Xia's Shenzhen visit aimed at shoring up support for HK tech

Ayra Wang

Top Beijing official on Hong Kong affairs Xia Baolong will visit Shenzhen on Friday to meet with business and political figures and drum up more investments, according to sources.

It is understood the director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office will hold a closed-door symposium on Hong Kong's development.

Sources said major chambers of commerce executives, international business leaders and property tycoons, as well as key government officials - including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu - have received notifications to attend.

Xia is expected to elaborate on the latest policies of the central government and encourage the business sector to participate more actively in investments.

"Beijing and the SAR government think that the current input by the business sector in the innovation and technology industry is not sufficient," sources said.

They added that the central government expects the business sector to invest more in the industry to promote Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology center.

Sources also said Beijing anticipates the business sector to maintain firm confidence in Hong Kong's prospects and support the city's and the country's development more proactively.

It is understood that Lee and the director of the central government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong, Zheng Yanxiong, will attend the meeting.

Sources also said Lee and other senior officials postponed a luncheon at the Legislative Council on Friday due to the meeting in Shenzhen.

Xia met with HSBC group chairman Mark Tucker and Jardine Matheson executive chairman Ben Keswick in Beijing last month, encouraging them to continue investing in Hong Kong.

In February, Xia also visited Hong Kong and met with dozens of business representatives.

Following the meeting, the central government introduced a series of measures benefiting Hong Kong, including expanding the individual travel scheme to cover more mainland cities and increasing duty-free shopping allowances for mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong.

The local business community was also reminded not to be "freeloaders" by the central government.

It is understood that local tourism representatives had asked Beijing to include more cities under the individual travel scheme, due to the decreased spending of mainland visitors.

But central government officials reminded them that local business operators should also come up with methods to stimulate spending instead of just relying on policies.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant to the semi-official think tank Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the central government expects local enterprises to make investments that contribute to Hong Kong's transformation and economic recovery.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com