8 August 2025
The Honourable John K C Lee, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM Chief Executive Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Central Government Offices, Tamar Hong Kong
Dear Chief Executive,
Policy Address Submission 2025
The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber) is pleased to present our recommendations on the HKSAR Government’s policy priorities as you prepare for your upcoming Policy Address.
The global economy faces significant uncertainty from rising geopolitical tensions and escalating tariff disputes, while the emergence of the Global South is reshaping global power into a new world order. As the most prominent international city in the region, Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to navigate and lead through these uncharted waters. We strategically propose a three-tiered approach: creating confidence for immediate action, accelerating the transformation to a smart city in the medium term, and building long-term resilience to adapt to the evolving economic landscape.
As the economies of Hong Kong and the GBA become increasingly integrated, we also see opportunities to foster closer collaboration across various sectors, including finance, data, innovation, and emerging growth industries such as low-altitude and green industries.
The attached outlines our views on the actions that the Government could consider adopting in its policy agenda to promote sustainable growth and strengthen our standing as a premier international business hub.
As always, the Chamber is committed to partnering with the Government to drive initiatives that will foster a positive and prosperous future for Hong Kong.
Yours sincerely,
Agnes Chan Chairman
Encl.
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Submission to 2025 Policy Address
As the world grapples with rising geopolitical tensions and escalating tariff disputes, businesses and individuals face increasing uncertainty. This constantly shifting landscape is driving many to rethink their strategies for resource and capital allocation, while diversifying to reduce their risks. Fostering confidence amid global volatility will be crucial to mitigate current challenges. Hong Kong must continue to reinforce its role as a free port and further cultivate its business-friendly environment, solidifying its position as a preferred destination for doing business for companies from around the world. Against this backdrop, we propose a three-tiered approach to seize the opportunities in these uncertain times.
I. Immediate Action: Creating Confidence
Hong Kong is widely recognised as an open and business-friendly hub. It fosters commercial activity and international trade, supported by a free-market economy, a simple and competitive tax regime, a robust legal framework, and world-class infrastructure. Increasing global uncertainties—fueled by erratic US trade policies —combined with intense competition in the region, make business certainty and transparency in Hong Kong more crucial than ever. We believe adopting regulatory impact assessments would further enhance this objective and stimulate business growth. Additionally, to reinforce Hong Kong’s global competitiveness, we must develop a headquarters economy, and further strengthen the competitiveness of key industries, such as finance and shipping. 1 Enhancing Hong Kong’s International Standing 2 Strengthening a Business-friendly Environment
2.1 Supporting SMEs 2.2 Promoting Uniqueness of Bilingual Common Law System 2.3 Adopting Regulatory Impact Assessment
3 Enriching Vibrant City Living
3.1 Reviving Food and Beverage Industry 3.2 Revitalising Tourism
4 Consolidating Competitiveness
4.1 Developing a Headquarters Economy 4.2 Strengthening Hong Kong’s Status as an International Financial Centre 4.3 Fostering Intellectual Property Trading 4.4 Enhancing Port Competitiveness
II. Mid-term Strategy: Accelerating Smart City Transformation
Amid rapid technological advancement and economic transformation, nurturing talent to meet Hong Kong’s future needs has become imperative. While attracting global professionals remains important, prioritising investment in local talent is essential to cultivate a skilled workforce. Our vision is to create a diverse, artificial intelligence (AI) empowered talent pool that drives Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem. By promoting datadriven innovation, we can accelerate the development of the digital economy and strengthen strategic sectors, such as AI and the low-altitude economy.
5 Nurturing Future-ready Talent
5.1 Fostering a Diverse Talent Pool 5.2 Building an AI-powered Workforce
6 Enhancing the Innovation Ecosystem
6.1 Driving the Digital Economy 6.2 Powering Data-driven Innovation 6.3 Developing Low-altitude Economy
III. Long-term Goal: Building Resilience
With only 25 years remaining to achieve its 2050 carbon neutrality goal, Hong Kong must accelerate its transition to a greener, more sustainable future. The growing circular economy demonstrates how effective environmental policies can simultaneously improve the environment and the economy. Moreover, enhancing the quality of living will help attract and retain both local and international talent, directly strengthening our human capital. As demographic challenges intensify, the Government should take the lead to formulate the population growth strategy, while improving healthcare accessibility to ensure long-term, sustainable development of society. 7 Building a Green and Sustainable City
7.1 Accelerating Infrastructure Development 7.2 Expediting Clean Energy Transition 7.3 Achieving Zero-carbon Transportation 7.4 Transitioning to a Circular Economy
8 Navigating the Demographic Shift
8.1 Formulating Population Growth Strategy 8.2 Improving Access to Healthcare 8.3 Driving Medical Innovations with AI
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