Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivers his annual budget speech at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Feb 22, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Hong Kong will ramp up investment promotion efforts next year to attract more enterprises and talents and accelerate economic development while the city’s economic recovery pace remains subdued amid global economic uncertainties, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po told lawmakers in the Legislative Council.

As lawmakers debated the motion of thanks for the Chief Executive’s Policy Address 2023 in the Legislative Council on Thursday, the finance chief noted that inbound tourism and private consumption will continue to support the city’s economic growth in the short term.

In the first 10 months of this year, InvestHK has assisted 333 mainland or overseas companies to establish and expand their business in Hong Kong, up about 30 percent from the previous year 

“As international flights and reception capacity recover, Hong Kong can receive more visitors. Regarding private consumption, household income continues to improve, and various activities such as "Night Vibes Hong Kong" also provide partial support,” Chan said.

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“However, the external environment remains unfavorable and continued geopolitical tensions, tight financial conditions, and economic uncertainty will continue to put pressure on exports of goods, investment, and consumer sentiment,” the finance chief cautioned.

Taking into account the actual figures in the first three quarters of this year and the short-term prospects, the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region earlier revised the real gross domestic product growth forecast for this year to 3.2 percent.

Chan said the government will speed up investment promotion work to inject more momentum for economic development.

“The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) will contact no less than 300 strategic companies next year, hoping that these enterprises can settle here or expand their businesses in Hong Kong. InvestHK will establish additional consulting offices in Belt and Road countries starting next year to strengthen our investment promotion network,” Chan told lawmakers in the Legislative Council.

OASES has successfully attracted 30 strategic enterprise from upstream, mid-stream and downstream sectors to settle or expand their operations in Hong Kong, with an initial investment of about HK$30 billion ($3.84 billion), creating about 10,000 jobs. 

In the first 10 months of this year, InvestHK has assisted 333 mainland or overseas companies to establish and expand their business in Hong Kong, up about 30 percent from the previous year.

Chan said Hong Kong Investment Corporation — the investment arm of Hong Kong SAR to optimize the use of financial reserves for promoting the development of industries and the economy — will complement OASES in identifying investment opportunities for improving Hong Kong’s competitiveness, leading and supporting the development of strategic industries in Hong Kong. 

 “The SAR government will cooperate with relevant ministries of the central government to explore measures that facilitate mainland enterprises to set up headquarters and branches in Hong Kong, such as facilitating arrangements for capital project investment. In addition, we will also introduce a mechanism to attract companies registered overseas to relocate to Hong Kong,” Chan said.

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The aim is to cement a “headquarters economy” as outlined in the Policy Address, to attract mainland and overseas companies to set up headquarters or regional branches in Hong Kong, and bring in more high-quality enterprises to the city.