Annual Report 2013-14

12 FHKI Annual Report 2013-14 With the concerted efforts of the General Committee and the support of members, the FHKI has actively lived up to its role as an advocate for the industries. Through close dialogue with senior government officials in Hong Kong and in the Mainland, the FHKI has helped shape policies pertinent to industrial and commercial development in Hong Kong, as well as operation of Hong Kong enterprises in the Mainland. Dialoguewith Political Leaders The FHKI has met with the Chief Executive, policy secretaries and heads of departments during the course of the year. We firmly believe that maintenance of a free and good business environment is vital in sustaining Hong Kong’s competitiveness, and economic progress is a prerequisite for better welfare and upward social mobility of the grassroots and youngsters. Different policy areas should be well-coordinated to broaden Hong Kong’s economic base. We conveyed our views to the Government during the consultation on the Policy Address and Budget in 2013. Raising concern about the risks of Hong Kong’s over-reliance on a few economic sectors, we advocate the following recommendations: • A long-term industrial policy should be formulated to nurture more high value-added and technology-based local industries to fuel Hong Kong’s economic engines and diversify the economy. • Support measures should be put in place to help traditional industries move up the value chain through R&D, technological application, design and branding. • Continued and enhanced support should be given to SMEs which represent over 98 per cent of all local enterprises. • Measures should be introduced to promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong manufacturing enterprises in the Mainland and to assist them in exploring the Mainland and other emerging markets. • Hong Kong’s fiscal, manpower and environmental policies should be enhanced to foster a business-friendly environment and strengthen Hong Kong’s competitive edge. In particular, we advocate for more progressive tax rebate for R&D and a lower profit tax rate for enterprises with low profitability. It is encouraging that the Government has adopted a number of the FHKI’s recommendations in the 2014 Policy Address and the 2014-15 Budget. These initiatives included: • increasing funding support for R&D activities of private companies; • extending the scope of the Innovation and Technology Fund to cover industrial design, compliance testing and clinical trials, etc; • setting up a Task Force on Vocational Education to establish the positioning of vocational education, providing industrial attachment opportunities for young people, setting up a HK$1 billion fund for the Qualifications Framework, and launching a pilot training and support scheme for industries with a keen demand for labour; and • investing about HK$30 billion in waste recycling and treatment facilities, including the setting up of a HK$1 billion Recycling Fund, to promote the sustainable development of the industry. Advocacy for the Industries 為工業界發聲 Operational Review 工作回顧 Chief Secretary Carrie Lam exchanged views with FHKI Chairman on manpower supply and waste recycling at a General Committee gathering. 政務司司長林鄭月娥在理事會聚餐上，與工總主席就人力供應和廢料回收議題交換 意見。