February 13, 2025

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John Lee: Hong Kong leader vows to shore up global business role

The previous British colony’s track record as an intercontinental money heart has been battered for the duration of the last two years by its adherence to China’s unbending Covid limitations. They have manufactured the town much less interesting for expats and substantially more durable for foreign executives to take a look at.

Speaking in Mandarin at his inauguration, attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the chief govt of the Hong Kong governing administration said he would “consolidate” the city’s “inherent beneficial industries.”

Lee didn’t give any plan detail, nor did he deal with developing pushback versus the city’s controversial Covid insurance policies and border controls that have alarmed quite a few global businesses.

Before this calendar year, a survey of European companies in Hong Kong discovered that virtually half of them had been thinking of relocating in the following 12 months.

That tracked with a very similar report from the American Chamber of Commerce in January, which observed that 44% of expats and businesses were likely to go away the city.

“Hong Kong continue to holds enterprise options but an array of difficulties, specifically draconian journey restrictions and worsening US-China relations, weigh on sentiment,” the US report claimed.

Hong Kong has only one real rival for businesses thinking about leaving

Hong Kong’s quarantine guidelines are infamous between citizens and expats. At a single stage, the government needed most inbound vacationers to isolate in lodge rooms, on their have dime, for 3 months, one particular of the world’s longest isolation periods.

Though Hong Kong officials have lifted flight bans and scaled back again the quarantine demands, an outflow of expertise is presently taking part in out.

Even without having the Covid disaster, headhunters were possessing hassle bringing expertise to Hong Kong for the reason that of Beijing’s rising oversight of the semi-autonomous territory.

Xi, in his speech at Lee’s inauguration ceremony on Friday, said Beijing would “entirely assist Hong Kong” in “consolidating its status as an global economical, shipping and trade center” and “maintaining a cost-free, open and controlled small business environment.”

Aside from enhancing Hong Kong’s recent posture in finance and transport, Lee claimed his federal government would also make up the city’s technologies and innovation industries.

“We will acquire rising industries, and establish Hong Kong into an intercontinental innovation center,” Lee explained.

In the course of his speech, Lee extolled China’s Belt and Street and Better Bay Place initiatives, which he explained have given Hong Kong “limitless chances and unrestricted progress house.”

Alex Stambaugh, Charlie Fong, and Allison Morrow contributed to this report.