The 7th ASEAN VALUERS (AVA) Congress in Brunei Darussalam - 2 to 5 July 2012
At the invitation of President of AVA, HKIS GPD Chairman, Sr Francis Ng, and Hon Treasurer, Sr Edward Au, together with the Vice President, Sr Simon Kwok, attended the 7th AVA Congress in Brunei Darussalam from 2 to 5 July 2012.
AVA was established in 1981 with five founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. It has since extended its membership to include Brunei (1990), Vietnam (1997), and Cambodia (2009). Two other ASEAN countries, namely Laos and Myanmar, are not yet official members. They are observers as there is no formal valuation profession in either country. This was the second time for Brunei to host the event. The first time was in 2000.
During the AVA Congress, Sr Edward Au presented a report on Hong Kong’s property market. Ten other country representatives also presented their cases. A detailed report was prepared by Sr Edward Au in a separate article.
The 7th Cross-Strait Land Conference (第七届两岸四地土地学术研讨会)
The 7th Cross-Strait Land Conference was held from 5 to 7 July 2012 in Macao. HKIS Delegates were GPD Sr Francis Ng, Sr Dr Lawrence Poon, Sr Edward Au, Sr Ringo Lam, Sr Jason Chan, Sr KM Chau, HKIS President, Sr Serena Lau, and Vice President, Sr Simon Kwok. About 120 participants from the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao attended the Conference.
The Cross-Strait Land Conference has been co-organized by four related Institutes – HKIS, DSCC of Macau (澳门地图绘制暨地籍局), Faculty of Geography of Taiwan Renmin University (台湾政治大学地政学系), and Land Administration Faculty of Renmin University of China (中国人民大学土地管理系) – since 2000, and is held biennially. This year, the theme of the Conference was “Development and Innovation of Land Use theory and techniques” (土地理论和技术的发展与创新), which included the following areas:
- Land development and renewal
- Use of databases in land renewal
- Land development and environmental assessment
- Land use and urban development
- Urban land use and system innovation
- Land tenure system and economic development
- Land use in cities and villages and economic development
Sr Francis Ng presented a land administration paper and also acted as a keynote speaker during the conference, while Sr Edward Au, Sr Simon Kwok, and Sr Francis Ng acted as panelists in various sessions.
Around the Division
1. New GPD Fee Scale
WG for the new GPD Fee Scale had considered the Fee Scale in relation to the Competition Ordinance. Enacted on 14 June 2012, the legislation will be implemented in phases so that the public and stakeholders can familiarize themselves with the new legal requirements during the transitional period and make the necessary adjustments. The Competition Commission (竞争事务委员会) and the Competition Tribunal (竞争事务审裁处) will be established in the foreseeable future. The Competition Commission will conduct publicity campaigns and public education activities, as well as prepare the guidelines. It is expected that the whole preparatory process will take at least one year, as the commencement date of the Ordinance has yet to be announced.
2. Construction costs for Land Premium Negotiation in the Valuation Liaison Meeting
Negotiations with the government are in progress. RLB is in the final stage of preparing the pro-forma and a sample cost index (including a trend projection for six months from the relevant index date) for further discussion. Members will be kept informed of the progress in due course.
3. HKIS/RICS(HK) Joint Guidance Notes for Commercial Rent Reviews in Hong Kong
The relevant working group of the HKIS/RICS is still working on the draft. The intention was that the task would be completed within four months, although there has been considerable delay for various reasons (such as complexity of the exercise and the time needed). After deliberation, the work will be expanded to include clarification on the procedures, further steps to be included in the President’s acknowledgement letter to the applicant(s) and prepare a complete list of documents, etc. Members will be kept informed of the progress in due course.
4. Vetting Panel for Real Estate and Business Valuers for Public Disclosure Purposes
The vetting panel will meet every six months. The dates are tentatively as follows: 9 January 2013 (Tuesday) and 9 July 2013 (Tuesday). Exact dates for each meeting will be confirmed in December 2012 and June 2013 respectively. Applications submitted on or before the end of November 2012 will be vetted in January 2013. If the applications are submitted on or before the end of May 2013, decision made will be released by the end of July 2013. Besides, an annual return on the employment status of members on the List should be made known to the vetting panel. Relevant members will need to fulfill the necessary requirements (including employment by a firm providing valuation services) before they can be included in the List. They will be required to submit the such information to the HKIS. The annual return will be handled by the Administration Office. The submission should be made at the end of November each year and announcements/updates to the List will be made by the end of January. New applications and/or applications for reinstatement to the List can be made to the vetting panel. Updates to the List will be announced by the end of January and July each year. Further announcements will be made in the Surveyors Times in due course. The Administration Office will also send the list to the regulators, including SFC and HKEx, when appropriate.
