Banks tapped for Hong Kong five-year plan push
Crhk · 5 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago6 MIN
Summary
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu (李家超) said Hong Kong will publish its first five-year plan on September 16, calling it an important milestone to be launched in the opening year of the national 15th Five-Year Plan. Speaking at a Hong Kong Association of Banks luncheon, he said the plan is meant to provide more strategic and forward-looking direction for Hong Kong’s economic and social development while helping the city integrate into and serve national development. Lee said the plan will make full use of Hong Kong’s role as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, with banks acting as key partners in implementation. New details from the banking sector and business community show both are preparing policy input around the plan, including a banking industry report due on September 11 and calls for faster Northern Metropolis development and stronger support for enterprises.
Key Points
- Lee said the government will release Hong Kong’s first five-year plan on September 16, describing it as a milestone introduced in the first year of the national 15th Five-Year Plan.
- He said the government and banks can work together in four areas: offshore renminbi expansion, financing the real economy and innovation, commodities trading, and financial security and market integrity.
- Lee said Hong Kong, as the world’s largest offshore renminbi hub, can lead renminbi internationalisation and further expand mainland connectivity through Stock Connect, Bond Connect, Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect and Swap Connect.
- He pointed to the Northern Metropolis as part of high-quality development, saying the HKMA and the banking association formed a financial advisory working group in April to study financing support.
- Hong Kong Association of Banks chairman Sun Yu said the group will publish a “Hong Kong Banking 2030” report on September 11, while pledging support for the Northern Metropolis, SME transformation and anti-fraud education
Why It Matters
The government is using the coming five-year plan to tie financial policy more directly to infrastructure, innovation and Hong Kong’s role in national development, which gives banks a clearer execution role than before. Business groups are also signalling they expect the plan and the next Policy Address to turn broad strategy into practical measures that benefit companies and accelerate the Northern Metropolis, making September a key month for policy direction.