RICS HK Advisory Board response to Hong Kong Budget 2022-23

The 2022-23 Hong Kong Budget delivered us a vision on Hong Kong’s economic and financial environment in the following decades, despite the difficulties we are facing. Hong Kong Advisory Board, chaired by Mr. Dave Hallam MRICS, respond to this year’s Budget:

“We agree with the economic outlook for 2022 & medium-term outlook analysis and forecast that Hong Kong’s economy will put up a better performance in the second half of this year and achieve a growth of 2 to 3.5 percent in real terms for the year. We welcome and support all actions on (1) fighting the virus together, (2) relieving people’s hardship, (3) supporting enterprises and (4) Arts, Culture, Tourism and Sports Development.”

“We would like to express our support for the various measures and initiatives set out in this 2022-23 Budget, highlighted below:

• Support the investments in housing land supply including the 2022/23 Land Sale Programme, public, private, and transitional housing developments and incentivising the use of MiC to accelerate construction.
• Support the earmarked HK$200 million into the Green Tech Fund to promote decarbonisation /environmental initiatives and invest more into city resilience.
• Support Government to introduce various enhancement measures to expedite the process, optimise land use and promote the application of I&T in the construction industry, and to review of the land development legislation, with a view to streamlining development processes and statutory procedures and hence shortening the time of land and housing creation.
• For innovation & technology as well as digital economy, support to set up a “Digital Economy Development Committee” and the increased funding allocated to Hong Kong Growth Portfolio under the Future Fund by HK$10 billion, to enhance efficiency, promote Innovation and Technology, enterprises transformation & empowerment, quality & quantity improvement, and innovation stimulation.
• For promoting further digitalisation in government operations, glad to see that $600million is reserved to conduct a comprehensive e-government audit in the coming three years with the aim of reviewing the progress made by government departments in using technologies, as well as assisting them in enhancing the efficiency of public service provision through the adoption of I&T solutions.
• For bond market, support the issuance of retail green bonds for public subscription so that members of the public can directly invest in green projects. People can jointly create a green environment for green living in Hong Kong while gaining steady inflation-linked returns.
• Support HKMC to continue offer infrastructure financing securitisation products to investors to enable the local infrastructure financing market to become more vibrant and diversified, and facilitate the inflow of market capital to high-quality infrastructure projects.
• For transport infrastructure, support to implement infrastructure-led and capacity building planning approach. The earmarked HK$100 billion to advance the infrastructure development within the Northern Metropolis is a great way to start.
• For the Centre of Excellence for Major Project Leaders established in 2019, welcome to set aside $30 million for extending the training of the centre to stakeholders outside the government, including project-related personnel of major public organisations as well as those working for consultants and contractors engaged in public works projects, with a view to enhancing the overall performance of works projects. The funds for supporting training and education to professionals in a variety of industries, including construction will help drive the development of the industry.
• Welcome the cap on the value of a property eligible for a mortgage loan of a maximum cover of 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio be raised from $10 million to $12 million. Moreover, for the first-time home buyers, it is good for the cap on the value of a property eligible for a mortgage loan of a maximum cover of 90 percent LTV ratio be raised from the existing $8 million to $10 million
• For harbourfront enhancement, support developing new harbourfront promenades and open space as well as improving harbourfront facilities by the incremental approach. It is glad to see that Victoria Harbour promenade will be extended to a total length of 26 kilometres.
• Support the HK$20 billion investment on sports and recreational facilities to improve the quality of live and foster a healthy lifestyle.”

RICS embraces the future of surveying and the built environment by anticipating changes. Data and technology, Sustainability, and Talent and skills are our 3 core areas. We have updated several standards this year to address carbon, like our Red Book and ICMS3; as well as data and technology implementation into surveying profession and the built industry, with our newly released IBOS. Together with our over 7,000 Hong Kong members and international supports, we provide the necessary professionals and insights to help drive the development of Hong Kong in the next few decades. RICS is here in Hong Kong.