Event: Hong Kong

Hong Kong authorities have planned to expand a scheme allowing mainland Chinese motorists to drive into the city for leisure to all 21 Guangdong cities by the first quarter of next year, after applications reached about three times the daily quota.Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Saturday that about 15,000 motorists had applied through mainland authorities for next month’s Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme.The scheme will be extended to all nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, up from the current four, while the daily quota for urban trips will double from 100 to 200 starting July 25.“The number of applicants for entry into Hong Kong’s urban areas next month has reached 15,000, about three times the daily quota, with roughly 60 per cent coming from newly added cities such as Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan,” Chan told a radio programme. “This shows there is real demand for the scheme.”“We are collecting more data and hope to prepare for further expansion. By the first quarter of next year, we plan to extend the scheme to all 21 cities in Guangdong.”Approved vehicles can enter Hong Kong via the mega bridge and may use the “Park and Fly” facility if catching flights, drop off or pick up passengers, or apply to drive into urban areas. Photo: Edmond SoMotorists from Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing will be newly eligible to join. Drivers from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen and Zhongshan are currently allowed to participate.

In the second of a two-part series on the economy as Hong Kong marks 29 years since its return to Chinese rule, Lo Hoi Ying and Leopold Chen look at the city’s efforts at closer integration with the nation and the opportunities and obstacles it presents. Part one can be found here.A question from his niece about how face masks should be recycled prompted materials scientist Eddie Yu to rethink sustainability and inspired him to develop biodegradable materials when he started his company, OKOsix, in Hong Kong in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.Five years on, the company has seen strong demand from Western markets such as Canada, Europe and Australia and is set to expand further in these economies.The firm has also expanded its presence in mainland China by establishing regional headquarters in the Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in the technology hub’s Futian district, as it eyes a reliable supply chain and the vast market of the world’s second-largest economy.“We’ve already got some sizeable orders and this will be our headquarters in China,” he said. “We will build a factory in Guangdong in the near future.”OKOsix is one of a myriad of Hong Kong businesses benefiting from the government’s push for greater integration with the Greater Bay Area and the mainland in recent years.The bay area is Beijing’s master plan to link up Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in neighbouring Guangdong province into an economic powerhouse.

As China’s relationship with African countries deepens, the country’s influence is spreading into more areas. In our series Jevans Nyabiage looks at how Beijing’s blanket import clearance for three African food products will affect ties between them, and the potential effects for other governments around the world.Beijing is rewriting its trade playbook by bypassing years of protracted bilateral negotiations to grant continent-wide market access for African coffee, chillies and cashews.The streamlined “green channel”, announced by China’s General Administration of Customs, applies uniform sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards to all 53 African countries with diplomatic ties to Beijing. Products meeting baseline requirements on pest risks, processing and safety are now immediately eligible, eliminating the need for individual country-by-country trade deals.Dried chillies were chosen for the launch of the blanket clearance framework in May. Rwanda pioneered chilli exports to China in 2021, and Uganda followed earlier this year with an 11-tonne shipment to Shanghai.How China is reshaping its economic ties with AfricaThe growing appetite for fiery hotpots in Hunan and Sichuan provinces has fuelled demand for the East African varieties prized by Chinese food processors for their heat and low moisture content.

Hong Kong is pressing ahead with an overhaul of listing rules and the launch of new product initiatives, the city’s deputy finance chief said on Friday as the bourse operator marked 26 years as a publicly traded company.Speaking at the anniversary ceremony of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun outlined reforms under review, including optimising weighted voting rights, easing secondary listings by overseas issuers, and expanding flexibility for biotech and specialist technology companies.“We will continue to work tirelessly and proactively to make Hong Kong even better and stronger as a leading international financial centre,” Wong said.The consultation period closed last month, and HKEX was now reviewing feedback before finalising the measures, he added.Wong also welcomed the forthcoming launch of five-year mainland Chinese government bond futures, saying the contract would provide efficient risk-management tools and reinforce Hong Kong’s role as the world’s leading offshore renminbi hub.He said Hong Kong was building a commodities ecosystem, using gold as a strategic entry point, with plans for expanded storage and refinery capacity and the reactivation of a US dollar gold futures contract.