Hong Kong releases its first five-year plan: focusing on the artificial intelligence industry and strengthening its role as the world's largest offshore RMB hub.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has released its first five-year plan for economic and social development, with the artificial intelligence industry and the deepening of integration with the Greater Bay Area as the core initiatives, outlining a clear framework for development from 2026 to 2030.
On September 15, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government officially released the "First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030)," marking the first time in Hong Kong's history that its economic and social development blueprint has been systematically outlined in the form of a five-year plan.
The plan announced by Chief Executive John Lee is about 60,000 words long and is divided into 7 parts and 58 chapters. It sets out six major goals, covering areas such as economic breakthroughs, enhanced international competitiveness, accelerated development of the northern metropolitan area, and improvement of people's well-being .
John Lee said that between 2026 and 2030, Hong Kong’s real GDP growth will strive to remain within a reasonable range, and the target for the proportion of total expenditure on local innovation activities to GDP will be set at 3% after 2030.
The plan lists artificial intelligence as an important industry for Hong Kong's future development and explicitly proposes specific strategic deployments such as participating in the research and certification of domestically produced aircraft and promoting low-altitude cross-border logistics in the Greater Bay Area.
In the financial sector, the plan explicitly proposes to strengthen Hong Kong's status as an offshore RMB hub and optimize the securities market to attract more leading mainland and overseas companies to list in Hong Kong, which is directly related to the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong's capital market.
Artificial Intelligence: A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Seek Industrial Upgrading
The plan will promote artificial intelligence as a core strategy, with the goal of empowering all industries with "AI+", and building a complete ecosystem from multiple dimensions such as infrastructure, legal support and talent cultivation.
At the computing infrastructure level , the plan proposes the construction of the Sha Ling Data Park to provide computing power support for Hong Kong's development of the artificial intelligence industry. At the same time, the authorities plan to review the relevant legal framework to ensure it meets the needs of artificial intelligence and intelligent development, and to provide regulatory protection for industrial applications.
The plan also explicitly proposes to support small and medium-sized enterprises in accelerating the application of artificial intelligence and to include improving citizens' AI literacy in the policy agenda .
In terms of industrial direction , the authorities have formulated a special strategy to promote industrial transformation through artificial intelligence, focusing on life and health and embodied intelligence, and have emphasized strengthening the development and utilization of data resources and deepening collaborative development with the mainland.
The financial center's status has been strengthened, and the opening up of the capital market has accelerated.
In the financial sector, the plan proposes a number of measures to consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center.
The authorities will strive to strengthen the global offshore RMB business hub function and deepen the construction of an international asset and wealth management center and an international risk management center.
Regarding capital market connectivity , the plan proposes to deepen the cooperation between the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Qianhai Equity Exchange Center, and support more high-quality mainland companies to connect with international capital through the Hong Kong listing platform.
At the same time, the plan clearly outlines the expansion of financial market connectivity mechanisms and the broadening of trade and financial cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and emerging economies such as the Global South.
In terms of high-end financial services , the plan proposes to accelerate the development of green finance and digital finance, and to build a commodity trading ecosystem and a high-value-added supply chain service center.
Northern Metropolitan Area and the Greater Bay Area: The Main Platform for Integrated Development
The plan positions the Northern Metropolitan Area as a core platform for Hong Kong to integrate into the overall development of the country, and accelerates the construction of this strategic area adjacent to Shenzhen.
In the field of low-altitude economy , the plan proposes to make full use of the industrial base and geographical advantages of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to expand the application scenarios of low-altitude cross-border logistics, with the goal of forming an integrated and large-scale low-altitude cross-border logistics network covering the entire Greater Bay Area.
John Lee said that Hong Kong will leverage its pioneering experience in cooperating with neighboring mainland cities to connect the resources and elements of the three places in the Greater Bay Area.
This strategic deployment aims to combine Hong Kong's international connectivity advantages with the vast industrial hinterland of the mainland, providing large-scale development space for cross-border logistics and emerging industries.
Aviation Industry: From Maintenance Transactions to Certification of Domestically Produced Aircraft
In the aviation sector, the plan proposes to create an internationally competitive aviation industry ecosystem. One strategically significant move is to actively participate in the research, development, and certification of domestically produced aircraft.
The plan clearly states that Hong Kong will play a "bridge" role, helping domestically produced aircraft enter the international market via Hong Kong . At the same time, the authorities plan to build an industrial ecosystem for aircraft parts processing and trading, creating a "front shop, back factory" industrial cluster, and positioning Hong Kong as Asia's first aircraft parts processing and trading center.
In the field of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) , the plan proposes to leverage the industrial development role of the Hong Kong SAF production base located in Dongguan, promote the construction of the SAF industrial chain in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and plan to build a fuel blending facility in Hong Kong to support the country's development strategy in this emerging field.
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