Hong Kong Policy Address focuses on five major development opportunities: talent development, industrial development, corporate investment, institutional security and international cooperation

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 16, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Li Jiachao, published the fifth “Policy Address” during his tenure, entitled “Seek the overall situation through long-term reform and open a new chapter to promote development and create opportunities to benefit people's livelihood and the future”. Using the “First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030)” as a blueprint, the report actively connects with the country's “15th Five-Year Plan” and proposes a series of measures to create development opportunities and enhance people's livelihood and welfare.

Li Jiachao said that this year marks the beginning of the country's “15th Five-Year Plan”. The SAR government has formulated the “Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan” to ensure that Hong Kong can better grasp development opportunities and at the same time better integrate and serve the overall development situation of the country. Facing major changes that have not occurred in the world in 100 years, the surging momentum brought by the country's strong strength, hyperscale market and high-quality development is Hong Kong's greatest opportunity.

The “Policy Address” focuses on five major development opportunities: talent development, industrial development, enterprise investment, institutional guarantees, and international cooperation. In order to attract high-quality talents, the government will speed up the construction of a university town in the northern metropolitan area, upgrade the “University City Planning and Construction Team” to the “University City Construction and Development Committee”, add about 30% of research course places and 200 government scholarships, and establish five new international talent training colleges.

In terms of industrial development, the report proposes speeding up the establishment of an international gold trading market, studying the provision of tax incentives for eligible activities in the gold and commodity trading ecosystem, announcing details of new gold futures contracts denominated in RMB and physical settlement, and studying a moderate increase in the Exchange Fund's gold holdings. In addition, the government will inject capital into the “Artificial Intelligence Funding Program” to support the development of the intelligent computing industry, accelerate medical innovation and industrial chain construction, and construct a new low-altitude and emerging economy pattern.

As Beidu enters the harvest period and all nine new development zones are in operation, the government is developing six characteristic industrial parks at full speed and reserving land for the construction of advanced construction industrial parks. In order to attract enterprises to settle in, tax concessions are based on the value brought by the enterprise as the basis for approval, providing preferential tax rates of 5% or half of the tax for individual enterprises engaged in key industries such as finance, advanced manufacturing, innovative research and development, headquarters activities, logistics, and supply chain management.

Furthermore, it will make Hong Kong a global mediation capital and the preferred international arbitration venue, and support the work of the Hong Kong-based International Mediation Court. The Hong Kong Government will promote the establishment of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, support the judiciary in promoting the establishment of an international commercial court, and will establish an “Intellectual Property Trade Development Strategy Committee” to formulate strategies and support measures to promote intellectual property trade.

In terms of international cooperation, the two UN organizations will establish the “Global Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing” and the “Asia Pacific Office of the Global Anti-Corruption Enforcement Cooperation Network” in Hong Kong, respectively. The government will also launch a new “People's Youth Bureau-UN Youth Leadership Internship Program”. The newly built West Kowloon Performing Arts Centre will open next year.

The “Policy Address” introduced a number of measures in 25 areas, including youth employment, education, childbearing encouragement, housing, medical care, community services, care for the elderly, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and labor security. To help young people find employment, the Government will work with the business community to launch a two-year “30,000 Youth Jobs and Internship Program” and establish an “International Youth Talent Exchange Center”.

In terms of education, the government will launch a free digital education learning resource platform with AI language models to promote the digitization of kindergarten education administration and promote the qualitative and quantitative development of student dormitories.

To promote a childbearing friendly environment, the Hong Kong Government introduced 11 “combo punch” measures, including extending the 20,000 yuan bonus scheme for newborn babies for three years, reducing stamp duty for eligible families to purchase residential properties, increasing funding for independent child care centres, and introducing, for the first time, a policy to encourage families to have more than one child, raising the incentive to $30,000 for the second newborn child and beyond.

In terms of housing, the number of public housing units completed in the next five years will increase by about 73% compared to the corresponding five-year construction volume four years ago, and all 30,000 “simple public housing” units will meet the standards ahead of schedule in March next year.

On the medical side, the Government will strengthen primary care services and optimize hospital services, strengthen traditional Chinese medicine services, and implement 11 measures to promote mental health. In terms of community services, the government will add two community living rooms, launch a community pharmacy program, and launch a community drug register.

To meet the needs of the elderly, the Government will add “Community Care Service Vouchers for the Elderly” and “Residential Care Service Vouchers for the Elderly”, add funding for day care facilities for the elderly, Neighbourhood Elderly Centres and Residential Care Homes, and launch a mobile version of the Loyo Card.

In terms of supporting the local economy, the government will introduce ten measures to support SMEs, including funding SMEs to explore more emerging markets, extending 20 free credit assessment services for one year, providing more support and funding for AI applications, supporting e-commerce and brand development, and speeding up trade finance. The Government will also strengthen labour protection, including enacting new legislation to protect expatriates and combat illegal workers across departments.

In summary, Li Jiachao said that today's Hong Kong stands at a critical point of governance and development, and the government insists on seeking the overall situation in the long term and promoting development through reforms. With the country's strong backing and the wisdom and efforts of Hong Kong people, we will definitely be able to make development results more beneficial to every family and make Hong Kong better and more prosperous.