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The Hong Kong government announced on Thursday that free vaccination for Covid-19 will no longer be offered to non-Hong Kong residents from next Monday (January 16). "Given the recent increase in the demand of Hong Kong residents for Covid-19 vaccination and the gradual rollout of self-paid vaccination services by private healthcare organizations," said a government spokesperson today, "the free vaccination program will be adjusted in order to ensure that Hong Kong residents are accorded priority." According to the adjustment, if a non-Hong Kong resident has received vaccines under the government vaccination program or holds an appointment registration before January 16 and has met the staying requirement, they will be arranged to receive the vaccination. However, this person must be required to present the relevant vaccination or appointment records when making an appointment, visiting the vaccination site for vaccination, and getting the relevant records verified. Non-Hong Kong residents in need may receive the vaccination at their own cost via private healthcare organizations providing vaccination services, the spokesperson added.

Three people were arrested for fraud and money laundering for using the personal information of three former colleagues, including their facial identifications, to cheat about HK$1.8 million in loans from virtual banks. After in-depth investigations, Tsuen Wan police arrested a 30-year-old man a month later, believed to be the mastermind behind the scam, on fraud and money laundering charges. He also stole colleagues' ID cards and other documents, including bank statements and tax return forms. He successfully opened five virtual bank accounts using the documents and passed the verification procedures using the facial features he captured from the selfies and videos. Police also called on citizens to carefully protect their personal information, including ID cards, bank documents, and photos and videos that contain biometric features.

Megawide enters data center businessMANILA, Philippines — Armed with a huge war chest with the sale of a portion of its stake in the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) to the Aboitiz Group, Megawide Corp. will initially invest around P7 billion to expand into the data center business. Megawide chairman Edgar Saavedra said the company’s first data center would be in Cavite with a capacity of up to 30 megawatts. A data center is a facility that provides shared access to applications and data using a complex network, computer, and storage infrastructure. Such data center facilities help ensure the data is both secure and highly available. Industrial parks are ideal locations for data centers because of their power capacity that can support data centers’ electricity requirements.

A 65-year-old cyclist was knocked unconscious after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle on Choi Ha Road in Sau Mau Ping on Thursday morning. The accident that happened at around 8.15am this morning saw the man being struck by the car making a left turn onto Choi Ha Road after going downhill on Choi Hei Road. Paramedics were called to the scene and the man was rushed to hospital for treatment. The car’s windscreen was smashed after the collision, while the impact also dented the front of the vehicle. The car was later taken to a government vehicle plant for examination.

Citicore Energy REIT to issue Green Bonds in 2023Citicore Energy REIT [CREIT 2.3 0.9%] [link] disclosed its 3-Year Plan, and in it, plans to issue Green Bonds with the proceeds going to acquire a rooftop solar project from its sponsor, and to purchase 475 hectares of land that it will lease to solar operators. CREIT reiterated its goal to expand its portfolio to 780 MW by the end of 2024, and specifically identified a slate of projects that CREIT could acquire from its sponsor to achieve that goal. Every REIT puts out a 3-year plan that says, in some way or another, that the REIT plans to acquire good projects when possible, but very few actually give any real information to back those pillow-talk statements up. --Merkado Barkada is a free daily newsletter on the PSE, investing and business in the Philippines. You can subscribe to the newsletter or follow on Twitter to receive the full daily updates.

It is time to put an end to it, by whatever means necessary. While other officials have given lip service to this obvious source of the current onion crisis, Gatchalian's proposal is the first concrete recommendation to address it. The senator said that the task force should be headed by the DA, and include the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). This may require involving the Office of the Ombudsman, or perhaps can be added to the mandate of the proposed task force. According to data we gathered on Monday, prices of onions continue to range from P420 to P600 per kg around Metro Manila.

Carl Tamayo UAAP PHOTO(UPDATED) FORMER University of the Philippines Fighting Maroon Carl Tamayo has signed a deal with the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the Japan B.League. I am Carl Tamayo. I am honored and very excited to be part of this great organization, Ryukyu Golden Kings. Tamayo said in a video message posted by the team. The Golden Kings are in 5th place out of 24 teams in the Japan B.League with 21 wins and 7 losses.

Bank of Commerce “trade finance” unit up 6x since 2019Bank of Commerce [BNCOM 8.1 2.5%] [link] disclosed that its “trade finance” business has grown significantly over the past three years, which BNCOM attributes to the reopening of the economy, higher domestic consumption, and improved global demand. In this context, “trade finance” refers to loans and letters of credit that the bank can provide to importers and exporters to assist in buying goods. BNCOM said that its trade finance unit started in 2019, and it has increased its annual “issuance throughput” from P3.4 billion in 2019 to P70 billion in 2022. I don’t have any experience dealing with BNCOM in this fashion, but it’s good when a bank is accustomed to needs and particular problems that face a certain industry. Merkado Barkada's opinions are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any particular stock.

If you sold the UBP shares on the ex-date, or after the ex-date, you’re still allowed to participate in the SRO. No need to hold the UBP shares until the Record Date. Any day that I can go to bed “less wrong” is a good one in my books. --Merkado Barkada is a free daily newsletter on the PSE, investing and business in the Philippines. Merkado Barkada's opinions are provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any particular stock.

Police arrested a thief after tracking him down as he left his wallet at the site where he robbed a nurse of her valuables in Tseung Kwan O last night. Officers received a call from the nurse at 10.19 pm on Monday saying that she was robbed by a lone thief when walking towards a footbridge near Haven of Hope Hospital after work. The nurse struggled with the thief and tried to chase him but to no avail. However, the fleeing thief dropped his wallet during the altercation. The Tseung Kwan O police force was able to arrest the perpetrator, surnamed Lee, who worked as a truck driver, using the wallet and solving the case in just one hour.

Mcleen Gomera (left) and Jana Jelena set in motion their respective campaigns in this year’s PPS-PEPP junior season with big victories in Negros Occidental. Mcleen Gomera pulled through in the boys’ 16-and-under division while Jana Jelena ruled the girls’ 14-U side as they grabbed the MVP crowns in the Masters Top 8 at the SRJI Center Mall courts in San Carlos, Negros Occidental on Monday, Jan. 9. He earlier trounced Manito, 6-2, 6-2, in the crossover semis with Villamar holding off Maravilla, 7-6(4), 6-3. Ormoc City’s Brodeth, who topped a number of last year’s PPS-PEPP legs put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro, toppled Bacolod’s Hannah Divinagracia, 4-6, 6-0, 6-0, for the girls’ 16-U trophy; Torrecampo from Los Baños repelled Ormoc’s Ma. Fredenil Castro tournament – on Jan. 19-24.

MEXICO CITY: A regional migration and drug smuggling crisis is expected to dominate talks between United States President Joe Biden and his Mexican counterpart Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday. Biden arrived in Mexico City on Sunday night after a politically charged stop at the southern US border, his first since taking office in January 2021. He was set to meet with Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau one-on-one on Monday and Tuesday, and also together in what is dubbed the "Three Amigos" summit. In his meetings with Lopez Obrador and Trudeau, Biden will address the regional scope of the issue. Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 340,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.

A Hong Kong citizen was arrested by Macao Customs for smuggling dried seafood and New Year goods valued at MOP$1 million (HK$986,840) to China. Macao Customs was tipped off by a resident that a vacant premise in Centro Comercial Vong Kam has been used as a storehouse by a smuggling ring. Officers then tracked a 53-year-old man, surnamed Chan, and found him distributing bags of luggage to three parallel traders aged 53 to 66 at Portas do Cerco on Monday morning. The Customs arrested Chan for being responsible for bringing and distributing the smuggled goods. The three traders admitted they were helping Chan to bring the goods back to the mainland, getting paid HK$360 for each arrangement.

Government to borrow anew from foreign marketIn a notice of issuance, the Philippines targets to raise at least $500 million from foreign sources by offering global bonds with tenors of 5.5 and 10.5 years, as well as a 25-year sustainability bond. In a notice of issuance, the Philippines targets to raise at least $500 million from foreign sources by offering global bonds with tenors of 5.5 and 10.5 years, as well as a 25-year sustainability bond. This marks the second global bond issuance of the Marcos administration since it assumed office. Global bond issuances are a way to diversify the country’s funding sources and constantly provide liquidity of Philippine global bonds in the international market. Global bond yields are slowly declining as the red-hot inflation in the US cools down because of declining oil prices and lower risks of recession.