Submissions and Reports

The Chamber supports the issuance of a set of guidelines to help businesses in the relevant sectors avoid potential damage to underground telecommunications lines. At the same time, such guidance should be practicable and not overly prescriptive. The Chamber has also put forward recommendations on other aspects of the draft guidelines while noting that more time should have been made available for collecting feedback.

The Chamber agrees with the Government that there is the need to address the abuse of SIM Cards for criminal purposes, but suggests that consideration should also be given to attendant issues such as data privacy implications and efficacy of a mandatory registration system. In light of the social impact that such regulatory changes may bring, the Chamber recommends that efforts be made to better define the rights and responsibilities of stakeholders, namely, users, operators, and regulators under the proposed programme.

The Chamber agrees with the Law Reform Commission’s proposals to relax the current prohibition of outcome-related fee structures for arbitration to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an arbitration centre, but suggests that a phased approach be adopted to the implementation of flexible fee structures. Due consideration should also be given to the protection of the interests of smaller businesses opting for such a means of dispute resolution.

In response to an invitation by the LegCo Panel on Commerce and Industry to submit views on innovation and technology development and re-industrialization policy in Hong Kong, the Chamber has put forward a number of recommendations. These include, among other things, enhancing existing regulations and funding programmes, grooming local and attracting international talent, and creating synergies within the Greater Bay Area through a division of labour approach.

The Chamber welcomes the opportunity to comment on the HKEX’s proposed introduction of corporate WVR structures. Prior to committing our support for this proposal, we recommend that the HKEx provide further elaboration on the necessity for establishing such a regime as well as the effectiveness of investor safeguards raised in the consultation paper.

The Chamber suggests the need for a comprehensive review of the Telecommunications Ordinance to ensure that regulations keep pace with technological advancements and to facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile networks.

The Chamber welcomes the Government’s decision to launch a review of the Broadcasting Ordinance and Telecommunications Ordinance, although we are surprised that it has taken six years to carry out this review. We would therefore like to resubmit our previous proposals for the Government’s consideration and call on it to expedite the process of updating these two pieces of legislation through a holistic rather than narrow approach.

In its response, the Chamber welcomed the proposal to promote wider options for customers and foster innovation in Hong Kong but also called for clarification in certain areas to ensure a level playing field for virtual and conventional banks.

The Chamber has all along been supporting the Government’s initiative to embrace and adopt technology more widely to develop Hong Kong into a smart city. While the business sector would like to see prompt and concrete actions of a smart government, we therefore urge the Government to be more swift and resolute in breaking through the bureaucratic routine and take the lead to scale up the momentum immediately.

The Chamber supports the proposal on the reallocation of the frequency spectrum 3.4 – 3.7 GHz band from fixed satellite service to mobile service. We believe the arrangement can enable the adoption of 5G services in Hong Kong, facilitate our development as a smart city, foster Internet of Things initiatives and achieve parity in mobile service standards with Mainland China and other jurisdictions.