Chief Government John Lee’s 2026 Coverage Handle and the town’s first 5-Yr Plan for Financial and Social Improvement set out measures protecting finance, commerce, delivery, aviation, innovation and expertise, alongside efforts to draw capital, firms and expert staff. The federal government mentioned the programme is designed to strengthen Hong Kong’s worldwide competitiveness and assist longer-term financial improvement.
Gold will function the entry level for a broader commodity buying and selling ecosystem. Hong Kong plans to formally launch its central clearing and settlement system for gold within the first quarter of 2027, following trial operations that started in July. The system is meant to assist buying and selling that meets worldwide requirements and strengthen hyperlinks amongst clearing, settlement, storage and bodily supply.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing will announce particulars this yr of latest renminbi-denominated, bodily settled gold futures contracts. The federal government additionally plans to discover tax concessions for qualifying actions throughout the gold and commodity buying and selling chain, with proposals anticipated to be put to the Legislative Council for session subsequent yr.
The Hong Kong Financial Authority is finding out whether or not the Alternate Fund ought to reasonably enhance its gold holdings and take part in native spot and futures markets. Present bodily gold inventories might regularly be transferred to designated vaults appointed by the Hong Kong Valuable Metals Central Clearing Firm.
Authorities additionally plan to increase storage and associated infrastructure. For the reason that London Steel Alternate added Hong Kong to its international warehousing community in 2025, accredited space for storing has exceeded 60,000 sq. metres and inventories have risen above 20,000 tonnes of steel. Extra LME-approved warehouses are deliberate for the Northern Metropolis.
A half-rate tax concession for bodily commodity buying and selling can be being pursued to encourage merchants to determine or enlarge operations within the metropolis. A joint working group led by the Secretary for Monetary Providers and the Treasury will look at market alternatives and potential collaboration between exchanges.
The broader monetary technique seeks to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as an offshore renminbi enterprise hub and a world centre for asset administration and danger administration. The federal government plans to deepen inexperienced and digital finance, widen financing channels for expertise firms and strengthen commerce finance, supply-chain finance, clearing, settlement and risk-management providers.
A proposed Innovation and Know-how Business-Oriented Fund will obtain HK$10 billion in authorities funding and is anticipated to achieve a minimum of HK$40 billion when market capital is included. Precedence areas embody life and well being expertise, synthetic intelligence and robotics, semiconductors and good gadgets, digitalisation, and sustainable improvement.
The five-year plan additionally requires larger emphasis on high-value maritime providers somewhat than relying primarily on conventional port logistics. Measures embody reforms to ship registration, assist for ship financing and marine insurance coverage, and additional improvement of maritime arbitration and different skilled providers.
Hong Kong additionally intends to construct a broader aviation business ecosystem. Plans embody creating aircraft-parts processing and buying and selling, taking part in analysis and certification related with domestically developed plane, and increasing sustainable aviation gasoline provide chains throughout the Better Bay Space. Authorities purpose for sustainable aviation gasoline to account for 1% to three% of gasoline utilized by departing flights at Hong Kong Worldwide Airport in 2030.
Commerce coverage will deal with digitalisation, diversification and higher-value supply-chain providers. The federal government desires extra firms to make use of Hong Kong for worldwide orders, foreign-exchange transactions, treasury operations, commerce finance and supply-chain administration, whereas attracting regional and worldwide headquarters.
The plan locations innovation alongside the normal pillars, with assist directed in direction of synthetic intelligence, robotics, life sciences, microelectronics and superior manufacturing. It additionally identifies aerospace expertise, marine expertise, quantum expertise and embodied intelligence as fields for longer-term improvement.
