Chief Executive's Annual Policy Address (19 October 2022)
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr John Lee, delivered his annual Policy Address on 19 October 2022. Hong Kong celebrates the 25th anniversary of its establishment as a Special Administrative Region in 2022 and the Policy Address sets out a new blueprint for the future of Hong Kong. The Policy Address outlines measures to attract businesses and talents, as well as to enhance competitiveness of Hong Kong, including measures to reinforce our traditional advantages and develop emerging industries.
Details
"One Country, Two Systems"
· Carry on the mainstream values characterised by the love of both the Motherland and Hong Kong at the core and in conformity with the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", and motivate the whole community to work together to create a better future.
· Continue to steadfastly safeguard the constitutional order of the HKSAR and our country's fundamental system set out under the Constitution.
· Safeguard independent judicial power.
Attract business and talents
Hong Kong is one of the most competitive economies in the world. It also serves as an important gateway connecting the Mainland with global markets. The Chief Executive sets out in his 2022 Policy Address a multi-pronged approach to attract business and talents.
Attract enterprises and investment
· Establish the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to attract strategic enterprises, particularly those from industries of strategic importance, to Hong Kong with targeted and attractive special facilitation measures.
· Establish the HK$30 billion (EUR 3.89 billion) Co-Investment Fund to attract enterprises to set up operations in Hong Kong and invest in their businesses.
Trawl for talents
· Launch Top Talent Pass Scheme to attract talents of high salary and graduates of the world’s top 100 universities to pursue careers in Hong Kong.
· Allow eligible talents from outside Hong Kong to, upon becoming permanent residents, apply for a refund of the extra stamp duty paid for purchasing residential property locally.
· Enhance existing talents admission schemes.
· Waive the requirement of applying for an employment visa for more visitors participating in short-term activities in Hong Kong.
Impetus for economic growth
National strategies including the 14th Five-Year Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development (GBA) and the Belt and Road Initiative have injected continuous impetus to the growth of Hong Kong. In particular, the 14th Five-Year Plan has supported the development of the "eight centres" in Hong Kong. Key initiatives include -
International Financial Centre
· The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited will revise the Main Board Listing Rules next year to facilitate fund-raising of advanced technology enterprises that have yet to meet the profit and trading record requirements.
· Promote the launch of more RMB-denominated investment tools.
· Speed up the implementation of a series of mutual market access arrangements supported by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
· Introduce a legislation within this year to offer tax concession for eligible family offices.
International Innovation and Technology (I&T) Centre
· Promulgate the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint within this year to set out the major policies to promote I&T development in Hong Kong.
· Attract 100 high-potential I&T enterprises to set up operations in Hong Kong in the next five years, including at least 20 top-notch I&T enterprises.
· Facilitate commercialisation of research and development (R&D) outcomes. To launch the HK$10 billion (EUR 1.29 billion) "Research Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme" to support commercialisation of R&D outcomes by university research teams on a matching basis.
· Press ahead with construction of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park and development of San Tin Technopole.
· Enhance the Technology Talent Admission Scheme by lifting the local employment requirement, extending the quota validity period to two years and expanding the coverage to more emerging technology areas.
East-meets-West Centre for International Cultural Exchange
· Map out a Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development and enhance the ecosystem for the industries.
· Build and expand arts and cultural facilities in Hong Kong
· Establishment of the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund to promote the staging of more international arts and cultural events in Hong Kong.
· Enhance Asia IP Exchange portal to promote copyright trading and development of arts, cultural and creative industries.
International Trade Centre
· Actively pursuing accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which covers 15 countries and a population of 2.2 billion and accounts for nearly 30% of global trade volume.
· Support the convention and exhibition in industry in order to help SMEs obtain more overseas order; raise the level of funding support for SMEs.
International Shipping Centre
· Implement tax concession measures to attract more high value-added maritime enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong.
· Promote the development of "smart pot" to strengthen the competitiveness of our port.
International Aviation Hub
· Full completion of the Third Runway System scheduled for 2024.
· Consolidate Hong Kong's position as a regional aviation training centre through partnership with aviation institutions in co-organising degree programme and offering internship positions.
· Develop Hong Kong into the preferred location for aircraft leasing in the region by further enhancing the aircraft leasing preferential tax regime.
Centre for International Legal and Dispute Resolution Services in the Asia-Pacific Region
· Attract more international dispute resolution institutions to set up offices in Hong Kong.
Regional Intellectual Property (IP) Trading Centre
· Complete the preparatory work for implementing the international trademark registration system.
· Roll out a pilot project with the China National Intellectual Property Administration to enable Hong Kong applicants to enjoy prioritised examination of quality patent applications in the Mainland.
Striving towards Carbon Neutrality
Hong Kong is home to around 7.3 million population, including hundreds of thousands of expats from all over the world. The HKSAR Government is determined to build a quality living environment for the people. We will also continue our efforts in reducing the total carbon emission by 50% before 2035 (from the 2005 level) in order to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality before 2050. Key initiatives include -
Energy
· Accelerate the incorporation of district cooling systems in New Development Areas (including the Northern Metropolis) to reduce energy consumption.
Green Transport
· Cease new registration of fuel-propelled and hybrid private cars in 2035 or earlier.
· By 2025, announce a roadmap for the promotion of electric public transport and commercial vehicles; and formulate the long-term strategies for the application of hydrogen energy in road transport.
· Around 700 electric buses and 3 000 electric taxis to be introduced by end-2027.
Waste
· Promote waste reduction and recycling in the community to achieve the goal of Zero Landfill by 2035
· Expedite the development of modern waste-to-energy (WtE) incinerators.
· Prepare for the implementation of municipal solid waste charging.
· Introduce legislation to regulate disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products.
· Launch a trial scheme on food waste collection in public rental housing within this year.
Air quality
· Prepare to set up a supersite for GBA air quality laboratory and meteorology monitoring in Hong Kong to provide regional air pollution and meteorological monitoring and forecasting services, with a view to strengthen collaboration among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in combating climate change.
Housing and Land & Transport Infrastructure
· Streamline various procedures with respect to planning, environmental impact assessment, land resumption and infrastructure to substantially compress the time required for land production.
· Increase overall public housing production by 50% to 158 000 units in the next five years.
· Pursue the principle of "brining forward infrastructure construction and increasing development capacity". Take forward three major road projects and three strategic railway projects.
Combating the COVID-19 pandemic
The HKSAR Government will enhance various anti-epidemic measures in a progressive way where conditions permit and make best efforts to discuss with the Mainland to strive for resuming normal cross-boundary travel in a gradual and orderly manner -
· Devise specific plans to ensure that major events and economic and large-scale activities in Hong Kong can be held smoothly;
· First target is to implement "reverse quarantine" in Hong Kong (also known as "pre-departure quarantine") where Mainland-bound travellers will be put under closed-loop management after undergoing quarantine in Hong Kong.
The full text of the 2022 Policy Address is available at:
https://www.policyaddress.gov.
2022 Policy Address - Highlights leaflets is available at:
https://www.policyaddress.gov.
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Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Rue d’Arlon 118, 1040 Brussels, Tel + 32 2775 00 88, www.hongkong-eu.org. Any comments or queries on the contents can be addressed to the editor, Linda Sansbury (linda_sansbury@hongkong-eu.