Hong Kong lawmakers have called for tougher vetting of bidders for government tenders, accusing authorities of accepting information submitted by companies at face value after awarding a HK$52.9 million (US$8.8 million) bottled water contract to a firm suspected of deception.

The calls for stricter background checks came as a senior official apologised for the first time over the growing procurement scandal, which came to light at the weekend after the government was forced to terminate a three-year deal with a water supplier, Xin Ding Xin Trade.

The company is suspected to have commissioned a third-party factory instead of the contracted manufacturer to produce bottled water supplied to some government offices on Hong Kong Island and parts of the outlying islands.

In the tender document provided by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau on Thursday, the government said it would consider a bid based on various factors, including whether it complied with sample evaluation, and delivery and certification requirements, as well as whether the manufacturer could meet the required annual production capacity.

But the document pointed out that bids would be “evaluated based on the tender price” without prejudice to other rights and powers of the government not to consider a tender under other applicable provisions.

Xin Ding Xin Trade’s registered address is in a North Point building. Photo: Jelly Tse

It also specifically required the tenderer to declare whether any professional misconduct, convictions for serious offences in Hong Kong or overseas such as bribery or dishonesty, and other specified events, had occurred.

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