A Supportive Government

Hong Kong will capitalise on the opportunities arising from the national Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development proactively and holistically. The government shall play the role of a “facilitator” and “promoter”.

Key economic initiatives announced in the 2024 Policy Address include:

Consolidate and enhance our advantages

International Financial Centre

• Develop an international gold trading market and world-class gold storage facilities
• Implement an array of measures to attract new capital and products to the stock market, including more Renminbi (RMB)-denominated products and refining the regulatory regime to boost efficiency
• Better utilise the currency swap agreement with our country to enhance offshore RMB liquidity
• Enhance the New Capital Investment Entrance Scheme by allowing the purchase of high-end residential properties
• Actively explore the suitable expansion of the Bond Connect (Southbound Trading) to deepen mutual market access
• Enhance development of the insurance sector, in particular non-life insurance businesses, and attract large enterprises to establish captive insurers in Hong Kong

International Shipping Centre

• Establish the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board to strengthen research capacity and promotional efforts in the Mainland and overseas
• Create a commodity trading ecosystem, introducing tax concessions and encouraging international commodity exchanges to set up accredited warehouses in HK
• Promote development of high-value added maritime services, such as ship broking, financing and leasing, maritime insurance, maritime law and arbitration
• Promulgate the Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering to advance the development of a green maritime centre
• Complete installation of a port community system to facilitate data exchange among stakeholders for further development of the smart port

International Trade Centre

• Build a high value-added supply chain services centre to serve Mainland and overseas enterprises, and facilitate their establishment of offshore trading headquarters in Hong Kong
• Raise the statutory maximum indemnity percentage of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation to 95%, and encourage the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation to establish presence in HK
• Actively promote the development of a headquarters economy to bring in strategic enterprises from outside Hong Kong; extend the validity period of multiple-entry visas to the Mainland for foreign staff of companies registered in Hong Kong to up to five years
• Reduce the duty rate for liquor to promote liquor trading  and related economic activities

International Aviation Hub

• Fully utilise the capacity of the Three-Runway System to explore new destinations and flights
• Expand the scale of the Airport Cityto build a world-leading new landmark
• Complete the Hong Kong International Airport Dongguan Logistics Park Phase 1, and plan ahead for Phase 2 development to reinforce our advantages in air-cargo industry

Develop New Quality Productive Forces

• Formulate medium to long-term development plan for new industrialisation in Hong Kong, and facilitate the establishment of the Hong Kong New Industrialisation Development Alliance to promote collaboration among the Government, industry, academia, research and investment sectors
• Take forward the third InnoHK research cluster with focuses on advanced manufacturing, materials, energy and sustainable development
• Increase investment for research and Innovation and technology (I&T) industries
  • Set up a HK$10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund to form a fund-of-funds to channel more market capital to invest in specific emerging and future industries of strategic importance
  • Optimise the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund by redeploying HK$1.5 billion to set up joint funds to invest in startups of strategic industries
  • Launch a HK$1.5 billion Research Matching Grant Scheme to support research endeavours
• Allocate HK$180 million to set up the Pilot I&T Accelerator Scheme to attract professional startup service providers from local and outside Hong Kong to set up accelerator bases on a matching basis
• Formulate low-altitude economy development strategies and inter-departmental actions
  • Explore low-altitude flying application scenarios
  • Draw up the relevant regulations
  • Promote interface with the Mainland
  • Study and plan for infrastructure and network
• Promote development of Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub
  • Extend coverage of the “1+” mechanism to all new drugs and take steps to establish the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation towards adoption of “primary evaluation”
  • Develop the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform
  • Establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre to accelerate approval of new drugs in Hong Kong
• Promote digital economy by expediting development of digital trade and establishing a new FinTech innovation ecosystem 

Integrated Development of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Foster Economic Diversification

• Promote diverse development of the arts and culture and creative industries with an international perspective, and release the Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development
• The West Kowloon Cultural District to steer the establishment of an industry chain of the arts and culture and creative industries in Hong Kong, and to promote cultural and creative tourism, enhancing its financial sustainability
• Enhance the mechanism of providing direct financial support for athletes and reform the governance of the national sports associations, and continue fostering sports development by promoting sports in the community, supporting elite sports, maintaining Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism and developing sports as industry
• The Kai Tak Sports Park to begin operation next year, becoming a sports and mega events landmark
• Publish the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0, developing Hong Kong into a premier tourism destination
• Set up the Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots to strengthen inter-departmental co-ordination and foster community participation in identifying and developing popular tourist hotspots
• Strengthen support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
  • Re-launch the principal moratorium arrangement to allow SMEs to manage cash-flows more flexibly
  • Inject HK$1 billion into the BUD Fund to help enterprises upgrade and transform their businesses
  • Expand the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to cover tourism and personal service sectors
  • Inject HK$500 million for the launch of the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0
• Set up the Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy to roll out measures to promote silver consumption, industries, quality assurance, financial and security arrangement and productivity
• Advance the Northern Metropolis development adopting innovative mechanism
  • Adopt a “large-scale land disposal” approach for developers to undertake composite development
  • Establish a Government-led company to formulate development and operation strategies for building a pilot industrial park
• Promulgate the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, setting out innovative policies to facilitate mutual access between the two parks

Key initiatives announced in the 2024-25 Budget include:

Green Future
Green Finance

• Assist companies and financial institutions in sustainability reporting and data analysis
• Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme: extended to 2027
• Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof of Concept Subsidy Scheme: to be launched in the first half of 2024
• Co-host a Joint Climate Finance Conference in Hong Kong with Dubai

Green Shipping

• Allocate HK$65 million to concessionary measures for Hong Kong-registered ships that have attained a high rating under international standards of decarbonisation
• Study green-methanol bunkering for local and ocean-going vessels

Green Aviation

• Promote use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Hong Kong
• Photovoltaic technology: Launch a pilot scheme to explore applications on facades of government buildings
• Electric vehicles: Extend the first registration tax (FRT) concessions for electric vehicles to March 2026 with concessions reduced by 40%
  •         Maximum FRT concession under the “One for One Replacement” Scheme:
  •          HK$172,500Concession ceiling for general electric private cars: HK$58,500
  •          Not applicable to electric private cars valued at over HK$500,000 before tax

Innovation and Technology

•          AI Supercomputing Centre: First phase facility to operate in 2024 earliest. Allocate HK$3 billion to support local universities, R&D institutes and enterprises to leverage its computing power, etc
• Establish the Hong Kong Microelectronics Research and Development Institute in 2024 to facilitate research collaboration on third-generation semiconductors
• HK$6 billion for universities to set up life and health technology research institutes
• Set up the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute in Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone in 2024
• Launch the New Industrialisation Acceleration Scheme in 2024 and provide enterprises with up to HK$200 million on a matching basis
• Publish a White Paper on the Development Plan for Hong Kong Park of Hetao in 2024
• HK$2 billion to support presence of InnoHK research clusters in Hetao
• HK$200 million to support incubation and acceleration programmes to Hetao startups engaging in life and health technology
• HK$3 billion earmarked to launch a Frontier Technology Research Infrastructure Support Scheme
• Provide up to HK$16 million to each Technology Transfer Office of 8 UGC-funded universities

Finance

• Issue HK$70 billion worth of retail bonds:
  •          Silver bonds: HK$50 billion
  •          Green bonds and infrastructure bonds: HK$20 billion
•          Promote introduction of block trading, RMB counters under Southbound Stock Connect, and expansion of the mutual access regime to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
•          Host the 10th Anniversary of Mutual Access Forum and stage a series of roadshows in the Mainland
•          Extend the Grant Scheme for Open-ended Fund Companies and REITs for 3 years
•          Enhance preferential tax regimes for family office funds, etc.
•          Continue to build collaborative framework on cross-boundary credit referencing
•          HK$100 million to promote sustainable development of financial services

Assisting Small and Medium Enterprises

• SME Financing Guarantee Scheme: extend application period for 80% and 90% Guarantee Products till end March 2026
• BUD Fund: inject HK$500 million with launch of “E-commerce Easy". Provide up to HK$1 million per enterprise for implementing e-commerce projects in the Mainland
• Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme: SMEs in the F&B and retail industries to be invited to select ready-to-use solutions starting in early 2024

Trade

•    Multinational supply chain management centre:
  •       Provide consulting services, trade financing and corporate training
  •          Study the establishment of trade single window to provide one-stop services for enterprises
  •           Attract Mainland manufacturing enterprises to set up offshore trading management headquarters in Hong Kong
•    Explore new markets:
  •           Consider establishing Economic and Trade Offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
•          Organise “Belt and Road Festival” and “Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Forum” in 2024

Intellectual Property Trading

•           Introduce legislative proposal to implement “patent box” tax incentive. Profit tax rate to be reduced to 5%
•           HK$45 million to support Hong Kong Productivity Council in establishing and operating WIPO Technology and Innovation Support Centre

Maritime

•          Study enhancements to tax concession measures for maritime industry
•          Offer block registration incentive to shipowners for extensive registration of ships in Hong Kong

Aviation

•          Strengthen aviation services with current major routes and routes along the Belt and Road, in support of “Air Silk Road”

Legal and Dispute Resolution Services

•          Headquarters of the “International Organization for Mediation” to be hosted in Hong Kong
•          Continue to promote Hong Kong’s legal and dispute resolution services in the Mainland, the Middle East and ASEAN member states

International Cultural Exchange

•           Inject HK$1.4 billion into Film Development Fund, HK$2.9 billion into CreateSmart Initiative
•           Organise Hong Kong Fashion Design Week annually from 2024 onwards
•           Devise key arrangements of Signature Performing Arts Programme Scheme in first half of 2024 to support long running of large-scale programmes
•           Organise the first Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo
  
  

The Government of Hong Kong SAR is also committed to driving local business through a variety of initiatives. For details of government funding schemes, please visit here.