Chief Executive John Lee this morning led a number of government officials to meet with foreign consuls-general in Hong Kong and representatives of foreign chambers of commerce in Hong Kong at the Central Government Offices (CGO). He briefed them on the concepts and highlights of Hong Kong's Five-Year Plan and the Policy Address. The Chief Executive reaffirmed that Hong Kong's first-ever Five-Year Plan is not equivalent to a planned economy. In interviews, representatives from the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong expressed recognition of the Five-Year Plan, noting that it helps bring greater certainty and direction for Hong Kong's future development.
Ms Mary Simpson, Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said: "The real opportunity here isn't just selling into Hong Kong. It's using Hong Kong as a launchpad, as a super-connector and as a super enabler. The Five-Year Plan takes the city's current established pillars—which we see as finance, law and logistics—and channels them directly into new areas of growth, such as AI, GreenTech, critical minerals and MedTech. For Australian firms, we feel the synergies are quite obvious."
Mr Johannes Hack, Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said: "It's good to have the Five-Year Plan, but Hong Kong is in a very good place already; otherwise there wouldn't be so many companies here. And what we believe is that we can further build out on that extremely strong base. That base of trust comes from the regulation we have here—the common law system."
Mr Paul McComb, Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, said: "What's quite important about the Five-Year Plan is that it gives a bit of certainty to the direction. So some of what we have been hearing is here to stay. It's not a policy suggestion just for the time we're in. It's a direction of travel."
Related News:
Comment