Submissions and Reports

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce welcomes the Government’s initiative to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Georgia and the Maldives, respectively. Securing an FTA with these two emerging markets will open up new opportunities for Hong Kong companies and also facilitate the development of the Belt and Road initiative.

Regarding the Minimum Wage Commission’s consultation exercise on the review of the Statutory Minimum Wage (SMW) rate, given the recent economic slowdown and gloomy outlook, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce believes that the Commission should pay particular attention to keeping the appropriate balance of not having unduly low wages, minimizing job loss and sustaining Hong Kong’s economic growth and competitiveness in determining the wage rate. Therefore, we would like the Commission to consider maintaining the SMW rate unchanged at the current level.

The Chamber welcomes HKSAR’s initiatives of developing the first five-year Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for Hong Kong, and emphasizes the critical importance of providing certainty and predictability so that businesses can plan well ahead in response to any policy changes and new requirements.

The Chamber support the pursuit of CDTA with the jurisdictions on the attached list for the purpose of further enhancing Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector” for the flow of trade and investments from Mainland China to countries along Asia, Europe and Africa.

The Chamber supports the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association’s application for a Block Exemption Order with respect to Vessel Sharing Agreements (VSAs) under the Competition Ordinance. The Chamber also supports the exemption of Voluntary Discussion Agreements (VDAs) if it can be shown that any harm this may bring is clearly outweighed by efficiencies, which benefit Hong Kong.

The Chamber agrees that the Government should explore the notion of electronic road pricing (“ERP”) as a tool to control traffic but also feels that attention should be devoted to other issues that contribute to the chronic problem of traffic congestion in the Central District as ERP alone is not enough as to provide relief.

The Chamber has not formed a conclusion on the proposal to introduce Third Party Funding for Arbitration in Hong Kong but have set out views by members for consideration by the Law Reform Commission on the issue.

The Chamber supports the protection and promotion of public health as it is important to Hong Kong’s sustainable development. We believe that an effective regime will not be achieved by over-regulation, but rather, there should be a combination of sensible regulation, business-friendly compliance and effective public education.

The Chamber responded to a consultation paper on the arbitrability of IPRs by highlighting certain aspects of the proposals that warranted government’s attention.