Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has urged businesspeople to serve as the “main force” driving the city’s economic development by investing in innovation and the Northern Metropolis megaproject, calling on them to demonstrate their patriotism through “concrete actions”. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also reminded Hongkongers to…
Hong Kong authorities will set up a company this year to accelerate the development of an innovation hub near the border, with firms already expressing interest in moving into the San Tin Technopole, a senior tech official has said. Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Kevin Choi Kit-ming also told the South China Morning…
A proposed increase in the Hong Kong government’s borrowing cap for its bond programmes to HK$900 billion (US$115 billion) will be sufficient to finance infrastructure projects over the next three years, officials have said, while leaving the door open to further rises in the long run if needed. Andrew Lai Chi-wah, permanent secretary for financial…
A world-class fencing hall and stand-alone swimming complex will be built in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis megaproject, authorities have revealed, in a move that experts said must be accompanied by good transport and support services for elite athletes. Sports industry experts raised their suggestions on Tuesday after the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) updated…
Hong Kong’s No 2 official has pledged to fast-track a new university town’s development following a visit to similar projects in mainland China and said authorities will devise a strategy to attract top institutions from across the border and overseas to take part. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki and his working group on the university…
This is more than a procedural shift. For the first time, Hong Kong is attempting to align its policy cycle in advance with national planning priorities, yet alignment on its own is not a strategy. The more pressing question is whether the city can define a role that is distinct, necessary and difficult to replicate…
Construction has begun on a major data centre in Northern Metropolis, with Hong Kong’s innovation and technology minister saying the project will supercharge the city’s computing power and drive the national AI push. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday at the Range (Hong Kong) Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, which spans more than 110,000…
Singapore will explore opportunities arising from Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis megaproject and its coming five-year development plan, the city state’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has said, stressing that relations between the two sides are “more important than ever” in a fragmenting world. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Friday that Wong’s visit – his…
In the summer of 1998, the usually placid air at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s headquarters in Citibank Tower suddenly evaporated as regional currencies collapsed like dominoes. Rapacious speculators had shorted currencies such as the Thai baht, the Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won and had profited handsomely. The contagion looked like it would also…
Hong Kong’s legislature will retain the power to scrutinise boundary changes for the Northern Metropolis megaproject proposed by the executive branch, the city’s development chief has said, addressing concerns over proposed laws to fast-track the scheme. Under proposed legislation comprising six main subsidiary laws designed to remove bottlenecks in the massive scheme near the border…