This Wednesday (July 14), the vice chairman of the DAB, Zhou Hao Ting, proposed a non-binding motion "to start a new stage of reindustrial development in Hong Kong" in the Legislative Council meeting, urging the government to "draw up a clear strategy for the long-term development of Industry 4.0" and "Further Provision of Appropriate Support Measures" and so on. On the same day, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries also released a research report on "Made in Hong Kong: A New Chapter for Hong Kong Industries", calling on the authorities to formulate long-term industrial policies to assist Hong Kong-funded manufacturers.
However, the Financial Secretary, Chen Maobo, delivered a speech at the conference of the Federation of Trade Unions Research Report. He did not directly respond to the relevant demands. Instead, he could only reiterate the existing infrastructure and funding plans in the past few years. He even said: "In addition to government support In addition, if Hong Kong's industry is to continue to develop, it must also enhance its own competitiveness."
As for the opening speech of the Secretary for Innovation and Technology Xue Yongheng on Zhou Haoding's motion, the content is roughly the same as Chen Maobo's statement.
Xue Yongheng, Director of the Bureau of Innovation and Technology.
(Profile picture)
The tilt to the service industry has not changed
The SAR government has put forward the slogan "Re-industrialization" since 2015. The former Chief Executive, Leung Chun-ying, said in his 2016 Policy Address that it "has the potential to become a new economic growth point for Hong Kong", which includes both the promotion of emerging advanced industries and the assistance of traditional industries. Upgrade.
The Productivity Council released the "Guidelines for the Development of Hong Kong's Reindustrialization" last year, stating that the government's promotion of "reindustrialization" aims to "promote economic growth and reduce dependence on the service industry."
However, according to the Census and Statistics Department’s GDP breakdown by major economic activities, the overall manufacturing industry accounted for around 1% from 2015 to 2019, while the service industry climbed from 92.7% to 93.4%. Moreover, the manufacturing industry during this period The ratio of value added to its total production is only 13.7% on average, which is a further drop from 15.5% in the previous five years. It can be seen that the "re-industrialization" policy has not yet achieved much concrete results.
The official in charge has no intention to face the appeal
It is worth noting that during the debate on Zhou Haoding’s motion, many congressmen criticized that one of the reasons for the ineffective implementation of relevant policies is that the authorities did not set clear performance indicators for the ratio of manufacturing to Hong Kong’s GDP.
Unexpectedly, Xue Yongheng responded that he was only seeking to reverse its downward trend, and his low goal was obviously not in line with the original intention of the "re-industrialization" policy.
Moreover, the so-called maintenance of compliance in recent years is just the result of rounding statistics. The specific proportion is still slowly falling from 1.114% in 2015 to 1.025% in 2019.
The 2020-21 Budget: Inject 2 billion yuan into the Innovation and Technology Fund to implement the "Reindustrialization Funding Scheme".
An additional 2 billion yuan will be allocated to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Corporation.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
In addition, many legislators and members of the industry have pointed out that government support must be "in place", that is, according to the development model and business thinking of the corresponding industry, instead of providing a general channel for applying for funding and granting land. For example, it is impossible to develop a waste recycling industry. In the absence of supporting waste management measures, the land allocated to agricultural parks must also pay attention to the adjacent ecological environment.
However, judging from the responses of several officials a few days ago, they obviously continue to feel that funding alone can solve the problem, and they are totally unwilling to listen to the real needs of the operators.
Especially with regard to the land issue, Xue Yongheng only pointed out that "In the long run, the government will also reserve enough land to meet the increasing demand for land for scientific research and related advanced manufacturing in Hong Kong." He and Chen Maobo and other officials mentioned several points. This related infrastructure project does not seem to reserve much space for traditional industries. Considering that the authorities are notoriously inferior in developing land and managing industrial parks, it is hard to be assured that the land supply of both traditional and emerging industries will become "two ends" in the future. Not to shore".
The "re-industrialization" policy is in the right direction. This is undoubtedly the consensus of all parties. The officials in charge are often behind closed doors, refusing to respond positively to the opinions of the industry, and always adopting an attitude of "off-the-ground" self-declaration cannot fully meet the demands of the other party. Support.
If their style of behavior remains unchanged for a day, they are afraid that "re-industrialization" and any other policies will become half the result with half the effort, and it will be difficult to reap results that are symmetrical with effort.
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