Consultative Documents
Economic Development
Conducive to the economy’s continued development?
Able to promote fairness and justice in society to allow more people to share in the fruits of prosperity?
The time-tested free-market model of “Big Market, Small Government”
The best way forward for today’s Hong Kong?
We urge the government to:
Strengthen its leading role in economic development
Ensure Hong Kong’s continuous development by coordinating with our nation’s economic development strategy.
Actively promote the development of industrial diversification to create new opportunities for economic growth and employment.
Make good use of fiscal policy to ensure a fair distribution of wealth in society.
Proposals from society
The Government's Role in Promoting Economic Development
Review the government's economic principle of "Big Market, Small Government."
Utilise public fiscal measures to promote economic development, and create a society that allows all to share in the fruits of development through tax measures.
Enhance Technological Innovation Capabilities
Promote the full digitisation of public services.
Technological innovation should be pegged to effective governance in order to utilise technology to improve the efficiency of administration.
Further strengthen the standards and capabilities of financial technology (Fintech).
Set up an Internet of Things for the entire city.
Actively advance the use of open data in Hong Kong, such as setting up an “Open Data consultative committee” and conduct research to establish an “Open Data Law.”
Developing the Tourism Industry
Establish an upper limit on tour buses allowed in residential districts in order to reduce tourist activities in those areas.
Increase Hong Kong's capacity to receive visitors. Continue to improve and create better facilities at tourist attractions and review Ocean Park's future development roadmap.
Review the visit endorsement system for Mainland travellers to Hong Kong in order to make suitable adjustments for the numbers of Mainland visitors.
Further strengthen cooperation within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area. Introduce a "multi-destination" travel product and relax the requirements for the "144-hour visa-free transit" policy to attract more international visitors.
How to Reindustrialise Hong Kong?
Proactively increase the ratio of spending on technological research and development (R&D) in our gross domestic product (GDP) and set new targets for local industrial development.
Provide support for unified and systematic industrial development.
Establish a select committee to determine which industries are most suited to Hong Kong’s development and provide forward-looking guidelines for said industries.
Use tax incentives and measures such as government equity participation to attract target industries to invest in Hong Kong.
Further Strengthen Economic Integration with the Greater Bay Area
Jointly develop a smart Greater Bay Area by establishing a big data-sharing platform in the region. Strengthen interconnectivity via the movement of people; logistics; services, finances and information services within the GBA.
Promote cross-border innovation in financial services between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Drive the development of green finance and innovative financial products and services in order to strive for the target of transforming and upgrading industries in the region. Strengthen cross-border interconnectivity, including optimising the “Shenzhen-Hong Kong Connect” scheme, and continue to promote the interconnect mechanism in the insurance industry in Hong Kong and Guangdong province.
Set up a unified bureau between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau. Look into ways to lower the overall tax burden on enterprises and draw up targeted tax incentive policies.
Promote coordination between airports in the Greater Bay Area and turn the region into a world-class, value-added and versatile air transport hub. Simplify customs procedures and enact joint co-location checkpoints at more border crossings.
DAB proposals for further discussion
The “Small Government, Big Market” principle is already irrelevant. The government should be even more proactive in guiding corporations and attracting talent in order to introduce new industries and promote economic diversification in Hong Kong.
The government should make better use of the opportunities brought about by the country’s development to allow local businesses access to a broader market.
The government must establish more forward-looking development strategies and long-term goals for innovation and reindustrialisation, as well as comprehensively promote industrial development.
The “trickle-down effect” is proven to be incapable of alleviating the poverty gap. The government should utilise fiscal policies such as taxation and public spending to carry out a more effective “secondary allocation” model, which would allow the general public to share in the fruits of economic prosperity.