For discussion
EC(98-99)3
on 16 September 1998


ITEM FOR ESTABLISHMENT SUBCOMMITTEE
OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 152 - GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT : TRADE AND INDUSTRY BUREAU
Subhead 003 Recoverable salaries and allowances (General)

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the creation of the following supernumerary post in the Trade and Industry Bureau for the period up to 31 March 2001 to enable the secondment of a civil servant to the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation as its Chief Executive -

1 Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1

(D4) ($145,150 - $149,600)

PROBLEM

The Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation (HKIEC) requires the service of a senior civil servant with sufficient experience and exposure to fill its Chief Executive post, pending an overall review of the institutional framework of our industrial and technological support programmes and organisations, which would include a review of the role and functions of the HKIEC itself.

PROPOSAL

2. We propose to create one supernumerary post of Administrative Officer Staff Grade B1 (AOSGB1) (D4) under the Trade and Industry Bureau up to 31 March 2001 to allow for the secondment of a civil servant to the HKIEC as Chief Executive.

JUSTIFICATION

3. The Chief Executive of the HKIEC (CE/HKIEC) is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Corporation which currently manages three industrial estates at Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tseng Kwan O respectively. The job demands a capable administrator and a strong manager. To reflect the level of responsibility, over the past years we have determined the remuneration package of CE/HKIEC with reference to that of a D4 officer in the Government.

4. The incumbent CE/HKIEC is due to retire in October 1998. The HKIEC Board, which comprises mostly public members, embarked on a recruitment exercise earlier this year with a view to identifying a suitable successor. The exercise has however not attracted a suitable private sector candidate.

5. Meanwhile, the Government intends to review the overall institutional framework of our industrial and technological support programmes and organisations. We have also established in March 1998 the Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology to examine, inter alia, the institutional arrangements that are needed to make Hong Kong an innovation centre for South China and for the region. We expect the Commission to submit its first report to the Chief Executive before October this year and to conclude all its work in the next 12 months. We also expect that the Commission's findings and recommendations will have a significant bearing on our review of the industrial institutional framework, of which the HKIEC forms a part.

6. In preparation for the overall review, we intend to, in consultation with the HKIEC Board, conduct a review of the role and functions of the HKIEC. The review will examine how the HKIEC and its industrial estates may better promote and facilitate the economic development of Hong Kong. Specifically, the review will seek to ensure that, in a rapidly changing international and domestic environment, the public mission of the HKIEC remains relevant, its policies and operational practices continue to be competitive and effective, and its commercial viability is sustainable. The range of issues to be addressed includes, for example, the HKIEC's price competitiveness, its modus operandi and its position in the evolving industrial land infrastructure scene.

7. In the circumstances, we consider, and the HKIEC Board agrees, that pending the completion of the reviews, the open recruitment of a new CE/HKIEC should be put on hold. Instead, it would be prudent to second a suitable civil servant to be the executive head of the Corporation as an interim measure. The CE/HKIEC will play an important role in helping the HKIEC Board and the Government to carry out the review. To provide the Corporation with an officer who has strong administrative experience and who is familiar with the Government machinery would facilitate the review process. The secondment would also bring about cross-fertilisation of knowledge and experience between the Government and the HKIEC. In addition, it would provide flexibility during the interim period for putting in place new measures recommended in the review at the executive head level should they be decided upon.

8. We believe that a civil servant with extensive working experience in various Government bureaux/departments, a good grasp of management issues at a senior level and strong leadership skill is required for the proposed secondment. Accordingly we recommend that the secondment be pitched at the level of an AOSGB1 (D4) officer. To ensure that there is continuity of senior management at the HKIEC and to allow sufficient time for the overall review of institutional arrangements to be completed and for the recommendations to be put in place, we recommend that this interim arrangement be made for about two and a half years, i.e., up to 31 March 2001. Depending on progress of the review, the secondment may however be terminated earlier.

9. A list of the responsibilities of the post of CE/HKIEC is at the Enclosure.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

10. The additional notional annual salary cost of this proposal at MID-POINT is -


$

No. of post

Supernumerary AOSGB1 post

1,795,200

1

11. The additional full annual average staff cost of the proposal, including salaries and staff on-cost, is $3,097,164. We shall recover the full cost, including the staff on-cost, of the proposal from the HKIEC.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

12. The HKIEC is a statutory body established in 1977 to construct and manage industrial estates so as to broaden Hong Kong's industrial base and to upgrade its industrial technology. The HKIEC achieves this by providing developed land generally at cost on its industrial estates to qualified operations. The HKIEC currently manages three industrial estates at Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tseng Kwan O. It is now studying the need for a fourth industrial estate. The incumbent CE/HKIEC is due to retire in October 1998. The HKIEC Board has agreed to an interim civil service secondment arrangement pending the Government's overall review of the industrial and technology support organisations, including the HKIEC.

CIVIL SERVICE BUREAU COMMENTS

13. Civil Service Bureau agrees that the creation of a supernumerary post at AOSGB1 level is appropriate having regard to the nature and level of responsibilities.

ADVICE OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON DIRECTORATE SALARIES AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

14. As we propose to create the AOSGB1 post on a supernumerary basis, we will report its creation, if approved, to the Standing Committee on Directorate Salaries and Conditions of Service in accordance with the agreed procedure.


Trade and Industry Bureau
September 1998
(LU0213/WIN10)

Enclosure to EC(98-99)3

Responsibilities

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation

I.Overall Responsibilities

As head of the Corporation, the Chief Executive, with the advice of the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation (HKIEC) Board, supervises and monitors the operation of the HKIEC in the exercise of its powers and functions as defined in the HKIEC Ordinance (Cap 209), and where appropriate and justified, makes recommendations to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government for any modifications to the Corporation's powers and functions to meet the business and administrative needs of the Corporation.

II.Specific Responsibilities (Internal)

  1. To develop and manage the business of the Corporation within approved policy;

  2. to determine and oversee the organisation of the finances of the Corporation;

  3. to service the HKIEC Board and seek the Board's advice on matters relating to the Corporation's conduct of business; and

  4. to supervise the overall administration, including staff matters, of the Corporation.

III.Specific Responsibilities (External)

  1. To promote the facilities and services of the Corporation to local and overseas investors;

  2. to liaise with and report to the authorities of the HKSAR Government on matters relating to the powers, functions and business of the Corporation and to seek advice or approval where appropriate;

  3. to liaise with local financial institutions/business organisations and make agreements on behalf of the Corporation on financial transactions relating to the Corporation's business;

  4. to liaise or keep in contact with overseas industrial estates institutions and to monitor developments in the field of industrial estates in overseas countries; and

  5. to liaise and co-operate with local industrial support organisations in both the public and private sectors to advance the industrial and technological development of Hong Kong.

(LU0213/WIN10)