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Key measures include an AI upskilling campaign expected to benefit 40,000 employees, 30,000 youth employment and internship opportunities, expanded talent admission initiatives, and an extended newborn baby bonus scheme.
Chief Executive John Lee unveiled First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030), and delivered the Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address at the Legislative Council this morning (16 September 2026).
At an earlier media briefing, Lee revealed the cover colours of the two documents: blue for Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan, symbolising the blue sky, openness, progress, and stability; and green for the Policy Address, representing continuity, vitality, and hope.
Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan sets out the city's development vision and strategic directions for the next five years, covering areas such as the economy, industries, spatial planning, infrastructure, green transition, as well as people's livelihood and wellbeing, including healthcare, education, housing, and security governance.
In his opening remarks, Lee said that the Five-Year Plan would provide clearer direction for Hong Kong's future development, helping optimise resource allocation, stabilise social expectations, and better protect social wellbeing and the interests of investors across the world.
Major objectives of the Five-Year Plan:
- Consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as international financial, maritime, and trade centres, as well as an international aviation hub, while expediting the city's development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre and a global hub for high-calibre talent.
- Deepen efforts to develop Hong Kong into a centre for international legal and dispute resolution services and a regional centre for intellectual property trade; drive Hong Kong's development into a centre for international cultural exchange; and expand access to quality post-secondary education to attract more non-local students, global talent, and innovation enterprises.
- Accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis; promote the integrated development of education, technology, and talent; and adopt the smart-city concept into the planning of transport, housing, greening, and other public facilities.
- Continue enhancing people's livelihood through improved public services, while strengthening labour rights protection and optimising employment support measures.
- Step up facilitation measures for cross-boundary passenger flow, enhance the layout of boundary control points, and boost clearance efficiency to facilitate the cross-boundary flow of people.
- Deepen the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA); strengthen cooperation with Mainland cities in technological innovation, industry collaboration, and infrastructure interconnectivity; maintain alignment with high-standard international economic and trade rules; and better perform Hong Kong's roles as a ‘super connector’ and ‘super value-adder’.
- Broaden the horizons for young people to develop careers in the GBA and promote talent exchange.
Key policies outlined in the 2026 Policy Address include:
Artificial intelligent (AI) application and development
The Government will step up its efforts to promote AI applications across various all sectors, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's international competitiveness in AI development.
For all citizens, more than 200 training courses and activities under the ‘AI for All’ inclusive programme will be launched by the first quarter of 2028 to promote AI awareness and responsible use. The Government will also roll out the ‘Robots in the Community’ pilot programme to raise citizens' awareness of embodied AI and promote digital inclusion.
Upskill Hong Kong will launch an 18-month AI upskilling campaign in the first half of 2027, including a free online training course for all with a focus on the workplace application of AI. Participants who complete the course may enrol for free in short-term, advanced AI application courses across various industries. The initiative is expected to benefit around 40,000 employees.
For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the Government will enhance the ‘Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme (DTSPP)’ by providing subsidies, on a matching basis, to support more SMEs in applying AI and cybersecurity-related solutions.
The BUD Fund also provides more targeted funding support for enterprises in implementing projects involving AI elements.
The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) will also expand the functions of its ‘Digital DIY Portal’ to integrate AI-assisted advisory services for SMEs, and assist enterprises in assessing and addressing cybersecurity risks, as well as adopting AI. The HKPC will also enhance the awareness of AI and its application within the community, particularly among SMEs, through training and exhibitions under the ‘AI with HKPC’ programme.
For finance sector, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s ‘Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenA.I.) Sandbox’ was upgraded to the cross-sector ‘GenA.I. Sandbox++’, with use cases and participating sectors expanded beyond banking to include securities, wealth management, insurance, and MPF.
The HKMA is also conducting assessments and responding to risks through the ‘Joint Task Force on AI-Driven Cyber Risks’. It is also developing a ‘Cyber Resilience Testing Framework’ for banks and regularising the cross-sectoral Cyber Mapping exercise to strengthen risk management.
Ten major insurers have participated in the ‘AI Cohort Programme’ of the Insurance Authority (IA) and have committed to establishing their respective AI Centre of Excellence in Hong Kong, nurturing talent and sharing experience.
For legal sector, a short-term funding scheme will be launched by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to promote a wider application of LawTech (including the use of AI technologies) to enhance competitiveness.
For transportation, to advance the large-scale development of driverless autonomous vehicles (AVs) towards commercialisation, the Transport Department (TD) has issued nine pilot licences covering over 60 AVs for trials at various locations.
As a next step, AV operators' applications for the commercial operation of individual projects will be accepted from this year onwards, while the Airportcity Link autonomous transport system will be put forward as the first commercially operated project in Hong Kong.
On tourism, starting from the end of this year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will introduce an AI personalised travel recommendation function on Discover Hong Kong, and, by integrating with third-party data platforms, set up a dedicated HKTB smart travel page in map applications.
Build an international hub for high-calibre talent
The Government will enhance its framework for identifying, selecting, and nurturing young innovation talent, while stepping up efforts to attract overseas professionals and position Hong Kong as an international hub for high-calibre talent.
- Consider adding more talent categories relating to AI application to enrich the Talent List.
- Relax the requirements on extension of stay under the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) for technology start-up talent.
- Expand the ‘Immigration Facilitation Scheme’ for invited persons by extending its coverage from the current member states of the ASEAN to countries and regions in Central Asia and the Middle East.
- Introduce a new visa category to allow non-locals to participate in short-term training programmes in Hong Kong.
- The University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities plan to organise more than 160 recruitment activities in the Chinese Mainland and overseas in the 2026/27 academic year to attract outstanding students from around the world.
- Extend for two years the pilot arrangement of including graduates from the GBA campuses of Hong Kong universities under the Immigration Arrangements for Non-local Graduates.
- Drive the ‘Hong Kong: Your World-class Campus’ international promotion and organise exhibitions in target areas (such as countries and regions along the Belt and Road).
Support youth development
To facilitate youth employment and development, especially for those with limited or no work experience, the Government and the business sector will launch the two-year, ‘30,000 Youth Employment and Internship Programme’.
The Government will mobilise the business sector, including major employer and trade associations, to provide an additional 10,000 full-time jobs lasting six months or more within a two-year period starting from the first quarter of 2027. The jobs will be open to young people newly entering the workforce, with the Government assuming part of the wages, i.e. HK$6,000 per month or up to one-third of the monthly salary, for six months.
The Government will expand the ‘STEM Internship Scheme’ and enhance the ‘HYAB Youth Start-up Internship Programme’, providing more than 10,000 internship quotas within two years, with each intern receiving a subsidy of no less than HK$11,000.
In 2027 and 2028, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Government will allocate funding to extend the on-the-job training subsidy scheme for professional graduates of relevant disciplines. A monthly salary subsidy of HK$5,000 will be provided for each graduate, offering a total of 10,000 training places over two years.
The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) will launch a two-year ‘Financial Services Industry Youth Internship Programme’ together with industry, providing 1,000 youth internship placements related to financial services.
Promote fertility
To promote fertility and create a conducive environment for childbearing, the Government has shifted from a non-interventionist approach, and introduced 11 measures under a multipronged approach:
- The HK$20,000, newborn baby bonus, which is due to expire on 24 October this year, will be extended for three years.
- To encourage families to have more than one child, the newborn baby bonus for the second or subsequent child born today or after will be increased from HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 for three years.
- If a taxpayer's second child and subsequent children are born today or after, the tax allowance for them will be increased from HK$140,000 to HK$160,000, and the allowance may be claimed until they reach the age of 25 following established procedures. This will take effect from the year of assessment 2026/27.
- The additional allowance for the first two years following childbirth for the aforesaid second and subsequent child will also be increased, from HK$140,000 to HK$160,000, effective from the year of assessment 2026/27.
- Eligible families (whose children are born today or after in Hong Kong, with either parent a Hong Kong permanent resident), having purchased a residential property from one year before to two years after the childbirth, are entitled to a stamp duty waiver capped at HK$20,000. The concession will take effect upon passage of the amendment bill.
- Starting from the next Home Ownership Scheme sale exercise, the maximum mortgage loan-to-value ratio for White Form family applicants with newborns will be raised to 95%, to ease their down-payment burden.
- The Hospital Authority (HA) will increase the service quota for in-vitro fertilisation in phases over the next three years, by 300 treatment cycles to 1,900 treatment cycles per year.
- The Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission) will gradually extend its free pre-pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal classes to all District Health Centres (DHCs) and DHC Expresses. The Family Planning Association of Hong Kong will launch publicity this year to promote healthy fertility.
- Following last year's announcement to establish 15 new aided standalone child care centres (CCCs), we will set up three more aided, standalone CCCs. These are expected to provide about 1,800 additional day-care service places by the end of 2030.
- The School-based After School Care Service Scheme will be regularised, starting from the 2027/28 school year and no quota will be imposed to continuously support families of primary school students with caretaking needs.
- The Government will strengthen professional support for the After School Care Programme for Pre-primary Children, providing escort services and increasing service publicity.
Support SMEs
The Government will implement 10 measures to support the diversified development of SMEs, as well as their upgrading and transformation:
- The CEDB will expand the geographical scope of the BUD Fund to cover Uzbekistan and Qatar, encouraging SMEs to tap into emerging markets.
- The Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation will extend the 20 free-buyer credit checks for one year to September 2027 to continue to cover all of its insured markets.
- The HKTDC will strengthen the services of E-Commerce Express, promoting the awareness of Hong Kong brands and expanding their coverage in e-commerce markets outside Hong Kong. The Trade and Industry Department will co-ordinate with the "Four-in-One" Integrated Services of SME Centres to organise branding seminars and workshops to assist SMEs in formulating brand development strategies.
- The Government will continue to encourage more government departments and institutions, including the Business Registration Office of the Inland Revenue Department and the eMPF Platform, to connect to the HKMA's CDI and explore the feasibility of automated payment. This will enable banks to conduct business registration search through CDI, enhancing efficiency in credit approval. The CDI has helped reduce the borrowing costs of companies by an average of 36 basis points.
- The HKMA, in collaboration with the Shanghai Data Bureau, will implement a pilot project on trade data connectivity this year, covering Hong Kong SME traders exporting goods from the Mainland. Starting from this year, Project Cargoˣ will progressively connect the CDI with the Trade Single Window, the Port Community System and the Digital Corporate Identity (CorpID) platform. It will also explore connections with ASEAN's electronic port systems to enable the one stop access to data for approval by banks.
- Starting from this year, the Hong Kong Technology and Innovation Support Centre will provide qualitative, patent evaluation services and offer funding support to SMEs for conducting valuation of their IP assets to facilitate relevant financing.
- The Government raised the funding ceiling of "Easy BUD" applications under the BUD Fund to $150,000 in June. The BUD Fund also provides more targeted funding support for AI projects.
- The Government will enhance the DTSPP by providing subsidies on a matching basis to support more SMEs in applying AI and cybersecurity-related solutions.
- The HKPC will expand the functions of its "Digital DIY Portal" to integrate advisory services for SMEs. It will also assist enterprises in assessing and addressing cybersecurity risks, as well as providing professional advice and technical support on AI application scenarios.
- The Future Innovative Logistics Acceleration Scheme will provide subsidies to SMEs using innovative logistics solutions to interface with the Port Community System.
Enhance labour protection
The Government will step up efforts to combat illegal employment on all fronts and ensure employment priority for local workers, while allowing only employers facing genuine recruitment difficulties and shortages of local manpower to import labour, on a limited scale, following approval.
In addition, the Labour Department (LD) has, since June, implemented a tiered vetting mechanism under the ‘Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS)’. Job categories falling under the Tier 2 mechanism are subject to more stringent requirements in such areas as manning ratio and local recruitment.
The Government will closely and dynamically monitor the employment situation and include more industries and posts in the Tier 2 vetting mechanism, as necessary. The LD actively investigates and follows up on suspected violations of ESLS requirements. It imposes administrative sanctions on non-compliant employers, to ensure employment priority for local workers.
The LD is also developing a new digital application platform for ESLS with enhanced data collection and analysis, to strengthen the monitoring of applicant employers' compliance.
On the other hand, the Government is developing new legislation to provide digital platform workers engaging in food and goods delivery services with statutory compensation for injuries at work. We will also strengthen communication with stakeholders.
Enhance occupational safety and health
The Government is deeply concerned about occupational safety and health (OSH) issues in the construction industry. Apart from ongoing surprise inspections and enforcement actions against non-compliance, we are using innovative technologies to boost enforcement effectiveness and efficiency. We will also step up publicity and education efforts to raise safety and law-abiding awareness among contractors and workers.
The Government has launched the ‘Smart Site Safety System (4S)’ labelling scheme in collaboration with the CIC. We will continue to fund private works projects through the CITF to enhance site safety by using innovative construction methods and new technologies (including 4S).
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Enhance the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) system
We will introduce an amendment bill into the LegCo by the end of the year, to enhance the process of recovering default MPF contributions from employers.
With Phase One of MPF "Full Portability" scheduled for implementation this year, we are also preparing a legislative proposal on the implementation of Phase Two of MPF "Full Portability" to benefit the remaining employees.
Encourage re-employment
The Government will provide additional resources to disburse re-employment allowance to all eligible participants of the ‘Re-employment Allowance Pilot Scheme’. The LD will also announce the results of the Scheme's mid-term review by the end of the year to facilitate the refinement of further measures to encourage re employment.
Photo / HKSAR Government Press Releases
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