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The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr John Lee, delivered his second annual Policy Address, titled “A Vibrant Economy for a Caring Community” on 25 October, outlining a range of measures to boost Hong Kong’s economy and support businesses as well as taking full advantage of Hong Kong’s strengths under “one country, two systems”. |
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Trawl for enterprises, attract and retain talents
To boost the city’s strength as a global hub for commerce and finance, the Government would promote a “headquarters economy” to attract more Mainland and overseas enterprises and talents to the city. The Government will also introduce a mechanism to facilitate the re-domiciliation of companies to Hong Kong, in particular those with a business focus in the Asia-Pacific region. Foreigners working in overseas companies in Hong Kong will be eligible for multiple-entry visas, of two or more years, to the mainland, with fast-track processing of their applications.
Alongside attracting strategic enterprises, the Government is committed to bringing in, and retaining, talent through the following new measures:
- Establish the physical office of the Hong Kong Talent Engage to provide support for incoming talents and follow up with their development and needs after arrival;
- Expand the coverage of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme by adding eight top-notch institutions from the Mainland and overseas to the list of eligible universities under the scheme, making a total of 184 institutions, with effect from November 2023;
- Implement the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme which will allow eligible investors who make investments of HKD$30 million or above in assets such as stocks, funds, bonds, etc. (excluding real estate) to apply for entry into Hong Kong; and
- Initiate the Vocational Professionals Admission Scheme to alleviate the manpower shortage in skilled trades. Non-local students of designated full-time professional Higher Diploma programmes of the Vocational Training Council will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong for one year after graduation to seek jobs relevant to their disciplines.
Dovetail with national strategies and enhance the development of the “Eight Centres”
The Government will consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s development of the “Eight Centres” as outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan.
To reinforce Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an international financial centre, the Government will implement initiatives including reducing stamp duty on stock transfer, reviewing stock trading spread and reducing market data fees in response to the report of the Task Force on Enhancing Stock Market Liquidity. The Government will also strengthen the offshore Renminbi business, deepening financial co-operation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, establish a new platform to expand fund distribution and promote the development of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong.
To further Hong Kong’s goal of developing into an international innovation and technology centre, the New Industrialisation Development Office will be set up to promote new industrialisation and support strategic enterprises to develop their businesses in Hong Kong. A HKD$10 billion New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme will be launched to provide financial assistance for enterprises in the fields of life and health technologies, artificial intelligence and data science, advanced manufacturing, and new energy technologies. A third Science Park InnoHK cluster focused on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development will also be developed.
To promote arts and culture, a new Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency will be set up with the aim of developing arts, culture and creative industries. The Government will also inject HKD$4.3 billion into the Film Development Fund and the CreateSmart Initiative to provide incentives for attracting private sector capital and expanding new markets. The Economic and Trade Offices in the Mainland and overseas will strengthen their promotion work on arts and culture, deepening cultural exchanges and promoting people-to-people bonds. The Signature Performing Arts Programme Scheme will be launched to nurture world-class performing arts productions and international cultural brands that are representative of Hong Kong.
Advanced logistics is essential for an international trade centre, an Action Plan on Modern Logistics Development would be published before year’s end. The Government would formulate strategies and action measures to promote the logistics industry along the directions of smart development, modernisation, green and sustainability, internationalisation and facilitation.
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Please find the full document, policy measures, highlights leaflets, and relevant press releases of the 2023 Policy Address at the hyperlinks. |
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