As we step into the new year, the Hong Kong Government unveiled its ambitious 132-page Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry 2.0. This comprehensive plan aims to overcome the current challenges posed by economic slowdown, heightened competition, geopolitical tensions and recruitment difficulties. With the collaborative efforts of many stakeholders in implementing the Blueprint, the expected value added by the tourism industry is projected to rise by approximately 60% over the next 5 years, from HK$75.3 billion in 2023 to HK$120 billion. Employment in the sector is also set to rise significantly, with an estimated 44% increase over the same period, bringing the total to approximately 210,000 jobs (up from 145,600 in 2023). The overarching strategy for Hong Kong's tourism development over the next five years is to solidify its status as a world-class premier tourist destination. The Government will be implementing the following four key strategies to achieve this goal: promoting tourism through culture, sports, ecology, and mega events; attracting and broadening the inbound visitor market from a more diverse range of geographies; advancing smarter tourism; and enhancing service quality and infrastructure. The highlights of each strategy will be briefly summarized below.

The Policy Address 2024 of Hong Kong was delivered by the Chief Executive on 16 October 2024 (the “Policy Address”). Among a series of reforms aimed at rejuvenating the city’s economy and enhancing residents’ livelihood, the Government has introduced initiatives to address housing affordability issues, promoting integrated development of culture, sports, and tourism, and building Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talents. We will focus on these keynote policies from the Policy Address and set out in this article a list of key highlights involving the real estate and infrastructure sectors.

The new Extension of Government Leases Ordinance (the “Ordinance”) will take effect this Friday, 5 July 2024. In consideration of the significant number of owners affected by the expiration of Government leases from 2025 onwards[1], this new legislation aims at providing a more streamlined and efficient mechanism for extending Government leases. The market has been looking for clarity on this significant topic for some time. This is therefore a much welcomed initiative especially for international investors seeking comfort on what happens on the expiry of Government Leases in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC (“Hong Kong”). Below is a high-level summary of the scope of application, the new mechanism and some specific points-to-note in relation to the new Ordinance.

In Hong Kong SAR and in Mainland China, we have observed an increase in the relative bargaining power of office tenants to negotiate their leases. A variety of factors, including a stronger supply of new office buildings and more negative economic sentiment among office tenants, have contributed to the evolution of landlord-tenant dynamics.