The Chamber’s policy work is mostly carried out behind the scenes, but advising and lobbying the Government in support of the Hong Kong business community is our core function.
We regularly thrash out informed proposals on a wide range of topics, from developments that affect all businesses to industry–focused regulatory changes. In just the past couple of months, we have made submissions to the Government on sustainability related financial information, occupational health and safety, the block exemption for vessel-sharing agreements, and a Hong Kong digital currency.
In recent months, we have been busy engaging members and committees to mine their views and wisdom for our biggest annual submission, on the Policy Address. This contains our proposals on measures that we believe will be of most benefit to businesses – and ultimately the whole of Hong Kong.
The Chamber believes the number one priority for the Government right now is the further relaxation of the city’s Covid restrictions, especially reopening borders, and drafting a clear timetable so that businesses can plan for recovery.
But besides pandemic-related policies, there are many other areas where we believe there is room for improvement. In our submission, we have proposed concrete and workable solutions to some of the key issues that impact businesses and citizens.
The supply of land and housing, for example, remains one of Hong Kong’s biggest challenges. While this is certainly a complex area, there are still steps that could be taken to relieve the bottlenecks. We suggest that the Government focuses on streamlining processes and enabling better cooperation and efficiency.
Another long-term issue for the city is manpower shortages, which affects many sectors and has worsened with the prolonged Covid restrictions. The Government should review its talent import policies to see where it can remove certain barriers impeding companies from hiring overseas staff. At the same time, continuing to increase participation in STEM subjects in schools will reinforce the foundations for our future manpower needs.
Hong Kong has a relatively low female participation rate in the workplace, which could be increased by more flexible working policies, part-time roles, and better childcare provision.
More broadly speaking, the environment is an increasingly important aspect for all businesses. Companies will need to adhere to tighter sustainability rules in the future, so it makes sense to get ahead of the curve and roll out eco-friendly business practices now. Improving the city’s green credentials will also help in attracting talent to replenish our labour supply.
These are just a few of our policy suggestions this year: you can read the full submission online, and some edited highlights on page 8.
Our new Chief Executive John Lee has already visited the Chamber and shown his willingness to listen to our concerns. So we look forward to hearing his Policy Address next month, and trust that his proposals will contain some good news for all Hong Kong businesses.
George Leung
[email protected]