HKETO Newsletter December 2021

Dear friends,

Two years into COVID 19, nearly all aspects of our lives have transformed. The way of doing business, travelling, meeting people, visiting museums or even our collective sense of time – to name a few – is not the same anymore as it used to be. Despite all these unprecedented challenges, the pandemic has been a drive to create new ideas and businesses. Hong Kong is one of the few remaining places to have fended off the Delta variant with very few local COVID-19 infections over the past month. Due to the HKSAR Government’s effective anti-epidemic measures, the overall epidemic situation in Hong Kong has remained stable, keeping the community safe.

Meanwhile, the global economy is growing far more strongly than anticipated a year ago, and Hong Kong’s economy has shown signs of a robust recovery. We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails. In September, we once again received the excellent news that the Fraser Institute continued to rank Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy in the Economic Freedom of the World 2021 Annual Report. Hong Kong has been leading the ranking since the inception of the report. Among the five areas of assessment, Hong Kong ranked top in “Freedom to Trade Internationally” and “Regulation”. Hong Kong will continue to thrive as an open, resilient and international city.

In her 5th Policy Address announced in October, Mrs Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of the HKSAR, reiterated that the “One Country, Two Systems” principle and Hong Kong’s trusted legal system remained as robust as ever. The rule of law is a fundamental core value of Hong Kong and is much cherished by the community. We have always been and will continue to be fully committed to upholding Hong Kong’s fine tradition of the rule of law and judicial independence. The Chief Executive has also announced a series of forward-looking and ground-breaking initiatives that will inject strong impetus into Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development. Most notably, she has put forward the bold Northern Metropolis Development Strategy, which is the first strategic plan of the Hong Kong SAR Government with a spatial concept and strategic mindset going beyond the administrative boundary of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

On the other hand, global challenges such as climate change require global answers. Heatwaves, heavy rainfall, storm surges, and more have become more frequent and severe. Like other coastal cities, Hong Kong is prone to the impacts of climate change. With this in mind, the HKSAR Government has been exploring various solutions to combat climate change, including seeking more zero-carbon energy, adopting energy-saving technologies, promoting the broader use of electric vehicles, and enhancing waste reduction and recycling such as optimising the development of advanced waste-to-energy/resources facilities to further turn waste into valuable resources. With the “Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050”, the HKSAR Government has outlined its vision for a sustainable city and set ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

As the new Director of the HKETO Berlin, I very much look forward to meeting our dear friends and partners at future gatherings and continuing our fruitful collaboration – in the Year of the Tiger in 2022, which also marks the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR.

Before diving straight into reading our newsletter, remember to join us on LinkedIn and Facebook to receive timely updates on the upcoming exciting activities of our Office!

Enjoy reading,

Jenny Szeto
Director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin

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