Coronavirus: almost 400 applicants eye up HK$1.5 billion scheme to boost mask production in Hong Kong but none can meet government’s technical standards
- Manufacturers must meet four requirements to be subsidised and surgical masks have to meet high standards in filtration and fluid resistance
- FTU lawmaker Ho Kai-ming says even the masks being made in Lo Wu Correctional Institution probably don’t meet government’s high bar
It appears even a billion dollars cannot buy you a mask in Hong Kong any more as a government scheme to boost local production has been unable to find anyone capable of meeting the required technical standards, according to the city’s commerce minister.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told lawmakers on Friday that the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) had talked to 381 individuals interested in producing masks in Hong Kong, but none had the right manufacturing capabilities.
“Being interested [in producing masks] doesn’t mean they can do it,” Yau said in the Legislative Council finance committee.
The HK$1.5 billion subsidy scheme is part of a much larger HK$30 billion government package aimed at helping the city’s health care sector combat the deadly coronavirus and bailing out industries hit financially by the epidemic. The funding request for the package was discussed by the Legco committee on Friday.
According to Yau, manufacturers must meet four requirements to be subsidised: to be equipped with the appropriate machinery and raw materials, as well as have a clean factory environment meeting the ISO 13485 standard.
Surgical masks produced would also have to meet American Society For Testing and Materials (ASTM) level 1 ratings in factors including filtration and fluid resistance.
“At the moment no manufacturer can meet [the criteria],” Yau said, , adding a clean factory environment was needed because the masks could be supplied to medical staff.
The government has been unable to source adequate surgical masks from overseas to cope with the shortage, as many countries listed masks as strategic items and imposed export restrictions.
Under the scheme, manufacturers would be given up to HK$3 million for setting up one production line of surgical masks to deliver at least 500,000 masks a month.
Being interested [in producing masks] doesn’t mean they can do it
Each subsequent production line in the same plant would be subsidised up to HK$2 million.
The scheme would cover a maximum of 20 production lines.
The rest of the HK$1.5 billion would be used to buy as many as 480 million masks from the subsidised producers.
Factories would also be required to sell the first 2 million masks it produced in a month to the government, and surplus beyond that could only be sold locally to other public and private bodies.
Pro-Beijing Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) has set up production lines in Tai Po.
FTU lawmaker Ho Kai-ming said his party might not be applying for the subsidy, given that their production was unlikely to meet standards outlined by Yau.
“From what I know, not even the factory of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) can meet the requirements,” Ho said.
“Our product is modelled after them, so it is unlikely we can meet the standard.”
Ho was referring to masks produced by inmates under CSD supervision at the Lo Wu Correctional Institution for the government’s internal use.
Ho said his party planned only to distribute their masks to the public for free.
Relaxing the requirements for getting the subsidy would allow more manufacturers to benefit from the scheme, he added.
It is fine to set strict standards for masks used by frontline medics. But what about the general public?
Another party looking to produce masks in Hong Kong, online store HKTV mall, said it was studying and considering the government subsidy scheme.
“So far we have not been approached by the Productivity Council,” a company spokeswoman said.
The company, run by businessman Ricky Wong Wai-kay, had earlier bought a mask-making machine from Taiwan and is in the process of acquiring raw materials and a clean plant space.
It plans to start trial production in March.
The spokeswoman did not say whether the masks produced by HKTV mall will meet the ASTM level 1 standard.
Liberal Party leader Felix Chung Kwok-pan slammed the government for lacking business thinking.
“It is fine to set strict standards for masks used by frontline medics. But what about the general public? Doesn’t the government want to boost supply for them too?” Chung said.
Vertical vegetable firm Farm66 co-founder Gordon Tam Chi-ho – who will hand more than 8,000 sq ft of “clean” factory space he rents at a Tai Po industrial estate early next month to an unknown third party to produce masks – said his production site was entirely clean and fulfilled the government requirements.
The Science Park, his landlord and a semi-public organisation, had asked him to surrender the space to help boost supply.
“But I would say most of the factories in Hong Kong can not be made 100 per cent clean. Hong Kong has no such experience,” he said.
He also said the factories needed to properly store the masks at a certain temperature and humidity control to maintain their quality and in accordance with fire safety regulations.
“These control measures are not easy. Any improper storage methods will taint the masks,” he said.
Additional reporting by Cannix Yau
