Following is a question by Prof Hon Chow Man-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Professor Sun Dong, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     There are views that the operating costs of Hong Kong enterprises (particularly small and medium enterprises) are high, and some of these industries have to bear relatively heavy compliance costs. In terms of lowering the compliance cost of enterprises, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it has been reported that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has streamlined the food business licensing regime in recent years, including expanding the scope of the "Professional Certification System" to cover applications for general restaurant licences, which has been in effect for over a year, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on, since February last year, the number of applications made under the licensing regime, and the percentage of the number of applications in the total number of applications for restaurant licences during the same period, as well as the number of applications which were not approved and the respective reasons;

(2) given that there are views that the complicated vetting and approval procedures for development projects will lead to an increase in construction costs, which will indirectly increase operating costs such as rentals, thus affecting the development of various trades and industries, and in this connection, the Development Bureau has already implemented more than a hundred measures to streamline the development procedures and will implement other new measures one after another this year, whether the authorities have: (i) assessed the effectiveness of the measures implemented, particularly in terms of compressing the development period and costs; (ii) formulated key performance indicators; (iii) set up a regular communication mechanism with the industry in respect of such measure; and (iv) formulated a specific timetable for the other proposed new measures to be implemented (including the introduction of the Fast Track Processing System for the development of the Northern Metropolis as announced in this year's Policy Address); if so, of the details; if not, the details for that; and

(3) whether it has plans to enhance its efforts in conducting studies on the compliance cost problems faced by enterprises of various trades and industries (including but not limited to, the retail, catering, and transport industries) and of different sizes, so as to explore ways to streamline the licensing and other regulatory regimes (e.g. the licensing regime and restrictions on the use of premises or land) of various government departments, thereby removing barriers and restrictions, optimising the business environment, as well as further promoting the local economy and upgrading the competitiveness of enterprises; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply

President,

     In consultation with the relevant policy bureaux, the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Prof Hon Chow Man-kong is as follows:

(1) To expedite vetting and enable the trade to have a better grasp of the processing time, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) introduced the "Professional Certification System" (PCS) in March 2023 as a pilot scheme for light refreshment restaurants and food factories. The system offers an additional option of "licence first, inspection later" for full licence applications. Starting from February 2024, its coverage was extended to general restaurants. Compared with the prevailing system, applicants may obtain their full licences about 14 days earlier.

     From February 2024 to September 2025, eight food business licence applications opted for the PCS. Of these, five were approved and one is under review. The remaining two later reverted to the prevailing system and were approved. During the same period, there were 4 742 food business licence applications.

(2) The Development Bureau (DEVB) has all along been striving to streamline development control procedures, so as to enhance speed and efficiency as well as reduce costs for the development trade. In 2018, the DEVB established the Steering Group on Streamlining Development Control to co-ordinate various bureaux/departments (B/Ds) in reviewing development control procedures and formulating various streamlining measures. Subsequently, to foster an institutional culture of streamlining among B/Ds, the DEVB issued a circular in July 2024, setting out guiding principles and best practices and explicitly requiring approving departments to adopt a "facilitator" mindset when handling development applications.

     To implement the requirements of the circular, in addition to the around 100 streamlining measures already implemented, B/Ds have been studying or implementing around 80 new measures from Q3 2024 till end-2025 to streamline development control procedures. These measures cover the very aspect of setting performance indicators (e.g. time pledges) for different stages of the approval process, as well as other aspects such as promoting self-certification, introducing more phased submission arrangements, etc. Of these around 80 new measures, around 60 have already been implemented, with the remaining measures expected to be rolled out by end-2025.

     Furthermore, to accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM), the Chief Executive announced a series of measures in the 2025 Policy Address, many of which involve streamlining development control procedures. For example, we will introduce dedicated legislation to accelerate the development of NM, empowering the government to simplify statutory procedures. We will conduct a two-month consultation exercise on the legislative proposal in early 2026 and introduce a bill to the Legislative Council around mid-2026 in a bid to have the bill passed by end-2026. The 2025 Policy Address also mentioned that the DEVB will set up mechanisms for large-scale works projects, with a view to simplifying works approval procedures, setting clear performance pledges, and enhancing co-ordination among relevant departments on vetting processes, so as to expedite approval. Specifically, the Project Strategy and Governance Office of the DEVB will be responsible for government works projects; the dedicated project supervision office will be responsible for private development projects in the NM, while the Development Projects Facilitation Office of the DEVB will be responsible for those outside the NM. Our aim is to promulgate the relevant operational details by end-2025.

     Given the varying nature of streamlining measures and that each development project has its own individuality and requires approval process of different degree, it is difficult to crudely list out the positive impact on cost reduction and expediting development cycle posed by each and every measure. Having said that, we will take an effectiveness-oriented approach when streamlining development control; and will quantify the effectiveness and publish the relevant indicators as appropriate. For example, the DEVB will introduce a new measure in early November 2025 where private development projects constructing not more than two levels of aboveground carparks may enjoy full gross floor area exemption. It is estimated that, as compared to constructing underground carparks, constructing say two levels of aboveground carparks could reduce construction time by more than one year and construction cost by around 40 per cent.

     The DEVB will continue to proactively consult the trade through various channels, such as the Joint Subcommittee on Streamlining Development Control under the DEVB's Land and Development Advisory Committee and directly meeting with relevant bodies so as to study and implement different measures to streamline development control procedures.

(3) The Government is committed to enhancing the business environment continuously. One of the measures is through the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee that provides a platform for the Government to consult the business sector on regulatory proposals and promote business friendly measures to the industry. The "Business Consultation e-Platform" also facilitates government departments in gathering industry feedback on regulatory framework. In addition, various B/Ds will continue to leverage innovative technologies and central information and communications technology platforms and services, such as "iAM Smart" and "Digital Corporate Identity" (CorpID) platform being developed, to deliver one-stop convenient e-Government services with streamlined procedures, and hence relevant policies and measures on a more efficient, transparent and convenient licensing regime for the trade, with a view to reducing the business compliance costs and sustaining Hong Kong's competitiveness.

     In parallel, the FEHD has been proactively streamlining the food business licensing regime. As announced in the 2025 Policy Address, FEHD will adopt a new way to expedite the vetting of applications for outside seating accommodation of restaurants by co-ordinating relevant departments to undergo "joint-vetting" and streamlining procedures.

Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Issued at HKT 14:15

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