No more layoffs for now, says ATV chairman
There will be no more layoffs at Asia Television in the short term, its executive chairman says. Linus Cheung Wing-lam said the station would enjoy a new lease of life now the government had approved a HK$500 million investment from Taiwanese rice-cracker tycoon Tsai Eng-meng. 'We have no plan for any layoffs in the near future. The future of ATV is bright,' he said. He said he had been worried about ATV's future, but with layoffs and the new investment he was confident the company would be able to offer better services. The station sacked 63 people in November and 207 two weeks ago.
Visitor arrivals up 11pc, driven by increase of mainlanders
The number of visitor arrivals rose about 11 per cent year on year last month, to almost 2.8 million, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said. The growth was driven by a 31.3 per cent jump in mainland visitors. Mainland arrivals, which totalled more than 1.89 million, now account for just over two-thirds of visitors. Arrivals from all other destinations declined, although there was an increase of more than 10,000 visitors from Macau. There was a 3.9 per cent drop in visitors from Taiwan, while those from South and Southeast Asia dropped 7.6 per cent. North Asia was down 30.3 per cent; Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific slipped 13.6 per cent; Europe, Africa and the Middle East declined 24.5 per cent; and the Americas fell 25.2 per cent.
Minister to give evidence
Former secretary for housing, planning and lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung, who is now the education minister, will be summoned to give evidence before a Legislative Council hearing into the post-retirement job of ex-housing chief Leung Chin-man in late May. New World China Land chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun and the company's executive director, Stewart Leung Chi-kin, who are expected to testify on April 18, will be summoned for a second time in mid-May.
