Chen Maobo: The number of Hong Kong visitors to Shenzhen has significantly increased after the restoration and expansion of multiple-entry permits for Shenzhen residents.

On December 15th, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po released a blog post stating that two weeks ago, the "one sign, multiple entries" policy for Shenzhen residents was resumed and expanded, leading to a significant increase in the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong. Last weekend, the average number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong exceeded 130,000, an increase of over 15% compared to the previous month and over 20% compared to the first weekend of December last year. The number of visitors from Southeast Asian countries has also returned to pre-pandemic levels. The popularity of local retail, dining, and tourism-related industries in Hong Kong has significantly increased. In addition to traditional industries like retail and dining, the financial industry, a pillar industry in Hong Kong, also has new highlights. For example, the asset and wealth management business in recent years saw a net inflow growth of about 3.4 times last year, reaching about 390 billion yuan. In the last quarter, the number of licensed asset management companies in Hong Kong increased by 24% year-on-year, and the number of open-ended fund companies also increased by over 132% year-on-year. With positive expectations, many international asset management giants and banks have increased their staff and scale in Hong Kong, including renting larger office spaces. On the other hand, Hong Kong's local innovation and technology ecosystem is becoming increasingly vibrant. According to the latest data, the number of startups in Hong Kong has reached a new high, with non-local founders accounting for 28%. Many startup founders from mainland China, Europe, the United States, and other Asian regions recognize Hong Kong's unique advantages in innovation and technology development, as well as its comprehensive fundraising market and government policy support, and are willing to come here to realize their dreams. Paul Chan Mo-po pointed out that the public consultation for the new fiscal budget for the coming year officially began on the 15th, hoping to better understand everyone's views, thoughts, and opinions to gather consensus on the direction of the budget. Everyone is welcome to express their opinions on the new budget. Together, we can lead Hong Kong to consolidate its hard-won achievements in a challenging external environment and constantly changing socio-economic conditions, and accelerate towards a better future. In recent months, you may have noticed more and more well-known or innovative brands from mainland China and overseas entering Hong Kong for the first time or expanding their businesses. Whether it's popular fashion brands from Korea, famous galleries from Switzerland, or dining enterprises from around the world, they will bring richer, higher quality, and more novel choices and experiences for travelers and consumers in Hong Kong. Many domestic and foreign companies unanimously point out that choosing to expand their business in Hong Kong is not only because of the diverse customer base and customers' pursuit of high-quality products and services but also because Hong Kong connects mainland China and international markets, bringing together consumer groups from around the world. Hong Kong is their ideal showroom for international audiences, where they can build and enhance their brand image and expand into other markets. In fact, the total number of overseas companies with operations in Hong Kong has also reached a new high. This shows that despite ongoing geopolitical pressures, domestic and foreign companies remain confident in Hong Kong and choose it as an important base for their regional and even global operations. This also reflects the effectiveness of Hong Kong's efforts to intensively promote its advantages and tell its true stories to both domestic and international audiences. These new companies coming to Hong Kong, whether startups or large enterprises, whether in traditional industries or emerging industries, are investing and creating more job opportunities in Hong Kong, adding momentum to the economic development of Hong Kong and casting a vote of confidence in Hong Kong's future through practical actions.