On January 5, the annual "Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo" held at Victoria Park concluded. At this annual open-air market, high-quality and affordable daily necessities from the mainland benefited Hong Kong citizens, especially those in low-income brackets, while the influx of visitors from the mainland also brought significant profits to exhibitors.
The Brands and Products Expo serves as a microcosm of Hong Kong's economy. In 2014, Hong Kong's economy continued to benefit from its connectivity with the mainland, showing satisfactory development. Helen Chan, the Government Economist of the Hong Kong SAR, noted that Hong Kong's economy regained momentum in 2014, with improvements in both exports and local consumption. She projected that the annual economic growth for 2014 could reach 2.2%. Currently, Hong Kong's overall unemployment rate is only 3.3%, with the labor market at full employment, while inflation has moderated to 3.4%.
Among the major economic events in Hong Kong in 2014, the most notable was undoubtedly the launch of the "Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect" in November as scheduled. The "Stock Connect" established a new cooperation model, allowing mainland investors to trade stocks listed on the Hong Kong market, and enabling Hong Kong and overseas investors to trade stocks listed in Shanghai.
Charles Li, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), commented that the "Stock Connect" is not only an important milestone in China's capital market opening and the internationalization of the Renminbi, but also a significant milestone in the history of HKEX, further consolidating Hong Kong's leading position in the Asian region. John Tsang, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR, believes that mainland financial reforms will continue to bring opportunities to Hong Kong. The "Stock Connect" has operated smoothly since its launch, and as economic and trade relations between the two sides further tighten, trading volume is expected to rise steadily.
By the end of November last year, Hong Kong's Renminbi deposits reached 974.143 billion yuan. The total amount of Renminbi remittances for cross-border trade settlement in November was 532.8 billion yuan. Norman Chan, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, stated that as mainland China experiments with allowing the orderly cross-border flow of the Renminbi, Hong Kong is the biggest beneficiary, having developed into the world's largest offshore Renminbi business center within a few years. In the future, as the mainland's capital account becomes more open, the development of Hong Kong's Renminbi business will have even greater potential.
Hong Kong's economic development benefits all sectors of society. Data from the second quarter of last year showed that the average wage index for employed persons in Hong Kong grew by 4.8% in nominal terms and 1% in real terms year-on-year. Through government transfer payments, the lives of grassroots citizens have seen tangible improvements. Government poverty alleviation policies have also been effectively implemented amidst economic prosperity, leading to a continuous decline in the poverty population. Living allowances for elderly citizens have also been increased continuously in recent years, benefiting hundreds of thousands of seniors.
At the end of last year, the "Agreement on Achieving Basic Liberalization of Trade in Services in Guangdong between the Mainland and Hong Kong" was signed. Under the new agreement, Guangdong has opened 153 service trade sub-sectors to Hong Kong, accounting for 95.6% of all service trade sub-sectors, making Guangdong and Hong Kong the first to achieve basic liberalization of trade in services. The new agreement provides greater space for the integration of Hong Kong and mainland economies, as well as for Hong Kong's economic development. This is the first free trade agreement signed by the mainland that follows international standards, utilizing a pre-establishment national treatment plus negative list approach, with the depth and breadth of opening exceeding previous CEPA measures. The model and content of the new agreement also set a benchmark for the goal of achieving basic liberalization of trade in services between the entire mainland and Hong Kong next year. (People's Daily)