Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee has unveiled a wide-ranging set of measures to drive the city’s continued development during his 2025 Policy Address.
Among other steps outlined in this year’s address, moves to further deepen international exchange and cooperation, and to reinforce support for mainland enterprises expanding overseas, promise to inject strong momentum into Hong Kong’s ongoing growth.
“The Policy Address reflects the Hong Kong SAR’s commitment to innovation and excellence,” noted Prof Frederick Ma, Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).
Prof Ma highlighted several new initiatives that exemplify the Hong Kong SAR Government’s commitment to Hong Kong as a superconnector, a super value-adder and a high-value-added supply chain service centre.
These include setting up a Task Force on Supporting Mainland Enterprises in Going Global, or the GoGlobal Task Force in short, which will be steered by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.
This new venture will mobilise Hong Kong’s overseas offices – including those under InvestHK and the HKTDC, as well as Hong Kong offices in Mainland China – to encourage mainland enterprises to use Hong Kong in their international expansion. InvestHK is the Government department responsible for foreign direct investment.
In his Policy Address, Mr Lee also announced another collaborative new platform, the Economic and Trade Express.
This will combine the efforts of Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Offices, as well as the overseas offices of InvestHK and the HKTDC, to help local SMEs and start-ups conduct more overseas visits. It will also seek to attract more enterprises to invest in and establish businesses in Hong Kong.
SME support
This year’s Policy Address contained many other measures to help SMEs explore and capture growth opportunities.
These include a HK$1.43 billion (~US$184 million) injection into the BUD Fund, otherwise known as the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales, which was set up to help SMEs fortify their competitiveness and business development.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive also pledged continued support for E-Commerce Express, a year-round promotional programme run by the HTKDC to help smaller companies increase online sales and raise their digital profile. E-Commerce Express includes the Hong Kong Shopping Festival, a major e-commerce campaign for SMEs, which will cover the Mainland China and ASEAN markets over the next three years.
A new programme called ‘Creativity • E-commerce – Beyond Limits’ will also provide business matching and referral services to augment the interface between Hong Kong enterprises and e-commerce service providers.
A changing landscape
The HKTDC has been committed in helping SMEs embrace innovation and technology and enhance their competitiveness in key areas, such as digital transformation and supply chain solutions.
Prof Ma also welcomed moves to open up new digital markets and promote the digitalisation of trade, noting how these measures will strengthen competitiveness of Hong Kong enterprises and products in an evolving geopolitical landscape.
The Hong Kong SAR Government and the HKTDC will also work together to bolster IP financing at the Business of IP Asia Forum to promote Hong Kong as a regional centre for IP trading.
The HTKDC will leverage its global network of 51 offices, as well as years of experience in business matching through conferences and exhibitions, to help companies navigate significant changes in international trade and supply chains.
“We will actively support the initiatives proposed in the Policy Address and work closely with relevant departments to capitalise on Hong Kong’s unique advantages as a connector linking Mainland China and the world,” Prof Ma highlighted.