The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce submits a proposal advocating seizing the AI trend, attracting foreign investment, and promoting the development of the northern capital.

Recently, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce submitted a proposal to the Hong Kong government regarding the upcoming "Budget", putting forward a series of suggestions, including: properly managing public finances, attracting investment, enhancing the competitiveness of the financial market, harnessing the synergistic effects of the Greater Bay Area, promoting the development of the Northern Metropolis, seizing the AI trend, and preparing for an aging population. The Chamber believes that Hong Kong should actively seize the opportunities brought about by the rise of artificial intelligence to create maximum benefits for the business community and society. The Chamber suggests that the Hong Kong government provide tax incentives to employers, such as a 120% tax deduction for AI-related training expenses for employees, and provide up to HK$5000 in subsidies through the Continuous Education Fund for AI training courses. The Chamber also calls on the Hong Kong government to allocate funds to support responsible AI adoption by businesses, by simplifying application procedures and issuing subsidies early to encourage the purchase of software, hardware, high-performance AI tools, and cloud computing resources. In addition, with regards to the Northern Metropolis, the Chamber suggests expanding public-private partnership models to allow private institutions to participate in financing and non-financing projects, simplifying approval procedures to shorten development time and reduce construction costs. Furthermore, providing higher depreciation tax allowances for capital expenditures in the Northern Metropolis, as well as offering 1.5 to 2 times investment incentives for eligible investments, is expected to attract more private capital to fund government-led projects in Hong Kong. Concerning the silver economy, the Chamber proposes dividing the current 5% Trillions of MPF mandatory contributions into two parts, with 4% continuing to be allocated to the Trillions of MPF and the remaining 1% used for a medical insurance savings fund to help citizens prepare for future medical needs. The Chamber also suggests promoting telemedicine and electronic prescriptions to enhance efficiency and service quality. Additionally, to meet the demand for elderly-friendly housing, authorities can develop policies to encourage the development of elderly housing, such as providing additional plot ratios and exempting land premiums.