The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) has presented policy recommendations to the Hong Kong government aimed at improving business prospects in the city. The recommendations cover economic development, land use, fiscal policy, labor policy, environmental protection and alleviation of poverty, with a view to strengthening Hong Kong's competitiveness and fostering social harmony.

The proposals submitted to assist the authorities in preparation of the 2014 Policy Address and the 2014-15 Budget, included proposed specific measures to assist enterprises to transform and upgrade production.

"Given the uncertainty over the global economic climate, the timing and pace of the United States' withdrawal of quantitative easing measures, and rising operating costs, the FHKI hopes that the government will introduce suitable policies to support industrial and commercial development," Stanley Lau, chairman of the FHKI says.

Specific FHKI proposals include tripling the tax deduction for investment in research and development (R&D), product design and brand promotion; a significant increase in financial support for universities to facilitate technology transfers for commercialization; revising the rules for the Patent Application Grant, by lifting the restriction on the number of applications by each enterprise or small and medium-sized enterprise but capping the total grants for each enterprise at HK$500,000; making the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme a regular scheme to ease credit costs for SMEs; and increasing the maximum grant of the SME Export Marketing Fund from HK$200,000 to HK$300,000.

The organization also called on the government to develop local high value-added industries and a favorable environment for those industries to grow. FHKI sees great potential in the linkage of the production base in the Pearl River Delta to the logistics center in Hong Kong - including the feasibility of developing Lantau Island; and the frontier closed area.

FHKI called for the Hong Kong government to lobby the central government favoring the establishment of a Hong Kong industrial park(s) in central or western China or the outlying districts of Guangdong Province; creation of a free trade zone in collaboration with Guangdong; and assisting Hong Kong enterprises to exploit the domestic market by setting up promotion venues for Hong Kong quality products in mainland cities and provinces.

(HK Edition 01/03/2014 page8)