Submissions and Reports

The Chamber welcomes the HKLRC’s proposals to introduce a bespoke law that deals with the proliferation of cyber-dependent crimes given the risks of such illegal acts on Hong Kong’s businesses. The Chamber has also called for a balanced approach in the design of the new law so that other than the objective of protecting public interest, consideration should also be given to upholding business’ legitimate needs.

In anticipation of John Lee’s inaugural Policy Address, the Chamber has submitted recommendations on 9 key policy areas on which it feels the current administration should be focusing on as a matter of priority.

The Chamber welcomes and supports the ISSB’s initiative to formulate a comprehensive set of global sustainability disclosures to serve as performance guideposts for businesses, while providing consistent, comparable and high-quality ESG reporting designed to meet investor needs. However, questions over the approach to and with the proposed standards, such as the lack of clarity on when the ISSB will be fully quorate and the absence of the principle-based GRI standard, will have to be addressed before the new standards are introduced.

The Chamber supports the Government’s efforts to remove Hong Kong from the European Union’s watchlist by introducing changes to our FSIE regime while upholding the key principles of our taxation policy. However, more clarity should be provided on certain issues including the interpretation and application of covered income and economic substance requirement, as well as the eligibility criteria for the proposed participation exemption.

The Chamber has called on the Government to normalize international connectivity. Based on findings from a Chamber survey conducted in May 2022, an overwhelming majority of respondents have been affected by restrictive travel measures.

HKGCC supports the Government’s policy objective of improving health and safety at work. However, we believe that it can be achieved more effectively by means other than significantly raising penalties, and doubling the period for summons from six months to one year as proposed.

The Chamber welcomes the notion of an e-HKD as a digital legal tender given the associated benefits that would go towards consolidating the city’s standing as an international financial centre. The Chamber has also put forward design and implementation recommendations on the development of such a Central Bank Digital Currency.

The Chamber welcomes the Commission’s proposals to extend the Block Exemption for Vessel Sharing Agreements) Order 2017 (“the Order”). At the same time, we continue to advocate for the extension of the Order for five years, as well as the removal of the market share limit for vessel sharing agreements currently imposed under the Order.

HKGCC welcomes the opportunity to comment on the review of the Statutory Minimum Wage (“SMW”) rate, which we recommend to be left unchanged at the current level of $37.5 per hour.