Hong Kong will sustain the momentum of three consecutive years of economic growth and accelerate the development, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in the annual budget on Wednesday.
The financial chief highlighted a multi-pronged approach to sustain the steadily improving overall sentiment, including attracting talents and visitors, as well as expediting the development of the Northern Metropolis (NM).
Enterprises and talents
Chan stated that the government will continue to proactively attract investments and talents, injecting fresh impetus into Hong Kong's economy.
The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) has attracted over 100 strategic enterprises to establish a presence in Hong Kong. Among them, 51 are listed companies, and 76 have set up their global or regional headquarters in the city, bringing in about HK$60 billion of investment and creating around 22,000 jobs.
Simultaneously, Invest Hong Kong assisted 560 enterprises in establishing or expanding operations last year, a move expected to generate another HK$70 billion in investment and over 10,000 jobs. The number of start-ups and companies with Mainland or overseas parentage both rose by 11 percent to hit new highs.
Regarding talent attraction, the Top Talent Pass Scheme has drawn over 100,000 global elites to Hong Kong.
Mega events
Chan noted that large-scale events are successfully drawing visitors back to the city. Visitor arrivals approached 50 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. Notably, non-Mainland visitor numbers recorded a growth of 15 percent.
He cited the success of the National Games and the National Games for Persons with Disabilities, which was co-hosted last year with Guangdong and Macao, as evidence of Hong Kong's capacity to organize large-scale sports events.
He also highlighted the immediate success of the Kai Tak Sports Park. Less than a year after its commissioning, the park’s main stadium has achieved the highest ticket sales in Asia and ranked third globally, registering the highest gross income of any stadium in the region.
“In the coming year, mega cultural and sports events will follow one after another, showcasing Hong Kong's unique glamour,” he said.
]Northern Metropolis
Furthermore, Chan said the Northern Metropolis (NM), being a new engine for long-term development, will inject fresh economic impetus into Hong Kong and support the new "South-North dual engine (finance-I&T)" industry pattern.
"We are accelerating its development through various measures, including adopting a large-scale land-disposal approach in land allocation and expediting the bringing in of enterprises and industries, as well as establishing two dedicated companies for San Tin Technopole and Hung Shui Kiu Industry Park, respectively," he said.
The government also plans to introduce dedicated legislation for the Northern Metropolis in the middle of this year.
