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The Strengths of Hong Kong as a Dynamic and Vibrant City

Today marks the official resumption of cross-boundary travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland in an orderly manner, which has come as the first piece of great news in 2023. While some members of the public are eager to reunite with their long-separated families, there are those who have been longing to go to the Mainland for business at the soonest possible time. The demand for business exchanges and leisure travel is great as well. It is expected that with the gradual resumption of easy and efficient travel between the two places, there will be a significant increase in the flow of people and goods, thus rendering stronger support to Hong Kong's industries, such as exports, tourism, retail and catering.

In fact, after 3 years of pandemic, our community is returning to normalcy. We have already planned a series of events in the Mainland and overseas to enhance promotion of Hong Kong's new economic highlights, new cultural horizons, and new tourism experiences. This year, Hong Kong will become a dynamic city, providing visitors with unique cultural and gourmet experiences. We are ready to launch different promotion campaigns to showcase Hong Kong's advantages in all aspects.

"Go Global" to promote Hong Kong's advantages

This year, our political team will proactively visit different countries, regions and markets to promote Hong Kong's advantages as well as various flagship events and occasions to overseas and Mainland audiences. At a time when the entire world is striving for more comprehensive recovery, these interactive activities will help us strengthen mutual understanding, connection and cooperation between Hong Kong and other regions, thereby facilitating faster and more effective recovery for everyone.

I will be setting off this Saturday to Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos, where I will meet with global political and business leaders to explain to them in detail the current position, opportunities and potentials of Hong Kong. I will promote our latest developments in the areas of finance, innovation and technology, attracting enterprises and talents, and in culture and tourism. In addition to attending a series of annual meetings of various international organisations, I will also visit important markets for Hong Kong, including the ASEAN countries and Europe, in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will lead delegations of finance officials to the Middle East, ASEAN, and other regions this year.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council has also planned outbound visits and business missions, including a mission to Indonesia for the infrastructure and real estate-related services sector in February to explore business opportunities, and delegations to various ASEAN markets including Thailand. In the Mainland, two of the flagship events will be held in mid-2023: SmartHK in Guangzhou, which promotes business-matching and cross-boundary wealth management through different interactive activities; and Chic HK in Shenzhen which promotes Hong Kong brands and unique designed products to consumers in the Greater Bay Area.

These are but some of the items under the initiative to "go global" in promoting Hong Kong's advantages. In fact, the HKSAR Government's 14 overseas Economic and Trade Offices and 5 Mainland offices will also step up all their promotional activities.

Inviting visitors to boost the hosting of mega events in Hong Kong

The core message of promoting Hong Kong across the globe is twofold. On the one hand, we should let others know that Hong Kong offers unlimited business and other opportunities; on the other hand, we should vigorously promote the fascinating and mega events to be held in the city that are not to be missed. These events cover not only exchanges and business matching activities in respect of economic, innovation and technology and financial development, but also sports and major events featuring local and foreign cultures, arts and cuisine.

Economic and financial activities

The Asian Financial Forum (AFF) to be held on this Wednesday and Thursday leads the charge. The AFF, jointly hosted by the HKSAR Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, is an annual signature event in the region. It returns to physical format for the first time in three years and is held in a hybrid mode that is accessible both physically and virtually. The two-day forum is expected to assemble thousands of government, finance and business leaders to exchange insights and explore business and investment opportunities. This large-scale forum will once again demonstrate Hong Kong's advantages as an international financial and business hub.

The finale of the year will be the Global Financial Investment Leaders' Summit organized by the HKMA, which will be even larger in scale than last year. The Hong Kong Fintech Week, which has become a global flagship Fintech event , will continue to be held at the end of this year, bringing together global Fintech-related leading companies, start-ups, academics, and industry leaders to exchange experiences and views. The HKMA is also in discussion with the Bank for International Settlements and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to organize their meetings in Hong Kong this year, enabling the heads of central banks and financial regulators from around the world to gather in Hong Kong. The Asian Insurance Forum, the annual flagship event of the insurance sector organized by the Insurance Authority, will also be held in end 2023.

Furthermore, with the support from the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, the dedicated FamilyOfficeHK team set up by Invest Hong Kong plans to promote Hong Kong's competitiveness and status as a family office hub through around 60 events in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas during the year, covering summits, roundtables and seminars, etc. Supporting the development of family office business is our key objective which can deepen Hong Kong's pool of liquidity and create more business opportunities for the financial sector and other professional sectors.

I am aware that many financial and commercial corporations in Hong Kong are also actively organising large-scale conferences, board meetings and other activities, so their managements and clients may come to Hong Kong to understand the latest developments and to discover new business opportunities in person. We welcome all to hold more conferences of all sorts to take advantage of the multiplier effect and gain greater momentum.

And surrounding the themes of Hong Kong's industries with advantages and the "eight centres" will be a number of regional flagship events of various industries. For instance the Hong Kong Legal Week, an annual flagship event of the Department of Justice, will bring together prominent experts, practitioners, government officials, academics and elites from diverse sectors from around the world to share their insights on a wide spectrum of legal issues. The Hong Kong Maritime Week, a major annual event of the maritime and port industries, will also be held at the end of the year.

Innovation and Technology (I&T)

In the coming year, Hong Kong's I&T will enter an accelerated development period. We will strengthen the cooperation with our sister cities in the Greater Bay Area to better integrate into the national development. Hong Kong should be more proactive in developing into an international I&T centre. The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau will organise the "2023 Digital Economy Summit" in April this year with the theme "Emerging with Resilience: Fostering a Smarter Future", focusing on how smart city technologies will drive the development of digital economy.

Attracting Tourists

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will enhance its support for Meetings, Incentive Travels, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism so as to attract different MICE events to be staged in or return to Hong Kong, bring more high value-added overnight visitors to Hong Kong, and re-establish Hong Kong as the premier destination for MICE tourism in the region. HKTB is also making intensive preparations to launch global large-scale promotion activities, and has resumed large-scale travel trade visits to Hong Kong three weeks ago, receiving trade representatives from Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Hong Kong will also soon become a destination of international cruises again, with the first international cruise ship since the pandemic berthing in Hong Kong in the middle of this month.

Major sports events have always been of great interest to tourists. This year, we expect more than ten major international sports events to be held in Hong Kong, including the "25th Hong Kong Marathon" in February and the "Hong Kong Sevens 2023" at the end of March, with the participation of over 350,000 athletes and spectators in total. We will further enhance the "M" Mark System, including increasing the funding ceiling for each event to $15 million.

On the cultural side, the West Kowloon Cultural District is a must-go attraction for tourists visiting Hong Kong. Various thematic exhibitions will continue to be presented by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+ to showcase the unique charisma of Hong Kong as a metropolitan where the East meets West.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will present the Museum Summit 2023 in late March, inviting about 30 experts from renowned museums around the world to Hong Kong to exchange experiences on topics such as the latest development of museums, reinvention of cultural facilities, etc. Gallerie degli Uffizi has been enlisted as the international partner of the Summit. Starting in April, LCSD will organise the inaugural "Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival" to promote Hong Kong pop culture, including paying tribute to some of the deceased superstars and telling their extraordinary stories about Hong Kong's development through a series of activities, reflecting the spirit and cultural charisma of different eras.

Photography fans should spare time to attend the Hong Kong Flower Show to be held in Victoria Park in mid March. Taking "Bliss in Bloom" as the theme, the Flower Show features Hydrangeas as its theme flower and other flowers from various regions of the world, showcasing the floral art and landscaping exhibits prepared by gardening organisations in Hong Kong, in the Mainland and across the world.

One of the most signature and iconic events for food and wine lovers in town would definitely be the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival held by HKTB in October. Food and wine lovers had very much enjoyed the event while appreciating the spectacular harbour view.

Life in Hong Kong is a good blend of diverse elements. Though living in a fast-paced city with buoyant financial and commercial activities, we can take a break to enjoy good food and fine wines with friends or refresh our mind with the beautiful scenery of rolling hills and restful waters. What makes the city even more attractive is its East-meets-West culture characterised by a fascinating mix of old and new. As Hong Kong has started to make steady strides along the path to normalcy, I will lead a dedicated team to rebuild the image and branding of Hong Kong by telling our stories well and highlighting our strengths and development opportunities.

January 8, 2023