Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs urges tycoons to bid on long-term projects

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs has called on property tycoons to back the government’s long-term development drives such as the Northern Metropolis by actively bidding for the projects involved, the city’s development minister has said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho on Saturday revealed the appeals by Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, a day after the senior Beijing official met about 30 local business leaders in Shenzhen. Xia urged them to “recognise their responsibilities” and take “concrete actions” to support the city’s economic development. Linn, who also attended the meeting alongside Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and seven other principal officials, said Xia had encouraged the business sector to throw their weight behind the government’s long-term development projects, including the Northern Metropolis and reclamation work for the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands. “[Xia] said...these are good projects and he hoped that the business sector could actively take part in them,” Linn said. Linn said active participation could mean businesses showing interest in bidding for government projects or taking part in consultancy studies during land production. The business sector had shown a positive response in the meeting and pledged to do the “real work” for Hong Kong, she added. The Northern Metropolis blueprint aims to turn 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) of land near the city’s border with mainland China into an economic powerhouse and housing centre. Authorities plan to sell the first sizeable site under the plan next year in a bid to encourage the private sector to expedite development. Among the attendees at the meeting were real estate magnates Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, chairman and managing director of Sun Hung Kai Properties; Peter Lee Ka-kit, co-chairman and managing director of Henderson Land Development; and Daryl Ng Win-kong, deputy chairman of Sino Group. Recognising the city’s major property developers as a “major force” in the economy, Xia urged them to recognise their important role and responsibilities in maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, according to sources. That role could include actively participating in government land sales to support the city’s economic development, the insiders said. He also called on the sector to tell “good” Hong Kong stories to overseas audiences and safeguard the city’s international image. One of the attendees, Richard Li Tzar-kai, founder and chairman of Pacific Century Group and younger son of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, said on Saturday that the meeting fully reflected Beijing’s care and expectations for the city. “The economies of Asia and Hong Kong are currently not at their peak, and entrepreneurs should step forward more and head on,” Richard Li said. “As a member of Hong Kong’s business community, [we] have the responsibility to support the government with concrete actions, work together in creating a good social environment and not only contribute to the economy but also people’s livelihoods.” Only by improving the overall social environment in Hong Kong could companies achieve long-term development, he added. Starry Lee Wai-king, Hong Kong’s sole deputy to the country’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said Xia’s appeal was not an attempt to change the way businesses made their decisions. “Our economic model is different from that of the mainland. We follow the principles of capitalism. The mainland adopts another model, where state-owned enterprises have to bear certain responsibilities for government policies,” she said. Lee said the business community has long understood its importance in economic development and had not only considered profits in the past. “They know that they are both responsible and capable of playing an active role” in the country’s development and growing the city’s economy, Lee said. She also expressed faith in Beijing’s readiness for a second presidential term of Donald Trump. Lee said she expected his promised tariff hike on Chinese imports would inevitably create new tensions between China and the United States, and she hoped the city government would be prepared. The veteran lawmaker, an accountant by profession, also said that given Trump had vowed to weaken the US dollar, the Monetary Authority should review and reallocate its asset portfolio in the Foreign Exchange Reserve. Separately, Executive Council member Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, also a lawmaker representing the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, stressed on Saturday that the European and American markets remained very important to the city. Hong Kong should not give up on them because of Trump’s victory, he said. The chamber planned to visit the US next year to meet local political and business representatives to explain the latest situation in Hong Kong, he added.

Beijing’s point man on Hong Kong affairs urges tycoons to bid on long-term projects

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Real estate companies have been asked to support city by bidding on projects related to mega developments such as Northern Metropolis, minister says

Real estate companies have been asked to support city by bidding on projects related to mega developments such as Northern Metropolis, minister says