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Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is delivering his second Policy Address on Wednesday morning, with the theme of upgrading the economy, seeking development, benefiting people’s livelihood and making them happier.
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He added that he has conducted more than 40 consultation sessions and visited numerous districts over the past three months to gather views from the public.
Lee stressed that this Policy Address comprises measures consolidating work introduced over the past year as well as new fields and directions the city should pursue, and it is a plan for each and every one of the citizens.
Following are the key takeaways:
Housing
- reduce the respective rates of the Buyer's Stamp Duty and the New Residential Stamp Duty by half, from 15 percent to 7.5 percent Read More
- shorten the applicable period of the Special Stamp Duty from three years to two years
- introduce stamp duty suspension arrangement for incoming talents
- more than 2,000 public rental housing units will be completed in the first half of 2024, while the first batch of about 2,100 Light Public Housing units will be completed in 2024-25
- three sites will be put up for tender for private developers to develop subsidised sale flats starting from 2023-24
- establish a task force on tackling the issue of subdivided units Read More
- make available sufficient land in the next five years to provide about 80,000 private housing units
Promote Fertility and Create a Childbearing Environment Read More
- provide a one-off cash bonus of HK$20,000 for each baby born today or after in Hong Kong to a parent who is a permanent resident. Measure will last for three years
- raise the accommodation-related tax deduction ceiling for families with newborns from HK$100,000 to HK$120,000
- families with newborns will have higher balloting chances and priority flat selection in buying subsidised sale flats
- waiting time for public rental housing flats reduced by one year for families with newborns
- increase the public service quota for assisted reproductive services and offer tax deduction
- increase the Working Family Allowance by 15 percent
- ten more aided standalone child care centres will be set up over the next three years starting from 2024 to provide about 900 additional places for day child care services
Scale up Capability in coping with Extreme Weather Read More
- exploring ways to use big data, AI and other technology to improve risk assessment capabilities on aspects of more uncertainties
- taking forward expeditiously the HK$8 billion drainage improvement works projects, covering Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong Island East and other areas hit by severe floods in the past
Strengthen Transport Network Read More
New two railways and one major road arrangement:
- Northern Link Eastern Extension – Extending the Northern Link to Ping Che via Lo Wu South and Man Kam To areas, connecting NDAs and different boundary control points
- Northeast New Territories Line – Providing a north-south railway from Heung Yuen Wai to Fanling Station of the East Rail line, via Ping Che and Queen's Hill areas, linking major development nodes
- Northern Metropolis Highway (New Territories North New Town Section) – Extending the Northern Metropolis Highway from Fanling North to the east to connect Sha Tau Kok Road Interchange, enhancing east-west connectivity in the New Territories North
- implement smart and green mass transit in East Kowloon – Connecting Kwun Tong uphill areas, Kai Tak and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen
Raise Competitiveness Read More
- eligible investors who make investments of HK$30 million or above in assets such as stocks, funds, bonds, etc. can apply for entry into Hong Kong
- establish the physical office of the Hong Kong Talent Engage
- "Multiple-entry Visa" to the Mainland for foreigners working in companies registered in Hong Kong
- attract enterprises from outside Hong Kong to set up headquarters and/or corporate divisions in Hong Kong
- expand the coverage of universities under the Top Talent Pass Scheme
- establish the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy and also the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption
- set up a HK$10 billion New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme
National Security Read More
- complete the legislative exercise for Article 23 of the Basic Law in 2024
- introduce cybersecurity of critical infrastructure bill into the LegCo in 2024
Healthcare
- set up a preparatory office for the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation to study the restructuring and strengthening of regulatory and approval regimes for medicine, medical devices and medical technology Read More
- reducing the waiting time of stable new case bookings for two specialties - Ear, Nose and Throat, and Orthopaedics and Traumatology - by 10 percent in 2024-25
- set up city's first Chest Pain Centre in Queen Mary Hospital in 2025
- establish a breastmilk bank and formulate the related mechanism for breastmilk donation in 2025
- provide partial subsidies for private dental check-up services for adolescents aged between 13 and 17
- provide mental health assessment in the community through a pilot scheme in three District Health Centres next year
Education Read More
- doubled admission quota of non-local students to government-funded post-secondary institutions to 40 percent
- facilitate the establishment of universities of applied sciences and to raise the status of vocational and professional education and training to attain qualifications at university degree level
- develop the Northern Metropolis University Town where post-secondary institutions are encouraged to create synergy by sharing resources and enhancing collaboration with the industry sector
- inject HK$1 billion into the Government Scholarship Fund with the quota of the Belt and Road Scholarship will increase by 50 percent
- increase the quota of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme by one-third gradually, from 300 to 400 places per academic year
- establish the Hong Kong Institute of Information Technology and introduce programmes in the 2024/25 academic year
Elderly Services
- extend the coverage of the Residential Care Service voucher from care-and-attention places to nursing home places, and provide 1,000 more vouchers
- inject HK$1 billion into Innovation and Technology Fund to enhance the subsidies for elderly and rehabilitation service units to procure, rent and trial technology products
- inject funding into the lifelong learning fund to encourage lifelong learning and integration into the community among the elderly
- establish an advisory panel on Silver Economy comprising experts to conduct research and offer recommendations
- extend the coverage of the elderly health care vouchers initially to about five suitable medical institutions in the Greater Bay Area as trial service points next year
Targeted Poverty Alleviation
- enhance the Strive and Rise Programme by increasing the number of mentees from 2,800 to 4,000, with an extension to cover Secondary Four students
- launch a pilot programme on Community Living Room to offer shared kitchens, dining rooms and common spaces to provide subdivided unit households with additional living space
- roll out a School-based After School Care Service Scheme to allow primary students in need to stay at school outside school hours for care and learning support
Ethnic Minorities Read More
- set up two additional support service centres for ethnic minorities next year
- encourage non-Chinese speaking students to learn Chinese for integration into society
- invite job applications from ethnic minorities for civil service jobs
- set up service centre on a trial basis to provide emotional support and counselling services for ethnic minorities
Strengthen the Competitiveness of the Stock Market
- reduce the rate of Stamp Duty on Stock Transfer from the current 0.13 percent to 0.1 percent. The target is to complete the legislative procedures by the end of November
- HKEX will provide fixed fee enterprise data packages to facilitate investors obtaining real-time market data and reduce relevant costs
- HKEX and the financial regulators will review and explore reducing the minimum trading spreads to facilitate the market prices of liquid but spread-constrained stocks to better reflect market circumstances
- strengthen the offshore RMB business
- establish a new integrated fund platform within next year to expand fund distribution network
Support Small and Medium Enterprises Read More
- establish inter-departmental E-commerce Development Task Force to implement policies assisting Hong Kong's SMEs in developing e-commerce business on the Mainland
- provide more flexible repayment options for enterprises to repay the government loans
- support digital transformation of SMEs
Land Supply Read More
- estimated there will be more than 7,000 hectares of land supply in the 30-year period up to 2048
- there will be a land reserve of at least 1,000 hectares after taking into account the projected land demand
- extend the arrangement for standardisation of land premium
- revitalise Hung Hom Station and nearby sites
- develop the ex-Lamma Quarry site
Move Ahead with the Northern Metropolis Read More
- a high-end professional services and logistics hub will provide financial and professional services for developing the modern logistics industry
- an I&T zone to create synergy with the Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Zone and serve as a hub for I&T development
- a boundary commerce and industry zone to promote cross-boundary business services and entertainment spending
- a blue and green recreation, tourism and conservation circle to promote recreation and tourism development
- the Northern Metropolis will align with the development positioning of the Hetao Co-operation Zone to integrate with the strategy on enhancing I&T competitiveness to pave way for the future development of the Zone
Enhance International Aviation Hub status
- introduce autonomous transportation system to carry passengers along the Airport City Link connecting SKYCITY and the Hong Kong Port Island of the HZMB from 2025 onwards
- plans to extend the autonomous transportation system to Tung Chung Town Centre in 2028
- passengers will not need to take out items as liquids and electronic devices from carry-on luggage during aviation security screening starting next year
Reinforce International Trade Centre status
- organise more outbound missions with Hong Kong and Mainland enterprises to promote business opportunities
- set up additional offices for business and trade along the Belt and Road Initiative
- continue to consolidate business cooperation and connections with the markets of ASEAN and the Middle East, etc. and strive for Hong Kong's early accession to RCEP
Promote Cultural and Creative Industries Read More
- promulgate and implement the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development before the end of this year
- establish the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency
- launch the Filming Financing Scheme for Mainland Market to support cultural enterprises to invest in the productions of Hong Kong directors for release in the Mainland market
- increase the annual provisions for cultural exchanges by 40%, from HK$50 million to HK$70 million
- organise Hong Kong Fashion Design Week
Patriotic Education Read More
- establish a working group on patriotic education to dovetailing with the Patriotic Education Law of the mainland
- establish Chinese Culture Promotion Office to promote Chinese culture and history
- organise Chinese Culture Festival starting from next year
- set up two museums about country and the war of resistance
Strengthen Civil Service Management System Read More
- advance the performance-based management system
- introduce the Civil Service Staff Exchange Programme with the GBA by the end of 2023
Advance Development of Digital Government Read More
- set up the Digital Policy Office by merging the existing Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Efficiency Office
- providing electronic payment options for all government fees within one
year
- promote Cross-boundary Public Services initiative to let HK residents log into the Guangdong Government Service Network with "iAM Smart"
Others
- streamline the licensing regime of food businesses
- enhance the capability of coordinated emergency management across the GBA and on the provision of cross-boundary ambulance service
- considering using the GBA Investment Fund to set up a joint investment fund with the Guangdong government and other institutions or corporations to invest in the GBA projects
- establish the Committee on the Financing of Major Development Projects to advise on feasible investment and financing options, taking advantage of market capital and efficiency
