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Speech by CE at reception for 21st anniversary of establishment of HKSAR | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201807/01/P2018070100395.htm | 1.7.2018 | Following is the translation of the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the reception for the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this morning (July 1): Distinguished guests, fellow citizens, It is with gratitude that I join you here today to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China. A year ago, President Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong to grace our celebration of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the Motherland with his presence, and administered the oath of office for me and the Principal Officials of the fifth-term Government. During his three-day visit, President Xi expressed cordial care for Hong Kong and gave four imperatives (Note 1), which has created the exceptionally favourable ground for the current-term Government to govern Hong Kong in accordance with the law, assume a proactive role, develop the economy and improve people's livelihood. During the past year, the SAR Government upheld the principle of "One Country" by maintaining an absolutely clear stance when it comes to black and white issues and showing no tolerance for any act that would hit our country's bottom line. Without fear, we took right actions over our relationship with the Central People's Government, and enhanced the public's understanding of the Constitution, the Basic Law, as well as national security. Meanwhile, we made good use of the advantage of "Two Systems". With the staunch support of our country, we actively participated in the Belt and Road Initiative (Note 2) and planned for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area in collaboration with the Guangdong and Macao governments. I for my part conducted frequent duty visits (Note 3) to strengthen Hong Kong's external ties and promote Hong Kong's international status. In my speech at the Inauguration Ceremony on July 1 last year, I said that "hope propels a society forward, and confidence is the foundation of hope." To be even clearer, I said that we had no reason to lose confidence if we looked closely and rationally at what we had achieved over the past two decades since our return to the Motherland. After a year of leading the Government to demonstrate a new style of governance, perform new roles and implement a new fiscal philosophy, I have even greater confidence in Hong Kong. As long as we remain focused and stand united, I am sure that the best is yet to come for Hong Kong. Over the past year, Hong Kong enjoyed robust economic growth, with a 3.8 per cent increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017 being followed by an even higher 4.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2018. All economic indicators in the last couple of months showed that our economic performance remained impressive. While total employment continued to record sturdy growth, the unemployment rate dropped to a 20-year low of 2.8 per cent and people's earnings registered real improvements in general. Hong Kong has also remained one of the safest cities in the world, with the overall crime rate down by 8.2 per cent year-on-year in the first four months of 2018, a new low since 1971. Economic growth provides us with the necessary resources for the continuous improvement of people's livelihood. The first budget of the current-term Government has allowed for a total expenditure of $569.6 billion, accounting for 20.2 per cent of GDP and representing a significant year-on-year increase of 12.3 per cent in recurrent expenditure. The provision will enable the steady and sustainable delivery of our work in improving the teaching and learning environment, relieving the pressure on public hospitals, and increasing the provision of elderly care and child care services. Housing remains our number one social concern. The housing policy measures I announced two days ago cannot immediately increase housing supply, or effectively curb the rise in property prices. However, they demonstrate the SAR Government's political determination and innovative thinking. We hope that as a result, public discussion on land supply can be more focused, and citizens can expect that increasing land supply will offer opportunities for purchasing affordable homes and shorten the waiting time for improving their living conditions. Allow me to quote from a Chinese poem: "Slipping into the night with the breeze, the rain moistens everything in silence". It aptly describes the "we care", "we listen" and "we act" approach sincerely adopted by the current-term Government, which has brought about relative stability in society, restored room for rational discussion rather than personal attacks in the Legislative Council, and rebuilt public trust in the Government. We have also adopted specific policies and measures to provide young people with more opportunities so that they can take up internships in the Mainland for deeper understanding of our national developments and participate in the SAR's affairs. For quite a period of time, I always heard people describing this term of Government as having "a good start". The good start is in fact strongly supported by the Central Government and underpinned by mutual respect and understanding, as well as joint efforts of different sectors. To sustain the situation, we must never forget our aspiration for the full and faithful implementation of "One Country, Two Systems"; we must maintain our confidence in the rule of law and unique advantages of the SAR; and we must keep our patience in nurturing young people into a new generation with a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international perspective, who are also passionate about and committed to the well-being of our community. May all of you have a happy festive day! Notes: 1. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that, for better implementation of "One Country, Two Systems" in future, (1) it is imperative to have a correct understanding of the relationship between "One Country" and "Two Systems"; (2) it is imperative to always act in accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law; (3) it is imperative to always focus on development as the top priority; and (4) it is imperative to always maintain a harmonious and stable social environment. 2. In December 2017, the SAR Government and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) signed the Arrangement between the NDRC and the Government of the Hong Kong SAR for Advancing Hong Kong's Full Participation in and Contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative. The first Belt and Road Joint Conference was held in Beijing in June 2018. On February 3, 2018, the SAR Government held a seminar entitled "Strategies and Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative - Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs" in conjunction with the Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The seminar received strong support from the Central People's Government and was attended by around 380 representatives from over 170 state-owned enterprises and central enterprises. On June 28, 2018, the SAR Government held the Third Belt and Road Summit in partnership with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The Summit was attended by about 5 000 delegates from 55 countries and regions. In November 2017, the SAR Government signed a Free Trade Agreement and a related Investment Agreement with the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which are also along the Belt and Road. Moreover, the SAR Government has been advancing the establishment of the third Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in ASEAN in Bangkok, Thailand. 3. Since assuming office on July 1, 2017, the Chief Executive has conducted 22 duty visits, including nine visits to Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Saudi Arabia and 13 visits to Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changsha, Chengdu, Boao, as well as Guangzhou, Huizhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macao in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Ends/Sunday, July 1, 2018 Issued at HKT 11:49 NNNN | CE | en |
CE meets Hong Kong students and young people with international competition awards | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201807/01/P2018070100917.htm | 1.7.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Secretaries of Department and the Directors of Bureau met over 100 Hong Kong young people and students, who won international competitions in the past year, in a tea gathering at Government House this afternoon (July 1) to commend the new and outstanding generation of Hong Kong and encourage them to continue to work hard for their goals. Some 140 young people and students, together with their parents, headmasters, teachers and tutors, totalling about 250 people took part in the tea gathering. Mrs Lam said that since she assumed the post of the Chief Executive, she has spent more time to read newspapers every morning. She said that she was excited whenever she came across news reports about Hong Kong young people and students winning international competitions and bringing honour home, and would take record of them. On the 21th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, she said she invited this group of outstanding young people and students to a tea gathering today to celebrate with them and encourage them to continue to work hard to contribute to Hong Kong. "The young people and students here in the tea gathering won awards in various international competitions. I am proud of the efforts they have made during the process. Every young person and kid has his own potential and is the future and hope of Hong Kong. We should give them room to realise their potential. I hope people from various sectors would work together to nurture them into a new generation with a sense of national identity, an affection for Hong Kong and an international perspective, who are also passionate about and committed to the well-being of our community," Mrs Lam said. The young people invited to the tea gathering won in 40 different international competitions with areas covering STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), drawing, music, animation, design, sports, etc. The youngest of them is only four years old. In addition to taking pictures and chatting with the Chief Executive, the Secretaries of Department and the Directors of Bureau, they exchanged their experience gained in the competitions with each other and relived the exciting moments of winning awards. Ends/Sunday, July 1, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:24 NNNN | CE | en |
CE and Principal Officials release short videos on work in past year | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201807/01/P2018070100536.htm | 1.7.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam and the Principal Officials (POs) will release short videos on their work in the past year. Mrs Lam’s video will be broadcast this (July 1) afternoon while the rest will be released in the next few days. The videos will be available from the newly-revamped website of the Information Services Department (isd.gov.hk) and its YouTube channel. Ends/Sunday, July 1, 2018 Issued at HKT 14:16 NNNN | CE | en |
Policy Address consultation launched | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201807/01/P2018070100491.htm | 1.7.2018 | The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today (July 1) launched the public consultation exercise for the 2018 Policy Address. The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam; the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung; and the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, will meet representatives from different sectors to listen to their views. "Since I delivered my inaugural Policy Address last October, my team and I have been sparing no effort to implement more than 250 policy initiatives in it and making good progress. Most of the initiatives have been implemented or are being taken forward according to the plan. I know that people from various sectors in the community still have aspirations in connection with governance and different policies. My team and I, who will continue to avoid no difficult tasks, will respond further in the second Policy Address in October this year. I sincerely invite members of the public to give their views on the Policy Address, so that we can harness the collective wisdom and insights to formulate policy initiatives to meet the needs of the people and Hong Kong," Mrs Lam said. To facilitate expression of opinions by the public, the Government introduced social media as an additional channel for collecting views this year. Members of the public are invited to give their views through the dedicated website ( www.policyaddress.gov.hk ), the Chief Executive's Facebook page ( www.facebook.com/carrielam.hksar ), and Instagram ( www.instagram.com/carrielam.hksar ), or by email ( policyaddress@pico.gov.hk ), phone (2432 1899) or fax (2537 9083). Ends/Sunday, July 1, 2018 Issued at HKT 13:34 NNNN | CE | en |
2018 Honours List | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201807/01/P2018063000485.htm | 1.7.2018 | The 2018 Honours List is published in the Government Gazette today (July 1). This is the 21st full Honours List since 1997. The Chief Executive has awarded a total of 282 persons in this year's Honours List, including: Award Number (a) Grand Bauhinia Medal (GBM) 4 (b) Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) 10 (c) Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) 20 (d) Medal for Bravery (Silver) (MBS) 4 (e) Distinguished Service Medals for the disciplined services and the ICAC 12 (f) Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) 40 (g) Medal for Bravery (Bronze) (MBB) 9 (h) Meritorious Service Medals for the disciplined services and the ICAC 46 (i) Medal of Honour (MH) 60 (j) Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service 53 (k) Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service 24 -------- 282 The Honours recipients are from different walks of life. They are given an honour or award in recognition of their significant contributions to Hong Kong or for their dedicated public and community service. The presentation ceremony for the awards will be held on October 27, 2018. The citations of the award recipients of the 2018 Honours List are provided in the Appendix. Ends/Sunday, July 1, 2018 Issued at HKT 0:01 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at Belt and Road Summit | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/28/P2018062800259.htm | 28.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Belt and Road Summit today (June 28): Deputy Prime Minister Somkid (Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Dr Somkid Jatusripitak), Mr Xiao (Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, Mr Xiao Yaqing), Mr Ning (Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr Ning Jizhe), Madam Gao (Vice Minister of Commerce Ms Gao Yan), Vincent (Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr Vincent Lo), ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. It's a great pleasure to be here, to be taking part in the opening of the third Belt and Road Summit, and to do so for a second time in my capacity as Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Following the resounding success of the first and second Summits held in May 2016 and September 2017 respectively, I'm delighted to hear that close to 5 000 participants have signed up for this Summit, coming from Hong Kong, Mainland China, ASEAN and throughout the Asian region, as well as from other parts of the world. A wide participation from different parts of the world is important for the successful implementation of this Initiative, as its pursuit requires a high degree of co-operation between countries, establishment of sound bilateral and multi-lateral mechanism, as well as participation from different sectors. And this reminds me of a Chinese saying that "A common will is strong as the bulwarks" which resonates well with our theme today - "Collaborate for Success". I've just returned from nearly two weeks in Europe, with most of the time spent in Belgium and France. I can tell you that the Belt and Road was a common focus among the many people I met. It was also the subject of a well-attended business seminar I spoke at in Paris. So I'm pleased to note that today's Summit features a variety of European missions and associations, including the Greater Paris Investment Agency and Association France Hong Kong. Also here is Italy's Confindustria, which represents many of the nation's manufacturing and service industries, as well as the United Kingdom Department for International Trade - Hong Kong and Macau, and the Russian-Chinese Business Council. I welcome you, and your vote of confidence in the Belt and Road and in Hong Kong. I am particularly grateful to Dr Somkid, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, for gracing this occasion. This is already the third occasion that Dr Somkid and I have met in a year, signifying the growing importance of relationship between Hong Kong and Thailand in the context of both the Belt and Road Initiative and the Hong Kong-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement signed last November. This relationship is destined to grow even stronger as we are in advance planning for setting up Hong Kong's third ASEAN economic and trade office in Bangkok. Ladies and gentlemen, the Belt and Road Initiative is giving us a long-term promise of transnational and intercontinental connectivity and will give rise to rewarding business prospects. They will take different permutations and shapes, including new air, sea and land routes, additional ports, rails and roads connecting isolated regions, economic and trade pacts, and increased investment flow. Hong Kong, being the world's freest economy and China's most international city, is destined to play a significant role in the Belt and Road Initiative. Last December, I signed on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region an Arrangement with the National Development and Reform Commission for advancing Hong Kong's full participation in and contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative. The Arrangement covers six key areas ranging from finance and investment to people-to-people bond. An annual Joint Conference mechanism was also agreed upon. The Conference gives Hong Kong a unique and direct dialogue with central authorities regarding the Belt and Road Initiative and our participation in it. I'm pleased to say that the first meeting of the Joint Conference was held in Beijing just over two weeks ago. While the details are being worked out, I can tell you that Hong Kong will contribute to the Initiative across all areas of its wide-ranging connectivity, from policy co-ordination, financial integration and trade, to infrastructure and people-to-people bonds. Hong Kong's singular most important advantage in playing an active role in the Belt and Road Initiative is, of course, the "One Country, Two Systems" framework that propels our development in the past 21 years. It allows us to expand our traditional strengths as an international financial, trade and logistics centre, while deepening our economic integration with the Mainland. An international financial centre, and one of the world's great trading economies, Hong Kong has long served as a regional hub and a business bridge connecting the Mainland, Asia and the rest of the world. We also embrace the free flow of capital, of goods, information and talent. That fluid connectivity will prove indispensable long down the Belt and Road, a point driven home at a seminar held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in February this year, the theme of which is "Strategies and Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative - Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs". Some 380 chief executives and senior management from more than 170 state-owned enterprises took part, along with four state leaders and 80 other central officials. Such an impressive turn-out would not have been possible without the strong support of Chairman Xiao Yaqing of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. I am extremely grateful to Chairman Xiao taking time out of his busy schedule to attend the Summit today, along with his colleagues, Vice Chairman Ning from the National Development and Reform Commission and Vice Minister Gao from the Ministry of Commerce. Coming back to that February seminar on Belt and Road, I led the Hong Kong delegation. With me were three policy secretaries and a number of professional and prominent players from our finance and investment sector, as well as legal, arbitration and construction professions. At the seminar, Mr Zhang Dejiang, then Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, emphasised Hong Kong's indispensable role in the Belt and Road Initiative, adding that, and I quote him, "the country will continue to need Hong Kong, as well as incorporate Hong Kong in the Belt and Road." Capital formation will be critical to that role. With liquid capital flow and a deep pool of global financial talent, Hong Kong is the natural centre from which to raise funds for infrastructure, investment and production projects. We are also ideally suited to provide the risk management, insurance and dispute-resolution services that Belt and Road partners and their projects may need. Similarly, I envision an increasing role for Hong Kong as a fund-raising hub for green projects, particularly in promoting sustainable Belt and Road development. Earlier this year, my Government announced a three-year Pilot Bond Grant Scheme. I'm confident it will encourage more Belt and Road investors and issuers to participate in the Hong Kong bond market. A Hong Kong Government green bond issuance programme - with a borrowing ceiling of US$13 billion (HK$100 billion) - is also in the pipeline. It will support green projects under the Government's public works programme. We believe the programme will help provide benchmark pricing and stimulate market development. In addition, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency launched its Green Finance Certification Scheme in January this year. The programme provides third-party conformity assessments for issuers of green bond instruments. Eligible green bond issuers using the scheme will be subsidised, with a view to supporting green development financing. In short, I believe green finance can only expand our financial diversity and formidable international standing. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange, to take one example, has been ranked among the top five, globally, in initial public offerings for the past eight years. Last year, funds raised through IPOs amounted to US$16.5 billion. In April last year, our Securities and Futures Commission set out eligibility criteria for infrastructure project companies looking to list on our stock exchange. The criteria provide a clear pathway for Belt and Road projects and companies looking to Hong Kong for equity and debt financing. Hong Kong is the world's largest offshore Renminbi centre, handling about 76 per cent of offshore Renminbi transactions. We are, as well, the leading centre for offshore Renminbi asset management. Importers and exporters in Belt and Road countries can settle their trade in Renminbi through our payment system, good at more than 200 banks from all over the world. And investors can tap our Renminbi liquidity through bank loans or "dim sum" bond issuance. They can also invest their surplus renminbi liquidity in a wide range of Renminbi products, all available right here in Hong Kong. More than a financial capital, Hong Kong is the region's logistical and transport hub. Hong Kong International Airport is the world's busiest airport for international cargo. And we are determined to expand on that hub role, with construction of a three-runway system for the airport continuing. On completion, the new airport will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers and 9 million tonnes of cargo a year, compared to 70 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo last year. To strengthen our air cargo hub position, earlier this month, the Hong Kong Airport Authority announced the granting of rights to develop a major logistics centre of 380 000 square metres GFA (gross floor area) at the airport. Our land connectivity is also developing at an extraordinary rate. And the flow of people and trade, and opportunity between Hong Kong and the Mainland is about to soar, thanks to the opening, later this year, of the 42-kilometre Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the 26-kilometre Hong Kong section of the Guangdong-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail. Each, in its own way, will slash travelling time between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Together, they will surely fast-track development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. The Bay Area, another major national development priority, will serve as a powerful connection point for the Belt and Road. A cluster of nine flourishing cities in Guangdong Province together with Hong Kong and Macao, the Bay Area unites a collective population of over 68 million and a combined GDP of some US$1.5 trillion, which is comparable to Australia's GDP. Taking advantage of the varying expertise that abounds in the 11 cities, the Bay Area is expected to rise as a global centre for finance, high-end services and innovation and technology. In doing so, it will also boost interaction and integration within the region, encouraging strategic partnerships between Hong Kong, Guangdong and the larger Belt and Road region. Beyond all that promising business and investment, the "Silk Road spirit" will also thrive, with its emphasis on the promotion of community and people-to-people bonds. In this regard, Hong Kong, Asia's world city, has much to offer. Culture, of course, will be central to this. But we will also be pleased to share our experience and knowledge in other areas as well, including corruption prevention, dispute resolution, city management involving firefighting, flood prevention, slope stabilisation as well as aviation safety, railway operations and more. The Hong Kong International Aviation Academy, for example, is now forging closer ties with ASEAN countries. Sponsorships are being offered to students from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to help develop expertise in regional air transport management. Our Independent Commission Against Corruption has been sharing its long experience in fighting corruption with regions and countries along the Belt and Road. And my Government is committed to expanding educational cooperation and exchanges with Belt and Road countries. We have already launched a Hong Kong Scholarship for Belt and Road students. It supports outstanding students from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, helping them pursue undergraduate studies here in Hong Kong. We have also introduced a new subsidy scheme to encourage students in Hong Kong to participate in the Belt and Road region exchange programmes. The Hong Kong Government, in short, is committed to being both a "facilitator" and a "promoter" of the Belt and Road - today, tomorrow and long down that road of transformative connections and boundless opportunities. Finally, my thanks to Vincent and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for organising the third Belt and Road Summit with the Hong Kong SAR Government. I wish you all the best of business at today's Summit and a very rewarding future on the Belt and Road. Thank you very much. Ends/Thursday, June 28, 2018 Issued at HKT 9:51 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at Belt and Road Global Forum Inauguration Ceremony cum Cocktail Reception | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/27/P2018062701004.htm | 27.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Belt and Road Global Forum Inauguration Ceremony cum Cocktail Reception today (June 27): Vincent (Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Mr Vincent Lo), Andrew (Council Member of the HKTDC, Mr Andrew Weir), Margaret (Executive Director of the HKTDC, Ms Margaret Fong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, It really gives me great pleasure to come here to witness the launching of the Belt and Road Global Forum. Some of you may know I literally arrived in Hong Kong in the early hours of this morning. So to be able to catch this very meaningful event is a really great pleasure for me. During my almost two weeks' travel in Europe covering Brussels and several cities in France, this Belt and Road Initiative popped up very often, whether amongst very senior government officials, especially in France, because when President Macron visited Beijing earlier this year, he came back and announced that France would like to take a leading role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and hence, the Prime Minister of France was in China only a few days ago. This picking up of momentum on the Belt and Road almost five years after President Xi Jinping announced the Initiative is to be very much welcomed, and of course welcomed by Hong Kong because the Central Government has made it very clear that Hong Kong will have a major role to play in the Belt and Road, and also to contribute to make the Belt and Road a success. That's the objective of our signing an arrangement, very exceptionally, with the National Development and Reform Commission last December. I just want to say that our work in Belt and Road has been picking up momentum and I'm very pleased with the achievements following the signing of the arrangement last December. The inaugural meeting for us to meet with relevant authorities and agencies in the Central Government spearheaded by the National Development and Reform Commission took place earlier this month. This is a very important forum for us to have first-hand information about the Belt and Road, including things which are of great interest to many of you - the projects, the policies, the financing and so on. In this particular forum, we are extremely pleased, being the third one in a row, we have attracted over 5 000 participants. And this forum has now been given added meaning and strength with the formation of the Belt and Road Global Forum, which has within a very short period, not only set up but attracted some 111 member associations from 29 countries. I have to congratulate and commend the Trade Development Council, in its usual can-do spirit and efficiency, for getting this global forum up and running and I'd love to meet with you in future occasions to talk about our joint efforts in the Belt and Road. Meanwhile, enjoy this reception and the full day of programme tomorrow at the third Belt and Road Summit. Thank you very much. Ends/Wednesday, June 27, 2018 Issued at HKT 21:01 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at MIPIM Proptech Europe 2018 | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/22/P2018062200152.htm | 22.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at MIPIM Proptech Europe 2018 in Paris, France today (June 21, Paris time): Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great pleasure to be here to speak at a very interesting forum. When Paul (Chief Executive of Reed MIDEM, Mr Paul Zilk) first mentioned this Proptech, I thought it's "pro tech", so of course I have to come because I have now a policy agenda to push Hong Kong's innovation and technology development. But having clarified that this is Proptech, that is technology and property, I am equally happy to come because Hong Kong is very famous for her real estate with very expensive property prices. So maybe with the application of technology you can help the Chief Executive to dampen a little bit the very high property prices. Seriously, I'm on a first visit to France in my capacity as the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and this visit to France is coming to an end. I've been here for six days already and I am leaving tomorrow. As one of the final highlights, to be able to speak to an audience interested in technology and property is very much to be welcomed. Because this is an occasion that I actually don't know who are the people that I'm speaking to, how familiar you are with Hong Kong, so I have decided to give you an overall view on the Hong Kong advantage in developing innovation and technology, and hope that it will interest some of you, including start-ups, to consider using Hong Kong as your next destination for innovation and technology. Just some basic information about Hong Kong when I said Hong Kong does have this advantage for innovation and technology. One is we are a very free and competitive economy. In fact, we are the world's freest economy, as ranked by the US-based Heritage Foundation for 24 years in a row. We're also amongst the world's most competitive economies. In the recent report published by the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development, we came second after the United States of America. And all the freedoms and rights of the Hong Kong people, as well as expatriates working in Hong Kong, are enshrined in the Basic Law, which is a constitutional document governing Hong Kong, because after 1997 Hong Kong is governed under "One Country, Two Systems". To do innovation and technology, or to do business in general, you need to have a very stable environment where there is certainty. Hong Kong prides herself on the rule of law. We have a very robust IP protection regime. We are business-friendly. We practise a very simple tax system and very low taxes. For profits tax, the flat rate is 16.5 per cent, and recently my Government has introduced a tax concession to halve the 16.5 per cent to 8.25 per cent for the first HK$2 million profits for every company - $2 million will be roughly 225,000 Euros. This should be very attractive for small and medium enterprises including start-ups. And we run a very efficient and clean government. We have the people that are needed to develop innovation and technology because four of our universities are amongst the world's 100. So in terms of city, we are perhaps the city with the most intensive concentration of distinguished universities, and they are very good at research as well. At the same time, we have very professional and competent professional services in legal, finance, corporate, accounting, and engineering. For those of you who have visited Hong Kong, you will feel very at home, because we are a very international, cosmopolitan society. English is widely spoken in Hong Kong - it's one of the two official languages. People also speak Mandarin, in addition to Cantonese, which is the local dialect. And we are one of the safest cities in the world. In fact, the total crime rate per 100,000 population now in Hong Kong, which only stands at 758, is the lowest since 1971, so this is a city you will feel very safe in. Even if you are walking at night by yourself or even if you are a lady, you should feel very safe. We are a liveable city, very walkable. You don't even need to drive in the city of Hong Kong. Over 90 per cent of the daily passenger trips are looked after by public transport - about half by the MTR Corporation. And we are a very green city, only 24 per cent of the land has been developed and 40 per cent has been preserved for the people and tourists to enjoy, it's what we call country parks. France is very good with F&B. We are also very good with cuisine, in fact we have over 11,000 licensed restaurants in Hong Kong. I think many of them are offering very good French cuisine, but of course when it comes to wine we have to import from Bordeaux, and maybe Burgundy. Hong Kong is very convenient. Our international airport is the world's number 1 in terms of cargo and number 3 in terms of passengers, receiving over 17 million passengers every year. You can fly from our international airport to 220 destinations all over the world, and in fact half the population could be reached within a flight of about five hours. As I just mentioned, constitutionally we are "One Country, Two Systems". We are part of this growing nation, the world's second largest economy – the People's Republic of China – but after 1997, when we had been reunited with the Mainland of China, we maintained our own system, that's where the "Two Systems" come in. We have our own legal system which is premised on the common law jurisdiction, we have our own currency, which is the Hong Kong dollar, we have our own monetary system, financial system and so on. But, as China is growing in terms of economic importance, President Xi Jinping, said in his recent National Congress Report that the Central Government would support Hong Kong to integrate more fully into the Mainland's development. Paul has mentioned about the Belt and Road and about the Bay Area, which I hope to cover in a moment. Hong Kong's advantage also lies in being the gateway to China. In other words, people and businesses that want to do business and invest in China, the best place to start is Hong Kong. On the one hand, we are very close to China's big market of 1.3 billion population, and we have four decades of experience working with Mainland China, because this year, 2018, is the 40th anniversary of the opening up of China's economy in 1978, and since then Hong Kong businesses and professional service providers have been going into the Mainland market to provide services to invest, to open factories and so on. So, we are an expert in accessing the Chinese market. And it is to be borne in mind that while China is still categorised as a developing country, the middle class is growing. When the middle class is growing, the demands for quality goods and services will rise, including a lot of affluent goods and wine from France, and also high quality services including medical services and engineering services that this country has to offer, particularly in the area of the AI industry, because part of my trip coming over here is to learn more about the French technology, artificial intelligence and health technology. We are forecasting that this domestic artificial intelligence industry will grow significantly in the coming years. To become the gateway to China, we also need very strong national support. I'm pleased to say in my capacity as the Chief Executive now, who has direct access to the leaders, including President Xi himself, it is very obvious to me that the Central People's Government wants to support Hong Kong, wants Hong Kong to succeed under "One Country, Two Systems", and maintain her own way of doing business, of living and so on, particularly in two major initiatives of the nation. One is the Belt and Road Initiative. The Central Government will support us to play an active part in the country's Belt and Road Initiative, which actually reaches three continents, and I'll show you a map later on. The other initiative is closer at home, it's the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, which again I'll show you a map so that you have some feel. The Belt and Road Initiative was announced by President Xi Jinping about five years ago. It is an initiative trying to connect with many countries and economies along two passageways. One is the Maritime Silk Road, one is the land-based economic silk belt. These two routes cover over 60 countries in three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. There will be a lot of demand for infrastructure, financial services, and professional services arising from the Belt and Road region, with projects either financed by China or by other enterprises, and that's why it will bring a lot of opportunities to economies which are very good at providing some of this services support. This Belt and Road covers 62 per cent of the world's population. At the moment it's about only 31 per cent of the global GDP but it is destined to grow. I am sure you have heard about the growth of India, the rising importance of the ASEAN region, the Southeast Asian nations of Thailand, Vietnam and so on. The other initiative is in the southern part of China. There is a big province called the Guangdong Province, which is next door to Hong Kong, and the national strategy is to develop this area, the nine affluent cities in Guangdong plus Hong Kong and Macao, two Special Administrative Regions, into a Bay Area type of economy. You can describe it as a city cluster, but we tend to prefer calling it a Bay Area economy as per the San Francisco Bay Area, the Tokyo Bay Area and the New York Metropolitan Area. And this Bay Area has a population of 68 million people, a GDP of US$1.5 trillion, which is about the size of Australia, and it is still growing, as I mentioned about the middle-class growth in the Mainland of China. Together we want to have a free flow of people, goods, services, finance and capital within the Bay Area. So hopefully through some supportive policy measures, there will be very little barriers in accessing this particular part of the Mainland of China in terms of goods and services. And particularly relevant to this afternoon's topic is technology. One of the highlights in the Bay Area is to develop a world-class, global innovation and technology hub very much like the Silicon Valley in San Francisco Bay Area, because we are seeing a lot of potential for going into this area. Why do I feel that we have that potential for contributing to a world-class innovation and technology hub in the Bay Area? One is Hong Kong has world-class information infrastructure. At the moment we already have 11 submarine cable systems in Hong Kong. We have very strong data centre clusters, still building these high-tier data centres in an industrial area called Tseung Kwan O, and Google has just recently opened a Google Cloud platform in Hong Kong. Second is we have a thriving technology ecosystem and this ecosystem grows very rapidly once it has found its niche. Amongst the world's start-up ecosystems, Hong Kong is one of the fastest. I'm sure France is the other. I went to see Station F, this year with 3 000 people working in start-ups in this project. And over the last three years, we really have seen the number of start-ups booming and growing in Hong Kong, that now we have over 2200 start-ups. Some are staying in the facilities that the Government is providing. Start-ups will need venture capital. The provision of venture capital by the private sector has been growing and the Government is also chipping in the government money to provide venture capital. We are very pleased to see that in our own I&T nurturing, we have already grown three unicorns in artificial intelligence, in courier services and so on. And this very famous drone is also conceived by researchers in Hong Kong but then produced in Shenzhen called DJI. It is now becoming a very valuable asset. The third factor is we have the infrastructure, because start-ups need a place to work and researchers also need their facilities. At the moment, we have two flagship facilities in innovation and technology, one is the Science Park under the Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the other is the Cyberport. There's a little bit of division of labour between the two. Cyberport is more focused on Fintech whereas Science Park provides space for a lot of technology areas. And we are not stopping at this stage. Right now we are still expanding the Science Park and amongst the expansion is a building which is called InnoCell, because I appreciate, I just said at the beginning, property prices are very high in Hong Kong, both for researchers and scientists to come to Hong Kong to work with us. Finding a place to stay is a major problem. So, with this InnoCell on-site we'll be providing 500 units for researchers so they can live and work in the Science Park. And looking ahead, we already have plans to develop an 87-hectare second science park in Hong Kong in an area which is very close to Shenzhen called the Lok Ma Chau Loop - 87 hectares, able to build about 1.2 million square metres of GFA, which is about four times bigger than the first Science Park that I have just shown you. This will provide more space and land for technology companies to work from. We are starting to do construction work on this second Science Park. And by the way, it is branded as a Hong Kong-Shenzhen park because we will work very closely with the city of Shenzhen, which I'm sure you know now accommodates a large number of tech companies like Tencent, Huawei and so on. We expect to deliver the first plot of land in 2021 for these technology centres and laboratories to be built on it. Since I took office on the 1st of July last year, in a few months' time I and my team, including Nicholas Yang, have met with a lot of tech people, whether it is Jack Ma of Alibaba, Pony Ma of Tencent and all these venture capital companies. And as a result of those interactions, I've come up with an eight-pronged strategy to grow Hong Kong's innovation and technology. I will just briefly take you through these eight areas. One is talent. And I'm sure we have talents in the audience. We need more talents, local talents and overseas talents, to join us in this very ambitious policy drive. We have a Technology Talent Scheme that provides funding for postdoctoral positions. Some of these are actually in enterprises. So when enterprises take on a postdoctoral candidate, we actually pay for that postdoctoral position. That will make it easier for the private enterprises, especially the smaller enterprises, to be able to nurture and retain these talents. And we have a Postgraduate Research Studentship Programme of $3 billion that we will pay for postgraduate students doing research in our local universities. There's also a Technology Internship Programme arranged by Science Park and Cyberport. And very recently, we've introduced a Technology Talent Admission Scheme, that is an immigration scheme that will give easier access and much faster processing time for tech talents. So tech companies will apply and be given a quota, and with that quota, they can recruit worldwide and once they recruit and use their quota then our immigration authority will issue the work visa for these tech talents, so it's a very fast-tracked arrangement. I just mentioned we also put in our own money to invest in promising start-ups, so we have a $2 billion Venture Fund for that purpose and we are working with private sector venture capital on a matching basis. On infrastructure, I've already mentioned about the second Science Park we are building. The third strategy is to open up government data so that researchers have easier direct access to the huge amount of data that the Government is keeping, whether it's on education, on medical, on transport, so that it will provide the energy and the necessary input for research to be undertaken by research companies and start-ups. Popular science education is very important for any place that aspires to become a technology hub. So apart from supporting our universities to do more R&D to have more international collaboration - just like this morning, I witnessed the signing of an MOU between Hong Kong University medical school and Institut Pasteur here on biomedical technology and research co-operation - we have also to do more on popular science so that young kids will start to pick up greater interest in STEM – science, technology, mathematics and engineering. Upgrading the Science Museum, making it more interesting for kids to visit, is also one of the initiatives that we have announced. I know that as we move on to the innovation and technology field, some of the legal provisions that are in place may not be able to catch up with this new requirement, so I have an exercise to review the legislation and regulations in Hong Kong to see whether certain provisions are outdated and others are obstructing the development of technology and need to be revisited. Government is a major procurer of goods and services. For example, the Government budget accounts for 21 per cent of the GDP. So we can lead by example by injecting more innovation and technology into the way we buy things or we buy services. Another review is going on to change the government procurement rules to give more, I wouldn't say favouritism, but to give a bit more weighting to innovation and technology in getting the government tenders to provide goods and services. Research funding is very important and they tend to be rather expensive because to have successful R&D takes time and they have to be on a sustainable basis. So we already have an ITF, Innovation and Technology Fund, that provides the long-term funding to some research projects. Lately we gave this fund another HK$10 billion so that it will have more than enough for the time being to fund these R&D propositions. I have set for my Government a very ambitious target - that is within my term, up to 2022, we want to double the R&D expenditure in Hong Kong, both public and private sectors taken together, from the current 0.7 per cent of GDP to 1.5 per cent. That is equivalent to about HK$45 billion every year on R&D spending. This is actually not bad although people will compare us to places like South Korea, which is 4 per cent, or Singapore, which is 2 to 3 per cent. But you have to appreciate that in Hong Kong, we don't have any defence R&D because foreign diplomacy and security defence are matters for the Central Government, so we don't really need to go into that area of defence research. Apart from the eight-pronged strategy, in this particular area of research spending, we cannot do it on our own because it will be too much for the Government to shoulder all the R&D spending, and after all it will not be very healthy for the Government to be the only major provider of funding for R&D. So we have a three-pronged approach in this particular area. One is public investment. We will give more to the Innovation Technology Fund for people to apply. We will give more to the universities under the RGC (Research Grants Council). Secondly, we will incentivise the private corporations to spend more on R&D, and the best way to incentivise corporations is through tax relief measures. How do we do it? We are providing for the first time in Hong Kong's very simple tax regime something called super tax deduction. For simple illustration, a company that spends $100 million on qualified research areas in terms of assessing profits tax liability, we will give them two times or three times relief. The current two-tier system is that the first $2 million R&D will attract a 300 per cent tax deduction. Anything above $2 million will attract 200 per cent tax deduction. And the beauty of our tax concession is we do not impose any limit. You can spend as much as you like and still enjoy this major tax deduction. The third way to increase R&D expenditure in Hong Kong is of course to attract companies and laboratories to Hong Kong, and their R&D expenditure will become Hong Kong's R&D expenditure. So we have a plan to create R&D clusters in two particular areas – one is health technology, the other is artificial intelligence and robotics. Apart from these two areas which we will build a cluster, we are already quite strong in Fintech because Hong Kong is a financial services centre and we already have the Cyberport providing the necessary support and incubation for Fintech. And I know Proptech is actually a sub-sector of Fintech so we welcome any Proptech start-ups to consider working with us at the Cyberport. The fourth area is smart city. Many of the cities aspire to become smart cities. This is not an easy target, but I would say that we are working through a blueprint in smart city. The reason why we chose AI and health is because we feel that we are strong in those areas with our research capability, and by inviting overseas institutions to come to us, we will be able to kick-start this area much faster. And that's why in this trip to France I went to visit the École Polytechnique and the Sorbonne University to explore opportunities for them to consider working with our universities in this particular cluster of bio-health technology as well as AI and robotics. We are putting in another $10 billion to support these two clusters in Hong Kong. The Smart City Blueprint in Hong Kong was announced last December. It involves a lot of things - it will take me another half an hour to present to you Hong Kong's Smart City Blueprint. So, hopefully, let's leave it to another occasion if Paul Zilk is going to bring Proptech to Hong Kong in the near future in the same way that MIPIM brought a property exhibition, MIPIM Asia, to Hong Kong for the last 10 years. And I truly believe that in our Smart City Blueprint there should be plenty of opportunities for application of technology in property and real estate management. So thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to share with you the exciting developments, and I look to working with some of you in our future endeavours. Thank you very much. Ends/Friday, June 22, 2018 Issued at HKT 5:58 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at the joint promotion seminar on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development in Paris | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/21/P2018062100134.htm | 21.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the joint promotion seminar on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development in Paris, France today (June 20, Paris time): Mr Ouyang Weimin, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Jackson Chang, President of Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, and Mr Wu Xiaojun, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in France, ladies and gentlemen, It really gives me great pleasure to be able to welcome you to this conference, organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government represented by Invest Hong Kong, and also our counterparts in Guangdong and Macao. There are a number of firsts for this particular occasion. One, this is my first trip to continental Europe in my new capacity as the Chief Executive of the HKSAR. Secondly, it's the first joint effort of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in promoting this very exciting initiative of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area to our overseas friends here in France. And speaking more personally, I'm the first lady Chief Executive of Hong Kong. So to me, this is a very historic moment. Since I'm the first to speak, I will start by giving you a bit of background and context about this Bay Area. The concept of the Bay Area emerged from very important statements made by the leaders in the last couple of years. In the 13th Five-Year Plan for the Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, it was made very clear that the Central Government will support the joint efforts by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to build a quality living area in the Greater Pearl River Delta region and accelerate the development of several areas within this Bay Area, which have been given special status in terms of being a free port - they are Qianhai, Nansha and Hengqin. They will become the platforms for co-operation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The Central Government will encourage Hong Kong and Macao to play an important part in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region co-operation and the development of this Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Then further on, when Premier Li Keqiang delivered his annual work report in March last year, he said that "We will promote closer co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong and Macao. We will draw up a plan for the development of a city cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, give full play to the distinctive strengths of Hong Kong and Macao, and elevate their positions and roles in China's economic development and opening up". Just to give you a feel of the major city clusters in the world, we generally refer to, apart from of course the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, the San Francisco Bay Area in America, the New York Metropolitan Area, also in the United States, and the Tokyo Bay Area. In so far as in China, there are also city cluster developments - because now the world is highly competitive, we need to look for co-operation and synergy among cities in order to raise the competitiveness of the economic region. So, apart from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, which I would say is a latecomer - we are emerging in the last couple of years - we have the Yangtze River Delta which comprises the very affluent city of Shanghai and the adjacent provinces, and the Jingjinji Metropolitan Region which comprises Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province. Coming back to the Bay Area, it consists of nine most affluent cities in the Guangdong Province and the two SARs of Hong Kong and Macao. Now some of the basic facts about this particular Bay Area - the land mass is 56 000 kilometres, many times bigger than Hong Kong which has only 1 100 square kilometres. In terms of population, it is quite large: sixty-eight million is about the size of the United Kingdom. In terms of GDP, it is US$1.5 trillion, which is roughly the size of Australia or South Korea. Of course Macao has the highest GDP per capita in this region because of its smaller population and it's doing very well in the gaming business. We are not bad - we are number two with per capita GDP of US$46,200. But since in general, China is still a developing country, and that is the beauty of this Bay Area, it still has a lot of energy to grow. The GDP per capita of the entire region is about US$21,760. This area is characterised by very good connectivity with the rest of the world, as illustrated by the number of airports and the number of ports in this region. In terms of Hong Kong, we are the world's number one in terms of air cargo, making the mark of 5 million tonnes of air cargo last year, which was very remarkable. In terms of the port, we used to be number one, but we have come down a bit. We are now the world's number five. But within this Bay Area we have the Shenzhen port, which is up and coming. We have the Guangzhou Nansha port, which is also growing. So the port business and the airport traffic within this region are really very active and booming. How do we compare with the other Bay Areas that I have just shown you on the map? In terms of population, we are the largest, which means that we have huge potential because people drive productivity and growth. In terms of GDP, we are growing. I am very confident that we will catch up the other Bay Areas pretty soon, because the difference is actually quite narrow now. We have very strong air traffic, as I have just described, and in terms of the port and air passenger travel, this is really a very important area in the world. I'm going to spend a few minutes to share with you what I see as the favourable conditions for developing the Bay Area. These are the favourable conditions for French businesses and overseas businesses to work with us in this Bay Area. Favourable condition number one is the national significance and the mandate given to us by the leaders. So let me take you through a few of these statements. In his 19th CPC National Congress report, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping has this to say about the Bay Area and the development of Hong Kong and Macao. President Xi said that the Central Government will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in integrating their own development into the overall development of the country. And priority will be given to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and the regional co-operation in the Pan-Pearl River Delta. And then in Premier Li Keqiang's report earlier this year - you remember in the history part I told you Premier Li Keqiang in his March 2017 report, he talked about that we will draw up a plan. So, a year later, in his March 2018 report, the Premier has this to say: "We will unveil and implement the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, and promote in all areas mutually beneficial co-operation between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao", which implies the development plan is more or less ready and will shortly be announced. Another very important milestone in the Bay Area took place on the 1st of July last year. That is the day when I took office and when President Xi was in Hong Kong to supervise the inauguration ceremony. We signed, in the presence of President Xi, a very important framework agreement on deepening cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. As you can see, there were four parties signing this framework agreement. They represented the three governments – Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao – and the Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, because it is about integrating not only within the Bay Area but into the national development. That's why the National Development and Reform Commission plays a very key role in the Bay Area development. A development plan shortly to be announced will have the status of endorsement by the State Council of the People's Republic of China and, although it has not been announced yet, I can share with you a few highlights in the development plan. One is the objective. What is the purpose of doing a Bay Area? It's to strive to develop this Bay Area into a more dynamic economic region, a quality living circle which is an ideal place for living, working, travelling, and a showcase for in-depth co-operation between the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, and join hands in building a first-class Bay Area. So the aspirations for this Bay Area are very high. We are aiming at the international level to do our joint co-operation and the principles of co-operation are complementarity. We don't want to compete directly amongst ourselves. Well, as a Bay Area we may wish to compete with other Bay Areas, both in the Mainland of China and all over the world. But within the Bay Area, we will try to work with each other to achieve what we call a win-win situation, and the key co-operation areas in the Bay Area will include infrastructure connectivity in order to achieve that living circle which is very convenient for people; market integration, whether it is in trade, in commerce, in financial services and investment; and also in technology and innovation. The second favourable condition is of course "One Country, Two Systems". We are not identical. This is a Bay Area which is unusual and unique because of "One Country, Two Systems". So, we have our own system and Macao has its own system under "One Country, Two Systems". As far as Hong Kong is concerned, we have the rule of law and the independence of judiciary. We are very strong in terms of being an international trade and financial centre and we are the world's freest and most competitive economy. We provide quality professional services to other enterprises and we have very good universities that are involved in research and development in Hong Kong. And being an international financial centre and a free economy, there are absolutely no barriers in the flow of capital and information in Hong Kong. There has been some concern raised recently in some quarters: if you are talking about an integrated Bay Area, does that mean that this "One Country, Two Systems" principle which is so very important will be eroded? The answer is no. This Bay Area prides itself on "One Country, Two Systems", and the most authoritative reply to that concern came from Premier Li Keqiang. Having finished the "two sessions" this year in Beijing, at a press conference for local and overseas journalists, Premier Li Keqiang, in response to an enquiry along the lines that I have just mentioned, he has this to say. He said that the Central Government encourages Hong Kong and Macao to integrate their own development into the overall national development. In this process, we will continue to observe the principle of "One Country, Two Systems", under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong, the people of Macao administer Macao, and both regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy. As there can be mutually beneficial co-operation and common development between different countries, there is even more reason for the three places which belong to one and the same country to do so. Under the guidance of "One Country, Two Systems" principle, we are confident that these three areas will draw upon each other's strengths and work together in building a new and strong region of vibrant growth. The third favourable condition is enhanced connectivity, because one of the objectives of this Bay Area is the free flow of people and goods. And we want to develop a living circle which is very convenient for the 68 million people in the Bay Area. So I'm very excited to share with you that we now have three major cross-boundary infrastructure projects that will be commissioned pretty soon, and a major French construction company actually is involved in some of these major infrastructure projects. Number one is the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, which will connect Hong Kong to the other two parts in the Bay Area - Macao and Zhuhai, which is one of the nine cities on the western part of Guangdong Province. We are going to open an Express Rail Link connecting Hong Kong in 48 minutes to Guangzhou and even shorter distance to Shenzhen, and from there to the rest of China with an extensive high-speed rail of close to 30 000 kilometres. And we are going to open an additional, which is the seventh, land-based control point between Hong Kong and the eastern part of Shenzhen. These particular control points are the busiest in the world, handling over 600 000 passenger trips every day, so you can imagine this frequency and flow of people between the two places. The fourth favourable condition is there is already very strong commitment from the three places – Hong Kong, Guangdong, Macao - to facilitate the flow of people, goods, capital and information in the Bay Area. Last November, the Guangdong Governor, Mr Ma Xingrui and I had an annual meeting between Hong Kong and Guangdong and we already agreed that while waiting for the development plan to be announced, we could start working on some of the key areas within the Bay Area, building on our previous closer relationship on the CEPA, Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, and this liberalisation of trade in services in Guangdong that has been put in place over the past decade. Of course, some of these facilitating measures could only come from the Central Government. So, in order to have more facilitating measures for people from Hong Kong and Macao to live and work and study in the Bay Area, we do need some Central Government supporting measures, and we have those measures made available to us in phases. In August and December last year when I was in Beijing, on both occasions the Central Government has announced some of the facilitating measures to make it easier for Hong Kong people to study, to work or even to buy flats in the Bay Area, and we are very grateful for that. And finally, there is this aspiration to build an international innovation and technology hub in the Bay Area on par with or even exceeding the Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. And why do we have this aspiration? It's because of the complementarity of the three places. Hong Kong has very strong R&D capacity because four of our universities are within the top 100 universities in the world and they are very strong in research. And Shenzhen has huge advanced manufacturing capacity and I would say that this is not only in Shenzhen. In other cities in the Bay Area, they are now building up very advanced manufacturing, electronic production capacity. So this formula of office in Hong Kong, R&D in Hong Kong, advanced manufacturing in the Bay Area cities and then if you need to scale up your business you come back to Hong Kong to use the financial services to seek listing and to raise capital or to issue bonds. It is a very attractive proposition which may not be readily available in other Bay Areas that I have mentioned. And we have a wonderful project which is a science park, a second science park based in Hong Kong, developed jointly with Shenzhen. We expect this 87 hectares of science park to be available in two to three years' time. When I said that we have this aspiration, it's not empty talk. We already have some of the measures put in place to attract more R&D institutions to Hong Kong, so my trip to Paris will involve some visits to the tech companies like Station F and also I went to visit Ecole Polytechnique yesterday in order to learn more about their research capacity. I would conclude by saying that there are exciting times ahead of us in this Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and we welcome all of you - French companies, Chinese companies and Hong Kong companies - to join hands with us in growing this very important Bay Area, not only for Hong Kong, Macao, Guangdong, not only for China, but for the world. Thank you very much. Ends/Thursday, June 21, 2018 Issued at HKT 5:47 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at France-Hong Kong and Mainland China Economic Forum | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/21/P2018062100081.htm | 21.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the France-Hong Kong and Mainland China Economic Forum in Paris, France today (June 20, Paris time): Mr LeCourtier (Director General of Business France, Mr Christophe LeCourtier), Mr Wu (Chargé d'Affaires of Chinese Embassy in France, Mr Wu Xiaojun), Jonathan (Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Dr Jonathan Choi), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. It's a great pleasure to be here today - my second delightful day in Paris and fifth in this great nation of France, after spending fruitful time in the city of Bordeaux and Marseille. I am very pleased that Christophe has given me an update on where France now stands. Having spent five days in France, I can fully appreciate this slogan - "The great nation of France is back". Congratulations. Christophe was very kind also to thank me for accepting this invitation to come to speak, but I want you to know, Christophe, and also our French community, that I am a great friend of the French community in Hong Kong. For seven years in a row, I've accepted the invitation of the French Chamber of Commerce to attend the annual gala dinner, and we just had a very enjoyable one two weeks ago. I was invited to open Le French May, and I was invited to open the Lumieres Hong Kong, which was modelled on the Lyon light festival. A few years back, when the French Government celebrated 150 years of presence in Hong Kong and produced this beautiful publication on the relationship between France and Hong Kong, the inauguration and the launching of that publication took place in my official residence. So it is just normal and to be expected for me to come to Business France. Paris is the overseas city that my family and I visited most, other than London where we had lived for a period over a decade ago. It has so much to offer from heritage to culture, from fine cuisine to fashion, and Disneyland for my children when they were young. As the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I'm here for all the good reasons that define our prized relations. I'm here to build on our already strong, long-standing trade ties, covering fashion, accessories, wine, aircraft and many other things. I'm here also to boost our valued ties in areas ranging from culture and the arts to education and, in particular, science, technology and innovation. These are the priority sectors of my Government, and also sectors that French companies and institutions have so much to offer. No less important, ladies and gentlemen, I'm here this afternoon to speak about the promise of the Belt and Road Initiative, that far-reaching plan built on multilateral, multinational co-operation as well as multifaceted connectivity announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Five years by now, it has generally been recognised that the Belt and Road Initiative may well drive the global economy deep into the 21st century. Indeed, some 80 countries and international organisations across the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe are committed to the Belt and Road. Today, more than 270 agreements or deliverables have been entered into among the economies along the Belt and Road corridors. These agreements and projects are transnational, complex in their goals and their needs. They range from finance, infrastructure and trade and commerce to information technology and digital development, as well as covering such sectors as agriculture, healthcare, environmental protection and conservation. For Hong Kong, the Belt and Road Initiative promises a wide-ranging window of opportunities. Hong Kong is destined to play an important role in this Initiative. Hence in December last year, we entered into an Arrangement with the National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China on advancing Hong Kong's full participation in and contribution to the Initiative, which covers six key areas, and they are finance and investment, infrastructure and maritime services, economic and trade facilitation, people-to-people bonds, taking forward the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development, and enhancing collaboration in project interfacing and dispute resolution services. As part of the Arrangement, we have set up a platform for regular and direct communication with relevant ministries of the Central Government and the inaugural meeting between the two sides actually took place in Beijing earlier this month. As a highly open economy, we embrace the free flow of capital, goods, talent and information, even as our economic ties with the Mainland continue to deepen. Both for the Mainland, and for the world at large, Hong Kong already serves as a critical intermediary and a multi-level bridge in managing and facilitating a ceaseless, mutually beneficial two-way flow. Powered by the Belt and Road Initiative, that flow will only expand and accelerate. This year is a very special year. It is the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up of the Mainland of China and the world has witnessed with awe how this national strategy has brought economic and social benefits to the Chinese people and uplifted the global economy. Amidst emerging protectionism in some parts of the world, it is reassuring to hear President Xi Jinping speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia in April this year that the Mainland would substantially open up its services and financial sectors, creating a more attractive investment environment. Certainly, there will be broader use of the Renminbi in global trade, investment and foreign reserves and, of course, in Belt and Road projects and their financing. That, ladies and gentlemen, is music to my ears. It puts a spotlight on Hong Kong's virtuoso ability to perform as a financial and services hub for the Belt and Road. With liquid capital flows and a deep pool of global financial talent, Hong Kong is the ideal centre in which to raise funds for infrastructure, investment and production projects, as well as to provide risk management, insurance and dispute resolution services to some of these projects. I know President Macron has noted that France is ready to play a leading role in the Belt and Road Initiative, and France is a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, that is AIIB. Hong Kong looks forward to co-operating with French financial institutions to bridge any funding gaps in your Belt and Road projects. One area we are keen to target is green financing for the Belt and Road. We are, to be sure, already moving ahead in this growing area. Two years ago, our MTR Corporation took the lead, raising capital through the issuance of green bonds. Then, last November, the China Development Bank issued its first green bonds, which were listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. To encourage more Belt and Road investors and issuers to participate in the Hong Kong bond market, my Government has announced a three-year Pilot Bond Grant Scheme earlier this year. A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government green bond issuance programme with a borrowing ceiling of HK$100 billion, that is almost 11 billion Euros, is also in the pipeline. I am confident that green finance will add another dimension to our financial prowess and diversity. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange was the world’s number one in initial public offerings in five of the past nine years. Last year, funds raised through IPOs in Hong Kong totalled about 14 billion Euros. We are the largest offshore Renminbi business hub in the world, with a pool of RMB618 billion, which is over 80 billion Euros, at the end of 2017. We handle about 76 per cent of offshore Renminbi transactions worldwide. Hong Kong is also a premier centre for asset and risk management. Indeed, our combined fund management business has tripled over the past decade. Funds sourced from overseas investors accounted for two-thirds of the total in 2016. That surely underlines our attractiveness as an international asset management centre. Since its inception in 2016, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office has brought together about 80 investment and financial players eager to pursue Belt and Road development. Knowing that a number of major French financial companies operate in Hong Kong, including BNP Paribas, Banking CIC, Crédit Agricole and Bretteville Consulting, I welcome them and other French institutions to join the league. Infrastructure development is the engine that will drive the Belt and Road Initiative. The numbers certainly bear that out. According to the Asian Development Bank, it is estimated that Asia will require an infrastructure investment of 1.4 to 1.5 trillion Euro a year through 2030. Heavy investment is driving the construction of motorways, mass-transit transport systems and railways, renewable energy and power plants, gas pipelines, ports, water works, industrial parks and much more. Projects in the communications and IT sectors will also be a significant beneficiary. These projects demand international-level professional services. In this, Hong Kong welcomes the participation of French companies. The opportunities, all but boundless, include feasibility studies, environmental and social impact assessments, design, construction, project and contract management, accounting, operation and dispute resolution services. A number of French engineering and construction-related companies are very well established in Hong Kong - from the Bachy Soletanche Group and Dragages Hong Kong, to BYME Engineering, Freyssinet Hong Kong and Schneider Electric. I am sure they are ready partners in realising these Belt and Road opportunities. Those French companies operating in Hong Kong would agree with me that Hong Kong has a distinct advantage in legal services, given our trusted common law system buttressed by an independent judiciary. Local and international companies can be sure that disputes will be resolved in a fair and transparent manner. Indeed, arbitral awards made in Hong Kong are enforceable in more than 150 jurisdictions around the world, including the Mainland of China. The future is no less promising for trading and investment. Hong Kong's free port status, and our standing as the world's freest economy, is unshakeable. And that can only attract companies looking to tap Belt and Road opportunities. Hong Kong is the region's trading hub and one of the best-connected cities in Asia. Half the world's population is within five hours' flying time from Hong Kong. Our Hong Kong International Airport is the world's busiest airport for international cargo. Last year, it handled air cargo and airmail throughput of 5 million tonnes, maintaining the title of the worlds' number one air cargo hub. And Government efforts are being made to strengthen that hub role. We are now transforming our airport into a three-runway system. The project includes reclamation of about 650 hectares of land, construction of a third runway and concourse, together with state-of-the-art people-moving and baggage-handling systems. On completion, it will have the capacity to handle 100 million passengers and 9 million tonnes of cargo a year, ensuring that Hong Kong remains an Asian aviation power. Just last week, the Hong Kong Airport Authority announced the granting of the right to develop a major logistics centre at the Hong Kong International Airport. The development on land connectivity is even more exciting. The flow of people and trade and opportunity between Hong Kong and the Mainland, particularly the Guangdong Province, is set to soar, thanks to the opening later this year of two state-of-the-art infrastructure projects. I'm talking about the 42-kilometre Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the 26-kilometre Guangdong-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail. Each, in its own right, will significantly reduce travelling time between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Together, they will help fast-track the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development. The Bay Area is another national development priority, which we talked about this morning at another seminar. It will knit together Hong Kong, Macao and nine prosperous Guangdong cities - an economy counting some 68 million people and a collective GDP of some 1.3 trillion Euros, which is comparable to that of Australia. By taking collective advantage of the varying expertise each of the 11 cities can offer, the vision is to develop the Bay Area into a global technology and innovation hub, a modern system of different industries and a quality living circle for the people. Ultimately, this Bay Area will serve as a potent connection point for the Belt and Road Initiative, applying the formidable strengths and experience of Hong Kong and the other Bay Area cities to support the Initiative and China's national development. Ladies and gentlemen, the Belt and Road will be nothing less than transformative. For the Mainland, for Hong Kong and for all those economies and companies that ride its outsized promise through this 21st century. You can learn more - and, no doubt, find eager partners and projects - if you or your representatives are going to attend our third Belt and Road Summit to be held next week in Hong Kong or future editions of this annual event. Jointly organised by the Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, it has become not only a forum for updating and exchanges on this major Initiative, but also an effective platform for one-to-one business matching among project owners, investors and service providers. This year's Summit is expected to draw close to 5 000 professionals from Hong Kong, the Mainland and all over the world. Ladies and gentlemen, as President Xi said at the April Boao Forum for Asia, and I quote, "The Belt and Road Initiative may be China’s idea, but its opportunities and outcomes are going to benefit the world." I hope you will join us in grasping those opportunities and sharing the benefits. Finally, my thanks to the organisers - the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce chaired by Jonathan, the China Federation of Industrial Economics and the Comité France Chine - for bring us together today. I wish you all an enjoyable afternoon. Thank you very much. Ends/Thursday, June 21, 2018 Issued at HKT 3:06 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at H-175 helicopter delivery ceremony at Airbus Helicopters in Marseille | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/18/P2018061800914.htm | 18.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the H-175 helicopter delivery ceremony at Airbus Helicopters in Marseille, France today (June 18, Marseille time): Mr Even (Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters, Mr Bruno Even), Mr Lemoyne (State Secretary to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good morning. I am delighted to be here today at Airbus Helicopters to formally accept three new H-175 helicopters on behalf of the Government Flying Service (GFS) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. They look impressive, I must say. I know our Flying Service can't wait to get them into the skies over Hong Kong. And we all look forward to delivery of the other four before this year's end. I am grateful to Airbus Helicopters and for the many people involved in the production of these helicopters, especially Mr Even, for his assistance in arranging today's programme and, of course, for its meticulous efforts in enabling the smooth production of the new helicopters. The quality and professionalism of Airbus Helicopters is something we have come to expect, having been good partners now for more than 17 years. Our cooperation began in 2001. From Eurocopter, Airbus Helicopters' predecessor, we purchased seven helicopters – four B1 Dauphins and three L2 Super Pumas. The seven Eurocopters in the GFS fleet have served as trusted transport for our GFS crew in all kinds of emergency operations. Indeed, our GFS crew have to work under extremely testing weather conditions and demanding operating environments, including long-range search-and-rescue missions over our seas and mountains, along with patient transfers, fire-fighting and law enforcement. And, let me add, they also include the mega-typhoons we have been hit within these past few years, as well as our disaster-relief efforts during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. I still remember 10 years ago, following the GFS search and rescue service in the Sichuan earthquake, President Xi Jinping, who was then the Vice President of the People's Republic of China, came to Hong Kong and went to the hanger to specially thank the GFS pilots and crew for the wonderful job done. All in all, I'm told that the seven Eurocopters in the GFS fleet have rescued more than 6 700 lives in Hong Kong and the South China Sea, while providing air medical services for well over 25 000 patients. With that very much in mind, I would say this is a fitting time and opportunity to thank both the professionals at Airbus Helicopters and GFS for a job well done. Looking ahead, the new H-175 fleet brings together the most advanced helicopter manufacturing technology, including the latest avionics and navigation systems, and does so with a capacity nearly 20 per cent larger than the fleet it will replace. I am pleased to note that the GFS is the launch customer for this brand-new model and configuration. I am pleased as well that it is the result of an East-West cooperation. While Airbus Helicopters has been responsible for much of the production, Mainland China has contributed the airframe manufacturing. The new fleet's cost at 143.9 million euros is a pretty penny, to be sure. But, of course, I know we are getting fair value – for the hardware, the software, the training and the reassurance that we are investing in the best life-saving transport we can buy for our community, for the people of Hong Kong and for everyone around us. For that, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all, and wish you all a very pleasant day. Thank you very much. Ends/Monday, June 18, 2018 Issued at HKT 23:26 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by Acting Chief Executive at Quality Building Award 2018 Presentation Ceremony | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/15/P2018061500984.htm | 15.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at the Quality Building Award 2018 Presentation Ceremony today (June 15): Sr Stephen Lai (Chairman of the Organisng Committee of the Quality Building Award 2018), distinguished guests, government colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, Good evening! It is my honour to join you all tonight to witness the crowning achievement of the winners of the Quality Building Award 2018. Before the announcement of this year’s result, let me extend my warmest congratulations to the 22 shortlisted finalists that each has exhibited every element required to meet the Award' highest building standards. Please join me to greet them with a round of applause! I can fully appreciate that only with impressive design, meticulous construction technique, rigorous project management and robust teamwork can we turn a bare site into a signature building. Despite the constraints and challenges, the shortlisted project teams have not only overcome them but have gone far beyond that. That explains why the Quality Building Award was founded in 2001 when nine professional institutions decided to launch a biennial Award to promote the collective commitment of the building industry to achieve the highest standards of teamwork, professionalism and competitiveness. This year is the ninth edition of the Award ceremony. The theme of the 2018 Award is "Driven by Profession • United for Success" which echoes well with the governance philosophy of the current-term Government. We are committed to working with the community to reinforce Hong Kong's strength and propel the economy forward. To this end, we have adopted a new style of governance including adding the new roles of the Government as a "facilitator" and "promoter" in addition to the traditional functions of "regulator" and "service provider". Also, we are striving to attract talents and professionals to join various statutory and advisory bodies and welcome young elites to recommend themselves to participate in relevant advisory bodies. We are committed to making this government more open, accessible, responsive and innovative. Quality buildings are essential ingredients for a growing and dynamic metropolis like Hong Kong. The annual overall construction expenditure in Hong Kong in the coming five years will reach $250 - $305 billion, reflecting continuous strong demand for construction services. However, we are facing a number of challenges that might undermine our capability to cater for such demand, notably shortage of labour and an aging workforce. According to the latest manpower forecast released by the Construction Industry Council in January 2018, the industry will face a shortfall of 5 000 to 10 000 skilled workers in labour-intensive trades. Moreover, the average age of our construction workforce is 46, with about 40 per cent of the skilled workers already aged 55 or above. The overall labour force in Hong Kong will start to dwindle after 2022, making it even more difficult to recruit construction workers. Innovative technology has been transforming the building sector worldwide. Hong Kong should keep up with this global trend to sustain our competitiveness and address the manpower pressure on the sector. In fact, automating and mechanising repetitive construction processes can enhance productivity and safety. Besides, the use of advanced technologies would also uplift the professional image of the construction practitioners and help attract new blood. In her inaugural Policy Address, the Chief Executive has highlighted key measures to help the building sector improve productivity, built quality, environmental performance and site safety. For major government capital works projects scheduled to start this year, we have mandated the adoption of Building Information Modelling, or BIM, which allows visualisation of designs to enhance planning and co-ordination in the construction process, contributing to significant reduction in material wastage as well as pre-empting safety pitfalls and unworkable designs. To encourage building designers to make use of BIM when preparing building plan submissions, the Buildings Department has already issued a practice note for the industry while actively considering the possible next step to admit BIM e-submission in the future. We are also working closely with the building industry to enhance the innovation capability of existing practitioners and prospective building professionals for the continuous improvement of the sector. The Construction Industry Council has established the Construction Innovation and Technology Application Centre leading the industry to embrace innovation through collecting, exhibiting and experiencing the latest construction technologies, as well as to support their application by small and medium enterprises. The Council will also formulate BIM technical standards, help equip the industry and encourage the use of such technology in private work projects. Off-site prefabrication for on-site assembly such as Modular Integration Construction, or MiC in short, can reduce manpower and time requirements and minimise the environmental nuisance arising from construction. MiC has been widely used in countries like the UK, Australia and Singapore. To take the lead, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is piloting the use of MiC in the development of Innocell located at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park as well as a student hostel at the University of Hong Kong. To facilitate wider use of MiC for private building developments in Hong Kong, the Buildings Department has set up a pre-acceptance mechanism for granting in-principle acceptance to MiC systems or components, and issued a practice note to facilitate submission preparation. To boost the technological capacities of enterprises and practitioners in the building industry, this year's Budget proposed to establish a $1 billion Construction Innovation and Technology Fund to provide financial support for the industry to acquire both software and hardware and to nurture the expertise required for using local and overseas innovative construction technologies such as BIM, steel reinforcing bar products produced in local prefabrication yards and MiC when carrying out development projects. The Fund will also support students and practitioners of the building industry to receive training on innovative technologies such as courses offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, the Technical University of Munich and Tsinghua University. While we celebrate distinguished buildings tonight, we must not lose sight of the quality of our existing building stock. There are over 5 000 private buildings aged 50 or above. Many of them lack proper management given the absence of owners' committee or property management agency. These buildings, if left unattended, will pose serious threat to the safety of our citizens. To encourage proper and timely maintenance and repairs to enhance building safety, extend the useful life of buildings, slow down urban decay and improve the living conditions of the community, we will soon launch a $3-billion "Operation Building Bright 2.0" to provide financial and technical assistance to owners or occupiers of buildings aged more than 50 years. In addition, a $2-billion Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme will also be introduced to subsidise owners of old composite buildings to undertake fire safety enhancement measures. A Do-it-yourself (DIY) tool-kit offering practical guidance to owners in undertaking building repair and maintenance works will be provided to participating buildings. The Urban Renewal Authority will also deploy designated staff to follow up on tendering matters and closely liaise with the owners' corporations to help owners to take forward the repair works. Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong is renowned for its beautiful skyscraper landscape created by the joint effort and admirable craftsmanship of our building sector over the years. The Quality Building Award further raises the benchmark and widens the quality spectrum for excellent construction projects in Hong Kong and beyond. The 22 finalists presented to us this evening demonstrate the highest quality building standards, combining innovation, sustainability and dedication to team work. I am particularly delighted to learn that many of these outstanding projects are public projects developed by government departments. They are indeed shining examples of this year's theme: "Driven by Profession • United for Success"! On this happy note, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to this year's award winners whom we will meet soon. No less important, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the jury panel and the organising committee for their hard work over the past months. I also wish every one of you an enjoyable evening. Thank you. Ends/Friday, June 15, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:34 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at 18th Anniversary of HKEX Cocktail Reception | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/13/P2018061300967.htm | 13.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the 18th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) Cocktail Reception today (June 13): Laura (Chairman of HKEX, Mrs Laura Cha), members of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited Board, Deputy Director Huang Lanfa (Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)), Deputy Commissioner Yang Yirui (Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the HKSAR), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good evening. It is a great pleasure to be here to join you all to celebrate the 18th anniversary of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and I am particularly grateful to Laura for advancing the date of this reception to suit my schedule. I have to tell you it is very rare for the Chief Executive to ask the organiser to change a date in order to suit the Chief Executive, because I have enough - more than enough - invitations to a lot of things. But I really want to come this year to share the joy of the celebration because this evening's reception is not just what Laura described as a momentous occasion for HKEX, but actually it's a historic moment for the first lady Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the first lady Chairman of HKEX to take the stage and to give you that confidence that Hong Kong's financial services will grow stronger and stronger under two women. Of course I have every confidence that under Laura's leadership, with her sparkling track record and building on the strong foundations of HKEX laid by Charles Lee, Ron Arculli and C K Chow, we will be seeing a very promising future for Hong Kong's securities market. Today is the 18th anniversary and this number 18, I'm sure you'll agree, is a very good figure. It will bring good fortune to Hong Kong and to the future of HKEX and the market. Also 18 is a moment you enter adulthood. I'm not suggesting that HKEX was kind of childish in the last 17 years, but this is a moment for us to enter a new era of adulthood. So, if in the past we have benefited significantly from the opening up and reform of the Mainland of China's financial markets, this is a time for Hong Kong to go global. A few days after I took office, I was standing here to witness the launching of the Bond Connect, and we have to be extremely grateful to the Central Authorities for giving us so many opportunities in the last few years, one after another with the Shanghai Connect, the mutual recognition of funds, the Shenzhen Connect and then last year's Bond Connect. But Hong Kong's value lies in being international, and this is where we could contribute to the further opening up of the Mainland's financial markets. So I have this joint mission and aspiration with Laura that we should really take our markets globally and attract more internationally renowned companies to come to list on HKEX. I already put in my little part by going on a 12-hour trip to Saudi Arabia last December, Riyadh, for only one single objective - you know what that is, and we're still working very hard at that. I'm happy to go on more roadshows, if my diary permits, with the HKEX in order to tell the world that this is the place to be, because attracting overseas companies to list in Hong Kong is not just a question of listing rules - although listing rules are very important as we have seen from the new listing rules to attract new-economy technology companies, biotechnology companies and secondary listing of overseas-listed companies in Hong Kong. But it is not just the listing rules. I would say that it is not just the regulatory regime of Carlson (Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Mr Carlson Tong) and Ashley (Chief Executive Officer of the SFC, Mr Ashley Alder). It is also what Hong Kong can offer. So, it is for me as the Chief Executive, the Financial Secretary and our team to back up your promotion work to tell people what this city can offer. We can offer the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, this high degree of internationalisation and this place being a very liveable city so that more companies from abroad will choose Hong Kong as their destination for the raising of capital. I hope that in my tenure I will continue to make my contribution to Hong Kong's securities industry, and I hope that you will all support Laura and the team and my Government in bringing Hong Kong's securities market to new heights. Thank you very much. Ends/Wednesday, June 13, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:43 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at Investment Forum and Publication Ceremony of Research Report on Central and Eastern European Economy | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/11/P2018061100902.htm | 11.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Investment Forum and Publication Ceremony of Research Report on Central and Eastern European (CEE) Economy today (June 11): Dr Jiang (Chairman, SINO-CEEF Capital Management Company Limited, Dr Jiang Jianqing), Commissioner Xie (Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr Xie Feng), Ms Qiu (Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Ms Qiu Hong), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, It is my great pleasure to join you all today for the 2018 Sino-CEE Fund Investment Forum. I would like to first express my appreciation to the organiser for hosting this event in Hong Kong, and extend to you my warmest welcome, particularly those visiting from abroad. When Dr Jiang came to meet with me to talk about this forum, I am sure he was a bit surprised that an official from Hong Kong has been to so many CEE countries. Not many people remember now I had been working in London for 18 months, and during those 18 months, my portfolio covered the entire Central and Eastern European region, so I had been to many of these Central and Eastern European countries. And by the way, during my tenure in London, the Honourable Gordon Brown was the Chancellor of the Exchequer. So I am pretty personally attached to the CEE region. As I told Dr Jiang, I said there was huge potential in these countries that is waiting to be tapped. Hong Kong thrives on trade and finance in an inter-connected world. We have long established ourselves as an ideal hub to pool talents and wealth from around the world in serving a wide spectrum of purposes, be it an exchange of ideas like ours at this very moment, or in search of business and investment opportunities, just as how the Sino-CEE Fund manager (i.e. SINO-CEEF Capital Management Company) is doing here right in Hong Kong. Leveraging on our strategic location, as well as our unparalleled expertise in professional and financial services, we are uniquely positioned and well endowed to help promote multilateral economic co-operation and contribute to our national development strategies. Unveiled by President Xi Jinping as "the project of the century" in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative is a visionary master plan to propel and sustain global economic growth. Since its inception five years ago, it has evolved from a vision into reality with tangible outcomes. China has signed co-operation agreements with over 70 countries and international organisations to foster collaboration in taking forward the Initiative. And Hong Kong is proud to participate in this nationwide development blueprint by entering into an arrangement with the National Development and Reform Commission last December on advancing our full participation in the Initiative. In fact, a team of HKSAR Government officials led by my colleague, the Secretary for Justice, is now on the way to Beijing to attend the first meeting of the liaison mechanism under this Arrangement. The Arrangement attests to the strengths and niches of Hong Kong. As an international financial centre and a global hub for trade and commerce, Hong Kong possesses in abundance the expertise and experience in trade facilitation, infrastructural financing as well as providing professional services in the wealth creation process under the Initiative. The growth momentum of the Mainland, coupled with the opportunities in the Belt and Road countries, bestows on Hong Kong the honour and also the duty to play a pivotal role in the further development of the Initiative. We will strive to maximise our potential under "One Country, Two Systems" and seize every opportunity for economic growth, with the ultimate goal of achieving mutually complimentary and co-ordinated development between the Mainland and Hong Kong. Under the Arrangement, there are six key areas where Hong Kong excels and can make important contribution in the national context, and they are finance and investment; infrastructure and maritime services; economic and trade facilitation; people-to-people bonds; taking forward the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development; and enhancing collaboration in project interfacing and dispute resolution services. While I’m more than excited to walk you through the conducive measures one by one, in the interest of time, just allow me to highlight a few on finance and investment to offer you a glimpse of the Arrangement implementation so far. Infrastructure development and investment is the cornerstone in enhancing connectivity under the Belt and Road Initiative. According to the estimates of the Asian Development Bank, infrastructure investment of as much as US$1.7 trillion per year will be needed until 2030 in Asia alone. The magnitude will be even higher for the entire Belt and Road region. To address these huge financing needs, multiple frameworks of public financing mechanisms have been put in place, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB, and the Silk Road Fund. Apart from public investment, it is also critical to draw in private sector investment and financing to bridge the substantial funding gap. To foster public-private partnership and collaboration, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has set up the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office with a view to facilitating infrastructure investments and their financing through working with a cluster of key stakeholders. Since its establishment in July 2016, over 80 organisations from the Mainland, Hong Kong and overseas, including multilateral financial agencies and development banks, asset managers, commercial banks, insurance companies, project developers and operators, as well as professional service firms and international business council, have joined the platform as partners. Last September, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), committing US$1 billion to the innovative Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program which is a debt mobilisation platform for emerging markets. Our support to the IFC in financing projects across more than 100 countries, ranging from infrastructure, telecom to agri-business and services, could serve as a catalyst for attracting private sector capital into infrastructure investment and financing. As much pride as we take in being a leading international asset management, risk management and corporate treasury centre, we are determined to up the game in developing a more conducive environment with a variety and diversity of financing channels for businesses to set foot in Hong Kong. Apart from a clear statement laying down the pathway for infrastructure project companies to achieve listing in Hong Kong, we are also making an effort in spurring the development of our bond market. For instance, our recent launch of the Pilot Bond Grant Scheme offers grants to first-time issuers in Hong Kong to cover part of their issuance expenses. Reciprocally for investors, tax concessions for qualifying debt instruments will also be enhanced to encourage their participation in the bond market. In tandem, half-rate profits tax concessions for corporate treasury centres, as well as professional reinsurers and captive insurers will be further extended. I would also like to take this opportunity to announce an upcoming launch of the Belt and Road Insurance Facilitation Platform to facilitate insurance and reinsurance placements and services for projects or investments along the Belt and Road route. Looking ahead, we will continue to keep ourselves busy in greasing the wheels for this long journey to deliver on our full commitment in the Arrangement. With strengthening economic and trade connectivity between the Mainland and the Belt and Road economies, RMB will be increasingly used in bilateral trade and investment in the region. Hong Kong's status as the largest offshore RMB centre, with 70 per cent of offshore RMB settlement taking place in Hong Kong as well as having the largest RQFII quota in the world, will be of paramount importance in this process of Renminbi internationalisation. We will continue to closely engage the industry and relevant Mainland authorities to explore expansion of the channels for two-way flow of cross-border RMB funds and promote further mutual market access arrangements between the two places. Following the G20’s call for scaling up green finance under China's presidency in 2016, a green, healthy, intelligent and peaceful Silk Road has since been reinvented to bring the concept of green finance and sustainable infrastructure into the mainstream. We envisage an increasing role for our capital markets to finance green projects, serving the needs of both the Mainland and economies along the Belt and Road. Action speaks louder than words. Having received favourable market response on our first local Green Finance Certification Scheme since its inception earlier in January, we will soon be establishing a Green Bond Grant Scheme to subsidise the costs issuers incurred in obtaining certification under our local Scheme. In addition, a Government Green Bond Programme with a borrowing ceiling of HK$100 billion will soon be launched to jump-start market development. We are encouraged to become the preferred location for the issuance of green bonds by a multitude of local, Mainland and overseas enterprises, as well as international organisations such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. The ancient Silk Road was the epitome of human wisdom, perseverance and solidarity. Following the footsteps of our great ancestors along the ancient Silk Road, we're about to make our mark in pursuing the modern-day Belt and Road Initiative. As the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This echoes well with today’s theme of “investing for mutual benefits, collaborating for progress”. I look forward to the informative economic research findings on Sino-CEE relations and the enlightening roundtable discussion coming up next. May this bring about our more frequent and closer collaboration in one way or another in the coming future. Last but not least, before leaving the floor to Dr Jiang on our much anticipated keynote speech by him on Sino-CEE financial and investment strategies in the context of the Initiative, allow me to do a little promo on our upcoming annual Belt and Road Summit to be held on June 28 under the theme of "Collaborate for Success". We hope to see some of you at this international event in Hong Kong. Thank you very much! Ends/Monday, June 11, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:32 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at Swedish Midsummer and National Day Celebration | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/08/P2018060800816.htm | 8.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Swedish Midsummer and National Day Celebration today (June 8): Consul General (Consul General of Sweden in Hong Kong, Ms Helena Storm), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. What a pleasure to be here today in celebration of Sweden's national day and its midsummer festival, the country's most traditional of holidays. First of all, my gratitude to the Consul General and your team for opening this fantastic celebration to the people of Hong Kong. It provides an excellent opportunity for our people to appreciate the rich culture of Sweden through the music, dance, food and many other things on offer this afternoon. I am also delighted that the celebration is taking place in the courtyard at PMQ. The Former Police Married Quarters, PMQ is one of eight Conserving Central projects, half of which are now up and running. Just two weeks ago, I took part in the opening of the nearby Central Police Station Compound – now called Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts. I must say I am thrilled to see Hong Kong’s past rise again – revitalised and, as this good afternoon attests to, radiating life, purpose and good will. Ladies and gentlemen, I can say very much the same about Hong Kong and Sweden. Our two economies, our two peoples, are finding good reasons to come together. Less than two years ago, the Karolinska Institutet's Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine opened here, setting in motion what I am confident will be a long and mutually rewarding collaboration between us in science and technology, as well as the creative industries. Indeed, Prince Carl Philip visited Hong Kong just six months ago, here to inaugurate the Swedish Pavilion at Business of Design Week, as well as to launch the first edition of #SwedenTalks_HK, a creative exchange that we very much look forward to building on. The Prince is definitely not the only person from Sweden to visit us. Thanks to our mutual visa-free arrangement and direct flight connection, arrivals from Sweden to Hong Kong grew by about 25 per cent cumulatively in the past three years. And I am sure our people-to-people bond will continue to grow, especially amongst young people, with our bilateral Working Holiday Scheme commencing operation in January this year. Ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to ties between Hong Kong and Sweden, there is a great deal more to say. But I would stop here now, so that I will have more time to tour the booths here and to learn how to make a Swedish flower crown from the Consul General. I wish the people of Sweden a most happy and memorable national day, and everyone here an enjoyable afternoon, actually till 10pm tonight. Thank you very much. Ends/Friday, June 8, 2018 Issued at HKT 16:48 NNNN | CE | en |
Speech by CE at Urban Land Institute Asia Pacific Summit | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/06/P2018060600811.htm | 6.6.2018 | Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Asia Pacific Summit this morning (June 6): Mr Toomey (ULI Global Chairman, Mr Tom Toomey), Dr Seek (ULI Asia Pacific Chairman, Dr Seek Ngee Huat), Tom (ULI Senior Resident Fellow and ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for Urban Development, Mr Tom Murphy), Nick (ULI Asia Pacific Incoming Chairman, Mr Nicholas Brooke) and Raymond (ULI Hong Kong and Summit Host Committee Chairman, Mr Raymond Chow), Thank you very much for inviting me to this very important occasion of ULI Asia Pacific - hosting for a second time this very interesting and exciting summit in Hong Kong, especially at the time when you are celebrating your 10th anniversary. I still remember when Nick sent an invitation, he started by saying that this summit is a long way away, because the invitation was actually sent to me last September - it was a couple of months after I took office as the Chief Executive for Hong Kong. But now here I am. So I have this impression that time really flies for me as the Chief Executive for Hong Kong. I'll be celebrating my first anniversary very soon. There is a Chinese saying that when people are in a state of anxiety, very unhappy, then days pass like years (度日如年). So I take it that I have a pretty enjoyable and relaxing tenure as the Chief Executive when months actually pass like days. I think people in the real estate sector are very used to hearing me talk with a beautiful PowerPoint, going into tens and tens of slides about Hong Kong's land development, transport infrastructure, etc. But I have no PowerPoint for you this morning because I was invited to talk about how I lead this top-tier city. There is another Chinese saying that it's easier actually to start a business but it's extremely difficult to sustain a successful business (創業難，守業更難). So I'm now right in this position of sustaining this top-tier city and bringing this top-tier city to newer heights. So I only have a few words that I want to share with you in this leadership position, that is what it's like to lead this top-tier city. One is it is extremely tiring. Secondly, it is extremely challenging, but fortunately it's extremely fulfilling. Now, just to impress upon you the workload or the work pressure on the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, since I won the election on the 26th of March last year, which by now is almost one and a half years, I have only taken one day's leave - to spend a very brief holiday with my family in a city called Guilin in the Guangxi Autonomous Region. And that was really a brief holiday of four nights. But even during that very brief holiday, I had to produce a video on how wonderful it is to travel on the high-speed rail from Shenzhen North station for three hours to Guilin and sort of promoting the high-speed rail in Hong Kong which will open by the end of September this year, and by which time I don't need to go to Shenzhen North to change into a high-speed train. I will walk into the West Kowloon terminus and then one stop - although we will stop en route, but I don't need to change any train - and I'll be in Guilin in about three hours' time. Now, also during that very brief holiday I had meetings with the leaders of Guangxi who wanted to talk to me about this exciting project of the southern corridor. And then I was invited to inspect some poverty alleviation work in a village in Guilin - how they revitalised a village in order to help raise the standard of living in some of these rural villages. So I've come to the conclusion that in this particular position there is simply no private life for the Chief Executive and I just don't have any personal time for myself and my family. That is because about 20 per cent of my time was actually spent outside of Hong Kong in the last year or so. I have made 21 trips out of Hong Kong to promote this top-tier city, and next Wednesday I'm embarking on a grand European tour of 13 days covering three countries and six cities in continental Europe to continue to promote Hong Kong and to explore opportunities for collaboration with Hong Kong in a wide range of areas, including innovation and technology, arts and culture, business, financial services, Renminbi trading and so on and so on, because we are a cosmopolitan city, very proud of being an international financial centre, shipping and logistics, and now emerging as a very important arts and cultural hub. I hope friends who come from abroad will have some time to visit the recently opened Central Police Station Compound, now called Tai Kwun, which is revitalised into an arts and entertainment precinct for Hong Kong people as well as for tourists. I also promised and have delivered this pledge to work more closely with our politicians - the Legislative Council (LegCo) - because in our political system, and that is why leadership is so important, if we want to deliver for Hong Kong, I have to work with the politicians across the spectrum, whether they are pro-government, anti-establishment or even very radical members in the Legislative Council. So from January this year, I started the practice of going more frequently to the Legislative Council to attend not only the long versions of question-and-answers by the Chief Executive every quarter but also in addition to go there at least once a month to be questioned. But these interactions have been proven to be quite rewarding and effective. For those in the audience who are in the construction industry, you will be pleased to hear that I am expecting a very good year in terms of getting funding for Hong Kong's infrastructure. I have said in public that I am expecting total funding to be approved this year by the Legislative Council will be in the region of HK$170 billion, which is the highest level in the last five years. That's so much about this being a very tiring job because of all the things I need to do and the people I need to engage in order to continue to lead Hong Kong effectively. I said this job is also extremely challenging because on the one hand, Hong Kong has her unique strengths which I still feel there is a huge potential to be tapped, and that's why I do a lot of all these overseas and Mainland trips. On the other hand, we are facing a lot of difficulties, so that is what makes this job extremely challenging and also interesting. But let me just start by sharing a bit with you the major challenge lies in the constitutional position of the Chief Executive. Many of you will know that I have been the Government's number two for four and a half years before I resigned to contest in the Chief Executive election. So you will feel that perhaps it's not too different and difficult because it's number two moving into number one position. But constitutionally, as laid down in the Basic Law, the position of the Chief Executive is unique. He or she is responsible to both the people of Hong Kong as well as the Central People's Government, or what we call the dual accountability. So to ensure the continued success of "one country, two systems", the Chief Executive has to perform his or her role well in taking into account the interests of the Central People's Government as well as the people of Hong Kong. I would say with my year of experience that, at most of the time, the two sets of interests align very well, because you have heard our leaders saying that they want Hong Kong to succeed. They want Hong Kong to continue to be an international city and financial centre. And more recently, in the 19th Congress report of President Xi Jinping, he said that he would support Hong Kong to integrate herself into the national development. So there are plenty of opportunities for us to tap, provided that the Chief Executive performs well in discharging her dual responsibility. The second challenge lies in our political system. Tom has been a politician, and many of you know that in many of the overseas parliaments, the ruling government would be having a majority in the parliament, so that the government could push the policy through the legislative council or the parliament. But in our case, our situation is unique in a sense that the Government does not even have a single vote in the Legislative Council. Amongst the LegCo members we could say that some political parties are more pro-establishment, others may be less pro-establishment. But their vested interests differ significantly. So it is not always reliable to think that I have always the support of the allies from the pro-establishment group. It really depends on the issues of the day that we need to press ahead in order to deliver for the people of Hong Kong. The third challenge lies in - there had been quite a bit of misunderstanding or prejudiced comments about where Hong Kong is under "one country, two systems", so especially for overseas friends I would encourage you to really look deeper into Hong Kong's situation and read more broadly about different commentaries about Hong Kong instead of just taking on face value that this high degree of autonomy has been eroded, how the "one country, two systems" concept is not being upheld and so on. But of course it lies on the shoulders of the Chief Executive to continue to dispel those misperceptions and misunderstanding. Hong Kong is facing a lot of challenges. If we want to continue to be a top-tier city, and even further and better to rise to new height, we need to enhance our competitiveness, because we are living in a globalised economic environment. So we cannot sit back and relax and think that we will succeed by being the freest economy in the world and one of the most competitive economies in the world. Because the world is changing, and other people, other governments and other economies are moving ahead. So we need to seize the many opportunities available to us under the Belt and Road and this Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. I'm not going into details in these two major national strategies and what they have in offer for Hong Kong because I have looked at your programme - I believe that some of the subsequent panel discussions will cover these two very important areas. And then we have an issue of public aspirations. For many advanced economies all over the world, the people are now more assertive. They really want the government to do more for them. They are unhappy about the gaps in wealth, they are unhappy about not being able to buy a flat, young people are a bit aggrieved about the lack of opportunities in upward mobility and so on. So the challenge lies in how I could effectively respond to the rising public aspirations across the spectrum of the economy, job opportunities, social inclusion, equality and so on. But nothing is more pressing in Hong Kong, nothing is more challenging in Hong Kong, than this single issue of land supply, which ULI may come to our rescue and give us another advisory panel on how we can find the land. Right now, knowing very well that this is a very controversial issue and I have said in public that Hong Kong is not short of land - because only 24 per cent of our 1 100 square kilometres have been developed, so there are still three-quarters of land to be tapped and we are surrounded by water - but there is a lack of consensus on where we should find this land for meeting our economic, social and housing needs. So right now there is a land supply task force undertaking a public engagement hopefully to build a broad consensus before we could move forward. But also on land, I have something very interesting and exciting to report, especially with Tom Murphy here who has helped me, upon my invitation, and did one of those international advisory panels in 2011 on the development of Kai Tak and East Kowloon. Because when I was the Secretary for Development, I did realise that we are not only short of land for housing, we're also short of land for business - especially if we want to be an international business hub, then we need to provide land and offices, especially Grade A offices, for some of these overseas and Mainland businesses to set up. And I have targeted Kowloon East as the second Central Business District. So in 2011, I announced a major initiative called Energizing Kowloon East, that is to transform Kowloon East comprising the two former industrial areas in Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay and this new recycled site of the former airport of Kai Tak into a second CBD. I said I was excited to report because, Tom, you'll be pleased to hear that within a few years, this second CBD is emerging. We are expecting the Kowloon East to produce about 3 million square metres of office space by the year 2021 - we are gradually building up - and then with the potential to reach 5 million square metres of office space upon completion of the various new developments, redevelopments and conversion of industrial buildings. Looking ahead, if you ask me where could I find a similar area for that sort of exciting development, it has to be Lantau. Because upon completion of the bridge connecting Hong Kong through the Lantau area to Macao and Zhuhai, and the completion of the second link into Lantau Island, that is the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link by 2020, Lantau is no longer an isolated island. Lantau is very well connected and very well positioned in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. So I together with my team are now looking into the further potential of Lantau. Inevitably, it will involve some extensive reclamation because people are very attached to country parks and Lantau has two country parks on the south and on the north, and also the southern part of Lantau is simply beautiful with Tai O, Cheung Sha and all these areas, and I don't think we should forgo the opportunities to conserve this very beautiful part of the Lantau Island. My third feeling is this job is extremely fulfilling because I was born and brought up in Hong Kong and I love this city. So where else could I find a job that I could serve the people and serve the people I love than in the position of the Chief Executive? Because as the Chief Executive, I can make decisions. I can make very timely decisions in order to progress Hong Kong ahead. And the very rewarding experience I had in the last year is: once the Government gets its act together, has a very clear vision, clear direction and puts in a bit of resources, the response is overwhelming. This is what I have seen in innovation and technology. Nick Brooke was the former Chairman of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, laying very good groundwork for innovation and technology development in Hong Kong. The pace of innovation and technology in the last 11 months or so, I have to say, is amazing. So we have an eight-pronged strategy laid out to really develop Hong Kong's innovation and technology, not only to diversify our economy but also to provide more quality jobs for our young people. On the financial side, you will feel that perhaps Hong Kong is already a very mature financial centre, we don't need to do any more things proactively. No. We have introduced a few things in the last several months in Hong Kong to take our financial centre to new height. One is more aggressive policy measures to encourage the issue of bonds, especially green bonds, in Hong Kong. Secondly, is to provide tax incentives for aircraft leasing activities to take place in Hong Kong. Third is the Hong Kong Exchange has introduced new listing rules at the end of April that will attract or facilitate the listing of new economy technology companies as well as biotechnology companies in Hong Kong and provide the more ready platform for secondary listing for some of these tech companies that have been listed elsewhere. So with this very tiring, very challenging and very fulfilling job, I am now very confident and very determined that I will do this job well, because I believe the best of Hong Kong is yet to come. And this is where I will stop and show you a three-minute video on why I feel the best of Hong Kong is yet to come. Thank you very much. Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Issued at HKT 17:42 NNNN | CE | en |
Transcript of remarks at press conference on new initiatives on housing | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/29/P2018062901167.htm | 29.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan; and the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, held a press conference on new initiatives on housing this afternoon (June 29). Below is the transcript of remarks at the press conference: Reporter: Three questions. Hong Kong's property prices have been increasing for 26 straight months as of May. Are these policies the Government's best try in providing immediate relief to unaffordable housing? Secondly, regarding making subsidised housing more affordable, does the Government expect this policy will lead to increasing demand? The Government has been lagging in providing more subsidised housing to people, and people are deeming subsidised housing schemes as the big lottery. Does the Government have any plan to cope with even higher demand at this stage? Chief Executive: First of all, as I've said at the outset, there is no objective in this package to suppress property prices, and I don't expect the society to measure the effectiveness of this package of measures by the trend in Hong Kong's private residential property prices. That's point number one. But of course I hope that we will not be seeing another upsurge in property prices, because that is really making private housing very unaffordable by the people of Hong Kong. The second question is, yes, there has been a school of thought that when supply is lagging behind demand in terms of subsidised sale flats, why do you make these flats even more attractive and affordable? This is a chicken and egg question. The other concern I've heard in the past two months said: Why do I contribute to any discussion on land supply if more land supply doesn't mean I could buy the flat? The flats are unaffordable even in terms of Home Ownership Scheme. So I feel that the proper way is, let's have a very reasonable housing policy, let's assure the public that the houses or the flats that we are going to build will be affordable, at least in the subsidised sector. It will be affordable, because we have already delinked it from the private property prices and linked it with the household income. And with that, hopefully people will be more forthcoming in contributing their ideas and views to the land supply task force public consultation. We will work very hard on the land supply, and with the land we are very willing to build more. As you can see, we are reallocating some private housing sites for subsidised sale flats, and we now have a pricing policy which I hope will address once and for all the concerns of the people expressed to us in recent years. Reporter: I want to ask as there are suggestions about, well, increasing for the vacancy tax. Instead of giving a flat rate, you should increase the tax according to the number of years that the developers are keeping the flats vacant - is that something that you are considering? And also, another suggestion of imposing a capital gains tax on non-permanent residents who are owning flats in Hong Kong. I mean, are these options that you are also considering? Have you considered these options to make better use of Hong Kong’s housing resources? And also, you mentioned that these measures you introduced today are not for taming the property prices in Hong Kong, so do you have anything in mind that you’re going to do, because we’re seeing prices going up and up and up? Thank you. Chief Executive: I’ll answer the last point and then invite the Financial Secretary to address the two questions concerning taxes in Hong Kong. Well, the best solution to tackle rising property prices is supply. That’s why I made a further appeal: please focus and participate in the ongoing public discussion on land supply. Without land supply, even if I were to make the HOS flats even cheaper, or free of charge, I just don’t have land to build these flats for the people. So the solution lies really in supply. Financial Secretary: Thank you CE. As to the rate of additional rates, at the moment it is set at 200 per cent of rateable value, which can be translated into about 5 per cent of the property price. We consider that this is an adequate measure, but of course we keep an open mind. As you know, this bill will go through the Legislative Council, but at this stage we do think that 5 per cent of the property price, in the form of additional rates, is appropriate. As to your question about whether we should consider capital gains tax on foreign owners of Hong Kong property, currently we do not have that plan, but I won’t rule out that possibility. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Friday, June 29, 2018 Issued at HKT 23:59 NNNN | CE | en |
Government announces six new initiatives on housing | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/29/P2018062900967.htm | 29.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, together with the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong; and the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, announced today (June 29) a package of six new initiatives on housing. "As I said in my maiden Policy Address delivered last October, the housing problem is the most challenging, formidable and complex among all livelihood issues. It is also the very issue that our people most earnestly look to the current-term Government to resolve with innovative solutions in a resolute manner. The new initiatives on housing announced today address some of the people's concerns, but we need to expand our developable land in order to significantly boost housing supply. The Government will do its utmost to reverse the current situation in which housing supply cannot meet the demand and property prices continue to soar," Mrs Lam said. "The Task Force on Land Supply is carrying out a major public engagement exercise and is expected to draw up a comprehensive package of proposals and a visionary land supply strategy by the end of this year for the Government's consideration. I believe that the initiatives announced today will help the community focus its discussion on increasing land supply and build a broad consensus," she added. Mrs Lam introduced six new housing initiatives, which aim to meet three objectives, namely making subsidised sale flats (SSFs) more affordable, increasing supply of subsidised housing units and enhancing support for transitional housing supply, and encouraging more timely supply of first-hand private flats. Revising the pricing policy for SSFs --------------------------------------- "To make SSFs more affordable to lower- to middle-income households, we will revise the affordability test of the existing pricing mechanism for the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) by using the median monthly household income of non-owner occupier households (currently around $39,500, net of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) contributions) as the reference point instead of the income limit of White Form (WF) family applicants (currently $57,000, net of MPF contributions), and ensuring that at least 75 per cent of flats are affordable (increased from 50 per cent). If we had adopted the new affordability test in the 2018 HOS sale, the flats would be sold at 52 per cent instead of the original 70 per cent of the 'assessed market value'," Mrs Lam said. Under the existing pricing policy, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) prices HOS flats at a 30 per cent discount from "assessed market value" if the resultant prices meet the affordability test. The test is met if, for at least 50 per cent of the flats, households with income at the prevailing income limit for WF family applicants ($57,000, net of MPF contributions) need not use more than 40 per cent of their income on mortgage payments. If the affordability test is not satisfied, a discount higher than 30 per cent will be offered. In simple terms, the income limit of WF family applicants represents the amount of household income required to purchase a reasonably sized flat in the private sector. Households with income below the limit are deemed to be unable to afford home ownership in the private sector and hence qualified for the HOS. In other words, the WF income limit includes a housing cost element which inevitably varies with private property prices. Such a linkage is logical for the purpose of determining the eligibility for the HOS since the higher the price of an average property in the private market, the more households would find it unaffordable and need government assistance for purchasing property. An income limit that is linked to market prices of private housing serves precisely this purpose and should remain unchanged. However, when the WF income limit is used as a benchmark in the affordability test, it may create an issue: as the WF income limit rises with market prices, more applicants will find it difficult to afford the HOS prices determined by reference to the WF income limit. "The Government has reviewed the affordability test and found that there is room to fine-tune the test by delinking it from the reference to the HOS income limit, hence removing its indirect link with private property prices," Mrs Lam said. As for the pricing mechanism for the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH), there would be a further discount of 10 per cent for the GSH from that decided for the preceding HOS sale exercise. With the introduction of a new pricing mechanism which may give rise to selling HOS and GSH flats at higher discount from assessed market values, the Government proposes that the HA consider tightening the alienation restrictions for SSFs. There will be no changes to all other elements of the established pricing mechanism, which include adopting a single discount rate in the pricing of all flats in a sale exercise and ensuring the HA will not incur a loss in each sale exercise with the discount rate not lower than 30 per cent. The new pricing policy will be adopted as from the 2018 GSH sale exercise. The Government will invite the HA to consider whether it will implement the new pricing policy for the sale of the 2018 HOS. Inviting the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) to assign its non-joint venture project at Ma Tau Wai Road as a Starter Homes (SH) pilot project -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "SH aims to help the higher-income families who are not eligible for the HOS and yet cannot afford private housing to meet their home ownership aspirations in the face of rising property prices. I announced in my Policy Address last year that the Government would use a residential site at Anderson Road on the Government's 2018-19 Land Sale Programme to provide about 1 000 SH units. However, since it would take several years before SH units at the Anderson Road site can be put up for pre-sale, we are now testing out the SH concept earlier by inviting the URA to assign its non-joint venture redevelopment project at Ma Tau Wai Road as an SH pilot project," Mrs Lam said. The Ma Tau Wai Road project can provide 450 SH units. The project is expected to be issued with an Occupation Permit in the second quarter of 2019. Taking into account the time required for relevant preparatory work, it is estimated that the pre-sale exercise can be launched in December 2018 at the soonest. Mrs Lam also introduced the major eligibility criteria for applying for SH units. Among other criteria, eligible applicants have to be Hong Kong residents who have lived in Hong Kong for seven years or more, who have never owned any residential property in Hong Kong, whose income falls between the prevailing income limits for WF applicants for the HOS and about 30 per cent higher than such limits, and whose assets should not exceed the limit of 30 per cent above the prevailing HOS asset limits for WF applicants. The discount for SH units should be 10 per cent to 20 per cent less than that decided for the preceding HOS sale exercise, in order to maintain relativity among different rungs along the housing ladder. The Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited will provide mortgage insurance cover for 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the property value such that SH buyers can obtain mortgages of up to a 90 per cent loan-to-value ratio from banks. As the target buyers of SH are those with higher income, more stringent alienation restrictions than those for HOS and GSH will be imposed. SH owners cannot sell or let their units in the first five years after purchase. After the first five years, SH owners can sell or let their units in the open market after payment of premium to the URA. "The Government will make reference to the experience from the SH pilot project at Ma Tau Wai Road in taking forward the SH project at Anderson Road," Mrs Lam added. Reallocating private housing sites for public housing ---------------------------------------------------------- Mrs Lam said that the Government has been working hard to allocate sites for public housing, including some sites that were originally intended for private housing. "To better meet the need for more affordable housing, the Government will further reallocate a total of nine private housing sites in Kai Tak and Anderson Road Quarry, capable of providing about 10 600 flats, for public housing. The Government will further consider if the developments should be arranged for sale or rental." Setting up a task force to assist the community to take forward transitional housing projects ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2017 Policy Address noted the Government's effort to facilitate the implementation of various short-term community initiatives to increase the supply of transitional housing, with a view to alleviating the hardship faced by families on the public rental housing waiting list and the inadequately housed. To that end a task force will be set up under the Transport and Housing Bureau to provide one-stop, co-ordinated support to assist and enable more non-government institutions in pursuing transitional housing. Introducing Special Rates on vacant first-hand private residential units ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Government is concerned about the increasing number of unsold first-hand private residential units in completed projects in recent years, from around 4 000 units at the end of March 2013 to 9 000 units at the end of March 2018. This trend is undesirable in the face of a severe housing shortage. There is a need to introduce more effective measures to spur developers to expedite the supply of first-hand private flats. The Government proposes to introduce Special Rates on vacant first-hand private residential units by amending the Rating Ordinance (Cap. 116). Owners (mainly developers) of first-hand private residential units with the Occupation Permit issued for 12 months or more will be required to furnish annual returns to the Government on the occupancy status of the units. Units that have not been occupied or rented out for more than six months during the past 12 months will be considered as vacant and subject to Special Rates. Special Rates will be collected by the Rating and Valuation Department annually at two times (i.e. 200 per cent) the rateable value of the units concerned, which is roughly equal to 5 per cent of the property value based on the average rental yield of 2.5 per cent for residential property in March 2018. The Government plans to introduce an Amendment Bill into the Legislative Council (LegCo) during the 2018-19 legislative year to amend the Rating Ordinance. The Special Rates will take effect after gazettal of the Amendment Ordinance following passage of the Amendment Bill in LegCo. Amending the Lands Department (LandsD) Consent Scheme to improve sales practices ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To improve market transparency and enhance consumer protection, Mrs Lam announced that the Government will amend the Consent Scheme to improve sales practices by requiring developers to offer for sale no less than 20 per cent of the total number of residential units subject to the relevant pre-sale consent at each turn of sale, regardless of the sales method (including tender and auction). If the remaining unsold residential units are less than 20 per cent, the developer has to offer for sale all remaining units in one go. This 20 per cent requirement will take immediate effect upon announcement, and applies to new pre-sale consent applications and applications currently being processed by LandsD under the Consent Scheme. Mrs Lam said that the six initiatives show the Government's commitment to tackling the housing problem. She also invited the community to take part in the public engagement exercise of the Task Force on Land Supply to contribute to the formulation of land supply strategy for Hong Kong. The Government will continue to work towards increasing adequate and affordable housing for the community. Ends/Friday, June 29, 2018 Issued at HKT 21:22 NNNN | CE | en |
Celebration events for 21st anniversary of establishment of HKSAR | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/29/P2018062900299.htm | 29.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, and senior government officials will attend a flag-raising ceremony and reception on Sunday (July 1) to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The flag-raising ceremony will be held at Golden Bauhinia Square outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) at 8am. About 2 400 people, including community leaders, members of community groups and uniformed groups will attend the ceremony. The Police Band will perform at the ceremony and a mixed choir from St Paul's Co-educational College, Diocesan Boys' School and Diocesan Girls' School will sing the national anthem under the lead of two singers, Mr Alexander Chen and Ms Colette Lam, followed by a fly-past and a sea parade by the disciplined services. The public are welcome to watch the ceremony. A designated public viewing area will be set up with a capacity of about 1 000 people. An LED wall will be installed in the area to facilitate viewing of the ceremony. To ensure the smooth running of the flag-raising ceremony and to avoid disrupting other viewers, people are requested to observe the rules and instructions given by the authorities on-site. The celebration reception, led by the Chief Executive, will be held at the Grand Foyer on 3/F of the HKCEC after the flag-raising ceremony. About 1 600 guests, including members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, consular corps, government officials and members of various community sectors, will attend the reception. Motorists are reminded that Golden Bauhinia Square and the nearby area will be designated as a restricted zone by the Police. Only holders of valid passes will be allowed entry. Ends/Friday, June 29, 2018 Issued at HKT 15:00 NNNN | CE | en |
Appointments to Harbourfront Commission announced | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/29/P2018062800724.htm | 29.6.2018 | The Government announced today (June 29) the Chief Executive's appointment of the Chairperson and five members to serve on the Harbourfront Commission (HC) for a two-year term commencing on July 1, 2018. Mr Vincent Ng Wing-shun, a long-serving HC member, will succeed Mr Charles Nicholas Brooke as the new Chairman. Ms Janice Lai Wai-man and Ms Christina Maisenne Lee will join the HC for the first time as members, while three existing members, Ms Kelly Chan Yuen-sau, Mr Alan Lo Yeung-kit and Mr Ngan Man-yu, have been re-appointed. The Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, welcomed the appointments and re-appointments. "With Mr Ng's rich experience in the work of harbourfront enhancement and his outstanding leadership demonstrated as the chairman of the Task Force on Kai Tak Harbourfront Development, I am confident that the good work of the HC can be sustained in the years to come. The HC deliberations will also continue to benefit from the diversity brought about by the different backgrounds of new and existing members," Mr Wong said. "I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the outgoing Chairman, Mr Nicholas Brooke, who has been involved in harbourfront-related matters since the establishment of the former Harbour-front Enhancement Committee (HEC) back in 2004, for his able chairmanship since 2010 and his invaluable contribution to the HC over the past years. "Harbourfront development and enhancement is a core vision shared by both the Government and the HC. The next few years will be challenging for the HC, which is expected to take forward a number of major harbourfront initiatives including those funded by the $500 million dedicated funding," Mr Wong added. To provide enhanced support to the HC in taking forward harbourfront initiatives, the Government will, from July 1, 2018, onwards, re-organise the Harbour Unit under the Development Bureau into a dedicated Harbour Office (HO). The HO will be staffed by a multi-disciplinary team comprising different professional and supporting officers. The HC was established in July 2010 to succeed the HEC to advise the Government on harbourfront planning, design, management and other related matters with the objective of fostering and facilitating the development of the Victoria harbourfront. Following is the membership of the HC commencing on July 1, 2018: Chairperson ---------------- Mr Vincent Ng Wing-shun Vice-Chairperson ------------------------- Secretary for Development Non-official Members (Organisations) ----------------------------------------------------- Business Environment Council Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong Conservancy Association Friends of the Earth Hong Kong Institute of Architects Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects Hong Kong Institute of Planners Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong Society for Protection of the Harbour Non-official Members (Individuals) ------------------------------------------------ Mr Chan Ka-kui Mr Walter Chan Kar-lok Ms Kelly Chan Yuen-sau Mr Hans Joachim Isler Mr Karl Kwok Chi-leung Ms Janice Lai Wai-man Ms Christina Lee Maisenne Ms Vivian Lee Ying-shih Mr Alan Lo Yeung-kit Mr Ngan Man-yu Mr Tony Tse Wai-chuen Official Members -------------------------- Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) or her representative Commissioner for Tourism or his representative Commissioner for Transport or her representative Director of Civil Engineering and Development or his representative Director of Leisure and Cultural Services or her representative Director of Marine or her representative Director of Planning or his representative Secretary ------------- Principal Assistant Secretary for Development (Harbour) Ends/Friday, June 29, 2018 Issued at HKT 12:00 NNNN | CE | en |
CE meets guests of Belt and Road Summit | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/28/P2018062801041.htm | 28.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, met a number of senior officials from the Mainland and overseas at Government House separately yesterday and today (June 27 and 28), who are visiting Hong Kong for the third Belt and Road Summit jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. They included the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak; the Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), Mr Xiao Yaqing; the Vice Minister of Commerce, Ms Gao Yan; and the National Security Advisor, Union Minister for the Ministry of the office of the Union Government and Chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, U Thaung Tun. Mrs Lam thanked them for the staunch support for the Summit and exchanged views with them on future co-operation in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative. Mrs Lam hosted a dinner for Dr Somkid at Government House yesterday evening. She said she has visited Thailand twice and met with Dr Somkid for the third time since taking office, signifying the growing relationship between Hong Kong and Thailand. She particularly thanked the Thai government for responding positively to her proposal in the Policy Address delivered last year to establish in Bangkok the third Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (ETO) in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). She was grateful for the Thai government’s co-operation, enabling good progress of the work. Both parties agreed at the meeting to work towards the common goal of putting the ETO into operation at the beginning of next year. Mrs Lam met with Mr Xiao before attending the Belt and Road Summit this morning. She thanked Mr Xiao for his unlimited support for Hong Kong, including organising the chief executives and senior management from over 170 state-owned enterprises (SoEs) to participate in the seminar on "Strategies and Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative - Leveraging Hong Kong's Advantages, Meeting the Country's Needs" organised by the HKSAR Government and the Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce at the Great Hall of the People in February this year, and leading a delegation to take part in the Belt and Road Summit this time. Mrs Lam expressed the hope that with the support of the SASAC, more SoEs will make use of Hong Kong as a platform to explore together business opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative. In the afternoon, Mrs Lam met U Thaung Tun at the Chief Executive’s Office. She said the visit to Myanmar last September, the first visit by a Chief Executive since the establishment of the HKSAR twenty years ago, was very fruitful. Noting that the ASEAN, including Myanmar, lies in the Belt and Road and has great development potential, she said that many Hong Kong companies should be interested in expanding investment in Myanmar. She said the HKSAR Government which strives to consolidate the results of the last visit will enhance co-operation with Myanmar in various areas including trade, investment, tourism, culture and education. She said that Hong Kong, as an international city, is very willing to share its experience with Myanmar in various aspects, including clean governance, city management, aviation safety and railway operations, to foster the people-to-people bonds between the two places as a contribution to the Belt and Road Initiative. In the evening, Mrs Lam hosted a dinner at Government House for Mr Xiao, Ms Gao and other guests from the Mainland attending the Belt and Road Summit. Thanking Mr Xiao and Ms Gao for sharing their insights to enrich the Summit, she said she hopes they will continue to support Hong Kong’s full participation in the Belt and Road Initiative to inject new impetus to the economy of Hong Kong, the country and the world. Ends/Thursday, June 28, 2018 Issued at HKT 23:44 NNNN | CE | en |
Third Belt and Road Summit fosters collaboration on all fronts | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/28/P2018062800652.htm | 28.6.2018 | Close to 5,000 participants, including ministerial officials, business leaders and professionals from 55 countries and regions attended the third Belt and Road Summit today (June 28), at which over 500 one-to-one business-matching meetings with over 220 projects were arranged to promote business deals. Themed "Collaborate for Success", the Summit started with the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, delivering an opening address, followed by special addresses from the Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, Mr Xiao Yaqing; the Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr Ning Jizhe; and the Vice Minister of Commerce, Ms Gao Yan. The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Somkid Jatusripitak, delivered a keynote speech. Mrs Lam said in her opening address that wide participation from different parts of the world is important for the successful implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, as its pursuit requires a high degree of co-operation between countries and the establishment of a sound bilateral and multilateral mechanism, as well as participation from different sectors. She said, "Hong Kong, being the world's freest economy and China's most international city, is destined to play a significant part in the Belt and Road Initiative. "Hong Kong will contribute to the Initiative across all areas of its wide-ranging connectivity, from policy co-ordination, financial integration and trade, to infrastructure and people-to-people bonds. "Hong Kong's singular most important advantage in playing an active role in the Belt and Road Initiative is the 'one country, two systems' framework that propels our development in the past 21 years. It allows us to expand our traditional strengths as an international financial, trade and logistics centre, while deepening our economic integration with the Mainland." Mrs Lam also pointed out that the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area would boost interaction and integration within the region, encouraging strategic partnerships between Hong Kong, Guangdong and the larger Belt and Road region. The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, delivered openings remarks at the luncheon plenary. The session consisted of a ministerial dialogue chaired by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, with the participation of four overseas ministerial officials. The four ministers were the National Security Advisor, Union Minister for the Ministry of the office of the Union Government and Chairman of the Myanmar Investment Commission, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, U Thaung Tun; the Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Georgia, Mr Genadi Arveladze; the Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, the United Kingdom, Baroness Fairhead; and the Secretary of State, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr Lim Sidenine. They shared their insights on how the Belt and Road Initiative would enhance multi-lateral partnerships. Mr Chan said, "For decades, Hong Kong has been the pivotal gateway connecting China and the world. We are strategically positioned to serve as multiple platforms for the Belt and Road. "As one of the world's leading financial centres and China's international financial capital, Hong Kong can be the platform for capital formation and funding. Our deep liquidity, premier financial infrastructure and comprehensive options for raising capital, from traditional IPOs and loan syndication to bonds and the more sophisticated Islamic sukuk, can meet the financing needs of the mega Belt and Road infrastructure projects." He pointed out that Hong Kong was also the Belt and Road platform for high-end professional services and the platform for enterprises to find the right partners, as well as to base their offshore operations. In his lead-in speech this morning, Mr Yau highlighted five distinct areas where Hong Kong could offer itself as a platform for collaboration with those who want to leverage on the opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative. The five areas are policy, positioning, professional services, project inception and partnering. The Secretary for Justice, Ms Teresa Cheng, SC, also spoke at the panel session on "Deal Maker in International Cross-Border Transactions". Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the third Belt and Road Summit featured a main plenary session, a luncheon plenary, nine thematic breakout sessions, full day investment and business matching sessions and three project pitching sessions, with the latter focusing on energy, natural resources and public utilities; transport and logistics infrastructure; and rural and urban development. Ends/Thursday, June 28, 2018 Issued at HKT 17:50 NNNN | CE | en |
CE speaks on development of innovation and technology and smart city in Hong Kong | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/27/P2018062701030.htm | 27.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, addressing the Smart City Summit 2018 organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong this morning (June 27), said that Hong Kong has clear advantages in developing innovation and technology (I&T) and that the Government is currently pushing ahead with development at full steam in accordance with the eight-pronged approach set earlier with the devotion of a large amount of resources. She said she is confident that with the support of the Central Government, Hong Kong will be developed as a world-class I&T hub and smart city. Noting in her keynote speech at the Summit that Hong Kong's I&T development is supported by sound technological foundations and outstanding capability in scientific research with the convergence of top universities, research institutes and high-quality professional scientific research talent from around the world, she said that most important of all is the unique advantage of "One Country, Two Systems" and the city's proximity to the huge Mainland market. She said that with the impetus brought about by the two major national strategies, namely the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Macao Bay Area, Hong Kong is set to be presented with unprecedented opportunity in I&T development. She said Hong Kong has world-class information infrastructure and is among the world's top five fastest growing start-up ecosystems. The number of start-ups has doubled to some 2,200 from 2014 to 2017. Venture capital has surged significantly from US$80 million in 2012 to about US$1,100 million in 2017. The Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and Cyberport provide space for I&T enterprises, as too will the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park to be developed at the Lok Ma Chau Loop area. "The most important thing is to increase resources in research and development. In order to do this, it is not just the question of the Government putting in money. We want also the private sector to invest more, so the Government launched tax incentives. And we want to attract more tech-intense companies or research institutions to Hong Kong by building up two important clusters, one focusing on healthcare technologies and the other on artificial intelligence and robotics technologies," Mrs Lam said on the Government's strategy in I&T development. On the development of smart city, Mrs Lam introduced various initiatives in the six major areas of the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong released in December last year, which comprise "Smart Mobility", "Smart Living", "Smart Environment", "Smart People", "Smart Government" and "Smart Economy". She expressed the hope that the Summit could provide more ideas for Hong Kong's smart city development. After delivering the speech, Mrs Lam chatted with Sophia, a robot developed by a start-up in the Hong Kong Science Park. During the chat, Mrs Lam said she hopes that the community will work together to develop Hong Kong into a smart city. Ends/Wednesday, June 27, 2018 Issued at HKT 22:05 NNNN | CE | en |
Transcript of remarks by Acting CE at media session before ExCo meeting | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/26/P2018062600517.htm | 26.6.2018 | Following is the transcript of remarks by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting this morning (June 26): Reporter: Mr Cheung, why is the Government withdrawing the Yuen Long footbridge plan from the FC (Finance Committee) agenda, and what is the rationale behind? And also, a second question on the vacant property tax. How are you going to face if there are any legal challenge like challenging the Government’s decision on that? Acting Chief Executive: First of all, the Yuen Long footbridge. In fact, we are not withdrawing the item from the Finance Committee. It’s purely that we are really talking about prioritising in order to provide more time to consult. We're not talking about taking it out at all. The need for a footbridge in Yuen Long is not debatable. We all agree, everybody agrees, that there is a need for a footbridge there to facilitate the pedestrian flow and that also there is a need locally in Yuen Long. Of course, there is a difference in opinion between professional bodies and some local groups. The Government, of course, will put up the proposal to the Finance Committee. Now, we are going through a stage because of difference in opinion. I think we need to get together, put our heads together, and consult more thoroughly, explain our position more thoroughly, in order to reach common ground. That's why the Highways Department colleagues will be going down to the Yuen Long District Council at lunchtime to explain fully the circumstances, the rationale, for the proposal and also to try to bridge the gap, as it were, between various parties. We hope to find a way forward that's acceptable to all sides. It's a win-win situation that we are talking about. On the second question, the vacancy tax, of course, the Chief Executive has promised to update the community on the latest position of vacancy tax by the end of this month. We still have a few days left, so let’s be patient. Reporter: Are you concerning the legal challenges? I was asking about legal challenges. Acting Chief Executive: We can’t comment on hypothetical questions at the moment. Wait until the Government has made the announcement on the issue first. OK? (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Tuesday, June 26, 2018 Issued at HKT 14:26 NNNN | CE | en |
CE exchanges views with young scientists in Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/25/P2018062500956.htm | 25.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, continued to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting today (June 25, Lindau time). She spoke with young scientists and met with laureates of the Nobel Prize and the Shaw Prize. Mrs Lam attended a seminar this morning. Together with two Nobel laureates, Professor Dr Kurt Wüthrich and Professor Dr Ferid Murad, she exchanged views with young scientists about the leadership required of scientists. Mrs Lam said that issues facing politicians and scientists may be different, but as leaders they must be diligent and perseverant as well as have team spirit. She encouraged the young scientists to be creative and curious and set clear goals for themselves. Noting that Hong Kong provides necessary support for scientific research and has a highly international environment, Mrs Lam welcomed the young scientists to go to Hong Kong to develop their careers. Mrs Lam, accompanied by the Head of the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, Mrs Betty Fung, then met with Professor Bruce Beutler and Professor Jules Hoffmann, who are laureates of both the Nobel and Shaw Prizes. She briefed them on Hong Kong's latest situation and invited them to visit Hong Kong. Mrs Lam left Lindau in the morning. She departed for Beijing via Zurich in the afternoon and will arrive in Beijing tomorrow morning (June 26). During the stay in Beijing, she will report to the Vice-Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, the views and suggestions of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and different sectors of the community on matters relating to the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Ends/Monday, June 25, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:46 NNNN | CE | en |
CE attends Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/25/P2018062500123.htm | 25.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Head of the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, Mrs Betty Fung, attended the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting today (June 24, Lindau time). Founded in 1951, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting gathers Nobel Laureates in the fields of natural sciences to meet leading scientists of the next generation to exchange knowledge and experience every year. Some 40 Nobel Laureates and 600 young scientists from different countries take part in the meeting this year. In the morning, Mrs Lam met with the Chairman of the Foundation for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Professor Dr Jürgen Kluge and the Managing Director and Member of the Executive Board of the Foundation, Mr Nikolaus Turner. She said that she is pleased to be invited for the first time to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, giving her the opportunity to experience the major annual academic event. She said that it would be very inspiring for the young scientists to have the chance to exchange with the Nobel Laureates. She added that the Shaw Prize in Hong Kong, which has been set up for more than 10 years, has become a world-renowned science award with a number of recipients being awarded the Nobel Prize as well. She believed that Hong Kong can make reference to the experience of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and organise similar academic meetings in Hong Kong in the future. In the afternoon, Mrs Lam met with the Austrian Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research, Professor Dr Heinz Fassmann, who also attended the Meeting. She said that Hong Kong is actively strengthening collaboration with academic and scientific research institutions in different parts of the world to advance the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong. Noting that Austria attaches importance to scientific research with universities excelling in various fields, she expressed the hope that she and officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government could visit Austria in the future to discuss how to strengthen bilateral co-operation. Mrs Lam then attended the opening ceremony, the opening concert and the dinner organised by the host of the Meeting. Addressing the guests at the cocktail reception held before the dinner, Mrs Lam said that innovation and technology is the driving force for the world to move forward, and nurturing talent is essential for the development of innovation and technology. She added that the Lindau Novel Laureate Meeting is a very meaningful activity. Noting that Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development need a lot of talent, she welcomed young scientists from different parts of the world to participate in the development. Before the dinner, Mrs Lam met with three Nobel-Shaw Laureates, Professor Dr Michael Rosbash, Professor Dr Michael Young and Professor Dr Robert Lefkowitz to learn about their views on the promotion of scientific research and invite them to go to Hong Kong to exchange with young people in the future. Mrs Lam will continue to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting tomorrow (June 25, Lindau time). Ends/Monday, June 25, 2018 Issued at HKT 5:32 NNNN | CE | en |
CE to visit Beijing | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/24/P2018062400773.htm | 24.6.2018 | After concluding her visit to Europe, the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, will depart for Beijing direct and arrive in the city on June 26. During the stay in Beijing, she will report to the Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr Han Zheng, the views and suggestions of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and different sectors of the community on matters relating to the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. The Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Mr Patrick Nip, and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, will join the visit. Mrs Lam will return to Hong Kong in the early hours on June 27. During her absence, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, will be the Acting Chief Executive. Ends/Sunday, June 24, 2018 Issued at HKT 20:12 NNNN | CE | en |
Transcript of remarks by Acting CE at media session | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/23/P2018062300904.htm | 23.6.2018 | Following is the transcript of remarks by the Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, at a media session after attending Fight Drugs Together 2018 today (June 23): Reporter: Many constructions of Leighton have many problems. Does that mean Leighton has some trust problems, or this company is no longer trustworthy? Acting Chief Executive: As I said a few days ago at a function, the Development Bureau has already asked Leighton (Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited) to produce evidence and information, particularly about its works in respect of the Hung Hom MTR Station of the Shatin-Central Line. And also of course in respect of the excavation work, the support work in connection with the Exhibition Station, the Development Bureau will also ask them to provide the report within a certain time frame. So we are following up on the general performance of Leighton in respect of government contracts. Of course, the question of responsibility in respect of Hung Hom Station must be left to the independent statutory Commission of Inquiry that will be set up soon. (Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) Ends/Saturday, June 23, 2018 Issued at HKT 19:17 NNNN | CE | en |
CE concludes visit to France | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/22/P2018062201135.htm | 22.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, concluded her one-week visit to France this afternoon (June 22, Paris time). In the morning, Mrs Lam met with the President of Ile de France region, Mrs Valérie Pécresse. Ile de France is one of the 18 regions of France including the city of Paris. It has a population of more than 12 million which is 18 per cent of the national population. Noting that Hong Kong is keen to collaborate with different parts of France and that the Ile de France region is very influential in the country, she said that Paris and Hong Kong, both of which are international metropolitans, have a lot of room for co-operation in areas including investment, innovation and technology, culture and youth exchanges. She particularly introduced the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area to Mrs Pécresse, encouraging the Ile de France region to explore the huge market of the Bay Area through Hong Kong. After the meeting, Mrs Lam visited the headquarters of Schneider Electric, a French multinational corporation specialising in digital transformation of energy management and automation. It has set up headquarters in Hong Kong in recent years. Mrs Lam toured the innovation hub of the company to understand the latest technology on energy saving and management, and smart solutions for various industries, cities and homes. Mrs Lam said the visit to France is very successful. By meeting with senior officials of France and participating in a range of events, members from different sectors of France have known more about the situation of Hong Kong and are more interested in strengthening co-operation with Hong Kong in various aspects, including the signing of two memorandums of understanding on co-operation in tourism and scientific research she witnessed during the trip. Mrs Lam welcomed the signing of two memorandums of understanding between the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and Groupe ADP yesterday on strengthening co-operation between the Hong Kong International Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in airport management, aviation development and air cargo development. She said the collaboration is set to boost Hong Kong's role as an aviation hub in the region and is yet another testimony that there is limitless potential for co-operation between Hong Kong and France in various aspects. The Chief Executive Officer of AAHK, Mr Fred Lam, who signed the memorandums of understanding on behalf of AAHK also attended the business luncheon organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Paris yesterday. Mrs Lam left Paris in the afternoon for Zurich and will travel to Lindau tomorrow (June 23, Paris time) to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Opening Ceremony the next day. During her stay in Zurich, she will attend a dinner to be hosted by the Consul-General of the People's Republic of China in Zurich, Dr Zhao Qinghua. Ends/Friday, June 22, 2018 Issued at HKT 23:52 NNNN | CE | en |
Appointments to Board of Ocean Park Corporation announced | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/22/P2018062200340.htm | 22.6.2018 | The Government announced today (June 22) that the Chief Executive has made the following re-appointments to the Board of the Ocean Park Corporation (OPC) for a period of two years from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020: Chairman --------- Mr Leo Kung Lin-cheng Deputy Chairman ---------------- Mr Lau Ming-wai Non-official members -------------------- Mr Jason Wong Chun-tat Ms Michelle Cheng Mrs Ann Kung Yeung Yun-chi Mr Vincent Ng Wing-shun Mr Matthias Li Sing-chung "We are grateful to all OPC board members for their hard work in pursuing the development of the Ocean Park. With board members' devotion and wide ranging expertise, Ocean Park will continue to grow as a world-class leading marine-themed attraction," a spokesman for the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said. The OPC is a statutory body established under the Ocean Park Corporation Ordinance to manage the Ocean Park as a public recreational and educational park. Ends/Friday, June 22, 2018 Issued at HKT 11:31 NNNN | CE | en |
CE meets French Prime Minister in Paris | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/22/P2018062200149.htm | 22.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (June 21, Paris time) met with the French Prime Minister, Mr Edouard Philippe, in Paris. She also addressed a business luncheon and a proptech forum to promote Hong Kong's advantages, and visited facilities of medical technology and start-ups. Mrs Lam met with the French Prime Minister, Mr Edouard Philippe, in the afternoon. She said that her week-long visit to France is coming to an end tomorrow and she thanked the French government for all the arrangements. She expressed the hope that the Prime Minister and other French senior government officials will visit Hong Kong in the future to learn about the city’s latest development. She believed that her successful visit will provide a good basis for the Hong Kong-France relationship to scale new heights. In particular, noting that France supports the nation’s Belt and Road Initiative, she looked forward to working with different sectors in France to seize future opportunities. Mrs Lam attended various activities before her meeting with Mr Edouard Philippe. In the morning, accompanied by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, Mrs Lam met with the Vice President of the French Parliamentary Office for Evaluation of Scientific and Technological Options and Fields Medalist, Mr Cédric Villani, to learn about the French experience and exchange views on such areas as research and development of artificial intelligence, open data, promotion of STEM education and attracting talent on scientific research. Afterwards, Mrs Lam, Mr Yang and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, went to Institut Pasteur where she, together with the President of Institut Pasteur, Professor Stewart Cole, witnessed the signing of a memorandum between Institut Pasteur, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation on establishing a research centre for infection, immunology and personalised medicine at the Hong Kong Science Park. Institut Pasteur, which has been collaborating with the HKU, is committed to helping prevent and treat diseases, mainly those of infectious origin, through researches. Mrs Lam said that Hong Kong has clear advantages in healthcare technologies and that collaboration with Institut Pasteur will help both parties boost the relevant development, creating mutual benefits. Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited Station F, a business incubator for start-ups. Station F, situated in a former rail freight depot with an area of about 34 000 square metres, is one of the world’s largest start-up facilities. It provides office accommodation for up to 3 000 start-up businesses and famous corporate partners with the whole start-up ecosystem under one roof. Services include training programmes for start-ups, investment as well as provision of meeting facilities and venues for events. Mrs Lam expressed appreciation for the facilities, services and entrepreneurial atmosphere in Station F, and learnt from her exchange with entrepreneurs there that the support from Station F has been excellent. She looked forward to having more such facilities in Hong Kong and in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area so as to encourage young people to innovate and start their own business. In the afternoon, Mrs Lam joined a business luncheon organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and delivered a speech on the past, present and future of the relationship between Hong Kong and France. She noted that the ties between Hong Kong and France have a history of over 100 years. She said that, in addition to meetings with senior government officials, the programme of her week-long visit to France in her capacity as the Chief Executive covers three cities and includes wine-related activities as well as receiving helicopters, proving that the relationship between the two places is multi-faceted. With a strong community of French people and enterprises in Hong Kong, she said she is confident that the close ties between the two places will continue. After the luncheon, Mrs Lam attended the MIPIM Proptech Europe 2018 forum and briefed participants on Hong Kong's advantages in innovation and technology. The forum, a two-day event featuring keynote speeches, panel discussions and start-up competitions, focuses on discussion on the application of proptech in different areas of the property sector to enhance efficiency and create value. She expressed the hope that similar proptech seminars will be held in Hong Kong in the future. Mrs Lam will continue her last day of visit to France tomorrow (June 22, Paris time). Ends/Friday, June 22, 2018 Issued at HKT 5:38 NNNN | CE | en |
CE promotes in France opportunities to be brought by Belt and Road Initiative and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development | http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201806/21/P2018062100131.htm | 21.6.2018 | The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, yesterday (June 20, Paris time) spoke at seminars on the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development to promote the opportunities brought by and the role of Hong Kong in these two major national strategies to different sectors in France. She also met with members of the French National Assembly, and visited a famous university. In the morning, accompanied by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, and the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mr Nicholas W Yang, Mrs Lam toured Rodin Museum which, opened in 1919, is dedicated to the works of French sculptor Auguste Rodin and receives about 700 000 visitors annually. Mrs Lam said that with the completion of facilities such as those in the West Kowloon Cultural District, there will be more art exhibition space in Hong Kong in the future. She looked forward to collaborating with Rodin Museum so that members of the public will have the chance to see the collection of the Museum in Hong Kong. Afterwards, Mrs Lam attended the joint promotion seminar on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and delivered a keynote speech. The seminar, attended by hundreds of representatives from the French business sector, is co-organised by the governments of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, aiming to highlight the vast opportunities to be brought by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. Mrs Lam briefed the participants on the background of the Bay Area and the favourable conditions for its development. The Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, Mr Ouyang Weimin and the President of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute, Mr Jackson Chang, also delivered speeches at the seminar. At noon, accompanied by the President of the France-China Friendship Group of the National Assembly, Mr Buon Huong Tan, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the National Assembly. They attended a lunch hosted by Mr Tan, and the Vice President of the National Assembly, Ms Carole Bureau-Bonnard, also attended. Mrs Lam was very impressed by the architectural features and historic decorations of the building which has been housing the National Assembly since the late 18th century. She said she is pleased to know that the Group has a close and good relation with the legislature in Mainland China and has frequent visits to China in recent years. She invited the Group to visit Hong Kong in the near future to learn about the city’s development. After the lunch, Mrs Lam attended the "France-Hong Kong & Mainland China Economic Forum" co-organised by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong, Business France and the China Federation of Industrial Economics, with the Belt and Road Initiative being the theme. She noted in her speech that the Belt and Road Initiative will bring a range of opportunities to Hong Kong and Hong Kong will play an important role in it. She looked forward to co-operating with French enterprises to explore the business opportunities in Belt and Road projects. After the forum, Mrs Lam and the other officials visited the Sorbonne University which was formed by merging the University Pierre and Marie Curie, also known as Paris VI, and Paris-Sorbonne University on January 1 this year. The University is widely regarded as one of the top universities in France and in the world. During the visit, Mrs Lam met with the President of Sorbonne University, Professor Jean Chambaz, to learn about the university's latest development. She said that she would like to promote the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong through the collaboration of the Government, universities, including renowned academic institutions and research organisations overseas, and enterprises. With the Government rolling out measures to attract overseas institutions to come to Hong Kong, she looked forward to having Professor Jean Chambaz in Hong Kong to explore collaboration with the Government and universities in Hong Kong. In the evening, Mrs Lam and the other officials met with members of the Hong Kong community in France to learn about their lives. She expressed the hope that the Hong Kong community would continue to play an important role in France and offer better support to Hong Kong’s development. Mrs Lam will continue her visit to Paris today (June 21, Paris time). Ends/Thursday, June 21, 2018 Issued at HKT 6:14 NNNN | CE | en |
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Officials: [CE, CS, FS, SJ, SCS, SCST, SCED, SCMA, SDEV, SED, SEE, SFST, SH, SHH, SHYA, SLW, SS, STL]
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