For Immediate Release
Chief Executive C Y Leung’s recent Policy Address focused on addressing social issues.These initiatives, while in general welcomed by most people in Hong Kong, will require long-term financial commitment. At the joint business community luncheon with the Chief Executive today, a member of the business community asked: “where will the money to pay for those initiatives come from?”
In response to that question, the Chief Executive said that it is important to take a dynamic view of the situation, rather than a straight-line analysis of the Government’s income and fiscal reserves.
Speaking to a full house, he said the future income of the Government and demands on welfare, healthcare and caring for our aging population will be different from today.
“The business community believes it is important to provide assistance to the needy, and we would like a clearer picture of how those plans and assistance will be financed,” Chamber Chairman C K Chow said. “We currently have a very healthy budget surplus, which the Government has been wisely saving for a rainy day, so we hope that will continue and at the same time the Government can do more to raise the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s business environment.”
On the issues of improving Hong Kong’s competitive advantage,providing more business space, andraising the quality of our human capital, the Chief Executive said expanding Hong Kong’s economic capacity requires both physical space as well as intellectual capital to maximize output and productivity.
He emphasizes that the Government is committed to nurturing our relationship with the Mainland, and his administration is working hard to strengthen Hong Kong’s regional connectivity.
In addition to setting up a civil aviation training institute, Innovation and Technology Bureau, and a new statutory maritime body to support the development of these industries, he pointed out that matching the skills of our labour force to the requirements of industry is an ongoing challenge.
To tackle the land shortage, he said the Government is committed to “exploring every nook and cranny for the most viable options to make available more land for residential and commercial uses.” To meet the demand for office space, he said the Energizing Kowloon East project is progressing well and will eventually provide about twice the current amount of office space in Central.
Chamber CEO Shirley Yuen said following the luncheon, “We welcome the Government’s proposals to support the economic development and tackle some of the challenges we face.
However, we would like to see more specific details on these proposals, and hope the Financial Secretary’s upcoming Budget will focus on concerns affecting the business community.”