Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will introduce the potential of Northern Metropolis and Greater Bay Area to global institutions at the coming International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.
It comes as the city is seeking to maintain dialogues with traditional markets amid concerns about a revival of trade war, according to the latest blog by the financial chief.
Chan, who will attend the annual gatherings this week in Washington D.C. as a member of China’s delegation, will meet with local investors like financial institutions and funds, local chambers of commerce, scholars, and think tanks.
In the meetings, Chan will introduce to them the latest developments and advantages of Hong Kong, especially the investment opportunities in the Northern Metropolis and GBA.
Northern Metropolis has been designed as a new growth engine of Hong Kong in China’s 14th Five-Year plan culminating this year. But the Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu is “deeply concerned” about the development pace and determined to accelerate it by setting up three dedicated working groups.
Chan was appointed to lead one of them, focusing on exploring financing sources and operation models for the industrial parks in the 30,000-hectare area, as the Hong Kong government has recorded fiscal deficits of about HK$100 billion for three financial years in a row and expects a surplus no earlier than 2027.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said at a Saturday forum that four new development areas have started construction, involving land of 900 hectares.
Linn added that the government will consider supportive policies, including land granting, land premium exemption, and tax reductions, to attract high-value-added industries and high-potential enterprises to establish operations in the Northern Metropolis.
Meanwhile, Chan noted in his blog that global investors are speeding up “de-dollar” by increasing the non-dollar assets in their portfolios, as the global headwinds like geopolitical tensions, protectionism and trade war made international markets worry more about risks.
On the concerns, gold prices renewed their record highs this year, surpassing US$4,000 (HK$31,200) an ounce last week and some cryptocurrencies showed significant volatility.
But Chan still believes dialogues and frank communications will help eliminate misunderstandings and boost mutual trust and the city’s advantages are more outstanding amid the global uncertainties.
Hong Kong will continue to welcome overseas investors from the US and other markets to invest in and share opportunities in the city, Chan said.
