Full text of the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) (2)
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Strengthen the Four Centres, Develop the Hub for High calibre Talent, Consolidate and Enhance Our Edge in Global Competition
2.1 To ensure Hong Kong's long term prosperity and stability, we must fully leverage our city's existing advantages while expediting development and enhancing new quality productive forces. By consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as international financial, maritime and trade centres, and developing Hong Kong into an international I&T centre and a global hub for high calibre talent, we will further sharpen our city's competitive edge. Advancing the development of the "four centres and one hub" at full steam will help drive and sustain Hong Kong's economic development. The arising development dividends will improve people's livelihood, continuously enhancing social well being. Meanwhile, deepening the development of the international legal and dispute resolution services centre, the regional intellectual property trading centre, and the East meets West centre for international cultural exchange, among others, will provide staunch support for the development of the "four centres and one hub", fostering the promotion of scientific research and innovation as well as industry development, and fully leveraging Hong Kong's unique strengths of connecting with the Mainland and the world under "one country, two systems" and its world city status. With this, we shall further sharpen our edge amid global competition.
Chapter 6 International Financial Centre
2.2 Finance is Hong Kong's pivotal and crowning strength. Hong Kong, as an international financial centre, must firmly demonstrate its international positioning by leveraging its open financial markets to attract global capital, talent, and financial enterprises. We must seek growth through stability and in turn reinforce stability through growth, a principle anchoring resilient underpinning, stable structures, robust capabilities, and manageable risks, as we move forward with various initiatives. These include fully leveraging the core function of propelling the real economy with finance; forging secure and highly effective financial infrastructure; and systemically developing a diverse capital market. With efforts to drive in depth integration with Mainland and overseas markets, we strive to actively consolidate Hong Kong's status as a hub connecting global financial markets, facilitating international capital to seize the development opportunities available in our country and in Asia, while assisting Mainland enterprises and capital in pursuing high quality global expansion. Meanwhile, we will strive to assume a more prominent role in the global financial governance system.
Section 1 Strengthen Our Roles as Global Offshore
Renminbi Business Hub, International Asset and Wealth Management Centre, and International Risk Management Centre
2.3 We shall strengthen Hong Kong's role as the world's largest offshore RMB business hub. We will strive for a comprehensive scale up and continuous refinement of Hong Kong's offshore RMB business and ecosystem respectively. We will strengthen RMB liquidity support and establish a Hong Kong offshore RMB liquidity provision mechanism, while accelerating the innovation and diversification of offshore RMB products. As we develop a comprehensive, multi-layered cross-boundary RMB circulation network, we will improve the stability of offshore RMB financing. In the meantime, we will actively promote the use of RMB to settle government expenditure, and further enhance the capacity of the offshore RMB market in supporting the real economy for the expansion and enabling of trade, investment, financing, and cross-boundary business dealings. We will also support the wider use of RMB in cross-boundary businesses and facilitate the exchange between RMB and other regional currencies. Our financial regulators will step up engagement with their Mainland counterparts, maintaining close communication regarding the concerted efforts to safeguard Hong Kong's financial market stability.
| Table 2 Strengthening Hong Kong's Role as a Global Offshore RMB Business Hub |
1. Enhancing liquidity
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2. Expanding product supply in the offshore RMB market
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3. Supporting the inclusion of RMB counters under Southbound trading of Stock Connect
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4. Promoting the advantages of Hong Kong's offshore RMB services to international markets
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5. Promoting the use of RMB for settling government expenditure
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2.4 We shall bolster Hong Kong's status as a world leading cross-boundary wealth management centre. We will provide quality services for global sovereign wealth funds and family offices to develop their businesses in Hong Kong, and strengthen our city's functions in asset allocation and wealth management for Mainland and global investors. We aim to encourage more international and Mainland family capital and long term capital to establish and expand their operations in Hong Kong through enhancing the regulatory and market infrastructure, enriching the professional services ecosystem, promoting the development of family offices, and enhancing the tax regimes for funds, single family offices, as well as carried interest. We are also committed to promoting the development of our fund market by diversifying the range of asset classes under management and product offerings, including diversified asset management instruments such as alternative asset funds and real estate investment trusts, thereby deepening and broadening our overall asset and wealth management capabilities.
2.5 We shall strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international risk management centre. We endeavour to deepen regulatory co-operation with the Mainland and overseas markets, and fully leverage our competitive edge in the international insurance, reinsurance, and capital markets to advance the synergised development of traditional insurance and non traditional risk management tools. These will enable us to unleash the synergy effect of multi layered risk transfer and pooling mechanisms through insurance linked securities, captive insurers, and a marine specialty risk pool, consolidating our strategic role as a regional and global catastrophe and specialty risk management hub. In the meantime, we will strengthen the insurance industry's risk based capital regime, promote the investment of insurance capital in infrastructure projects in Hong Kong and the Mainland, and enhance the industry's risk prevention and control capabilities as well as risk management culture.
Section 2 Enhance Equity and Bond Markets
2.6 We will continue to enhance the market regime design and product ecosystem for the equity and bond markets. We will enhance the markets in terms of depth, breadth, and liquidity to assist Mainland enterprises to go global and bring in international capital. We will play our part as the testing ground for the financial opening up of our country, striving for a greater say and broader influence as an international financial centre.
2.7 We will enhance securities market efficiency. We will strive to enhance the competitiveness of our listing regime and operating efficiency of the securities market infrastructure, and support Mainland and overseas leading enterprises and quality enterprises from emerging industries to list in Hong Kong. Alongside other measures, the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and the Qianhai Equity Exchange will deepen their collaboration and connect more quality Mainland enterprises to the international capital market through Hong Kong's listing platform with more efficient listing services. Through broadening the mutual access mechanism for financial markets, expanding emerging market fields, and leveraging our functions as an investment and financing platform, we will foster collaborations with the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries, the Global South, and other emerging economies in trade, finance, and infrastructure.
2.8 We will enhance our international bond market. With well co-ordinated efforts, we will boost issuance in primary market, enhance liquidity in secondary market, expand offshore RMB business, and develop fixed income and currency infrastructure. Southbound Bond Connect will be refined to expand and enhance different aspects including investment scale, investor scope, products, and trading arrangements. We will encourage more Mainland institutions to invest in Hong Kong's bond market, expanding the channels and trading volumes in respect of Stock Connect, Bond Connect, Wealth Management Connect, and Private Equity Connect. We will develop a diverse range of financial products and risk management tools, while considering the establishment of a central counterparty for clearing repo transactions and enhancing the regulation of over the counter derivative products. We will also steadily regularise the issuance of digital Government bonds and enhance relevant legal framework and market infrastructure in order to promote the wider adoption of digital bonds. To expedite the commercialisation, internationalisation, and modernisation of the Central Moneymarkets Unit, and to enhance the connectivity and interoperability of the local central securities depositories for stocks and bonds, we will establish an electronic fixed income and currency trading platform catering for the local markets and RMB internationalisation and develop our Central Moneymarkets Unit into a leading central securities depository in the region.
2.9 We will strive to attract international financial institutions to establish regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong and support them in anchoring regional bases in our city. We are staunchly committed to supporting multilateral development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in capitalising on Hong Kong's full fledged capital market for project financing, bond issuance, investment, and financial management, and will actively support the needs of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's office in Hong Kong. We will step up our efforts in nurturing and attracting international financial talent, while optimising professional qualification alignments and enhancing practical training and cross-boundary exchange mechanisms. These measures will serve to enrich our financial talent pool comprising professionals with international perspectives and expertise.
2.10 We will step up the development of financial institutions and the pursuit of international financial engagement and collaboration. We will undertake in depth engagement in regional and global financial development. We will support major Mainland financial institutions in making use of Hong Kong as a platform to elevate their overall service quality, bringing in more capital investment, and setting up their international headquarters in our city for overseas business expansion. We will give full play to the role of Hong Kong offices of major Mainland financial institutions as the risk management centre and operational base for their parent groups, and serve as a springboard for Mainland banks and insurance companies, especially internationalised reinsurers, to expand into global markets. As for the Hong Kong offices of other Mainland financial institutions, our city will serve as a window for them to connect their operations to the international market given Hong Kong's position as the launchpad for Mainland enterprises to go global. We will organise premier financial events to deepen international exchange and practical collaboration.
2.11 We will facilitate company re domiciliation to Hong Kong. We will channel well capitalised, well governed overseas enterprises with substantive operations, especially financial institutions, to re domicile to Hong Kong in an orderly manner, enhancing the quality and soundness of Hong Kong based financial entities.
Section 3 Develop a Commodity Trading Ecosystem
2.12 We shall develop a commodity trading ecosystem with gold as an entry point. Under our co-ordinated efforts, we will drive the development of the clearing system, storage, supply, and infrastructure related to gold trading to fully leverage the role of gold as a strategic asset, with a view to benchmarking other major international gold trading centres in the long run while developing hardware and software simultaneously. Along with expediting the development of infrastructure to provide efficient and reliable services for international standards gold trading, to achieve capacity expansion, we will offer all rounded support for more gold traders and financial institutions to establish their presence in Hong Kong. We will also increase the city's overall gold storage capacity and refining capability, step up training for local talent, and explore further preferential policies for enterprises related to the gold industry. Collaboration between the gold markets of Hong Kong and the Mainland will be deepened through a range of proactive initiatives to spearhead mutual market access and develop a one-stop gold storage, trading, clearing, and service hub, hence an integrated gold trading ecosystem. We will also explore the development of RMB-denominated gold and commodity markets, strengthen co-operation with Mainland exchanges including the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange, step up efforts to attract international investors, and increase the variety of RMB-denominated products.
2.13 We will co-ordinate efforts to achieve innovation and breakthroughs for commodity trading in the offshore RMB market. We will leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages as an approved delivery point within the London Metal Exchange's global warehousing network to drive the synergised development of more commodities related trading, risk management, and financing businesses. We will also explore new channels to tap into the demand for other investment instruments, and develop an efficient and open commodity trading ecosystem, so as to further enrich the variety of RMB-denominated and settled commodity futures and options traded in Hong Kong, while encouraging and supporting the use of RMB for pricing and settlement in spot commodity transactions. We will develop RMB-denominated commodity trading and pursue differentiated and complementary development with the Mainland market, including collaboration with the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange.
Section 4 Take Forward "Finance+" to Serve the Real Economy
2.14 On promoting "Finance + Technological Innovation", we will promote patient capital and venture capital investments in technological and industry innovations. We will widen the financing channels to enhance the listing regime for technology enterprises. By facilitating the acceleration of fintech development, we will support the expansion and strengthening of financing services for I&T enterprises. Moving forward with digital finance, we comprehensively enhance financial institutions' service efficiency as well as risk prevention and control capabilities, while exploring the in depth application of digital finance infrastructure. As guided by the principle of "same activity, same risks, same regulation", we will establish a world leading licensing and regulatory regime for digital assets, thereby improving their liquidity and promoting market innovation. We will attract various financial resources into the technological innovation fields through market oriented means, and strengthen the development of frontier technological research of post secondary institutions, commercialisation and industrialisation of technological achievements, and emerging industries, providing whole life cycle support for the commercialisation and transformation of scientific research outcomes. On "Finance + Trade", we will focus on strengthening trade finance, supply chain finance, settlement and clearing, and risk management services, with a view to stepping up support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cross border trade. As for "Finance + Green Development", we will make a resolute push for the expedited development of green and sustainable finance. We will advance an international carbon market, with a view to contributing to our country's low carbon transition in key areas such as industries, transportation, and energy, while supporting green enterprises in going global in an orderly manner. To advance "Finance + Intellectual Property (IP)", with the use of the IP Financing Sandbox, we will integrate IP into the financial services system in support of IP value transformation, further unleashing the potential of IP as a new economic development impetus. Regarding "Finance + Maritime", to cater for the financing needs arising from the green transformation of the international maritime industry and align with the national strategy on commodity trading, we will help shipping enterprises diversify their financing channels and expand development frontiers. On "Finance + Livelihood", financial inclusiveness will be further developed by extending the scope and accessibility of financial services and enhancing the financial services system that is available to all walks of life.
| Table 3 Finance+ |
1. Finance + Technological Innovation
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2. Finance + Trade
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3. Finance + Green Development
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4. Finance + IP
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5. Finance + Maritime
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6. Finance + Livelihood
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Section 5 Strengthen Financial Risk Prevention
2.15 We will safeguard our financial security, improve long term mechanisms, and enhance our capabilities in financial risk monitoring, early warning, and prevention response. We will also improve the cross market and cross agency joint prevention and control mechanism. In the meantime, we will strengthen our risk monitoring in key areas, while enhancing financial infrastructure and the data security protection system, thereby fortifying cybersecurity and consolidating our capabilities in fintech regulation and anti-money laundering.
Chapter 7 International Maritime Centre and Aviation Hub
2.16 To consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre, we will stabilise our container throughput, add value, and strengthen synergy. Guided by the shift of focus from volume based to value driven development, we will drive a "volume to value" transformation of the Hong Kong Port. We will strive to facilitate the development of modern maritime services, build a diversified and resilient system of international transportation corridors, promote the healthy and orderly development of international air freight and low-altitude economy (LAE), and expedite the implementation of sea-air intermodal transhipment. With these efforts, we are committed to comprehensively enhancing Hong Kong's function as a hub amid the modern transport network of our country.
Section 1 Advance the Digitalisation, Smart Transition, and Green Transformation of Hong Kong's Maritime Industry
2.17 We will promote the development of a smart and green port, and enhance the interconnection of logistics data. We will strive to lead port operators to expedite smart transition of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. With our efforts to continuously unleash the development potential of the Port Community System for in depth integration with the Global Shipping Business Network, we endeavour to provide one-stop sea-, land-, and air-logistics and supply chain data, as well as value-added services such as One Data Multiple Declarations for local logistics and trading companies. We will expedite the development of a green maritime fuel bunkering and trading centre while also deepening our collaboration with the Pan-Pearl River Delta cities to develop Hong Kong centric green energy corridors, and study the co-development of a complete green and low-carbon industrial chain and supply chain for new energy vessels, with a view to creating a new model of "production, storage, and transport in South China; bunkering and trading in Hong Kong; servicing global shipping" for the establishment of an end-to-end low-carbon regional green maritime fuel supply chain system.
| Table 4 Advancing the Green Transformation of the Maritime Industry |
1. Proportion of green maritime fuel used
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2. Reducing carbon emissions
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3. Establishing Green Energy Corridors
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2.18 We will promote high quality collaborative development among ports and deepen co-operation with Mainland and international shipping ports. We will strengthen our status as an international transhipment hub and strive to integrate into the country's logistics hub network, thereby contributing to the country's efforts in increasing its competitiveness and influence in the international shipping landscape. Through co-operation and leveraging the complementary advantages of the Southeast Asia routes of both ports, Hong Kong and Yangpu Ports can establish a "dual-hub" model, which will facilitate the export of cargoes through either port. By making good use of the comparative advantages that Hong Kong enjoys in terms of Central and South America routes, we will collaborate with national key cold chain logistics bases in other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities to develop Hong Kong into an international centre of cold chain trade in South China, thereby contributing to the country's development of an international cold chain logistics corridor between South China and South America. We will continue to develop a comprehensive "rail-sea-land-river" intermodal transport system. By pursuing cross-province operation of and licensing regime reform for cross-boundary goods vehicles, as well as the mutual recognition of commercial vehicle driving licences issued by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, we strive to reduce the cost of cargo transhipment via Hong Kong and achieve the goal of stabilising container throughput.
| Table 5 Promoting High-Quality Collaborative Development among Ports |
1. Continuous development of a comprehensive "rail-sea-land-river" intermodal transport system
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2. In-depth participation in the development of a world-class port cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
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3. Active participation in the scenario incubation for the development of a smart and green logistics model using "water-to-water transhipment"⁵
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Section 2 Develop a High Value-added Maritime Services Ecosystem
2.19 We will strengthen high value-added maritime services. By further enhancing Hong Kong's ship registration regime, we aim to enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness as a premier registry for international shipowners and attract more vessels to register in Hong Kong, thus broadening the scale of the Hong Kong registered fleet. We will also uphold quality enhancement as the major direction to support the upgrading and development of the high value-added maritime services cluster, while fully leveraging Hong Kong's strengths in maritime services such as ship management, ship financing, marine insurance, maritime arbitration services, etc. We will assist enterprises from the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries in developing the Mainland and Asian markets. Through driving industry stakeholders and training institutions to collaborate in further developing a systematic training framework that consolidates existing resources and professional strengths, we seek to build a stable talent pool for the high value-added maritime services.
| Table 6 Elevating the International Reputation and Competitiveness of Hong Kong's High Value-added Maritime Services |
1. Implementing the half-rate tax concession for commodity trading
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2. Establishing collaboration mechanism with Mainland maritime training institutions
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3. Supporting the Advanced Maritime Technology Institute in establishing presence in Hong Kong
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4. Reforming the Hong Kong ship registration regime
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5. Leveraging the strategic collaboration established through the partner port initiative
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Section 3 Enhance Hong Kong's Status as an International Aviation Hub
2.20 We will strive to enhance Hong Kong's competitive edge as an international aviation hub by continuously launching new routes, strategically attracting local and non-local airlines to develop new destinations and increase flight frequencies, and strengthening Hong Kong's long haul network, particularly connections with the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries. We will also deepen international co-operation by actively participating in international civil aviation conferences and proactively reach out to aviation partners to negotiate new air services agreements or expansion of traffic rights, with priority focus on regions with further development potential and new growth areas, such as South America, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. We will press ahead with the development of the "Airport City" to drive high end commercial and tourism activities, and to strengthen the appeal of the Hong Kong International Airport as a transit hub.
| Table 7 Development of the International Aviation Hub |
Expanding the international air network
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2.21 We will deeply engage in the development of the national aviation network. Building on the existing highly internationalised network, we will proactively align with the national aviation network development strategy by fully leveraging Hong Kong's advantages of connecting the Mainland and the world, and actively integrating into the country's "one circle, six corridors, and five channels" development⁶. In doing so, we will support and serve our country in enhancing the global reach of the aviation network to strengthen the resilience and connectivity of the national aviation network as a whole, allowing us to be better prepared for the reshaping of the global aviation network landscape. We will strengthen co-operation with the airport cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in terms of operational co-ordination, airspace optimisation, intermodal arrangement, and other aspects. By promoting resource sharing and complementary functions within the airport cluster, we will enhance our overall operational efficiency and service quality, thereby boosting the global competitiveness of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area airport cluster.
| Table 8 Active Integration Into the National Aviation Development Strategy of "Trunk-Branch Connectivity, Whole-Network Linkage" |
Introducing more flights connecting Mainland airports
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Section 4 Develop a New Ecosystem for the Aviation Industry
2.22 We shall develop an aviation industry ecosystem with a global edge. We will strive to develop an aircraft parts processing and trading industry ecosystem to establish a "front shop, back factory" industry cluster and Asia's first aircraft parts processing and trading centre. We will actively participate in the R&D and certification of home developed aircraft and leverage our bridging role to help home developed aircraft tap into the global market through Hong Kong. By leveraging Hong Kong's Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production base in Dongguan, we will advance SAF value chain development in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (including the construction of an SAF blending facility in Hong Kong), thereby supporting our country's SAF development.
| Table 9 Developing an Aviation Industry Ecosystem with a Global Edge |
Facilitating SAF industry development
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2.23 We shall develop Hong Kong into the Asia-Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications. We will formulate and implement the Action Plan on Developing Low-Altitude Economy. We will enhance the regulatory regime, set standards, and develop infrastructure, while proactively enhancing R&D, talent nurturing and alignment with international standards in LAE-related fields. We will give full play to our roles as a leader, connector, and illustrator and explore developing a demonstration and compliance base for LAE to go global, on the basis of strengthening effective alignment with the Mainland's regulatory framework. We will also study jointly advocating for the establishment of an international LAE co-operation organisation with the Mainland.
2.24 We will advance the development of cross-boundary low-altitude logistics in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. By fully leveraging the industry foundation and geographical advantages of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and drawing on our pioneering explorative experiences of collaboration with neighbouring Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, we will strive to connect the key resources in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to broaden application scenarios for cross-boundary low-altitude logistics in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thereby expediting the development of an integrated and scaled cross-boundary low-altitude logistics network covering the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
| Table 10 Developing an LAE Ecosystem |
1. Improving civil aviation legislation, relevant standards, and regulatory framework
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2. Advancing the development of LAE infrastructure facilities
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3. Rolling out the advanced LAE Regulatory Sandbox X
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4. Supporting R&D and talent development
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5. Supporting the organisation of regional and international LAE trade fairs and exploring the establishment of a demonstration zone for LAE products to go global
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2.25 We will strive to enhance the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's intermodal network. We will focus on advancing the development of the Hong Kong International Airport Dongguan Logistics Park, expediting smart and integrated collaboration for airport operations. We will also develop more intermodal transport models, continuously enhance the "Fly-Via-Zhuhai-Hong Kong" initiative⁷, and enhance the convenience for the transport of passengers and goods in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to and from all around the world. With a view to strengthening the Hong Kong International Airport's connectivity with other Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cities, we will leverage the "sea-air intermodal cargo transhipment mode" at the Hong Kong International Airport Dongguan Logistics Park to enhance the connectivity of the two places, facilitate cargo flow, and strengthen the collaboration between aviation logistics and e-commerce.
2.26 We will strive to take the lead in the interactive development mode that harnesses the complementary strengths of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area airport cluster. We will promote the integrated development of aviation and maritime sectors between Guangdong and Hong Kong, explore co-operation with the airports of Macao and Shenzhen to facilitate collaborative airspace management, and optimise air routes, thereby improving flight efficiency and capacity as well as strengthening co-operation in cargo, maintenance, and training.
| Table 11 Optimising the Intermodal Network of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area |
1. The Hong Kong International Airport Dongguan Logistics Park
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2. Developing more intermodal modes
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3. Co-operation with the Macao International Airport in further optimising passenger flow
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4. The world-class airport cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
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Chapter 8 International Trade Centre
2.27 We shall consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international trade centre. We will expand our networks, enhance our competitive edge, and create new room for growth, while pursuing upgrades with the goal of achieving "digitalisation" and "diversification" and leveraging Hong Kong's advantages as financial and treasury centres, thereby strengthening our role as a platform for offshore trade. We will encourage manufacturing, technology, and logistics enterprises to engage in high value added activities such as taking international orders, conducting foreign exchange, trade finance, and supply chain management, etc. through Hong Kong, so as to develop our city into an integral hub serving the global industry and supply chains. We will bring together global enterprises to participate in high quality Belt and Road co-operation, while reaching out to markets around the world, so as to enhance Hong Kong's resilience and strategic significance as an international trade centre.
Section 1 Continue to Expand International Economic and Trade Network
2.28 We will continue to uphold free trade, maintain zero custom tariff, and support the rules based multilateral trading system in order to provide a business environment with transparency and high degree of certainty for our trading partners. We will continue to consolidate our ties with the European and American markets, further cultivate the ASEAN and Middle East markets, while exploring emerging markets such as Central Asia and Africa. We will actively forge free trade agreements and investment agreements with economies that are of development potential or strategic locations, and continue to seek accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as early as possible, with a view to further expanding Hong Kong's "circle of friends" in trade. In the meantime, we will secure better overseas market access and investment protection for Hong Kong’s trade in goods and services. These efforts will enhance two-way investment flows and promote the further development of Hong Kong's economy.
2.29 We will continue to expand our network of overseas offices, focusing on economies which have high growth potential and are under strategic partnership with Hong Kong. Coupled with the overseas networks of the Economic and Trade Offices of the HKSAR Government, Invest Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, we will deepen external ties and step up efforts in economic and trade promotion. We will proactively engage foreign governments, organisations, and enterprises in regular exchanges to promote Hong Kong's unique advantages. By deepening co-operation with various markets, we aim to attract more overseas enterprises to venture into the Greater China and Asia Pacific markets through Hong Kong, thereby bringing in overseas capital, enterprises, and talent.
2.30 We will step up efforts in attracting businesses and investment, and guide industry development at full steam. For guiding industry development, we will adopt preferential policies for industry and investment. We will speed up the attraction of industry leaders and various enterprises to establish regional or international headquarters and treasury centres in Hong Kong for managing offshore trade and supply chains. We will also target long term capital from the Middle East, ASEAN, as well as Europe and America to further strengthen Hong Kong's headquarters economy and promote family offices in Hong Kong. Focusing on key industries in the I&T field such as AI, digital economy, life and health, new industrialisation, and green development, etc, we will draw up a list of target enterprises and an annual action plan for attracting businesses and investment. We will also enhance the mechanisms for cross departmental co-ordination and project implementation, so as to provide project based services for enterprises, while strengthening the one stop co-ordination service in land, planning, immigration clearance, talent, and regulatory matters for key investment projects.
Section 2 Develop a High Value-added Supply Chain Services Centre
2.31 We will enhance Hong Kong's function as a platform for going global. Leveraging Hong Kong's advantages in internationalisation and its network, the Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global (GoGlobal Task Force) set up by the HKSAR Government in 2025 has successfully led Mainland enterprises to make use of Hong Kong as a platform to expand their business overseas. The GoGlobal Task Force will continue to expand and consolidate the functions of the Economic and Trade Offices in the Mainland and overseas, Invest Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, with a view to echoing with our country's plan to improve the comprehensive overseas services system and guide Mainland enterprises to set up their cross border industry and supply chains in a reasonable and orderly manner, thereby supporting them in tapping into international markets and taking part in the global industry, supply, and value chains. We will enhance the standard of comprehensive overseas services, providing one stop, high quality, and high value-added professional corporate services for Mainland enterprises going global. We will deepen exchanges and co-operation with relevant Mainland authorities and business organisations to support Mainland enterprises in establishing presence and expanding business overseas, and speed up efforts of the GoGlobal Task Force at comprehensive overseas service points. We will build an integrated ecosystem covering core functions such as overseas market analysis, risk management, legal and dispute resolution services, international branding, supply chain collaboration and enhancement, as well as cross-border financing to assist enterprises in effectively addressing global market challenges.
2.32 We will co-ordinate efforts among various service sectors, including finance, legal and dispute resolution, accounting, logistics, insurance, testing and certification, etc, to establish a two-way service platform that enables overseas enterprises to enter the Mainland market and Mainland enterprises to go global through Hong Kong. Leveraging Hong Kong's advantage as an international financial centre, we will assist enterprises in getting listed in Hong Kong and provide cross-border trade finance and risk management. With advantages including a common law system that is aligned with international standards, strengthening of the functions of the International Organization for Mediation's headquarters, and our international legal talent, we will offer contract management as well as cross-border legal and dispute resolution services, thereby safeguarding the interests of enterprises against international trade frictions when they expand overseas. We will enhance the standards for testing and international certification for Mainland enterprises and brands, thereby enhancing industry quality, building a strong international image, and fostering the globalisation of brands.
2.33 We will enhance the two-way platform function of the convention and exhibition industry. By fully leveraging the "international showroom" function of Hong Kong's convention and exhibition industry and its edge in brand building, we will focus on attracting more large scale international exhibition events and trade fairs to be staged in Hong Kong. We will support the inclusion of eligible Hong Kong quality brands in the list of China's leading consumer brands, foster in depth collaboration among Mainland and Hong Kong enterprises in such areas as brand cultivation, R&D and design, supply chain management, global marketing, etc, and enhance the "Mainland production + Hong Kong services" model for going global, with a view to providing the necessary platform for Mainland enterprises to tap into international markets and supporting well known Mainland brands to venture into the global scene. Meanwhile, we will attract overseas enterprises to introduce quality products and services into the Mainland market using Hong Kong as a platform for international exhibitions and a springboard for trade. We shall make use of our unique advantages as a two-way platform to further develop and consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international convention and exhibition hub.
⁵ It refers to an intermodal transhipment mode in which import and export goods are wholly or partially transported and transhipped using water transportation service, such as river transport and river‑sea transhipment.
⁶ It refers to deepening the development of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia markets and steadily expanding into the West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia markets to construct an aviation transport network with the neighbouring countries, with a view to boosting the capacity for the international market. An orderly approach will be adopted in enhancing the air route network connectivity of the six major economic corridors established under the Belt and Road Initiative for international co-operation, namely the new Eurasian Land Bridge and China-Mongolia-Russia, China-Central Asia-West Asia, China-Indochina Peninsula, China-Pakistan, and Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar economic corridors. Furthermore, it seeks to establish five major aviation transport channels connecting regions such as Europe, North America, Latin America, the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, and Africa, thereby expanding overall network coverage.
⁷The "Fly-Via-Zhuhai-Hong-Kong" passenger service allows Mainland and international travellers to travel between Zhuhai and Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge using an "air-land-air" model, connecting Mainland and the rest of the world through Zhuhai Airport and the Hong Kong International Airport.
(To be continued.)
Ends/Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:21
Issued at HKT 11:21
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