Chamber News & Policy Work 2022

The Chamber works closely with business bodies and government to facilitate business opportunities on behalf of our members. We seek to further enhance Hong Kong’s standing and effectiveness as an international business centre.

The Chamber writes a letter to the Chief Executive advocate for Public-Private-Partnerships (“PPPs”)

20/04/2022

The Chamber has long been an advocate for Public-Private-Partnerships (“PPPs”) and has set up a Working Group to focus on the potential to adopt more PPPs or Public-Private-Cooperation models in Hong Kong.

We have a long and successful history of PPPs in Hong Kong which have delivered good results for Government and benefits for the public. The infrastructure pipeline now proposed for Hong Kong, including the Northern Metropolis and the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, is more substantial and significant than ever before. We suggest that it would be very challenging for this pipeline to be delivered and funded solely by Government. We therefore strongly recommend that the private sector be engaged in a material role at the early planning stage to provide design and delivery expertise as well as innovation in financing.

In the attached letter to the Chief Executive, we set out the benefits of getting private sector support, including a number of successful local and international PPP projects for reference, and list of recommendations on how PPP models could be incorporated in future projects.

Click here to read the full letter.

 

The Chamber writes to the Chief Executive to raise two areas for consideration as Hong Kong comes out of the Fifth Wave of Covid-19

07/04/2022

 The Chief Executive held a virtual meeting for the Consul Generals and International Chambers on 28 March which provided an opportunity for a constructive dialogue on the issues which are front of mind as Hong Kong comes out of the Fifth Wave.

Following the meeting, the Chamber sent a letter to the Chief Executive to raise two areas for consideration after further discussion with our members. The two areas of focus within the letter are:

  • 2022 Employment Support Scheme (ESS)
  • Exemptions to COVID restrictions under Cap 599E

Click here to read the full letter.

 

BritCham HK Press Release on the Resignation of UK Serving Judges as NPJ’s on the HK Court of Final Appeal

31/03/2022

The Chamber has released a press release on the resignation of UK serving UK judges as non-permanent judges of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong.

Click here to read the full press release.

 

The Chamber's response on BEPS 2.0

25/03/2022

The Chamber was pleased to note in the Budget Speech from the Financial Secretary on 23 February that Hong Kong will be preserving the unique advantages of its tax regime in terms of ‘transparency’ and ‘simplicity’, not only will that maintain the territorial source principle of taxation, it is also likely to minimise the compliance burden on multinational enterprises.

Within the Chamber, we have set up a small working group to consider this important initiative and have written a letter to the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury which sets out a number of the issues raised by the working group for further consideration.

Click here to read the full letter.

 

The Chamber writes to the Chief Executive on Combating COVID-19

09/03/2022

 We recognise that the current Covid-19 measures are creating considerable anxiety amongst the international business community and we want to make sure that the Chamber is doing all that it can to support its members and engage with the Hong Kong Government and other stakeholders on their behalf during these difficult times.

The Chamber wrote a detailed letter to the Chief Executive on Wednesday 9 March which we segmented into three stages:

  1. Dealing with the immediate challenges arising from the Fifth Wave;
  2. working through the exit and recovery stage once the current situation is brought under control (hopefully by the end of April); and
  3. the longer-term rebuilding of confidence which will be necessary to re-emphasise Hong Kong’s reputation as the leading international trading and financial centre in Asia.

This is a critical time for Hong Kong; and for the business community to work together with Government to stabilise the situation and move forward in the best interests of Hong Kong.

The Chamber will continue its dialogue on these important matters and share any updates with you.

Click here to read.

 

The Chamber writes to Secretary Yeung in response to recent announcements affecting international schools 

25/02/2022

Following a meeting between the Education Bureau and international school representatives on Wednesday 23 February, the Chamber has written a letter regarding the disruptive effects of the Government’s announcement to change the 2021/22 school calendar. 

Click here to view the full letter.

Updates:

  • Please click here to see a further letter to the Education Bureau on the in-person return to schools post the Easter holidays.
  • Please click here to see the letter from the Education Bureau in response to the one we sent (above) regarding the in-person return to schools post the Easter holidays.

 

2022 British Chamber Budget Address Policy Matching and Highlights

25/02/2022

Following the Budget Address on Wednesday 23 February, the Chamber has updated our Policy Matching Document which we prepared after the Policy Address to include relevant items from the Budget. The document also highlights areas in the Budget which may be of general interest to members. I hope that you will find this helpful.

Click here to view the policy matching document.

 

The Chamber's SME Committee writes to the Financial Secretary regarding to the most recent meeting 

14/02/2022

Following the most recent meeting between the Financial Secretary and the Chamber's SME and Start-up Committee, the Chamber has written a letter offering our perspective on the relief measures and the impact so far, with comments on three strategic areas. 

Click here to view the full letter.

 

2022 Budget Consultation & Business Engagement Exercise

05/01/2022

The Chamber is grateful to have the opportunity to attend the 2022 Budget Consultation that the Hong Kong SAR Government held with members of the international business community in November 2021 and to put forward our views in person. Peter Burnett, Chairman of the Chamber is has written on behalf of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong with a summary of the recommendations and key priorities we would like to submit for consideration for the 2022 budget.

Click here to read the full letter.