HK strives to attract capital

Over the past 15 years, you and your association (Hong Kong Investor Relations Association) have played a pivotal role in bolstering Hong Kong’s longstanding position as a leading international financial centre.

 

That is not surprising, of course, given that most of the association’s 1,300 members work for companies primarily listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and that some 70% of the Hang Seng Index Constituent Stock companies are association members.

 

In advocating best practices in investor relations and corporate governance, and in ensuring that the industry’s continuing professional development needs are met, the association has made valuable contributions to our financial market.

 

Weathering challenges ahead

We are now living through the complexities of the post-pandemic economy. Macroeconomic factors, ranging from heightened geopolitical tensions, to high interest rate environment, and to supply chain disruptions caused by geo-economic fragmentation, continue to impede global markets. And that includes Hong Kong.

 

While there are ups and downs in our stock market, it is important to note that the Government, together with the financial regulators, is closely monitoring all sectors of the financial market and stay vigilant against emerging risks. So far, there is no cause for concern on financial stability and security.

 

But beyond stability and security, we are actively striving to further develop and enhance our markets. We need to keep reinventing ourselves so as to stay ahead of our competition.

 

We are taking forward the recommendations of the Task Force on Enhancing Stock Market Liquidity to improve our listing regime, market structure, trading mechanisms to attract more international companies to come to list in Hong Kong, and draw more new international and Mainland capital to our market.

 

For example, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Middle East are burgeoning, and they are also keen to seek new capital and explore new markets. Over the past few months, we have included the Saudi Exchange and the Indonesia Stock Exchange into the list of Recognised Stock Exchanges.

 

Just a few weeks ago, Asia’s first Saudi Arabia exchange-traded fund was listed in Hong Kong, allowing local and international investors to invest in the Saudi market through Hong Kong using Hong Kong dollar or renminbi.

 

With our enduring efforts, we are confident that more companies from ASEAN and the Middle East will come to Hong Kong for fund raising and use our various professional services, investor-related services included, of course.

 

Let me make this clear: despite short-term market conditions, we are optimistic about the future of our market and are committed to solidifying our position as Asia’s leading global financial centre.

 

Enhancing ESG (environmental, social, governance)

Meanwhile, allow me to highlight another area important to maintaining the competitiveness of our financial market. That is ESG.  

 

As the world acts together towards achieving carbon neutrality, investors increasingly consider companies’ performance in ESG as a core factor in making investments. ESG is indeed becoming an important measure of companies’ resilience and effective risk management.

 

I am pleased to note that Hong Kong’s companies are moving fast on ESG. In November last year, with your support, the HKEX (Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing) conducted its first review on ESG reporting made by issuers. We are happy to see that over 95% disclosed their companies’ oversight and management approach on ESG-related matters, and 85% acknowledge climate-related risks.

 

Meanwhile, the world is moving fast on ESG disclosure standards, too. I am sure you are aware that the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) published its final Sustainability Disclosure Standards in June this year. I understand the HKEX will be finalising the relevant Listing Rules amendments for adoption in January 2025.

 

The Government will collaborate with financial regulators and stakeholders to develop a roadmap to guide the adoption of the ISSB’s Sustainability Disclosure Standards for Hong Kong’s financial services sector.

 

Concluding remarks

The Hong Kong Investor Relations Association is a key stakeholder and strong advocate for excellence in corporate governance practices, particularly when it comes to enabling communication between corporate management and the investment community. For that, and a great deal more, I am grateful.

 

Hong Kong’s success as an international financial hub depends on the collaborative efforts of all of us. Of everyone involved in the financial services sector, everyone who plays a part in advancing the Hong Kong economy.

 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association 15th Anniversary Summit & Cocktail Celebration on December 15.

via Moroccan Trader HK strives to attract capital

Innovation is our strength: FS

The theme of the forum is “Striving for Enhanced Global Financial Stability & Resilience”. The Chief Executive and many distinguished speakers have shared their insightful perspectives on a wide range of issues. Now, please allow me to take some time to update you on how Hong Kong is doing on our financial stability and resilience, and share some observations about the development of Hong Kong’s insurance industry. 

 

As it nears the end of a momentous year, the world has found itself in a challenging global environment filled with complexities and tensions: slower global economic growth; higher-for-longer interest rates; supply chains being disrupted and reshaped by geopolitical fragmentation.   

 

Commitment to financial stability

Despite these challenges, we remain highly confident about the financial stability of Hong Kong. Over the years, we have withstood trials and tribulations time and again. We have worked unceasingly to build a robust regulatory framework and strong buffers, maintaining a high degree of resilience to shocks.

 

To this end, we have established a high-level “cross-market, co-ordinated, and round-the-clock” monitoring system, covering all sectors of the financial market, so that we could detect looming risks. And I am glad to tell you that despite the volatility in the financial markets, there has been no untoward volatility.

 

Building resilience through development

But beyond maintaining the stability and security of the financial system, it is through consistently developing and enhancing our financial markets that we can strengthen our resilience. 

 

And we know that in the highly competitive world of finance, we must not stop improving ourselves so that we will be able to stay ahead of our competition.

 

Our work on this front is multifaceted. You may well be aware of the establishment of a task force to boost the liquidity of the stock market by a combination of measures. They include bringing enhancements to our listing regime, market structure, trading mechanism, mutual market access arrangements with the Mainland, and attracting both international and Mainland capital and issuers to Hong Kong.  

 

In particular, our Connect Schemes with the Mainland have been expanding and deepening. Now they have extended from products to more derivatives, covering stocks, bonds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and risk management products, like interest rate swaps and A50 index futures. Just a couple of weeks ago, we announced that China treasury bond future contracts will be launched in Hong Kong.

 

As renminbi is getting more popular as a trade, settlement and reserve currency, we are working very hard to further enhance our offshore RMB business hub status, by offering more products and risk management tools to enrich our ecosystem and, at the same time, upgrade the related infrastructure.

 

We are also making great strides to open up new markets to attract new capital and new issuers. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the Middle East are burgeoning, and they have both set out plans to modernise their infrastructure, pursue green transition and develop the digital economy. They are also seeking to diversify their sources of investment and the markets for their products. 

 

With the concerted efforts of the Hong Kong team and the cordial response from these counterparts, we are seeing heartening results. Last week, the first ever Saudi Arabia ETF (exchange-trade fund) was listed on our stock exchange. This week – indeed yesterday and today – we are hosting the first ever PRIORITY Summit in Asia organised by the Saudi Arabia-based FII (Future Investment Initiative) Institute. Prominent figures from Saudi Arabia and around the world, in their speeches and interviews with media, have all recognised the unique attractiveness of Hong Kong as an international financial and business centre in this part of the world, converging capital, investors and talent from both the East and the West.

 

Developments in our insurance industry

Now allow me to share some observations about the development of the insurance industry in Hong Kong.

 

We are among the world’s most open insurance centres. Seven of the top 10 insurers globally conduct their business here. The average gross premium was over $550 billion on average over the past few years. In 2022, the industry accounted for 3.6% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Hong Kong.

 

And after some setbacks in 2022, the insurance industry is seeing a strong rebound this year. In the first three quarters of 2023, new office premiums of long-term business recorded an increase by more than 30% compared to the same period last year. The increase in demand for whole-life and critical illness protection was particularly impressive.

 

These figures demonstrate that the insurance industry has been coping well with myriad challenges and changes. And they also show the promising prospects of Hong Kong’s insurance industry on the Mainland, in particular the Greater Bay Area (GBA). We will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to assist the insurance industry to open up more business opportunities in the GBA. 

 

And here, allow me to highlight a few developments which may characterise the local industry’s development in the future: innovation and technology, climate change, and the social value of insurance.

 

Innovation and technology for insurance

On technology and innovation, we have witnessed disruption brought by insurtech, as traditional insurers seek deeper co-operation with fintech start-ups and technology providers to develop new product and tools, or even new business models to service various aspects of the insurance value chain. Since we introduced the virtual insurance regime in 2017, we have thus far licensed four virtual insurers, and their businesses have been expanding. In 2022, the businesses of the virtual insurers in Hong Kong expanded by 2.5 times compared to the previous year. And increasing digitalisation has driven about 80% of insurers in Hong Kong to utilise digital channels to enhance business operations.

 

And virtual insurers are exploring new frontiers, for example offering products in areas that may have been left out previously by traditional insurers, like coverage for pets, including dogs, cats and turtles. And what’s more, with digital native edge, some virtual insurers are taking further steps to innovate niche products such as cyber insurance for virtual assets. Certainly, with the greater popularity of Web3, there will likely be ample space for cybersecurity insurance as new types of risks are emerging. Trends have shown that such business is increasingly shifting from the traditional coverage of hardware damage and business disruption to cover more third-party risks on data leakage, litigation costs and public liabilities.

 

Tackling climate change

On climate change, the World Economic Forum has warned that climate and environmental risks are the core focus of global risk perceptions over the next few decades, but they are also the risks for which we are least prepared.

 

On a global scale, natural catastrophe events caused US$270 billion of economic losses last year, but only 44% of such risk was insured. In Asia, we face a much larger natural catastrophe protection gap of over 80% compared to the rest of the world. Intensified natural disasters have increased insurance and reinsurance costs, creating significant rise in the demand for alternative risk transfer to supplement the traditional reinsurance market.

 

That is why we are keen on developing the insurance-linked securities, or ILS market, which can play an effective role in offloading underwritten risks to the capital market. While the global ILS market has been growing steadily over the past decade, the proportion of natural catastrophe risks covered by ILS remains small, and this market in Asia, including the Mainland, is very much underdeveloped. 

 

I think you know this well: with the concerted efforts of the Government, the Insurance Authority, industry stakeholders and our Mainland and overseas partners, we have so far issued four catastrophe bonds totalling US$560 million. That includes our recent issuance of catastrophe bonds for Chile in collaboration with the World Bank. It was also the first ILS product listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

 

Unleashing the social value of insurance

Finally, the social value of insurance. Let us not forget that insurance is an “economic shock absorber” and a “stabiliser for social harmony”, which are important and fundamental roles that it should play in the community.

 

We are fully conscious of this undertaking. For instance, in 2019, the Government and the insurance industry worked together to launch two tax-deductible insurance products, the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme and the Qualifying Deferred Annuity Policies, to encourage uptake of health insurance policy and early retirement planning. Both products have met with overwhelming response, with over 1 million and 260,000 policies issued respectively.  

 

The momentum was reinforced by the Protection Linked Plan (PLP) launched in 2022. With simple product structure, reasonable mortality protection, and transparent fee structure, the PLP seeks to encourage the younger generation to start their retirement planning early, so as to narrow the protection gap and facilitate financial inclusion.

 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at the Asian Insurance Forum 2023 on December 8.

via Moroccan Trader Innovation is our strength: FS

HK a competitive, free economy: CE

I am very delighted that the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute has chosen Hong Kong to host its first-ever PRIORITY summit in Asia. The Public Investment Fund and the Ministry of Investment, of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, are the summit’s founding and vision partners. The institute’s influence has long transcended the realms of the Middle East, and it has become one of the most important forces globally in driving a brighter future for humanity.

 

In partnership with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, this two-day global gathering is yet another significant step forward in the deepening ties between Hong Kong and the Middle East, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

 

The Belt & Road Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The initiative has become a key pillar in building a global community of shared future.

 

This February, I led a high-profile Hong Kong business delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both of which are key nodes on the Belt & Road.

 

That visit yielded a series of business and institutional agreements, and Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are now formally negotiating on an Investment Promotion & Protection Agreement.

 

Just last week, we celebrated the opening of Asia’s first Saudi Arabian exchange-traded fund (ETF). The ETF, I am pleased to say, was launched right here in Hong Kong, on our stock exchange.

 

And today, we proudly welcome to Hong Kong the FII PRIORITY Summit. Over these next two days, some 1,000 of you, from all over the world, will hear from 100 prominent speakers.

 

“Megatrends Shaping Humanity” is the theme of this summit. From technology and climate change, to financial equity and quality of life, these far-reaching trends are driving transformation across communities and economies.

 

That includes Hong Kong. In international trade, finance and more, we have long played a role much larger than our geographical size would suggest.

 

We are one of the world’s most competitive and freest economies. Our free flow of capital and information, buttressed by a robust common law system and a multitalented, multilingual workforce, contributes to our longstanding status as a major international financial centre.

 

Hong Kong is the world’s pre-eminent gateway, and a “super value-adder” for economies, cultures and peoples, East and West.

 

Of course, all this is made possible by the unique “one country, two systems” principle. It affords us unparalleled access to the Mainland of China and the rest of the world. And we will continue to play an engaging role in defining and shaping the megatrends of this 21st century.

 

Allow me now, for the next few minutes, to speak about how Hong Kong addresses today’s megatrends in three areas: finance, innovation, and sustainability.

 

Today, about 1,000 fintech companies operate in Hong Kong. That is up 25% over just a year ago.

 

These startups are inspiring groundbreaking solutions in such areas as digital payment technology, decentralised finance and digital identity.

 

Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System heralds tomorrow’s cross-border payments. The real-time online transfer and payment service, since a few days ago, has extended its coverage to Association of Southeast Asian Nations economies, linking up with Thailand’s PromptPay system.

 

Visitors from Thailand can now scan and pay conveniently in Hong Kong – and vice versa. More than benefiting travellers, it means merchants receive funds immediately.

 

Then there is the Project mBridge development. The multi-central bank digital currency project, or CBDC, is a collaboration with the central banks of Mainland China, Thailand, the UAE and the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre.

 

It speeds up cross-border payments at reduced cost – and with enhanced transparency. We strive to realise the gradual commercialisation of mBridge. The goal is within our grasp: making cross-border payments immediate and inexpensive, universally accessible, and realised within a secure and stable environment.

 

Our ambitions extend well beyond finance. Hong Kong is also determined to help drive the future of innovation and technology (I&T).

 

Hong Kong is the only city in the world with five top 100 universities. Hong Kong is home to numerous award-winning scholars, and blessed with world-class research capabilities. In recent years, we have invested over US$25 billion in I&T.

 

And, thanks to Hong Kong’s prowess as an international financial centre, tech companies can tap into our capital market and continue to grow.

 

Collins Dictionary has named “AI” (artificial intelligence) this year’s word of the year. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year is “authentic”. Make of that what you will. But know that Hong Kong believes in AI, authentically and sincerely.

 

Next year, we will establish an AI supercomputing centre. It will support the huge demand for computing power from our research and development and other sectors.

 

Our InnoHK research clusters take AI and robotics, as well as healthcare, as our primary areas of focus. We are establishing a third cluster on advanced manufacturing, and, very importantly, energy and sustainable development. Yes, Hong Kong is committed to the global green revolution.

 

Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 sets out two clear targets: achieving carbon neutrality before 2050 and cutting carbon emissions by half before 2035. We are devoting some US$30 billion to achieve these goals.

 

We will also come up with a development strategy for hydrogen. We aspire to make good and safe use of this important form of energy for a sustainable future.

 

We are committed to mobilising sustainable finance at scale. Last year, the total amount of green and sustainable debt arranged or issued in Hong Kong exceeded US$80 billion. And our green bond issuance accounted for about one-third of Asia’s market share.

 

As the FII Institute has underlined, “a collaborative framework is more essential than ever, requiring co-operation between governments, businesses and international organisations”.

 

Hong Kong believes in collaboration. Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” framework enables it. Our East-meets-West connectivity thrives on it.

 

We look forward to building a future that rewards us all.

 

Chief Executive John Lee gave these remarks at the Future Investment Initiative PRIORITY Summit on December 7.

via Moroccan Trader HK a competitive, free economy: CE

Govt proactively driving economy

Over these two days, I am confident that you all have gained valuable insights into the evolving business landscape of Hong Kong and the boundless array of opportunities that lie ahead. I am sure the enlightening exchange of ideas will also inspire fresh perspectives for collaboration and more businesses.

 

Hong Kong is bouncing back

For those of you who are coming from afar, for joining this event, and for your pursuit of business or leisure here in Hong Kong or in the Greater Bay Area, I am sure you can see for yourselves what Hong Kong is truly like.

 

American singer and designer Pharrell Williams, who is the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton, staged a dramatic runway show under the lights of Victoria Harbour just last week. In his words to CNN, Hong Kong is just like having “a very serious energic flow …You are going to see it across business and all the different sectors, from fashion all the way to finance”.

 

And beyond fully displaying ourselves as Asia’s fashion capital, last week, the first ever Saudi Arabia ETF (exchange-traded fund) was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This week – indeed tomorrow and on Friday – we are hosting the first ever Priority Summit in Asia organised by the Saudi Arabia-based FII Institute. The event is gathering prominent political and business leaders from the Middle East and Asia. Together, these events signify that Hong Kong is a multilevel bridge for connecting not only capital and investors between the two regions, but also thought leadership.

 

Indeed, Hong Kong’s connectivity with the outside world is also returning: our airport, which connected more than 220 destinations with 1,100 flights a day before the pandemic, will recover to about 80% capacity by year’s end, and full recovery next year. Tourist numbers are also gradually coming back, with number of visitors having reached three to four million per month in the past few months.

 

So Hong Kong is shining again, against what some Western media agencies have tried to portray us over the past two years.

 

Firm commitment to “one country, two systems”

And let me assure you that Hong Kong will continue to be firmly committed to implementing the “one country, two systems” principle in the long run. This is a solemn commitment by President Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China as well as the country.

 

That means that the many institutional advantages of Hong Kong under “one country, two systems”, eg the common law system and the rule of law, free movement of information, data, capital and people, a friendly business environment that aligns with the best international practices, a low and simple tax regime, and all the advantages that have made Hong Kong unique and appealing, will be here with us for the long run.

 

Hong Kong’s economic landscape

Now, allow me to update you on Hong Kong’s economy. This year, 2023, we are faced with a challenging global environment filled with complexities and tensions. Interest rates have heightened and will remain higher for longer, and the global growth is expected to further slow down – from 3% this year to 2.9% next year. All these will impact on Hong Kong as a small, open, and externally oriented economy.

 

Our GDP (gross domestic product) growth is forecast to be 3.2%. And the drivers remain to be exports, investment and private consumption. For the first three quarters, exports of goods from Hong Kong fell by 14% mainly due to weakened demand for exports from the Mainland under a challenging external environment, as well as geopolitical tensions and its resultant disruptions to supply chain. On the contrary, exports of services, in particular tourism, rapidly expanded by 21% in the same period. Our overall capital investment also showed improvement with 8.2% compared with last year, and private consumption had also risen by close to 9%.

 

And inflation is moderate, at just 2%, thanks to the contained price pressures on a number of major components like rental and basic food. The impact of energy cost escalation on us is modest because we are a service economy. Unemployment rate is also low, at 2.9%. And in fact, our current problem is not with unemployment but insufficient talent and labourers.

 

For the asset market, the property market had gone through some ups and downs this year. Residential property prices went up for the first four months, and then came down. At the last count, which is end-October, it was around 4% lower than last year-end. But it has been an orderly adjustment with moderate price adjustment and low volume of transactions. There has not been any panic in the market nor stress in our financial system.

 

Meanwhile, our stock market is also bumpy. But there has been no untoward volatility. Our financial markets are closely connected with the economic and financial situation of the Mainland as well as the international perception about economic prospects of the country.

 

Recently, top decision-makers from the People’s Bank of China and the Mainland’s financial regulator, including the CSRC (China Securities Regulatory Commission), attended the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit and the HKMA-BIS High Level Conference. They provided compelling accounts of the Chinese economy: that it is undergoing some adjustments and transformation, but they were conducive to the long-term and sustainable development of the country. The prospects of the Chinese economy remain promising: it is highly resilient, supported by a huge consumer market, strong innovation ability, a deep pool of talent and well-established infrastructure and industrial chains. The central government also has ample policy room to stimulate economic growth. And China continues to be committed to high-level two-way opening up in its pursuit of high-quality development.

 

Opportunities ahead

It is clear that in the short term, Hong Kong will face some headwinds in light of the global geo-economic fragmentation.

 

But just as the saying goes, “Wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity.” We see the remarkable strengths Hong Kong possesses, and are determined to build on them to capture the immense opportunities ahead.

 

Hong Kong, under this new-term Government, has been taking a very proactive and catalytic role in driving our economy.

 

Above all, we have the staunch support and backing of our country. On being proactive, if I can share two examples: one is to attract strategic enterprises coming to Hong Kong. Since last December to the end of October, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises had made contacts and meetings with more than 200 companies. About 30 of them have settled or decided to settle in Hong Kong, with an initial investment of around HK$30 billion and creation of 10,000 jobs. Most of these are research and development or middle and senior management jobs.

 

On talent attraction, we launched the Top Talent Pass Scheme and modified some admission schemes for different types of professionals. Altogether, since the end of last December to the end of October, we had got over 180,000 applications. We approved 110,000 of them and over 70,000 people had arrived in Hong Kong.

 

Under the National 14th Five-year Plan by the central government, Hong Kong has been given eight directions for future development: the international centres in shipping, trade, finance, aviation, and innovation and technology; and also the regional centres for intellectual property trading and legal services and dispute resolution; and finally an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.

 

In the Policy Address announced by the Chief Executive last year, we are pressing full steam ahead along these eight directions. But in the interest of time, if you may allow me to elaborate the two in particular: financial services and innovation and technology. I believe for the short to medium-term, these two areas will be our most important engines for growth.

 

Financial services

Financial services are our core strength. But we need to continue to enhance ourselves, to remain competitive and to stay ahead of the competition.

 

For example, our stock market is bumpy this year. We have set up a task force looking into the ways and means to improve the liquidity of our stock market. They have given us recommendations which will be implemented. Some of them include deepening the connect arrangements with the Mainland so that we can attract not just international capital but Mainland capital. To supplement, we will be making tremendous efforts to attract more international companies to come to Hong Kong for listing. Because when these companies come, they will be able to tap into not just international capital but also Mainland capital. With an improved liquidity, the valuation of these companies will be better supported.

 

Apart from the stock market, we are devoting our energy to developing bond market, the green and sustainable finance sector. We are leading the green finance centre in Asia. The green bond issued by us accounts for one-third of the entire Asia’s share. We are not just talking about the volume; we are proactively taking the leadership in terms of standard-setting, including converging Mainland green standards with international green standards; providing certification services to ensure no green-washing; and building capacity training the required talent.

 

We also see tremendous opportunities in renminbi internationalisation and Hong Kong’s role as an offshore renminbi hub. At the moment, in terms of trade settlement and reserve currency, the global share of renminbi is just over 3%. But China’s imports and exports account for over 14% of the global trade. There is much room for growth. Currently, renminbi-denominated products and risk-management tools are comparatively limited offshore. If we can develop more products and introduce more risk-management tools, it will enable more foreign businesses to use renminbi in settlement and investment.

 

For asset and wealth management, we have an asset under management of more than HK$30 trillion. About two-thirds of them are coming from outside Hong Kong. The Greater Bay Area, with a young and affluent population, presents tremendous opportunities in this respect.

 

Innovation and technology

For innovation and technology, we have chosen four areas for development. They include artificial intelligence and big data analytics; health science and biotech, fintech; and advanced manufacturing and new energy and new materials.

 

In order to jump-start our development in this area, we have been investing heavily. Over the past few years, we have invested over HK$20 billion, and the ecosystem is becoming more vibrant. But we need to do it faster because what we need is not just an ecosystem; we need companies, so that we can create a cluster of such companies to build the value chain that would also help us attract the required talent. I mentioned the initiatives of attracting strategic enterprises. We even set up the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, and put HK$62 billion into this company with a view to help attract these enterprises to settle in Hong Kong: if they want us to take a minority share to show our commitment, we will be happy to consider.

 

We are improving the facilities in the Science Park and Cyberport, and we will also be investing tremendously along the boundary with Shenzhen to develop the San Tin Technopole and the Lok Ma Chau Loop. These two areas would be the places to host tech companies to be attracted. In a nutshell, if you look at the geography of Hong Kong, the south – Hong Kong Island, Tsim Sha Tsui, etc – will be dedicated to financial services; and in the north neighbouring Shenzhen, the focus will be technology and innovation. These will be the two major engines for our future economic growth.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, in order to realise this ambition, we know that we need to create capacity. For labour, various labour importation schemes are being implemented. These labourers will come starting from the beginning of next year. We also need to create more land and housing. In the coming few years, our investment in infrastructure will be massive.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I am conscious of the fact that I have been speaking for too long. But before I close and proceed to take your questions, may I also remark on one strength of Hong Kong that should not be underestimated – our position as an art and cultural centre, a cosmopolitan city for people to enjoy their lives, a place for exchange between East and West, and for this I think perhaps a short video will be much better than words to summarise. If I may show that in the short video, please.

 

Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at the 24th Hong Kong Forum Keynote Luncheon on December 6.

via Moroccan Trader Govt proactively driving economy