John Lee Confident in Northern Metropolis Development, Promises Opportunities for Investors and Enterprises

Remarks by CE at media session before ExCo (with video)

Following are the remarks by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, at a media session before the Executive Council meeting today (December 3):

Reporter: I would like to ask about the enterprise agreement for the Northern Metropolis last Friday. What level of commitments does the Government seek from these businesses, and how can the Government ensure that the partnership is profitable for the property developers?

Chief Executive: One question about the Northern Metropolis - We are very confident in the development of the Northern Metropolis. We have organised visits and also discussions over the development plan of the Northern Metropolis. Particularly, we have been introducing and explaining to enterprises and investors the concept of three big pockets of land for development, in which case the investors will be given more flexibility and freedom to develop it according to their own timetable and overall plan. A bigger piece of land allows more flexibility and also allows development to be taken as a whole, so that the overall value of development can be enhanced.

This month, we will be rolling out measures to invite intention from interested investors and enterprises. In fact, I think the media knows that there was a signing ceremony last week involving over 80 enterprises and investors, who indicated their confidence in the development of the Northern Metropolis. What it means is that the Northern Metropolis is a development plan, which takes long periods of time; some straddle over 10, 15, or even up to 20 years. There are big opportunities there, because Hong Kong is being developed into different centres of excellence, and all these centres of excellence would mean industrialisation, new value creation, and also composite consideration for the overall development of Hong Kong, and these are all opportunities for investors and enterprises. Looking at the level of support that was shown last week, we are very confident that the Northern Metropolis development plan will invite and attract a lot of interest. In fact, if you look at the Northern Metropolis, we will be developing, first of all, the Loop (the Lok Ma Chau Loop) as an I&T (innovation and technology) model of success. We will be also developing the San Tin Technopole. There will also be a university town at different pockets of land. All these will add together to create extra value for Hong Kong, and all these projects will bring good return on investment. Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Remarks by FS at media session (with photo/video)

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan; the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, and the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, together with the Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission, Ms Julia Leung, and the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Eddie Yue, met the media this evening (April 7). Following are Mr Chan's remarks at the media session:

Reporter: What tools does the Government have to handle the situation of the market and will Hong Kong consider a national team investor equivalent to intervene? Should the markets keep dropping, what is the bottom line for the state of the market before countermeasures will be considered?

Financial Secretary: I think Julia has explained very clearly the situation in the Hong Kong stock market. Basically, the market has been functioning orderly. There are substantial selling but also buying interests. The spread between the two has been very tight, indicating that the buying power remains very strong.

Hong Kong is a free port, and we encourage capital and investors from different parts of the world to take part in our capital market. Over the years, we have been taking a number of measures to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of our capital market, no matter whether it is improving the listing regime, lowering the transaction costs, expanding the markets, attracting investors and capital from around the world, or offering new products such as the ETF (exchange-traded fund) listed on the Saudi stock exchange (and investing in the Hong Kong stock market). All in all, we will persistently and consistently push forward initiatives on various fronts. With an expanding market and more participants from different parts of the world, the liquidity and resilience of our market will be enhanced. The resilience of our market has been very strong. We do not think the current volatility in the market warrants the taking of any drastic measures.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

Remarks by FS at media session (with photo/video) Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases