Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's bid to boost Hong Kong's competitiveness
But policy address will be more about how he governs than new initiatives
Leung Chun-ying will announce measures to boost competitiveness, attract overseas talent and ease the housing crisis when he delivers his third policy address at 11am tomorrow.
However, the chief executive will focus more on governing philosophy than eye-catching multibillion-dollar initiatives in his annual speech setting out his agenda for the year.
People familiar with the drafting of the address say Leung will use tomorrow’s keynote speech as an opportunity to elaborate on his philosophy in running the city as he passes the halfway point in his five-year term. He will focus on issues such as housing, economic development and competitiveness.
One key announcement will be a move to make it easier for big companies to hire skilled employees from abroad. That would include fast-track visas to bring in people with skills that were in short supply or were not available in Hong Kong.
"The government notes there is a dearth of high-end talent in industries like financial services and information technology," the source said. "We will also make it easier for foreign companies to move their staff to their branches in Hong Kong."
Leung is also likely to announce an overhaul of the city's talent admission schemes. The question of how to remove hurdles deterring skilled people from working in Hong Kong was one of several raised in a consultation on population policy in 2013.
But another government source said Leung's governing philosophy, not concrete measures, would be the main point of the speech. "The chief executive has rolled out a considerable number of new measures in his first two policy addresses. It's time for members of the public to think differently about what the policy address should present," the source said.
In his speech a year ago, Leung rolled out initiatives that will cost more than HK$10 billion a year. They included an allowance for 200,000 poor, working families that will benefit 710,000 people but cost HK$3 billion.
Another government source said Leung will also elaborate at length his views on the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland, in light of last year's 79-day Occupy Central road blockades for democracy.
He will remind Hongkongers of the need for a better understanding of the city's position within the nation's constitutional framework.
The chief executive will also discuss improvements to subsidised housing schemes, including encouraging more public housing tenants to buy subsidised homes under the Home Ownership Scheme. Some 60 per cent of homes under the revived HOS go to public housing tenants, but far more applications have been received from people renting in the private sector.
Leung said in November that poor prospects for "upward mobility" were one of the main motivating factors for young people who joined the Occupy protests. But the sources do not expect the address to contain many expensive measures to tackle youth unemployment. An exception will be the establishment of a fund that will offer cash grants to young people who want to start their own businesses.
Tight security will be in place at the Legislative Council tomorrow and during Leung's question-and-answer session with lawmakers on Thursday.
One thing that will be consistent with the previous two policy addresses is the colour used for the cover of the speech: orange.
