Bulletin: Congratulations on your re-election as HKGCC’s LegCo representative. You are the longest-serving LegCo rep in the Chamber’s history. What do you consider your greatest achievement? 

Jeffrey Lam: First of all, I’d like to say that I am honoured to have been elected again to represent members of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in the Legislative Council, and humbled by members’ support. The Chamber represents so many sectors, from finance to food and beverage to trade, so I am grateful for members’ vote of confidence. 

Over the past 17 years, I’ve had many opportunities to help the business community. I was first elected shortly after the SARS epidemic, and even though I was new to LegCo, I was able to pass on concrete suggestions to the Government, under Tung Chee-hwa at that time, to help Chamber members and the business community. 

Then a few years later we were hit by the 2008 financial tsunami, which devastated many businesses of all sizes. I made a number of proposals including starting a loan guarantee for SMEs so that companies could get money from the banks. The Government’s own research at the time found that 20% of businesses would fail without support. I visited the then CE Donald Tsang at Government House and said that now was the time to take action.  

I told him: ‘If you give a man oxygen while he is still breathing he can recover – if he is no longer breathing, it is too late. We need to help businesses with a guarantee so that banks will lend to them now.’

That is how the HK$100 billion SME Guarantee Scheme came about, which has a default rate of less than 1%. Through this action, the Government saved many Hong Kong businesses from folding. 

B: Hong Kong survived these crises, but many businesses are now again on the brink of folding due to the pandemic. What have you been able to do to help the business community during this exceptional time? 

JL: I have been working to help not just businesses, but the whole Hong Kong community. In the early days of the pandemic, I saw media reports of people lining up for hours to buy masks at hugely inflated prices, as they were almost impossible to get hold of at that time. So I made a commitment that I would have masks for the people of Hong Kong within 30 days. I put a team together from among my contacts and friends to make the machines as well as provide the materials – I am an industrialist so I know how to make things happen. After 30 days we were producing masks and sold them for under HK$2.  

As we all know, the pandemic has been a very difficult time for virtually all businesses. I suggested a number of measures to the Government, including the Principal Payment Holiday Scheme. This was adopted and has been renewed a number of times. It has greatly relieved the burden on businesses, easing their cash-flow challenges due to the interruption to normal operations. 

B: What will be your key focus in the next few months to help Hong Kong businesses?

JL: I’ve been lobbying on the re-opening of the border with the Mainland. This is the top priority right now, as it is the most important step to enable the business environment in Hong Kong to recover. Why do people and businesses come to Hong Kong? It is because of our accessibility and connectivity to the Mainland, with the Greater Bay Area as the best connection point.

Although there have been some local Covid cases in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province recently, I don’t believe these will derail the reopening process. When the experts visited Hong Kong, they were satisfied with our measures to prevent the spread of Covid. Reopening the border is a key common goal, so we hope to see it happen soon. I believe that the border reopening process will also be the beginning of the path back to normality.

B: Besides the removal of travel restrictions, what other issues are businesses struggling with and how can they be addressed?

JL: I believe reducing or removing unnecessary administrative burdens and procedures would go a long way towards improving the business environment. These are not only time-consuming but also have compliance costs, which is a particular problem for smaller companies. I have also urged the Government to speed up the supply of land, as the shortage of land and the associated high costs is a major burden to businesses. 

After the pandemic, we will be able to get back on track with the Greater Bay Area and Belt and Road initiatives. But some SMEs have asked me, how can they participate in these projects? Under One Country, Two Systems, we have full support from Beijing for Hong Kong companies to go into the GBA, and the Chamber has been very active in helping members to access the GBA opportunities. 

The Belt and Road openings are not so obvious for SMEs. But once the infrastructure is in place, then smaller companies can make their move. We are already seeing this happening in Vietnam, where Hong Kong companies have increasingly been investing in recent years. I expect to see this trend in other Belt and Road countries as the initiative progresses.

B: Hong Kong is facing increasing competition as a global hub. What can we do to ensure we keep our status as a world-class business city?

JL: Hong Kong is rightly known for its professional business and financial services, and the One Country, Two Systems is crucial in maintaining our role as one of the world’s leading financial hubs. We are the most important offshore RMB centre and in recent years we have also seen the successful launch of the various “connect” programmes that enable cross-border investment in stocks, bonds and other wealth management products.

To really benefit from our connection with the Mainland, we still need to improve the flow of money, people, logistics and information. For example, I will continue to lobby to reduce the restrictions on transferring money. Currently, if you want to buy a flat just across the border, the daily limits mean that you have to transfer the funds in stages. 

Besides financial services, Hong Kong offers many advantages as a headquarters for global companies, which are well known, from protection of intellectual property rights and a transparent legal system to our low corporate taxes and business savvy workforce. We also have excellent high-tech talent, but I think we need more policies to attract technology professionals from around the world, and to promote our innovative industries. 

B: There have been concerns about a brain drain from Hong Kong. What is your view? How can this be reversed?

JL: There has always been a steady ebb and flow of talent in and out of Hong Kong, but the pandemic is currently affecting the inward flow. We also saw a similar trend before 1997, but as we know, many people soon returned and Hong Kong continued to attract some of the world’s leading talent. 

However, we cannot afford to be complacent. The global competition for talent is fierce and for Hong Kong to compete, we need to ensure that the city is a comfortable place to live, work and play for locals and overseas talent. A key concern is we need to provide more affordable housing. Even though salaries in Hong Kong are globally competitive, the cost of renting or buying a home is still very high.

We also need to continue to expand the infrastructure, such as making sure there are enough international school places, as well as recreational facilities to allow people from all walks of society to relax outside work. 

B: This is the first LegCo term since the electoral changes introduced last year. What impact have the changes had? 

JL: Three years ago we saw chaotic scenes inside and outside LegCo, which caused tremendous damage to the ability of staff as well as lawmakers to carry out their work. 

Now, with the National Security Law and the principle of ‘patriots governing Hong Kong’ in place, I think LegCo will run more smoothly. Previously, we wasted a lot of time because of filibustering, disruptions and theatrics in LegCo we could hardly get anything done.  

Now we can make progress. Last month, for example, the Chief Executive discussed proposed changes to the Government structure, which I support. For example, the Transport and Housing Bureau is now too big for one person to handle, and they are very different in nature. I support anything which makes the Government more efficient and removes bottlenecks. 

We have a lot to do in the coming years: once we finally see off the Covid threat, we will need to ensure that businesses of all sizes are ready for the new norms of the post-pandemic era. We must also continue to improve Hong Kong’s business environment and ensure that we stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. We must deepen our ties with the Mainland while also promoting Hong Kong around the world as a fantastic place to do business. 

As the new LegCo term gets under way, I will continue to cooperate closely with fellow Chamber members and ensure that the concerns of the business community are heard by the Government. Together, I believe we can build a better Hong Kong for the business community, and for all citizens.