Economic Development

After Immigration: Declining Income of Overseas Hong Kongers and Occupational Mismatch

Economic Development / , /

In the past few years, many Hong Kong people have immigrated overseas. I believe that every reader has more or less familiar relatives and friends who have decided to leave their hometown. They leave for different reasons, but they also need to adapt to a strange environment. Even though we no longer live in the same city, those who remain here still care about the local lives of overseas Hong Kong residents. After the housing problem is gradually solved and the living environment becomes familiar, finding sources of income becomes an urgent issue. Many immigrants have heard that the job market in foreign countries is not as active as in Hong Kong. However, they may not be prepared for it. They may be willing to sacrifice how much hard work they have done in the past and work in a sub-optimal job just to "earn a living".

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Crucial financial soft power

Economic Development / , /

"Hong Kong is finished" is full of lies, and the statement that it has lost its status as an international financial center is truly alarmist. Wang Linggui, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, sternly retorted, pointing out that Hong Kong’s prosperous economy is supported by the central government’s active policies and cannot become a relic. The volatile world situation creates ups and downs in the economic cycle. To simply judge Hong Kong’s status based on this would undoubtedly be to miss the forest for the trees and ignore the soft power of Hong Kong, which has long been ranked among the top international financial centers.

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Fiscal budget is the politics of people's hearts and minds

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This fiscal year is expected to record a fiscal deficit of more than 100 billion, and the tax revenue and land sales are not as strong as they were in the past. The next budget will undoubtedly be a deficit budget for the fifth consecutive year. The accounts are not ideal, but there is nothing wrong with it, because the epidemic has affected the global economy in the past three years, and the government's revenue has decreased, but it needs to allocate more resources to help citizens solve their difficulties. However, a long-term deficit economy always affects investor confidence. From a forward-looking perspective, Hong Kong needs to review long-term public finances from multiple parties, restore fiscal discipline within its means, and consolidate citizens' sense of security in economic operations. 

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Innovative thinking drives consumption growth

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From February's "Hello, Hong Kong!" to launch global promotions, April's "Happy Hong Kong" to focus on local fun, to September's "Hong Kong Night Fun" to create nighttime vitality, the SAR government has prescribed prescriptions to revitalize the economy, aiming to Social mobilization to stimulate consumption and attract tourists. In the past, countercyclical measures were taken to do everything possible to rescue the market and preserve employment, but this also resulted in five consecutive years of fiscal deficit, making it difficult to expect the government to make large investments again. In the first half of the year, the interest rate differential between Hong Kong and the United States impacted the linked exchange rate. It was still too early to announce the interest rate cut cycle, and there were not many policy tools available to the government.

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Hong Kong must also promote high-quality development

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The "2023 World Competitiveness Annual Report" was released earlier. Although Hong Kong is fully promoting the pace of returning to normal, its ranking has dropped from fifth to seventh last year. The change in rankings is, on the one hand, affected by the adjustment of various indicators in the report, and there are certain subjective factors that do not need to be over-interpreted; but on the other hand, some development weaknesses pointed out by industry experts are worthy of our humble view. Among various scores, Hong Kong's rankings in the local economy, job market, productivity and efficiency fell the most. It can be seen that Hong Kong's economy must grow both in terms of total volume and improve quality in order to maintain international competitiveness.

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Xiongan New Area embodies Xi Jinping’s core executive will

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Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are the three major metropolitan areas of China's economic layout, radiating and driving the development of the northern, central and southern regions. President Xi Jinping visited Xiongan New Area last week, accompanied by three members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, who proposed to make the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region a pioneer and demonstration area for Chinese-style modernization. With similar positioning, only Shenzhen is a pioneer demonstration zone for socialism with Chinese characteristics and Shanghai Pudong is a leading zone for socialist modernization. This means that Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will set up different reform pilots and have a variety of national-level policy dividends. This "thousand-year plan" has once again become the focus of attention.

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Rethinking Hong Kong’s economic status after the 20th National Congress

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The 20th National Congress report is Xi Jinping's policy blueprint for the next five years. It also theorizes China's development experience, opens up a "Chinese-style modernization" path that is different from the West, and inspires other developing countries to break away from European and American hegemony. The United States spreads the theory of China threat everywhere and regards it as "the most serious geopolitical challenge." Recently, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the establishment of the "Special Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Communist Party of China", representing the Republican and Democratic parties who are unanimously targeting China. The international situation is turbulent and Hong Kong cannot be alone. The only way to break through the Western containment is to help the mainland improve its economic strength and strengthen cooperation with foreign interests.

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South finance and north innovation and technology keep pace with each other

Economic Development / , /

Hong Kong has a shortage of development land, insufficient housing supply, and insufficient land reserves to meet development and housing needs. The economic structure focuses on the service industry and the industry is univocal, limiting the employment prospects of young people. The imbalance between jobs and housing has put great pressure on the north-south transportation system, and citizens spend a lot of time and resources on transportation. In order to solve the above three development bottlenecks, the SAR government proposes to develop the northern metropolitan area, open up land space, promote re-industrialization, provide employment opportunities, and release the development potential of the New Territories.

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There is a time limit for foreign capital to be temporarily withdrawn and returned

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The spread of the epidemic has remained at a low level, and Hong Kong has been continuously integrating with international activities. "Hong Kong is back" is the theme of many international high-level summits and exhibitions. Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu added an "Office for Introduction of Key Enterprises" in his first policy address, which will undertake this series of external exchanges and take the initiative to attract foreign investment. The current government loves to talk about KPIs, but the latest foreign investment survey by the Census and Statistics Department found that the number of companies in Hong Kong has turned from rising to falling, falling below 9,000. This confirms that Hong Kong’s attractiveness has faded slightly, and it is necessary to step up efforts to reverse the trend and maintain Hong Kong’s international business. business status.

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Say goodbye to neoliberalism

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Hong Kong has always been a bastion of neoliberalism. In order to create a level playing field, the government rarely actively intervenes in the market. The government has locked fiscal expenditure at 20% of GDP. Even though the expenditure has increased slightly in recent years and has slightly broken this golden rule, it still adheres to the "big market, small government" principle. Constrained by governance philosophy and financial resources, Hong Kong has never had a strong industrial policy and can only passively expect the business community to respond to the government's vision. Li Jiachao issued his first "Policy Address" to lead the industrial layout and proactively attract investment, reflecting that the new government will break the inertia of "active non-intervention".

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