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Chairman's Message
Chairman's Message - Consolidating Hong Kong’s Strengths and Laying New Milestones

Dr Jonathan CHOI Koon-shum (Chairman of the 51st terms of office) January 2020

 

Looking into the new year, we hope all sectors of society can stand in solidarity rather than conflict. It is time to work together to overcome the challenges facing the economy and create new opportunities for local businesses.
 

It is probably a shared new year wish among the people living in Hong Kong to see the city go back to normal. Last year was certainly not an easy one for our city, where SMEs were hard hit, the unemployment rate climbed and social morale was low. But Hong Kong is still a competitive city with its unique edge. Benefiting by China’s rapid development and with the support of the HKSAR government, it is possible to help Hong Kong out of its predicament.

 

Riding out the storm and facing the challenges squarely

President Xi Jinping stressed last month that the Central Government fully recognized the courage and responsibility demonstrated by the HKSAR government during a time of crisis in Hong Kong. The Central authorities also made clear its wish to put the city’s development back on track to the HKSAR government, the Hong Kong police and all sectors of society. Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang urged the HKSAR government to continue its effort in stopping violence and curbing disorder and to study the deep-rooted conflicts and problems in Hong Kong’s society and economy, so that the city can return to prosperity and stability.

 

The truth is, the prospect of the Hong Kong economy in the new year depends largely on the Sino-US trade negotiation and the development of the incidents triggered by the now withdrawn Fugitive Offenders Ordinance amendments. The US’s agreement to lift some of the tariffs on Chinese imports in late 2019 is expected to alleviate the pressure on exporters. Nevertheless, the implementation of the agreement has yet to be confirmed and the upcoming presidential election in the US may introduce new variables to Sino-US relations. Locally, tension has not cooled down, society remains polarized, and more vigorous protests may break out anytime. Coupled with other factors in the external environment, these will no doubt present uncertainties to the city’s economic outlook.

 

While CGCC supports the different relief measures introduced by the HKSAR government to help local shops and businesses, we believe the more urgent task is to put a stop to the social unrest, which will also allow the relief measures to work at their best. We suggest that the government should consider setting up a cross-departmental committee tasked with coordinating the duties of various government departments in resolving the present challenges.

 

Hong Kong to continue leveraging its edge as a bridge

Despite the series of difficulties that emerged last year, Hong Kong still enjoys its competitive edge. The International Monetary Fund has commended Hong Kong for its prudent macroeconomic policies and for maintaining robust financial regulation and supervision and a stable exchange rate system. Furthermore, Hong Kong once again topped global IPO market in 2019, a testament to the confidence of the international markets in the strength of Hong Kong as a financial center.

 

China’s active promotion of its regional development strategy can be instrumental in facilitating the rebound of the Hong Kong economy. Hong Kong must consolidate the successful system it has built and its intrinsic strengths, and reinforce its role as an important platform and bridge for local businesses to tap into new markets. We hope the HKSAR government will continue liaising with the Mainland authorities on the establishment of a cross-boundary wealth management connect scheme within 2020 so as to strengthen the connection between the Hong Kong and Mainland financial markets. At the same time, it is imperative to elevate the function of Hong Kong as a hub for international finance, aviation, trade and innovation and technology, especially the development of high-value-added services, and to step up promoting Hong Kong’s business strengths to overseas markets. We do look forward to seeing these areas addressed in the upcoming Budget to be announced next month.

 

Looking into the new year, we hope all sectors of society can stand in solidarity rather than conflict. It is time to work together to overcome the challenges facing the economy and create new opportunities for local businesses.