HKICPA welcomes the Government’s initiatives in the Policy Address for boosting economy and developing a sustainable Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) welcomes the diversified initiatives outlined in the Policy Address announced by the Chief Executive today to boost the local economic development. The initiatives for fostering the sustainability development of Hong Kong, attracting talents and facilitating development of innovation economy would enhance sustainability of Hong Kong’s economic development and solidify the status as international financial centre. HKICPA is also pleased to note that the Policy Address adopted certain policy proposals from the Institute, including the update of “Talent List” to attract talents from more professional service sectors, extension of the list of eligible universities/institutions under “Top Talent Pass Scheme”, facilitate developments of innovation and technology and intellectual property activities, support digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs).

HKICPA President Roy Leung said, “We expect that sustainable development and innovative technologies will become new impetuses for economic growth. The Institute welcomes the diversified initiatives in the Policy Address regarding the relevant aspects and solidify the existing edges of the financial services industry. These initiatives would further strengthen the sustainability of Hong Kong’s economic development. In view of this, HKICPA will continue its close co-operations with stakeholders to foster development of the accounting profession, building capacity in the area of sustainability for various society sectors, with an aim to strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a leading international financial centre.”

The Policy Address mentioned the Government will roll out the “Sustainable Finance Action Agenda”, launch the roadmap on the full adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards – Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) this year and be committed to strengthening the development of green and sustainable finance. The mentioned Policy Address initiatives would foster the implementation of sustainability disclosure visions stated in the Vision Statement on Turning Obligations into Opportunities in Developing the Sustainability Disclosure Ecosystem in Hong Kong, which was released in March this year, to bring certainties to the capital market and foster capital inflow into the local market. At a broader level, series of initiatives raised in the Policy Address for enhancing development of green finance as well as green infrastructure will facilitate Hong Kong to realize the aim of attaining carbon neutrality by 2050. 

As the sustainability disclosure standard setter of Hong Kong, the HKICPA will continue be committed to its roles in developing the local sustainability reporting standards aligned with the ISSB Standards, and the complementary application and implementation guidance, as well as building stakeholders’ capacities in sustainability reporting.

On the other hand, the Policy Address included a series of initiatives for enriching the labour force in Hong Kong, including the establishment of “Committee on Education, Technology and Talents” to facilitate comprehensive talent development, advancing the existing talent admission schemes. These initiatives would keep momentum of Hong Kong economic growth. HKICPA welcomes the Government adopted its proposal of updating the “Talent List” to attract talents from more professional service sectors and revamping the “Top Talent Pass Scheme” by extending the eligible list of universities to 198 universities. The HKICPA believes that these initiatives would help the accounting profession to attract non-local talents and further expand the talent pool of the profession for maintaining the service quality of the accounting profession in Hong Kong. On a separate note, the Government signed the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to CEPA Agreement on Trade in Services last week, which lowers the threshold for Hong Kong professional services industries, including the accounting profession, entering the Mainland market. The Institute believes that the initiative would facilitate the accounting profession practitioners in Hong Kong exploring development opportunities in the Mainland.

The HKICPA also welcomes the initiatives in the Policy Address that support the development of innovation economy, such as allocating funds to support innovation and technology and research activities, enhancing the legislative framework for intellectual property (IP) and strengthen training for IP talents. In recent years, innovative technologies become the new impetuses of global economic development. Hence, Hong Kong shall cling to the global economic development trend to safeguard the competitive edges of Hong Kong. Besides, the Policy Address also included various initiatives for supporting the transformation of SMEs, including the adoption of the Institute’s proposal in expanding the coverage of “Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme” (DTSPP), and fund injection to “BUD Fund” and the expansion of "E-commerce Easy" programme’s geographical coverage to ten ASEAN countries, and. The HKICPA considered SMEs as important pillars of Hong Kong’s economic growth. Therefore, the Institute suggests that the Government should further roll out measures to further strengthen supports for SMEs transformation.

In the future, the HKICPA anticipates that Hong Kong economy will record a moderate growth in this year, amid facing certain challenges of uncertainties. The HKICPA will continue to support the development of the local accounting profession, with an ultimate aim of contributing to the Hong Kong’s economic growth in the long run.

^{HKICPA President Roy Leung said the Institute welcomes the diversified initiatives in the Policy Address regarding sustainable development and innovative technologies and solidify the existing edges of the financial services industry. These initiatives would further strengthen the sustainability of Hong Kong’s economic development. The HKICPA will continue its close co-operations with stakeholders to foster development of the accounting profession.}