Robert Lee
Hoping Business Community will Make Early Arrangements to
Showcase Hong Kong’s Strengths
Coordination of measures will enhance Hong Kong’s advantages in the long run
Lee said that the Policy Address is in line with Hong Kong’s positioning to develop “eight centres” to consolidate its competitiveness and sustainable economic growth, which will have a positive effect on market sentiment and the real economy. In his view, especially regarding financial development, the Policy Address shows that the Government has listened to the voices of the business community and the market, e.g., reducing the rate of Stamp Duty on Stock Transfer will help investors lower transaction costs.
In Lee’s view, the Policy Address has considered the diversified development needs of the financial markets, including stating to press ahead with the inclusion of RMB counters under the Southbound Trading of Stock Connect, enrich the variety of RMB investment products, and establish a new integrated fund platform to enhance market efficiency and lower transaction costs. “I believe that the coordination of various measures will help consolidate and highlight Hong Kong’s advantages as an international financial centre in the long run.”
Besides the aforesaid measures, Lee mentioned that there are many measures in the Policy Address that will help promote the development of Hong Kong’s financial markets. For example, for attracting and retaining talents, the Policy Address has elaborated on the implementation of the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. He pointed out that the relevant measures will attract funds to the financial markets and strengthen the development of Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management business, as well as financial services and related professional services. The reduction of the cooling measures for the property market is also expected to help capital flow into the local market.
Balancing interests of all parties could achieve more significant medium- to long-term results
When asked about the business community’s views on the new Policy Address, Lee described the comments as generally positive. He revealed that due to the slow pace of economic recovery, some members of the business community or investors hope that the Government will introduce some short-term measures to give an immediate boost to the market. However, he believes that the Policy Address is the best decision made by the Government after weighing market needs, the overall economy and government revenues. He encouraged the business community to conduct in-depth discussions on the relevant measures and make early arrangements to seize the relevant opportunities.
In Lee’s view, the content of this year’s Policy Address is clearly more proactive than that of last year. “However, changes in the external economy will have an impact on the progress and effectiveness of the relevant measures.”
In conclusion, Lee reiterated that the new Policy Address overall is quite comprehensive in terms of measures to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong as an international financial centre. Nevertheless, amid the continuing fluctuations in the external economy and due to geopolitical factors, it may not be able to achieve significant results in the short term. However, he believes that the implementation of the relevant measures will become smoother when Hong Kong’s economic recovery accelerates. Lee hopes that the business community and all sectors of society can remain patient during this period and start making arrangements in view of the relevant measures so that they can take advantage when the time comes.
Duncan Chiu
Four Key Strategies for Multi-Pronged Approach to
Promote Full-Speed I&T Development
Attention to scientific research and support for new industries
Chiu said that many new measures have pleasantly surprised the business community. Those for the field of scientific research are a case in point. The Policy Address stated to establish the third InnoHK research cluster focusing on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development for scientific research project applications. The Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute to be set up next year will also help accelerate the research and development of relevant technologies. He said: “There are also many new policies for new industrialisation, including the establishment of a HKD10 billion New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme and a New Industrialization Development Office, which are set to provide the necessary support for enterprises to develop in Hong Kong.”
Regarding pharmaceutical development, Chiu is pleased to see that the HKSAR Government will collaborate with the newly established Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises. With the support of the HKD5 billion from the Innovation and Technology Fund, they will focus on attracting excellent companies and talents in industries such as life and health technologies, AI and data science, advanced manufacturing, and new energy technologies to move to Hong Kong.
He further said that for the I&T industries, which mainly provide different services, he is most pleased that the Policy Address mentioned accelerating the establishment of an AI supercomputing centre and that the Digital Economy Development Committee will focus on conducting studies on digital infrastructure, cross-boundary data flow, digital transformation of enterprises and human resources support. The Committee will put forward specific recommendations next year, which will support their business development.
Stronger talent training and land resource allocation
Talents are a key part of the sustainable development of the I&T industries. Chiu pointed out that the new Policy Address has paid attention to inspiring the younger generation’s interest and potential in science, specifically stating to introduce Science subjects in primary schools, which will help discover and train various sci-tech talents for the business community.
He also noted that the Policy Address has a clearer division of land use in the Hong Kong‑Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop, the San Tin Technopole, and the Northern Metropolis, e.g., half of the land in the San Tin Technopole will be for I&T use, which will help attract companies to move to Hong Kong.
Digital Policy Office to speed up digitalization of services
Regarding the HKSAR Government’s decision to set up the Digital Policy Office to speed up the digitalization of government services, Chiu said that the establishment of digital government is a key cornerstone for smart city development, and the business community has been pushing for this for a long time.
“The merger of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Efficiency Office to set up the Digital Policy Office, which will be led by the Commissioner for Digital Policy, is expected to help consolidate IT-related resources within the Government to accelerate more cross-departmental cooperation and data exchange. This will make it more convenient for the public to apply for services. I hope that it will be implemented as soon as possible.”
