with the business sector and other stakeholders to reform the existing regulatory regimes, enhance regulatory efficiency and reduce business compliance costs, so as to further improve the business environment in Hong Kong, the spokesman added. silicone wristbands onlinecheap silicone wristbands canadaonline silicone wristband makercustom name bar braceletcustom id bracelets
BEIJING - Moderate to heavy smog has begun to settle on parts of northern China due to falling winds and rising humidity.Affected regions include the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shanxi, according to the National Meteorological Center.The smog will lift or dissipate from Thursday to Saturday under the influences of cold air and rain. From Sunday to Monday, more smog will appear.Beijing and surrounding areas reported better air quality in the first month of 2018 as major air pollutants plummeted, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has said.In 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, good air days accounted for 64.5 percent of the average total last month, up by 28.3 percentage points from a year ago, the statement said. Beijing saw the biggest improvement as the proportion of days with blue skies reached 80.6 percent.
