Kenneth Leung: The Hong Kong government is committed to promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Connecting Mainland enterprises with global markets is an important strategy.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee Ka-chiu, stated at the annual Hong Kong Association of Banks Outstanding Executive Lecture that the government is committed to exploring new markets, creating a supportive environment for small and medium-sized enterprises, and ensuring safety. The Hong Kong government's strategy for promoting economic growth is to expand its global network. An important strategy for this year and next year is to connect mainland Chinese enterprises to the global market. John Lee Ka-chiu stated that this move is aimed at strengthening Hong Kong's position as a key gateway for two-way investment and trade, enhancing Hong Kong's role as a "super connector" and "super value-adding individual." Hong Kong also pays close attention to the Southeast Asian economies. At the same time, Hong Kong supports the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. There are 360,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong, which are the backbone of economic development. Hong Kong has also introduced many supportive policies. The application period for 80% of the guarantee products under the "SME Financing Guarantee Scheme" has been extended by two years, and the "Interest payback not principal" arrangement has been extended for another year. At the same time, banks are encouraged to handle loans in a flexible manner to ensure that cash flow difficulties do not hinder their operations. The Hong Kong government is also promoting innovation and efficient development. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will designate the development of the Cargox 8 roadmap by the end of this year, currently trialing commercial data exchange, aviation authority, and port community systems for freight logistics data to reduce credit costs and approval time for banks and small and medium-sized enterprises. The Hong Kong government has allocated 1.43 billion Hong Kong dollars to the "BUD Fund" and expanded its funding to eight additional economies to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in upgrading their brands and expanding their markets. The government is also enhancing the digital transformation of Cyberport. Matching funding will be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises for AI and cybersecurity solutions. In terms of market security, the government is collaborating with multiple departments to promote anti-fraud education and combat financial crime.