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Three cheers for Hong Kong aviation! The highly anticipated Three-runway System (3RS) at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) was officially launched in spectacular style on Nov 28. When fully operational, the 3RS will expand handling capacity at the airport to 120 million passengers and 10 million tonnes of cargo annually. Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Chief Executive John Lee said HKIA is an important gateway to the world for Hong Kong and the entire Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, playing a strategic role in social and economic development. The commissioning of the 3RS will significantly enhance HKIA's capacity and cement Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.

HKIA triumphs in renowned cargo awards

HKIA, the busiest cargo hub in the world, received several prestigious international accolades, in recognition of its excellent cargo service efficiency, innovations, and initiatives on sustainability. It was named “Cargo Airport of the Year - Asia Pacific” and “Air Cargo Technology Provider of The Year” at the 11th Payload Asia Awards, held in Singapore. It is the third consecutive year that HKIA was recognised by Payload Asia as the most outstanding airport providing key infrastructure for air transport and cargo connectivity in the region. HKIA’s cargo service excellence was also recognised by Air Cargo News, which selected HKIA “Cargo Hub of the Year”. Meanwhile, the airport clinched the “Best Cargo Hub” and “Best Sustainable Initiative” accolades at the Super Terminal Expo 2024. The former lauds the airport’s state-of-the-art cargo facilities and efficient services, while the latter acknowledged its comprehensive vision, commitment and initiatives to promote sustainability.

Hong Kong acquires shares in Zhuhai Airport

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) signed (Nov 26) an agreement with Zhuhai Transportation Holdings Group on acquisition of 35% shares in Zhuhai Airport, further capitalising on strengths of the two airports by leveraging the convenience brought by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. HKIA has collaborated with Zhuhai Airport in various projects, including the “Fly-Via-Zhuhai-HK” service which provides passengers with seamless “air-to-bridge-to-air” transfer between the two airports. Both parties will develop a high-end aviation industrial park, with a view to boosting the development of the aviation industry in the Greater Bay Area and enhancing the competitiveness of the region.

Giant pandas craze sparks across Hong Kong

Dive into the captivating world of giant pandas in Hong Kong! The two giant pandas, An An and Ke Ke, who were gifted to the city by the Central Government made their highly anticipated public debut on Dec 8, to the delight of visitors to their new home at Ocean Park Hong Kong. Speaking at the Giant Panda Greeting Ceremony (Dec 7), Chief Executive John Lee said Hong Kong is honoured to be keeping the largest number of giant pandas apart from the Mainland. Since the birth of Hong Kong's first giant panda cubs in Aug and the arrival of the two giant pandas in Sep, a craze for giant pandas has sparked across the city. A series of promotional activities themed "Come and Enjoy a Pandastic Hong Kong" is being held in Hong Kong to share the joy with the public.

Hong Kong a magnet for businesses and investors

The 25th edition of Hong Kong Forum was successfully held from Dec 3-4, gathering some 400 businesspeople from all over the world. Speaking at the Keynote Luncheon of the Forum, Chief Executive John Lee said that Hong Kong has long attracted businesses and investors, thanks to its clear and compelling advantages, including a free and open investment environment and simple and low tax system, modern infrastructure and logistics networks and the unfettered flow of information, capital, goods and people. With the new initiatives to enhance its position as an international financial, shipping and trade centre, Hong Kong will attract Mainland Chinese and overseas companies to establish international or regional headquarters in the city, he added.

Enterprises back Northern Metropolis

The development of the Northern Metropolis in Hong Kong got a boost as over 80 enterprise representatives signed (Nov 29) a Memorandum of Understanding about supporting and participating in the development. 35 of the enterprises representatives also signed agreements among them to collaborate in the Northern Metropolis development, with a total investment of over HK$100 billion. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chief Executive John Lee said that as a new engine for Hong Kong's growth, the Northern Metropolis can complement the high-quality integration of Hong Kong with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, offering quality business opportunities for all.

Hong Kong is committed to becoming a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre through enhancing IP infrastructure and building an IP-savvy workforce, said Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki at the Business Intellectual Property Asia Forum (Dec 5). He highlighted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s commitments to support innovators. These include a plan to establish a World Intellectual Property Organization Technology & Innovation Support Centre by next year at the earliest to help local entrepreneurs and businesses protect and commercialise their innovations. Hong Kong will also continue to engage with the world in sharing best practices and staying at the forefront of IP trends. The Business of Intellectual Property Asia Forum this year gathered 2000 IP owners, service providers and users from some 20 countries and regions to explore a crucial driver of economic future: the development of intellectual property trading and its transformative potential, under the theme of "Reimagining IP for Impact and Growth."

CE meets WTO Director-General

Chief Executive John Lee met (Dec 5) visiting World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. Mr Lee said he is encouraged by WTO’s recognition of Hong Kong’s commitment to promoting global trade liberalisation and its measures to enhance business facilitation, as well as its continuous efforts to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as an international investment and trading hub. He added that supporting a multilateral trading system remains at the core of Hong Kong's trade policy, and that the HKSAR Government will continue to expand the city's global economic and trade networks through various means including forging free trade agreements.

NYETO promotes Hong Kong in Miami

Director of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York Maisie Ho visited Miami to strengthen bilateral ties across business, arts, and culture (Dec 4-6). During her trip, she visited the Hong Kong Café – Cha Chaan Teng at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024, where guests were treated to a taste of Hong Kong’s iconic café culture in a vibrant, international setting curated by Hong Kong Tourism Board. She then attended the Hong Kong Sunset Cocktail Party, celebrating cultural exchange and fostering meaningful connections. Both the Hong Kong café installation and the cocktail party are collaborations between Hong Kong Tourism Board and Art Basel under a pioneering three-year worldwide partnership, which will bring Art Basel back to Hong Kong from Mar 28–30, 2025. 

While in Miami, Ms Ho also met with Rodrick Miller, President & CEO, and Mario J Sacsa, Senior Vice President of International Economic Development at the Miami-Dade Beacon Council on how to further enhance economic collaboration. At a lunch with Miami’s financial leaders, she highlighted Hong Kong’s unique financial opportunities and its role as Asia’s premier event hub.

Mainland-Hong Kong tech pact signed 

The people-to-people exchanges in science and technology between the Mainland and Hong Kong will be further strengthened with the signing of a new pact between the HKSAR Government and the China Association for Science and Technology on Dec 3. The new agreement aims to strengthen the co-operation between the two places in various areas, such as strengthening exchanges between scientific research and academic organisations, nurturing scientific and technological talent, promoting popular science, and facilitating technological integration and development in the Greater Bay Area.

Arts, culture blueprint released

The HKSAR Government released (Nov 26) the Blueprint for Arts & Culture & Creative Industries Development, which sets out a clear vision, principles and strategic directions for the future development of the arts, culture and creative industries. The comprehensive policy document further consolidate Hong Kong's position as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges and build a diversified cultural environment. The blueprint sets out a total of 71 measures under four strategic directions, which include promoting profound traditional Chinese culture and developing cultural contents with Hong Kong character; developing diverse arts and culture industries with international perspective; establishing international platforms to foster east-meets-west arts and cultural exchange; and enhancing the ecosystem for the arts, culture and creative industries.

Hong Kong an international education hub

With the unique advantages brought by the "one country, two systems", the HKSAR Government endeavours to develop Hong Kong into an international post-secondary education hub, said Chief Executive John Lee at the Global University Presidents & Leaders Summit (Dec 2). He added that the far-reaching plans include setting aside more than 80 hectares of land in the Northern Metropolis for a new Northern Metropolis University Town, exploring more innovative programmes and research at local institutions, and promoting exchange collaborations with prestigious universities from Mainland China and overseas. 

2024 Yidan Prize awardees announced

The Yidan Prize Foundation, the global philanthropic foundation behind the world’s highest education accolade, hosted its 2024 Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong (Dec 7). The 2024 Yidan Prize for Education Research was awarded to Professor Wolfgang Lutz, Distinguished Emeritus Scholar of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, for his statistical research on the long-term benefits of near-term investments in education. The 2024 Yidan Prize for Education Development was awarded to War Child Alliance’s Professor Mark Jordans, Marwa Zahr, and Luke Stannard for advancing foundational literacy and numeracy skills of children through the ‘Can’t Wait to Learn’ intervention.

Appointments of principal officials

Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, announced (Dec 5) the appointment of Ms Mable Chan as the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, and Miss Rosanna Law Shuk-pui as the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. He said Ms Chan and Miss Law are seasoned Administrative Officers and have had a distinguished performance in the Government over the past 35 years, possessing proven administrative and management skills, leadership skills, explanatory skills and proactivity.

Govt rejects US slander

The HKSAR Government strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected (Nov 26) the malicious slander of Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial centre in the letter from members of the US House of Representatives to the US Secretary of the Treasury. In a statement, the HKSAR Government said the letter is a crude and reprehensible attempt to spread lies and misinformation about Hong Kong for personal political gain, and the allegations in the letter have no factual basis and are grossly unfounded. The HKSAR Government has been enforcing the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council fully and vigorously to fulfil its international obligations, and that the effectiveness of the city's work has been well respected and recognised by its trading partners. It added that Hong Kong’s banks and other financial institutions adhere to international standards and best practices, including those on anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism. The HKSAR Government highlighted that like many jurisdictions including the US, Hong Kong is entitled to enact and implement laws to safeguard national security, and that the international business community continues to have confidence in Hong Kong.

The Basic Law (BL) is the constitutional document of the HKSAR. It provides the guarantees to maintain our existing way of life, including socio-economic development, the rights and duties of Hong Kong people, the rule of law and other areas. The Basic Law was put into effect on July 1, 1997.

Q: Does the HKSAR Government have complete control over fiscal and economic policies and safeguard the free movement of goods, assets and capital?

A: Yes. The HKSAR Government formulates its own economic policies; manages its finances independently; prepares its own budgets; issues its own freely convertible currency; practices an independent taxation system; keeps its low and simple tax regime; formulates its own monetary and financial policies; safeguards the free flow of capital; maintains the status of a free port; pursues a policy of free trade and protects the free movement of goods, intangible assets and capital. (BL Articles 62; 106-119)