1 month5 day, the "Trade Fair" held at Victoria Park in Hong Kong concluded. This annual outdoor market features affordable daily necessities from the mainland, benefiting Hong Kong citizens, especially those from low-income backgrounds. The influx of visitors from the mainland has also allowed exhibitors to reap substantial profits.
The Trade Fair can be seen as a microcosm of Hong Kong's economy. In 2014, Hong Kong's economy continued to benefit from connectivity with the mainland, showing satisfactory development. The Economic Advisor to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Chan Lee Ai Lun, believes that Hong Kong's economy regained momentum in 2014, with improvements in both exports and local consumption. She predicts that the economic growth for the entire year of 2014 could reach 2.2%. Currently, Hong Kong's overall unemployment rate is only 3.3%, with the labor market in a state of full employment, and inflation has fallen to 3.4%.
In 2014, the most notable event in Hong Kong's economy was undoubtedly the launch of the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" in November last year. The "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" established a new cooperation model, allowing mainland investors to buy and sell stocks listed on the Hong Kong market, while Hong Kong and overseas investors can also trade stocks listed in Shanghai.
Li Xiaojia, CEO of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Group, commented that the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" is not only an important milestone in China's opening of its capital markets and the internationalization of the Renminbi, but also a significant milestone in the history of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's development, further consolidating its leading position in Asia. The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, John Tsang, believes that the mainland's financial reforms will continue to bring opportunities to Hong Kong. Following the smooth operation of the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect", it is estimated that trading will steadily increase as the economic and trade relations between the two regions become closer.
By the end of November last year, Hong Kong's Renminbi deposits reached 974.143 billion. In November, the total amount of Renminbi remittances for cross-border trade settlement was 532.8 billion Renminbi. The President of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Norman Chan, stated that the orderly trial of allowing Renminbi to flow across borders in mainland China has made Hong Kong the biggest beneficiary, developing into the world's largest offshore Renminbi business trading center within a few years. In the future, as the mainland's capital account becomes more open, Hong Kong's Renminbi business will have even greater potential.
Hong Kong's economic development benefits all social strata. Data from the second quarter of last year showed that the average salary index of employed persons in Hong Kong increased nominally by 4.8% and in real terms by 1%. Through government transfer payments, the living standards of grassroots citizens have significantly improved. The government's poverty alleviation policies have also been able to flourish under economic prosperity, with the number of impoverished individuals continuously decreasing. The living allowances for elderly citizens have also been steadily increasing in recent years, benefiting hundreds of thousands of seniors.
At the end of last year, the "Agreement on the Basic Realization of Service Trade Liberalization between the Mainland and Hong Kong in Guangdong" was signed. Under the new agreement, Guangdong has opened up 153 service trade sub-sectors to Hong Kong, accounting for 95.6% of all service trade sub-sectors, with Guangdong and Hong Kong being the first to basically achieve service trade liberalization. The new agreement provides greater space for the integration of Hong Kong's economy with the mainland and for Hong Kong's economic development. This is the first free trade agreement in the mainland that is formulated based on international standards, using a pre-establishment national treatment plus negative list approach, with the depth and breadth of openness exceeding previous CEPA measures. The model and content of the new agreement also set a benchmark for achieving the goal of basic service trade liberalization between the mainland and Hong Kong across the entire territory next year. (People's Daily)
