The Minimum Wage Bill will be gazetted on Friday and tabled at the Hong Kong Legislative Council on July 8, an official of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) said?on Wednesday.

Secretary for Labor and Welfare Matthew Cheung said the initial statutory minimum wage rate is likely to come into force at the earliest by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

The bill will exclude all live-in domestic workers and student internships arranged or endorsed by specified educational institutions.

"Our aim is to establish an optimal statutory minimum wage regime which strikes an appropriate balance between forestalling excessively low wages and minimizing the loss of low-paid jobs while sustaining Hong Kong's economic growth and competitiveness," Cheung said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2009)