On 19 October 2022, the Chief Executive John Lee delivered his first policy address (“Policy Address”) entitled “Charting a Brighter Tomorrow for Hong Kong”, mapping out his vision and priorities for the next five years. We highlight below the key policies that were recommendations and mentioned in the submission paper by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (the “Chamber”) and the initiatives that are relevant to our Chamber and our business community.In brief summary, we are very encouraged to see that the Policy Address is comprehensive, forward-looking and responsive to the business interests of our Chamber and the international community in Hong Kong. We have attached a comparison that shows areas of alignment between the Policy Address and the Chamber’s submission. Most notable highlights include:
• Commitment and enhanced efforts on decarbonization
• Financial and non-financial incentives to attract businesses and talents to Hong Kong (Re: item #3(b) of our Policy Matching reply)
• Global marketing campaign to promote Hong Kong and restore business confidence
• Measures to increase land supply and improve social welfare
• Measures to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology center
Where the policy address did not address the Chamber’s recommendations such as in the case of a clear timeline of when all travel restrictions will end, support for SMEs by reducing tax burden, further efforts on board diversity, and support for gender equality, the Chamber will continue to advocate for policies that align the interests of our members on a continuous basis both through formal and informal channels, especially as we give even more focus towards connectivity and networking for commerce.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the Committees and members who contributed to this submission in particular our Policy and Government Relations committee and Patty Shao, who played a central role in organizing and collating our recommendations.
Yours sincerely,
Alex Tam
Chairman
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
