Month: September 2025

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Young persons in custody (PICs) at Lai King Correctional Institution (LKCI) of the Correctional Services Department (CSD) were presented with certificates at a ceremony today (September 17) in recognition of their efforts and achievements in studies and vocational examinations.

Over the past year, a total of 36 PICs at LKCI enrolled in distance learning courses offered by the Hong Kong Metropolitan University or sat for various academic and vocational examinations, including the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, the Aptis – British Council English Assessment Test, Caritas Institute of Community Education examinations and examinations organised by City and Guilds, the Vocational Training Council, the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Management Association. The subjects covered food and beverage services, Western pastry and dessert making, Cantonese cooking and kitchen operations, beauty care, coffee shop beverage preparation and food hygiene. During the year, the PICs attained 60 merits out of 126 certificates. In the ceremony today, 20 PICs were presented with 68 certificates, of which 35 were marked with merits.

Officiating at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yan Oi Tong, Mr Benton Ho, said that Yan Oi Tong is fully supportive of the rehabilitation work of the CSD and set up the Yan Oi Tong Rehabilitation Scholarship Charity Fund in 2024, with the aim of supporting the educational and vocational training needs of PICs and assisting those facing financial difficulties to pursue continuing education. He encouraged PICs to equip themselves well and adopt a proactive learning attitude, with a view to preparing for reintegration into society.

During the ceremony, a music performance by a marching band composed of young PICs and a sand painting performance themed “the power of perseverance” by PICs were staged to demonstrate their learning outcomes of the past year to guests as well as their family members, and to convey their gratitude to their family members and correctional officers.

In the sharing session, a young PIC shared her experiences during rehabilitation and expressed gratitude for the support and encouragement from her family and CSD staff, enabling her to optimise her custodial time to actively equip herself by pursuing a distance learning local university degree programme. Her mother also shared the joy of witnessing the positive changes in her daughter while undergoing training in LKCI.

LKCI accommodates young female PICs aged from 14 to under 21. The Department provides half-day education programmes and half-day vocational training for PICs to help them rehabilitate and prepare for their reintegration into society.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Chapter IX 

Facilitate Stable Living in a Caring and Inclusive Society

206. Improving people’s livelihood is my key policy priority. Since taking office, the current-term Government has been striving to build a vibrant economy and promote development. These efforts aim to enhance our economy’s long-term competitiveness, generate strong growth momentum, and lay a solid foundation for improving the well-being of our people – ultimately increasing their sense of happiness and well-being. This chapter on livelihood is the longest in the Policy Address, covering nine areas that are closely linked to the everyday lives of Hong Kong residents.

(A) Increase Housing Supply and Enrich the Housing Ladder

207. Safeguarding the basic housing needs of people of Hong Kong is the top priority of our governance. Since assuming office, I have strengthened housing protection for the grassroots by accelerating the construction of PRH, launching the innovative LPH and cracking down on PRH tenancy abuse. With the supply of PRH continuously increasing, the Government is now well positioned to further assist the grassroots in achieving home ownership. We will increase the supply of flats under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH), optimise the sale and alienation restriction arrangements, help more PRH tenants realise home ownership, while enabling the owners of subsidised sale flats (SSFs) enter into the private housing market. With the housing ladder enriched, we can support residents across all walks of life to live and work happily.

Increase Public Housing Supply

208. In the five years starting from 2026-27 onwards, the overall public housing production (including LPH) will reach 189 000 units, about 80% higher than when I took office. Three years ago, PRH applicants had to wait 6.1 years on average before they were offered PRH. With our efforts over the past three years or so, the Composite Waiting Time for Subsidised Rental Housing has been shortened by a whole year to 5.1 years, and we are moving closer to the target of reducing it to 4.5 years in 2026-27. Subdivided unit (SDU) households can improve their living conditions by moving into PRH or LPH units one year earlier, while saving about $36,000 or $50,000 in rent on average per year respectively.

209. Three years ago, I announced the launch of 30 000 LPH units. About 10 000 of them will be completed for intake by the end of this year. The remaining 20 000 units will be completed in the coming year and a half.

210. The Basic Housing Unit regulatory regime, designed to eradicate substandard SDUs, is being scrutinised by the LegCo. Subject to passage of the bill, the regime will be implemented in March next year.

Redevelop Public Rental Housing Estates

211. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) will announce redevelopment plans for Ma Tau Wai Estate and Sai Wan Estate this year. A study will also be conducted on the redevelopment of Model Housing Estate.

Enrich the Housing Ladder

212. With the increase in public housing supply, we will take measured steps to help people of Hong Kong achieve home ownership. They include the six measures below:

(i) Given the supply of HOS flats in the next five years is expected to be about 50% more than the five-year supply when the current-term Government took office, opportunities for both Green Form (GF) and White Form (WF) applicants to purchase HOS flats will increase significantly. On the basis that the supply of HOS flats are substantially increasing, we will increase the ratio of quotas between GF and WF from 40:60 to 50:50 to assist more PRH tenants to become owners, while at the same time transfer the original PRH units to Waiting List applicants, benefitting both parties at the same time.

(ii) To increase opportunities for WF applicants to purchase SSFs with unpaid premium in the secondary market, the HKHA will increase the quota of the White Form Secondary Market Scheme (WSM) by 1 000 to 7 000, starting from the next WSM exercise. Half of the 1 000 additional quota will be allocated to young family and one-person applicants below 40.

(iii) To prevent forfeiture of the WSM quota because of personal preferences, the number of approval letters issued by the HKHA will be suitably higher than the quota set under the WSM exercise, ensuring that the quota for flat purchases can be fully utilised, in order to strive to meet the expectations of the purchasers.

(iv) We will increase the ratio of larger units in HOS and GSH projects in response to market needs.

(v) We will relax the alienation restriction period of new flats for sale from 15 years to 10 years to encourage upward mobility. This measure will be applicable starting from the next HOS and GSH sale exercises.

(vi) We will launch the “Flat-for-Flat Scheme for Elderly Owners” of HKHA’s SSFs, allowing those who have reached the age of 60 and owned their flat for 10 years or more to purchase a smaller flat or a flat in a more remote area after selling their original one in the secondary market with premium unpaid. In doing so, they can get additional cash to cover their living expenses, while urban or larger flats can be released for families in need to apply for.

213. The HKHA and the Hong Kong Housing Society will introduce a pilot scheme, allowing those who have owned an SSF for 10 years or more to let their flats with unpaid premium to eligible WF applicants after paying relevant fees, subject to a quota of 3 000.

Private Housing Supply

214. According to the Long Term Housing Strategy, the supply target for private housing in the coming decade is projected to be 126 000 units. The Government will have sufficient land to meet the demand in the next ten years, and will roll out such land to the market in an orderly and pragmatic manner. Besides Government land sale, other sources of private housing land supply include railway property development and Urban Renewal Authority (URA) projects, as well as private development projects.

(B) Land Development

215. The Government must maintain an ample supply of land to meet the demand for major development projects, long-term economic development and the community’s housing needs. Land reserve is similar to bank savings in that both are saved for use when needed. We will sustain efforts to produce and retain control over the supply of land. In parallel, we will improve the efficiency of land production and lower construction costs by streamlining approval processes, optimising administrative procedures, strengthening internal collaboration, applying technology, reviewing relevant standards and more, so as to safeguard public interests and meet development needs.

Build Land Reserve

216. In the next decade, the Government will get ready around 2 600 hectares of “spade-ready sites”¹³. Apart from meeting the development needs, this would also provide the necessary room for the Government to build up a healthy land reserve.

Reduce Construction Costs

217. We will continue to streamline statutory procedures and administrative workflows. Relevant measures include:

(i) Simplify works approval procedures, set clear performance pledges, and enhance co-ordination among relevant departments on vetting processes to expedite approval.

(ii) The Housing Department (HD) will set up a Project Facilitation Office to co-ordinate departments in expediting the completion of public housing projects. The Housing Bureau (HB) has implemented a new management approach, under which the target time for project completion is set to prompt the accelerated completion of various project stages.

(iii) Leverage technologies. Next year, the DEVB will launch a Project Cost Management Platform, establishing a market price database and applying AI technology to analyse, for example, past government project cost data, to ensure greater cost-effectiveness in future project designs. The HD has also adopted the self-developed Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled Systematic Approach to Foundation Design, which automatically generates designs to further reduce costs.

(iv) The Building Technology Research Institute will continuously review the construction standards and requirements of government projects. In addition, regarding the approval of building materials for public housing, the HB will look into the accreditation of standards of more regions.

(v) The Government will relax the gross floor area (GFA) exemption arrangement for car parks in private developments by removing the mandatory requirement of constructing underground car parks as a condition of exemption, and granting full GFA exemption if developers construct no more than two storeys of above ground car parks.

(vi) The DEVB will conduct central procurement on a trial basis in the first half of next year, piloting in the procurement of commonly used materials including steel reinforcement and Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) modules, in order to save costs. The HB will also pilot the batch procurement of integrated modules of MiC method next year. In addition, the HB has established a database of standard building materials, covering commonly used materials such as aluminium windows and partition walls, to expedite the approval process.

Release Industrial Land in Urban Areas

218. Since 2000, the Planning Department has conducted five rounds of Area Assessments of Industrial Land in the Territory, and some of the industrial land have been rezoned for other uses such as residential and business uses. The Government will commence a new round of study this year and put forward recommendations next year, including the way forward for the Revitalisation Scheme for Industrial Buildings.

Urban Renewal with a New Mind-set

219. Embracing a new mind-set, we will explore the use of newly developed land to take forward urban renewal. Relevant measures include:

(i) Relax the current arrangement for the transfer of plot ratio within the same district to allow the cross-district transfer of unutilised plot ratio from redevelopment projects to other districts or even NDAs, to enhance market incentives for redevelopment.

(ii) Reserve three sites in Kwu Tung North and Fanling North NDAs in the Northern Metropolis for the URA to construct new buildings, which will be used as replacement flats under the “Flat-for-Flat” Scheme in the future.

(iii) Suitably increase the plot ratio of private redevelopment projects, on a pilot basis, for the seven designated areas¹â�´ with more pressing redevelopment need, allowing the increased plot ratio to be transferred for utilisation in the Northern Metropolis or other districts, or to be used for offsetting the premium payable for bidding land, lease modification in other projects or in situ land exchange.

Enhance Construction Safety

220. The Government will amend the Buildings Ordinance next year to enhance the deterrent effect against non-compliance with statutory notices or orders and serious unauthorised building works, and strengthen regulation of contractors.

(C) Enhance Transport and Commuting Convenience

Promulgate the Transport Strategy Blueprint

221. The Transport and Logistics Bureau will publish the Transport Strategy Blueprint by the end of this year to outline directions and specific measures for transport development.

Smart and Green Mass Transit Systems

222. We will soon invite tenders for the smart and green mass transit system project in Kai Tak, and will invite tenders for the projects in East Kowloon and the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA next year.

Accelerate the Introduction of Mass Transit Systems

223. To speed up the introduction of new mass transit systems from around the world, the Government will devise a regulatory framework applicable to different system technologies and operators, and introduce a bill next year.

Promote Autonomous Vehicles

224. The Government established a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles (AV) last year. Three areas will be approved this year for AV trials, aiming at AV cross-district travel and connections to other modes of transport, to accelerate the large scale development of driverless autonomous driving in Hong Kong, expediting its transition to commercial operations, and facilitating the industry’s expansion to overseas, particularly right-hand-drive markets, using Hong Kong as the platform.

Regulate Ride-hailing Services by Legislation

225. The issue of regulating ride-hailing services in Hong Kong has persisted for over 11 years. The current-term Government is determined to resolve this issue, striving to pass the legislation on regulating the services before the prorogation of the current-term LegCo, with a view to safeguarding the public’s travel safety.

¹³ “Spade-ready sites” refer to sites that have gone through procedures including rezoning, clearance and formation, and are ready for commencement of works.

¹â�´ The Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) (Amendment) Ordinance 2024, which came into effect last year, specified seven areas with more pressing need for renewal based on the areas covered by the OZPs, including Cheung Sha Wan (the same OZP covering also Sham Shui Po), Ma Tau Kok (covering Kowloon City and To Kwa Wan), Mong Kok, Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan (covered by the same OZP), Tsuen Wan, Wan Chai and Yau Ma Tei. 

(To be continued.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

Chapter VI  

Consolidate Hong Kong’s Status as an International Hub

90. Backed by strong national support and a high degree of global connectivity, Hong Kong is recognised worldwide as an international centre in finance, trade and shipping, as well as in aviation, legal services and dispute resolution. The Government will fully leverage these institutional strengths to consolidate Hong Kong’s status as a premier international hub.

(A) International Financial Centre

91. Through sustained efforts of the Government to strengthen our financial system, Hong Kong has reclaimed its third-place position in the Global Financial Centres Index ranking. Building on this momentum, we will harness the asset-reallocation wave of global investors to cement our status as an international financial centre. Our strategy will deepen the equity market, expand a world-class bond market and a vibrant currency market, while advancing the insurance, asset management and wealth management sectors. We will also expedite the development of new growth areas, building a premier international gold trading market, driving the development of fintech, as well as promoting green and sustainable finance.

Continuously Strengthen the Stock Market

92. The Hong Kong stock market has maintained its strong momentum. The Hang Seng Index has risen by over 20% year-to-date, while the average daily turnover has reached $250 billion, nearly double that of last year. At the end of August, the cumulative amount of funds raised through IPOs exceeded $130 billion, nearly six times higher than that of the same period last year, ranking Hong Kong first globally in IPO fundraising.

93. We will leverage the Technology Enterprises Channel to assist Mainland technology enterprises in raising funds in Hong Kong, strengthening financial support for our nation’s development as a science and technology powerhouse. We will also optimise the regimes for listing on the Main Board and issuing structured products, consider enhancements to the listing requirements for companies with weighted voting right structures, explore shortening the stock settlement cycle to T+1, encourage more overseas enterprises to seek secondary listing in Hong Kong, support China Concept Stock companies to return from overseas markets, with Hong Kong as their preferred destination, and press ahead with the inclusion of an RMB trading counter under Stock Connect’s Southbound trading for Hong Kong stocks.

Build a World-leading Bond Market

94. The Government will further consolidate Hong Kong’s position as a bond market hub. Relevant measures include:

(i) Enhance financial infrastructure, including the collaboration between the HKMA’s CMU OmniClear and the HKEX to explore centralised management and the cross-collateralisation of assets (such as shares and bonds) by investors on a single platform, with a view to fostering interplay between various mutual-market access mechanisms, establishing connections with markets such as Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates and promoting the use of offshore Chinese Government Bonds as collateral in different clearing houses to further enrich the use cases of RMB assets. The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) is also studying the feasibility of an innovative electronic bond-trading platform built and operated by market participants. It is also promoting the establishment of a commercial repo market and a central counterparty regime in Hong Kong to improve market liquidity.

(ii) Continue discussions with relevant Mainland institutions on introducing offshore treasury bond futures in Hong Kong, expand the variety of interest rate derivatives under Swap Connect, promote the development of over-the-counter derivatives, and explore the launch of the cross-boundary RMB repo business in collaboration with the Mainland in due course.

(iii) Step up market outreach efforts by the SFC, the HKMA and the HKEX to encourage more enterprises to issue corporate bonds in Hong Kong, attracting capital from around the globe to participate in our bond market.

(iv) The SFC and the HKMA will set out relevant details of these measures in the Fixed Income and Currency Roadmap to be published.

Build a Vibrant Currency Market

95. Hong Kong is the world’s largest offshore RMB business hub. To enhance the liquidity and global reach of the offshore RMB market in Hong Kong, the HKMA will make use of the Currency Swap Agreement with the People’s Bank of China and introduce an RMB Business Facility, providing enterprises with the longer-term RMB financing required for trade, daily operation and capital expenditure, so as to support the use of RMB in the real economy. It will also continue to explore diversified channels for cross boundary capital acquisition, so as to provide a stable source of RMB funds for the market at a relatively low cost. The HKMA will also explore measures to facilitate foreign exchange quotations and transactions between RMB and other regional currencies in Hong Kong.

96. The Government will issue more RMB bonds and consider settling government expenditure in RMB under suitable circumstances.

Expedite the Building of an International Gold Trading Market

97. I have accepted the recommendations of the Working Group on Promoting Gold Market Development. The FSTB will implement the relevant initiatives, including:

(i) Support the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and financial institutions to establish Hong Kong’s gold storage facilities, with a target gold storing capacity of over 2 000 tonnes in three years, propelling Hong Kong into a regional gold reserve hub.

(ii) Encourage gold traders to set up or expand refineries in Hong Kong, and explore with the Mainland the feasibility of processing supplied materials in the Mainland to produce refined gold for exporting to Hong Kong for trading and delivery.

(iii) Establish a central clearing system for gold in Hong Kong to provide efficient and reliable clearing services for transactions of gold in compliance with international standards, and invite the participation of the Shanghai Gold Exchange to prepare for mutual market access with the Mainland in the future.

(iv) Offer a greater variety of gold investment vehicles by assisting issuers in issuing gold funds, and support the development of new investment products such as tokenised gold.

(v) Support the setting up of a trade association for the gold industry, with a view to establishing an exchange platform with the Government and regulators, stepping up promotional efforts and attracting more B&R clients, while strengthening talent training.

98. The International Board of the Shanghai Gold Exchange has set up its first offshore delivery vault in Hong Kong and launched new contracts for delivery in Hong Kong. We will continue to promote co-operation between the gold markets of the two cities.

International Risk Management Centre

99. To encourage the participation of insurance funds in infrastructure financing, the Government will amend the legislation next year to lower capital requirements for infrastructure investment and provide concessions for local projects. We will also promote the development of exclusive captive and reinsurance business in Hong Kong, encouraging the market to introduce more insurance products such as those related to cross-boundary elderly care, cross-boundary driving and low-altitude economy.

International Asset and Wealth Management Centre

100. Hong Kong is expected to become the world’s largest cross-boundary wealth management centre in the next few years. Following the launch of Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect 2.0 in February last year, the number of Mainland accounts investing in Hong Kong’s wealth products has increased from 25 000 to 110 000.

101. We will further enhance the preferential tax regimes for funds, single family offices and carried interest to attract more funds to establish a presence in Hong Kong. The SFC will actively promote the inclusion of real estate investment trusts (REITs) under mutual market access to increase the liquidity of REITs in the Mainland and Hong Kong. We will also facilitate the enhancement of the Qualified Foreign Limited Partnerships (QFLP) mechanism, in particular by collaborating with Qianhai and Shanghai to attract more foreign capital to the Mainland’s private capital market. The HKIC will nurture local private equity and hedge fund institutions with good potential through direct or co investment.

102. Currently, applicants of the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme are required to invest at least $30 million in Hong Kong. Among such investments, the maximum amount of investment in real estate (both residential and non-residential) to be counted towards the scheme is $10 million. The scheme will be enhanced, raising the maximum amount of investment to be counted from $10 million to $15 million for the purchase of non residential properties with no transaction price threshold; as for the purchase of residential properties, the investment to be counted will continue to be capped at $10 million, but the transaction price threshold will be lowered from $50 million to $30 million.

Steady Development of Fintech

103. The HKMA will continue to take forward Project Ensemble�, including encouraging commercial banks to introduce tokenised deposits, and promoting live transactions of tokenised assets, such as the settlement of tokenised money market funds with tokenised deposits. It will also assist the Government in regularising the issuance of tokenised bonds, and encourage banks to strengthen risk management through the supervisory sandbox.

104. We are implementing a regime for stablecoin issuers and formulating legislative proposals regarding licensing regimes for digital asset dealing and custodian service providers. The SFC is studying the possibility of offering a wider range of digital asset products and services to professional investors with the prerequisite of sufficient investor protection in place. Meanwhile, we will step up international tax co-operation to tackle cross-border tax evasion. The SFC will also introduce automated reporting and data surveillance tools to build a line of defence against risks associated with digital assets in Hong Kong.

Development of Green and Sustainable Finance

105. In 2022, the HKEX launched Core Climate, an international carbon trading platform and the only voluntary carbon credit trading platform in the world offering settlement in Hong Kong dollars and RMB. In the future, we will deepen pilot co-operation with the GBA carbon market, testing the means of cross-border trade settlement, and jointly building a regional carbon market ecosystem. Working with relevant Mainland regulatory departments and authorities, the Government will also study issues surrounding the country’s participation in the international carbon market, including the formulation of voluntary carbon credit standards and methods, as well as the registration, trading and settlement of carbon emission reduction.

(B) International Trade Centre

106. Trading is the second-largest industry in Hong Kong after finance, contributing 15% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Last year, the value of trade was 3.6 times that of the GDP, ranking third in the world. The total value of external merchandise trade also grew strongly by 7.3%, underlining the global market’s confidence in Hong Kong as a trade centre.

107. As the evolving geopolitical landscape has disrupted existing supply chains, we will actively open up new markets, promote digital trade, and support the transformation and upgrading of SMEs.

Deepen International Economic and Trade Networks

108. Our investment agreement negotiations with Qatar largely concluded in mid-2025. We will explore the signing of new investment agreements with Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Egypt and Peru. The Government will also continue to seek accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to expand our economic and trade network.

109. I will establish an Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in Kuala Lumpur this year to deepen economic and trade promotion in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and neighbouring countries, and will also expand the ETO coverage to Latin America and Central Asia.

Promote Digital Trade

110. The Government will promote the digitalisation of trade to lower costs and improve efficiency. Relevant measures are as follows:

(i) The HKMA will develop a roadmap for Project Cargoˣ � by the end of the year. Through Commercial Data Interchange (CDI), and working with the AAHK and the Port Community System, the trial project will leverage cargo data to reduce credit costs and processing time for banks and SMEs.

(ii) The HKMA will explore cross-boundary financial collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Data and other parties under Project Ensemble, such as the application of tokenised electronic bills of lading, as well as advancing connections with CDI and Cargoˣ to facilitate trade finance with the use of cargo data.

(iii) A logistics provider will be recruited as an additional pilot participant of the Cross-boundary Express Cargo Clearance Facilitation Arrangement (CEFA) to enhance the efficiency of e-commerce shipment.

(iv) The Trade Single Window will be expanded progressively to cover more trade documents. In parallel, the Government, together with the Mainland’s General Administration of Customs, will work to connect the single windows of Hong Kong and the Mainland, and explore the feasibility of extending the existing “Single Submission for Dual Declaration” Scheme to include other trade documents and transport modes. In addition, the Government will discuss the possibility of connecting the single windows with ASEAN.

(v) The Government will introduce a legislative proposal next year for the digitalisation of business-to-business trade documents.

Promote Commodity Trading

111. We will continue to follow the direction set out in the last Policy Address to foster the development of a commodity trading ecosystem in Hong Kong. Relevant measures include:

(i) Support the sector in setting up more approved warehouses, having obtained the approval of the London Metal Exchange, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the HKEX, on the establishment of eight delivery warehouses in Hong Kong.

(ii) Provide half-rate tax concessions for commodity traders to set up businesses in Hong Kong, driving demand for shipping and professional maritime services. Legislative amendments will be made in the first half of next year.

(iii) Enhance the process of international commodity trading through financial innovation, including testing the use of technologies like electronic bills of lading and tokenised deposit in a collaboration between the HKMA and Banco Central do Brazil to facilitate trade.

(iv) Deepen connections with the Guangzhou Futures Exchange and other commodity markets in the Mainland, contributing to the internationalisation of our country’s commodity market.

112. The Government will set up the Strategic Committee on Commodities, led by the Financial Secretary. It will bring together industry representatives with the aim of strengthening the top-down design and long-term strategy of our commodity policy.

â�· Project Ensemble seeks to support the development of the tokenisation market in Hong Kong. Through sandbox experiments, it allows industry participants to explore building the next-generation financial infrastructure with blockchain technology in actual business scenarios.

â�¸ Project CargoË£ is a public-private collaboration launched by the HKMA, focusing on leveraging cargo data to streamline and enhance trade finance processes; developing digital solutions to improve accessibility to trade finance for SMEs; and exploring connections with international data partners to facilitate the trade financing use case for banks in Hong Kong.

(To be continued.)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4

     Further to the external merchandise trade statistics in value terms for July 2025 released earlier on, the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (September 17) the volume and price statistics of external merchandise trade for that month.
 
     In July 2025, the volume of Hong Kong’s total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 12.6% and 14.3% respectively over July 2024.
 
     Comparing the first seven months of 2025 with the same period in 2024, the volume of Hong Kong’s total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 10.7% and 10.8% respectively.
 
     Comparing the three-month period ending July 2025 with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the volume of total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 1.3% and 3.0% respectively.
 
     Changes in volume of external merchandise trade are derived from changes in external merchandise trade value with the effect of price changes discounted.
 
     Comparing July 2025 with July 2024, the prices of total exports of goods and imports of goods increased by 1.7% and 2.0% respectively.
 
     As regards price changes in the first seven months of 2025 over the same period in 2024, the prices of total exports of goods and imports of goods both increased by 1.9%.
 
     Price changes in external merchandise trade are reflected by changes in unit value indices of external merchandise trade, which are compiled based on average unit values or, for certain commodities, specific price data.
 
     The terms of trade index is derived from the ratio of price index of total exports of goods to that of imports of goods.  Compared with the same periods in 2024, the index decreased by 0.2% in July 2025 and 0.1% in the first seven months of 2025.
 
     Changes in the unit value and volume of total exports of goods by main destination are shown in Table 1.
 
     Comparing July 2025 with July 2024, increases were recorded for the total export volume to Taiwan (80.8%), Vietnam (39.0%), the mainland of China (the Mainland) (14.6%) and India (12.5%).  On the other hand, the total export volume to the USA decreased by 4.9%.
 
     Over the same period of comparison, the total export prices to Taiwan (4.3%), the Mainland (1.8%) and Vietnam (1.6%) increased. On the other hand, the total export prices to the USA (-0.5%) and India (-0.8%) decreased.
 
     Changes in the unit value and volume of imports of goods by main supplier are shown in Table 2.
 
     Comparing July 2025 with July 2024, increases were recorded for the import volume from Vietnam (116.8%), Singapore (26.5%), the Mainland (16.1%) and Taiwan (3.0%). On the other hand, the import volume from Korea decreased by 5.2%.
 
     Over the same period of comparison, the import prices from all main suppliers increased: Taiwan (5.8%), Korea (4.6%), Vietnam (3.6%), Singapore (2.4%) and the Mainland (0.4%).
 
Further information
 
     Details of the above statistics are published in the July 2025 issue of “Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Index Numbers”. Users can browse and download the report at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/en/EIndexbySubject.html?pcode=B1020006&scode=230).
 
     Enquiries on merchandise trade indices may be directed to the Trade Analysis Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 4918).

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

Chief Executive John Lee announced in his 2025 Policy Address that the Government will support the local economy by helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and promoting economic diversification.

Mr Lee explained that the measures to enhance support for SMEs are aimed to better cope with the city’s economic restructuring.

“Hong Kong is home to some 360,000 SMEs, and they are the pillars of our economic development.“

He outlined that the Government will extend the application period for the 80% Guarantee Product under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme for two years, and further extend the principal moratorium arrangement for one year.

To alleviate pressure on business operations, the Government will reduce water and sewage charges for non-domestic accounts by 50%, subject to a monthly ceiling of $10,000 and $5,000 respectively per account. About 260,000 non-domestic accounts are expected to benefit from the measure.

It will also reduce the trade effluent surcharge by 50%, which is expected to benefit about 35,000 businesses mainly in the catering industry. In addition, fees for the first issue or renewal of licences and permits, including those for hawkers, food businesses, agriculture and fisheries industries and liquor licences will be waived, which is expected to benefit over 60,000 licensees. These measures will be implemented for one year.

Considering that the original estimate for the Government’s average annual capital works expenditure in the coming five years was about $120 billion, Mr Lee said the Government will earmark an additional $30 billion in the next two to three years to increase expenditure on works projects driving sustained economic development, to support the local construction industry.

In addition, the Government will streamline the restaurant licensing regime and expedite the approval process of applications for outside seating accommodation of restaurants.

Mr Lee said: “The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department will adopt a new way by proactively co-ordinating various relevant departments to undergo ‘joint-vetting’ to resolve the matter together, and when necessary, escalate the process regarding complicated applications to the relevant Permanent Secretary or even the Deputy Chief Secretary for steer.

Additionally, the Government will inject $1.43 billion into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading & Domestic Sales (BUD Fund) and expand its geographical scope to cover eight more economies, including Belt & Road countries. The Government will also enhance promotion and facilitate the participation of companies in exhibitions and export marketing activities through “Easy BUD” .

The Government will also increase financing support for local e-commerce businesses and expand the coverage of free buyer credit checks through the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation.

To encourage local SMEs and startups to conduct more overseas visits exploring business opportunities, while bringing in more enterprises to invest in and establish businesses in Hong Kong, a functional platform “Economic & Trade Express” will be set up with the joint efforts of Economic & Trade Offices and overseas offices of Invest Hong Kong and the Trade Development Council.

Other SMEs support measures include enhancing Cyberport’s Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, implementing the “Creativity • E commerce – Beyond Limits” programme and providing one stop business matching and referral services, as well as launching a two-year pilot scheme to support local small and medium innovation and technology enterprises with patent evaluation.

On promoting economic diversification, Mr Lee said the Government will strengthen the competitiveness of local produce by introducing a unified brand for local agricultural and fisheries products in mid-2026 to enhance product awareness and brand value.

The Government will also issue culture licences for new fish culture zones and provide deep‑sea cages for rental by the fisheries industry, to increase local mariculture production by tenfold within 15 years.

Meanwhile, the Government will facilitate the livestock sector to construct the first environmentally-friendly, multi-storey pig farm, in Lo Wu. It will also take forward the Agricultural Park Phase 2 development, and promote leisure farming and fisheries.

The Chief Executive also announced the introduction of a licensing arrangement allowing operators to let dogs enter their food premises to promote a pet-friendly culture.

“According to government statistics, more than 240,000 households in Hong Kong keep more than 400,000 cats and dogs as pets, generating an enormous consumption market, including food and products, healthcare, insurance, grooming, training and more.

“Pet-friendly restaurants will create new business opportunities for the industry.”

Clear signage will be put up by permitted restaurants, so that customers know dogs are allowed.

Turning to labour support and protection, Mr Lee said the Government will ensure the employment priority of local workers and combat illegal employment rigorously.

He highlighted that to combat abuse of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), starting from tomorrow, when applying to import waiters or waitresses and junior cooks under the ESLS, employers are required to extend the local recruitment process from four weeks to six weeks, during which they must once a week attend an on-site job fair organised by the Labour Department.

The manning ratio requirement will also be more stringent. An employer applying to import a waiter or waitress and a junior cook must have already employed two local full-time waiters or waitresses and two local full-time junior cooks.

Mr Lee added that the Government will step up efforts to combat illegal employment, establish a dedicated hotline for reporting illegal workers, and strengthen intelligence collection and inter-departmental joint enforcement operations to safeguard the employment opportunities of local workers.

Moreover, the Government will improve the work injury compensation mechanism for digital platform workers through legislation in view of the prevalence of digital platforms.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:
 
     The Chief Executive announced in “The Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address” today (September 17) that the application period for the 80 per cent Guarantee Product under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) will be extended for two years to the end of March 2028. The total loan guarantee commitment under the SFGS will be further increased by HK$20 billion to HK$310 billion, and the principal moratorium arrangement will be extended for one year.
 
     The application period for principal moratorium arrangement, which is originally due for expiry on November 17, 2025, will be extended to November 17, 2026.
 
     HKMC Insurance Limited will follow up with the participating lenders to implement the following arrangements:

(1) Eligible borrowing enterprises may apply to the participating lenders for a principal moratorium period of up to 12 months on or before November 17, 2025, and/or apply to the participating lenders for a principal moratorium period of up to 12 months between November 18, 2025 and November 17, 2026. This means that the principal moratorium period can be up to 24 months in total; and

(2) For loans newly drawn down on or after November 18, 2025, eligible borrowing enterprises may apply to the participating lenders on or before November 17, 2026 for a principal moratorium period of up to 12 months.  

     Borrowing enterprises can contact their participating lenders to inquire about specific arrangements starting from November 1, 2025.

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
 
The Chairman of the University Grants Committee (UGC), Mr Tim Lui, said today (September 17) that he welcomed the Chief Executive’s announcement of measures in the 2025 Policy Address on further developing Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education, which demonstrate the integrated development of education, technology and talent. The UGC will collaborate closely with the eight UGC-funded universities to take forward various relevant initiatives.
 
Mr Lui said, “UGC-funded universities are widely recognised in the global academic community, underscoring the success of the Government’s sustained investment in higher education and academic research over the years. This also reflects our solid foundation and unique strengths in becoming a premier international hub for post-secondary education. The initiatives set out in the Policy Address will further attract top talent from around the globe and broaden students’ global outlook.”
 
As announced in the Policy Address, the enrolment ceiling for self-financing non-local students in taught programmes, namely, undergraduate degrees, sub-degrees and taught postgraduate degrees, at UGC-funded universities will be further raised from the current level equivalent to 40 per cent of local student places to 50 per cent, effective from the 2026/27 academic year. Universities may progressively increase their intake of non-local students based on their individual circumstances.
 
The Chief Executive has also announced that starting from the 2026/27 academic year, the over-enrolment ceiling of UGC-funded research postgraduate programmes will be further increased from 100 per cent to 120 per cent.
 
Mr Lui said he believes that these two initiatives will help attract more talented students to pursue their studies and research in Hong Kong, thereby building Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talent and strengthening the city’s research capabilities. Drawing together high-calibre talent will empower Hong Kong’s universities to drive innovation and contribute more substantially to the country’s development and the global academic landscape.
 
Mr Lui also expressed appreciation for the Government’s establishment of the Task Force on Study in Hong Kong as part of the continued efforts to promote the “Study in Hong Kong” brand. He highlighted key initiatives such as rolling out “Study Tour in Hong Kong” activities, increasing the supply of student hostels, and providing funding for universities to enhance promotional efforts in other regions. These measures will play a vital role in attracting more high-calibre faculty and students from around the globe. Such initiatives not only strengthen Hong Kong’s global visibility as a destination for quality higher education but also foster cross-cultural exchanges, enrich the academic environment, and support the city’s long-term development as an international education hub.
 
Mr Lui continued, “The Research Grants Council will organise its first Research Summit by the end of 2025. In addition, Hong Kong will be hosting the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education Conference and Exhibition in 2026. We are excited for the opportunity to gather talent across the globe and solidify Hong Kong’s role as a global education hub. Looking forward, our higher education sector shall continue to attract quality talent from around the world and nurture local talent through various measures to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths to serve the country’s needs. Together with the UGC-funded universities, we shall grasp the development opportunities offered by the country to push forward with Hong Kong’s education development and deepen global academic and cultural exchanges.”