By Donny Kwok and Jiaxing Li
HONG KONG, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader John Lee unveiled the city’s first five-year plan on Wednesday, aiming to boost residents’ livelihoods and cement its position as a global financial hub, while beefing up technology ties with the mainland.
The sweeping plan, which follows two months of government consultations with lawmakers and residents, spans areas from the economy to jobs, education and health, as Lee promised to add 196,000 public housing units within five years.
The government would encourage “upward mobility”, Lee added, and “enhance the housing ladder to promote home ownership among young people” in Hong Kong, where scarce land supply puts home purchases out of reach for many.
The plan also envisages speeding development of the 30,000-hectare (116-sq-mile) Northern Metropolis, near the mainland China border, as a new growth engine, bolstering technological links and ties with the mainland to add jobs and homes.
When complete, Lee said, it would be ideal for living, work and travel, “further boosting Hong Kong’s overall competitiveness and momentum for sustainable development”.
The strategy comes after Beijing approved a national five-year plan in March for the years to 2030, in China’s latest typical exercise laying out an official road map for social and economic development.
Highlighting his policy objectives, Lee said Hong Kong would officially launch the first central clearing and settlement system for gold in the first quarter of 2027.
The city’s Monetary Authority plans to implement central bank digital currency settlement by the end of this year, he added.
The five-year plan’s major aims include solidifying Hong Kong’s financial, maritime and trade areas, accelerating efforts in information and technology and strengthening its role as a global offshore renminbi hub.
Hong Kong will act as a “super connector” and integrate with China’s Greater Bay Area, Lee said.
“We will expedite the alignment with key national strategies in technology,” he said.
The focus would be on areas ranging from lifestyle and healthcare to AI and robotics, microelectronics, new energy, advanced manufacturing and new materials, he added.
Hong Kong will also strengthen efforts to develop itself into a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services, Lee said.
NORTHERN METROPOLIS TO EASE HOUSING SHORTAGE
The government first unveiled plans for the Northern Metropolis in 2021, aiming to provide homes for about 2.5 million people to alleviate the chronic housing shortage, and establish a new business district.
It also includes plans for three university campus sites.
Authorities said the area will add about 650,000 jobs once fully developed.
A densely packed hub of 7.5 million, the former British colony has grappled with post-COVID pandemic malaise and a falling property market – long a mainstay of public revenues from land sales income.
Lee, a former policeman and Hong Kong security chief, took over its leadership in 2022, in the aftermath of COVID and mass anti-government protests in 2019 that led Beijing to impose a sweeping National Security Law the following year.
While Lee has spearheaded an economic recovery, his administration has also faced pressure from last November’s Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po that killed 168 and made thousands homeless in the deadliest fire in decades.
Housing supply plans in the next decade will allocate 40% to public rentals, 30% to subsidised flats, and 30% for private homes, Lee said, with 196,000 public housing units to be ready within five years.
POLICY EFFORTS TO BOOST TRADING, BIRTHS
In an annual policy address after unveiling the plan, Lee detailed economic diversification into gold and commodities trading, green and sustainable finance as well as digital assets.
The securities regulator and stock exchange operator, HKEX, will promote dual primary and secondary listing of overseas enterprises, from places such as Southeast Asia and countries participating in China’s Belt and Road programme, Lee said.
To boost births in Hong Kong, where the fertility rate is among the world’s lowest, Lee promised three more years of a baby bonus of HK$20,000 for firstborns.
That would rise to HK$30,000 for second and third children over the period, along with child allowances, tax deductions, and additional childcare centres.
(Additional reporting by Alison Lui; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Clarence Fernandez)
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